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He nodded. “I did, and I never got lucky enough to meet the lady I’d miss forever. Well, not yet anyway,” he concluded with a twinkle in his blue eyes. “Now, where’s that grandson of mine?”
After JJ and her dad had gone, Raina paced the living room floor, weighing her father’s words and the news that Jeb was in jail. The relief she felt was slow to sink in, but bit by bit, the realization that she no longer had to worry about a random knock at her front door or being accosted on the street or receiving yet another late-night phone call or text began to seem real. A feeling of liberation filled her, a sense of freedom she hadn’t known in a very long time—and she owed it all to Nolan.
What kind of man did what he’d done? A good man. An honest one. A man who was reliable and forthright and who looked after what was his to the very best of his ability and who wasn’t afraid to ask for help when he couldn’t do it alone. He’d protected her from harm, even when she hadn’t asked for it. And she knew, deep in her heart, that Nolan would move mountains for her if she needed him to.
No matter which way she looked at it, Nolan Dane was a better person than she’d wanted to believe. She’d been so scarred by the actions of her past that she’d let them hold her back when she was being offered a chance to make a new start, a new beginning—filled with the kind of love she’d always dreamed of.
The sound of a car door slamming announced Nolan’s arrival. Raina quickly grabbed the wrapped box from the drawer and slipped it into her evening purse.
He’d given her this week and she’d thought long and hard. And she’d reached her decision.
Seventeen
Nolan strode confidently up the path to the house and felt his heart lift when he saw the front door open to reveal Raina standing there, waiting for him. He’d missed her both physically and mentally. He’d lost track of the number of times he’d picked up the phone to call her, only to remind himself that he was giving her space to think.
Now the time had come for what he hoped would be the answer he’d been waiting for. Despite his eagerness, he wouldn’t push. He understood her vulnerability, even though she projected such a staunch and strong face to the world. She needed to come to him on her own terms.
Framed in the doorway, she smiled nervously down at him. He bounded up the front steps to greet her the way he’d been waiting to do from the moment he’d left her bed, and she slid easily into his arms and lifted her face for his kiss. He kept it short and sweet, denying the nearly overwhelming urge he had to forget the night ahead and to simply sweep her off her feet, take her into her bedroom and pick up where they’d left off a week ago.
“I’ve missed you,” he said simply, as he forced himself to release her.
She gave him a shy smile. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink beneath the subtle makeup she wore and Nolan felt his heart squeeze in response. There was nothing he didn’t love about her. He only hoped she’d let him tell her that every day now for the rest of their lives.
“You left without opening your Christmas gift,” Raina said, reaching behind her to the hall table and passing a long slender parcel to him.
Nolan looked at it in surprise. This was the secret JJ had whispered to him about. “Can I open it now?”
“Sure,” she teased, “unless you want to wait until next year.”
He tore away the wrapping and instantly recognized the case he’d coveted a few weeks ago. He opened the lid and revealed the writing set inside. Nolan was staggered. Not just by the beauty of the gift, but by her thoughtfulness in giving it to him.
“It’s old, of course,” she said, sounding worried, “but in excellent condition. I remembered you looking at it and I thought—”
“I love it. Thank you, it’s perfect.”
He leaned forward to kiss her again. She was flushed when he finally let her go.
“Oh, you like it? Well...that’s good then.”
He smiled; she still sounded as if he’d knocked her off-kilter. She could barely meet his eyes as she reached into the cupboard behind her for her coat. He helped her into it, taking a moment to inhale the fresh herbal scent of her hair as she lifted it over her collar. He imagined his face buried in that sweet softness again and, as his body throbbed in response, was forced to turn his mind to other things.
