Page 65 of Dream Chaser

We stayed at the restaurant for another hour. Nova joked and chatted with Eleanor and Miles, no trace of her earlier discomfort.

Occasionally, she also talked to me. I both loved and loathed that our gazes tangled way more often than what was safe.

“Want me to give you and Nova a ride?” I asked Eleanor as I paid the check at the counter. Levi had left earlier, and Miles stayed at the table, waiting while Nova went to the bathroom.

“No,” she said. “Miles and I wanted to have some drinks at a place he knows, but Nova has the keys, so you should take her home. We walked here.”

I would’ve called her out for playing the matchmaker, but that’d only make her sure something was going on between Nova and me. I shrugged, sliding my credit card into my wallet. “Okay.”

“Well, I’m going to say goodbye to Nova,” she chirped, winking. Subtlety wasn’t her strong suit.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her give Nova a hug, then nod my way.

As Eleanor headed for the table, Nova came up to me. “Eleanor said you’re taking me home.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“I can get a cab or walk.”

“You’re not walking.” I pulled the key fob from my suit jacket’s pocket.

Nova smiled, cheeks flushed, eyes twinkling. “Yes, boss.”

I tried not to grin but failed. “Come on.”

As we left the restaurant, I took Nova’s gifts from her hands and opened the passenger-side door for her. She settled into her seat while I set the bags in the back. Then I was at the wheel, a few inches away from her.

Another whiff of her perfume was all it took for me to have the same kind of dangerous, inappropriate thoughts that had accosted me since we’d worked on the Iron Core pitch.

No. Longer than that.

I cleared my throat, starting the car. “You said something to me earlier.”

Nova smiled, serene. “You and small spaces. I should’ve known.”

Behind the windshield, the dense downtown traffic crawled. The drive would be long. I didn’t mind.

“I thought we established you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t feel like it,” I said.

“I need to at least know what you wanted to ask.”

“Earlier, you said this has been the best birthday you’ve had in years. What about the others?”

She ran her fingers along the hem of her dress. “Just not what I wanted them to be. I cooked for my mother and mother-in-law, hosted a dinner even though I didn’t really want to spend my special day stuck in the kitchen like I did pretty much every holiday.”

“But you felt bad saying no.”

She toyed with the strap of her purse, her eyes downcast. “I spent years doing things I didn’t want to do to keep the peace, even though I’d much rather drive to the beach to take photos. But if I did that, I’d be called ungrateful and antisocial. Funny how everyone’s opinion mattered so much, and mine mattered so little… even to me.”

“And your husband?”

Nova’s eyes clung to mine for a beat. “He doesn’t like the beach, and he thought photography was a waste of time since I didn’t make any money. Of course, it was different when the pictures were for his campaign. Then he’d brag he saved tons because I did his promo shots for free.” She groaned. “I shouldn’t have drunk all that cava. Now you know enough about me to lose respect.”

“Stop it. That’d never happen.”

I’d never lose respect for her, but I had none for the asshole who had the undeserved right to call himself her husband. I could imagine him, smug, taking advantage of her kindness. Irritation surged, and I ground my teeth together. Five silent minutes later, traffic cleared at the intersection. We’d be at Eleanor’s in no time.

Instead of turning left, I turned right.