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Nova hadn’t intended to fall asleep. But once she sat down on the edge of the bed, it seemed like she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She vowed to herself she would only catch ten minutes, but as she glanced at her watch she realized it was two hours later than when Nikolas had walked out of the room.
“Oh no.” She sat straight up in bed, swinging her legs around to the floor. How had she slept so long?
Or maybe a better question. How had she slept so long in a strange place?
Only it wasn’t strange. She’d continued to press the point on him that she didn’t want to be an intrusion, but the reality was that she felt safe with Nikolas.
You felt safe with Ferdy, too.
Although the thought was unbidden, Nova gave herself a moment to consider the internal warning. She didn’t know Nikolas Slater and he didn’t know her. She’d leaped into a relationship that had gone horribly bad once.
Was she doing it again?
Or could she thank five months on the run and a progressing pregnancy for adding a level of worldliness she hadn’t had when Ferdy came into her life.
Either way, she was here now. All she could do was be vigilant and hope for the best.
And know that she could always go back on the run if she found the worst.
“Might as well go in and help with dinner,” she muttered to herself as she straightened the covers. “Or what passes for dinner when you heat it up in the microwave.”
Fortunately, she had remembered to slip off her flip-flops before stretching out on the bed, so she slipped back into them and padded out of the room and into the hall. The impressions that she had taken in earlier as Nikolas has shown her to the room now had a chance to take root and flourish. The hallway was decorated like much of the rest of the house—or at least what she’d seen of it—and there were a series of framed black-and-white prints that ran down the length of the hallway on both sides.
Curious, she stopped to look at them. And saw a variety of pictures from what appeared to be vistas in and around Mustang Valley. In fact, as she peered closer she recognized some of the same things that she had seen today on her drive around town.
The ridge of mountains that rose up at the edge of Mustang Valley, majestically pointing toward the sky.
A close-up shot of the arid land that surrounded those mountains, a small flower peeking up through cracks in the ground.
There was even a close-up of the main street, capturing the life and movement of people as they walked up and down the sidewalks.
It was fascinating to see, all those different types of shots. Most photographers she had met tended to focus on one type of image. Still life, or scenery, or people. But these seemed to infuse all those things—each distinct, yet each part of a whole.
Had Nikolas done these?
Nova continued on t
he rest of the way into the condo, the hallway spilling back into a great room that was then connected to the kitchen. Nikolas sat in the chair at the table, his focus on his laptop as he typed in a few things. She didn’t want to sneak up on him, but she had a chance to look at him quickly before he realized she was there.
Once again, those dark curls captivated her and she imagined running her fingers through them. Would they be soft? She’d bet anything they would be.
A different time, maybe.
Perhaps, if they were different people, things could work out a different way. But for now, she’d have to leave those curls and everything else about Nikolas Slater firmly in the realm of fantasy.
She was an unwed pregnant woman. And while she had no guilt or embarrassment about that fact, she wasn’t exactly ripe for a relationship. And he was working on a case that threatened to put her biological father away for life.
They were in very different places, without much of a bridge between them.
So she would take the kindness that he offered. And she would be a model guest. And, if things continued on as they’d started, she’d make her first friend in Mustang Valley.
And that would be all.
He glanced up then, a small smile on his face. “Sleep well?”
“I did. Sorry I slept so long. I intended to grab ten minutes, and well, you can see how that went.”
“You and the baby obviously needed it.”
