“The woman who was having lunch with you.” I cringe inwardly at how jealous I sound. The plan was to talk to him about how I feel and explain myself to him, not sound like a girl accusing her boyfriend of cheating.
“She’s a business partner.” His tone is cool and dismissive. It says I have no right to feel anything about what happened. “If that’s all you have to say—”
“Do all your business partners kiss you like that?” I feel sick to my stomach. I need to know what I am to him—if anything’s changed since the day he walked away—before I can decide exactly what I’m going to tell him next. There’s no point in baring my soul if he doesn’t care about me.
“Why not?” Bitterness crackles under his otherwise smooth tone. “I’m available.”
The last two words are a punch in the gut. It’s actually an effort to remain upright. I feel an overwhelming, self-preservational urge to flee before he says anything more to shred me. And normally that’s exactly what I’d do, but then…
Pain flashes in his eyes. And somehow I can’t just leave. Why does he look likehe’s the one who’s getting his heart ripped out when he’s saying things designed to make me bleed? “Are you doing this on purpose? Is this some kind of revenge because you’re mad at me?”
He looks at me as though I just backhanded him. “Revenge? Don’t be absurd. If I wanted revenge, this is what I would’ve done to her, while making sure you were watching.”
He cups my face with his large hands, holding me so I can’t pull away. His mouth fuses with mine, and we kiss. My lips part at the heady feel of him. His tongue invades my mouth, stroking me. I place my hands over his shoulders and rise on my toes to fuse my lips better with his. And he plunders me like he’s taking me with his mouth. Shivers run through me. Tears spring to my eyes as air shudders in my chest. This feels like a homecoming. I can’t believe we’ve been apart for over a week.
Suddenly, he pulls away, still cradling my face. He looks at me, his blazing eyes intense. “What’s wrong? Why the tears?”
“It’s just a little bit around my eyes.” I dab at them, surprised he noticed. But then he notices so much about me. The tears aren’t even running down my cheeks, but he’s acting like I’m sobbing in unbearable pain, and he’s at a loss as to how to make it better for me.
“I’m so sorry,” I say shakily. “I don’t know how to be the kind of girlfriend you need. You keep showing me I’m important to you, but I can’t stop wondering what will happen if you change your mind about me—about us.”
He regards me for a long moment. “Despite what you said before, I’m nothing like my mother.”
“Of course you are. You’re both so interesting and beautiful.”
He gives me a hard look. Except he seems more relieved than disappointed. I don’t understand why he’s reacting this way, and suddenly, I’m uncertain.
“I’m scared that when I think you love me is when our relationship ends.” The words tumble out in a trembling torrent. “My relationships always end just when I think they’re going somewhere. And then, if you know how much I love you, you might jerk back, like I just threw a snake at you or something, because that isn’t what you want. I was so happy being with you, in your house, living together and sharing—I don’t want to rock anything.” I can barely hold his eyes. “I’m soafraid, Nicholas.”
Hot elation blazes in the gray depths of his gaze, but I don’t know what part of my disorganized rambling could’ve put that look on his face.
“Say that again.” When I blink up at him, unsure if I can repeat all of it, he clarifies, “The part about ‘you love me.’”
I nod shakily. “Yes. I love you. I’m sorry; I didn’t want to say it like this. Or too soon. I just—”
“Too soon?” He laughs. “I waited eight years. I fell in love when I met you. And that hasn’t changed for even one day in all that time.”
I stare at him as my brain tries to process what he just said. Slowly, as the meaning sinks in, my heart skips a beat. Exhilaration flows in my veins, and I feel like I could fly to the moon.
He wipes away the tears that now are running down my cheeks and rests his forehead on mine. “I’m still here. I’ll always be here. And before you bring her up again, Tara—my business partner—is married. Satisfactorily so.” He takes my hand, threading and linking our fingers. “Let’s go home.”
“What about your meetings?” I ask breathlessly as we dash across the lobby like a couple of teens on their way to do something naughty.
“They can wait. You’re more important.”
* * *
All through the drive, his hand is linked to mine. I squeeze like I’ll never let go, although I manage to text Cody to let him know Nicholas might not be available for his meetings.
–Cody: Thanks for letting me know. I’ll adjust his schedule accordingly.
“What are you doing?” Nicholas asks.
“Telling Cody you might not come in for your meetings.” I glance at the gorgeous profile of his face—and the huge tent below his belt. I wish I could touch him, show him how much I miss him.
He follows my gaze. I don’t look away. I don’t want to hide how much I want him.
“I wish we could do something about that right now,” I whisper.
