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And he had.
Nick knew he couldn’t deny it any longer. He wasn't ready to put a name on what he felt for Aggie, but it was definitely something. Something real. Something he hadn’t experienced before. He cared for her, he cared about her, he cared that his decision to drag her into this case was going to hurt her. Hurt her deeply. He knew it would. Aggie would feel betrayed, she would be shredded up inside. And that would tear him up inside.
“Nick? Is something wrong?”
He blinked and saw that she was peering up at him, her forehead crinkled in concern. As he looked at her, he realized that he wanted to erase every worry from her pretty head. He wanted to make sure she never had another worry again. He wanted to take care of her. These feelings were so foreign to him that he wasn't quite sure what to do with them.
“Nick?”
For a guy who virtually never smiled when he was around Aggie it came so easily, so naturally. “Nothing’s wrong, baby.” He took her face in his hands, and she immediately tilted it to nuzzle at his wrist. “Nothing at all.” He dipped his head, pressed his lips to hers, kissed her softly and sweetly. Aggie deserved more than mindless kissing, she deserved real passion, real emotion, a real connection.
“Hahmm,” someone cleared their throat behind them.
Reluctantly he broke contact, wishing that he hadn’t pushed so hard for this dinner with her father. If he hadn’t, he and Aggie could have made it a night to remember. “Good evening, sir.” He wrapped an arm around Aggie’s shoulders because, well, he just wanted to keep touching her, and he was pleased Aggie leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder and slipping her good arm around his waist.
“No need to be so formal, son.” Sebastian Candella chuckled. He was standing by the kitchen door, watching the two of them with tender amusement. The man was big. Huge really. He had to be close to seven feet tall, and he obviously spent a lot of time at the gym. He looked at least ten years younger than his fifty-one years. He had a full head of blond hair, twinkling bright blue eyes, and smooth pale skin. “You can call me Sebastian.”
“Sebastian.” Nick extended his hand. “I'm Nickolas Sleigh.”
Sizing him up with a scrutinizing look, Sebastian nodded. “I know. And apparently my daughter is smitten with you. Which means I intend to give you the grilling of a lifetime over dinner.”
“Dad,” Aggie warned.
“Relax, sweetie. A man doesn’t come to have dinner with his girlfriend’s father and not expect a grilling. Am I right?” Sebastian asked him.
“Right you are, sir. I mean Sebastian.”
“Dad, you promised you'd be on your best behavior,” Aggie reprimanded as she slipped out of his grip and headed for the kitchen. “Why don’t you two take a seat, get to know each other, I’ll go check on the meal.”
“Sit,” Sebastian ordered once they were alone. “So ever been arrested?”
The man certainly was direct. “No.”
“You’ve got a job?”
“Yes, I'm an accountant.”
“Ever been unemployed?”
“Not since I graduated college.”
“Any major medical issues?”
Sebastian was also extremely thorough. “None that I'm aware of.”
“Been married before?”
“No.”
“Any crazy ex-girlfriends likely to cause my little girl trouble?”
“No, none at all. I don’t date much,” he replied with complete honesty.
Raising a surprised eyebrow at that, the man let it slide. “What about your family?”
“My parents died when I was very young. I have a brother but we aren’t close, I haven’t seen or spoken to him in years.” Again, this answer was truthful. He and Luke had grown apart after Nick refused to go and live with another foster family. Luke wanted a mom and dad, and despite his efforts to keep himself and his little brother together, Luke went to live with a third foster family, staying with them until he turned eighteen. Having mostly grown up in different environments, the brothers didn’t have a lot in common as adults. It had probably been three or four years since he’d last spoken to Luke, another year or more since he’d seen him.
Pain clouded Sebastian’s face. “I'm sorry, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. And I know what it’s like for a child to grow up without a parent. It was very hard on my daughter after her mother passed, and I wasn't there for her like I should have been.” His face flushed red in apparent remorse. “I was grieving too, not that that’s any excuse. I didn’t do what I should have for her, and that hurt her. I won't ever let her get hurt again.”
