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I unlocked the door, and the boys got in the back. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to be alone with Nick.
Nick’s hands settled on my shoulders as he turned me to face him. “You need help. What’s wrong with letting me do this?”
“I’m not good about asking for help or taking it.”
“You let Brooke and Ben.”
“Brooke’s my sister.”
“And I’m your friend.” His gaze held a challenge, but the palms of his hands were a comforting warmth on my shoulders.
While I should have been pleased with his mention of us being friends, the offer didn’t sit right with me.
He dipped his head to meet my eyes. “Please.”
I couldn’t resist the plea in his voice or the earnestness in his expression. “Okay. Thank you.”
He smiled, and it was so brilliant, I sucked in a shocked breath. “See? Was that so hard?”
He was relaxed, his expression almost boyish, but every muscle in my body was stretched taut. Standing so close to him, his hands on my body, feeling his warmth even through our layers was the difficult part. Accepting his help was a cakewalk compared to that.
Once he stepped back, I felt the chill almost immediately. “Let me know when you have things together, and I’ll take a look at it.”
I laughed without any humor. “It’s telling you know I need to get everything together.”
“Most people do. I think I’m the exception to the rule.”
I was breaking my rules. Don’t sleep with the best man in the wedding you’re working. And whatever you do, don’t see him again. But when he smiled at me, all bets were off. I was lost to whatever he wanted.
He opened my door, and I moved past him to slide inside. My shoulder brushed his very hard chest.
“Brody. Let’s go.” Nick’s voice was gruff and commanding.
Brody scrambled out of the backseat and onto the street.
“Good to see you again,” I said formally as if we’d run into each other by happenstance, which we kind of had.
“It was the perfect ending to a great day,” he said softly before closing the door.
“Mom? What did Coach say?”
I swallowed over the dryness in my throat as I started the SUV and moved it into drive. “He said he’d see us on Sunday.”
I usually didn’t lie to my kid, but I wasn’t repeating what Nick had said. Not that Hunter would have read much into it, but it felt too intimate, like it was meant only for me.
It was the perfect ending to a great day. Despite my exhaustion and stress, when I let go and allowed myself to be in the moment, I enjoyed it. I tried not to think about the fact that Nick had been the one to get me off my feet and bought me an apple cider. He’d been the one to get me to relax. I resisted everyone else’s efforts to do the same.
Ben and Brooke offered to take Hunter so I could go out with friends or even date, but I needed them for work so much, I almost never took them up on the offer. But Nick was making me rethink everything. How I spent my days. How I ran my business.
“That was fun,” Hunter said, drawing me out of my thoughts.
“It was. I’m glad I was able to meet you out.”
“I wish you could have been there the whole day.”
My heart squeezed. Then I thought about what Gia and Nick had said. I should get an assistant. I worked hard. I deserved to be compensated for my work, but I also needed good help. I worried I wouldn’t find someone competent, but I hadn’t even tried.
Then there was the matter of dinner with Nick on Sunday to look forward to. It might just be the perfect ending to the week.
