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I inhaled as slowly as I could, determined not to freak out. I still hadn’t figured out what was going on in his head. “It was embarrassing,” I admitted. “I felt like an idiot. At the time, you were with Maddy, so there was no point saying anything about it because I didn’t want to be responsible for breaking up your relationship if you felt the same, and if you didn’t, well, I preferred not to know.”
“But didn’t I deserve to have that information?” he asked. “So I could make an informed decision?”
I leaned forward slightly, needing him to see my perspective. “What good would that have done? It could have irrevocably damaged our friendship, which was the most important thing in the world to me. You were with Maddy. It would have been wrong of me to do anything to interfere with that.”
His eyes softened, and he reached across the table and laid his hand on the surface, palm up. Hesitantly, I took my hand out from under the table and rested it on his. Palm to palm, our fingers laced together, the contact felt more intimate than sex.
“You’re right.” He drew circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. “I know you are. I also know how much pain I must have caused you over the years.” His blue-green eyes burned with intensity. “I wish I could take it back. I can’t do that, but I’d like to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
My breath caught. “You would?”
He nodded. “More than anything.”
A slow smile curved my lips. “You have nothing to make up for, but I’m not going to stop you trying.”
“Good.” He allowed himself a small smile but then turned serious again. “Do you know what else Maddy told me recently?”
“Something else?” God, how could there be anything else?
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “She said that during a lot of our relationship, she felt like she came second to you. I hate that I made her feel that way when she was supposed to be my priority, but I think it’s a sign that my heart was always yours. I just didn’t know it yet.”
I felt a pang of sympathy for Maddy. We’d both been in a tough situation and done the best we could, but at times she must have hurt as much as I did, if not more. I couldn’t bring myself to regret how everything had worked out, though, because I finally had the man I’d always loved.
I stood and rounded the table. He pushed back his chair and swept me into his arms. Our lips met eagerly. I softened against him as he took the lead with tender but passionate kisses that grew more and more heated until we were both breathless. He led me to the sofa and sat. I straddled his lap and took his face between my hands. I brushed my mouth softly over his, then more firmly. His tongue touched mine and—
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Hammering at the door interrupted us.
I pulled back, shocked by the urgency of the knocking. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“No.” Nate grabbed my hips and guided me off his lap. “But it sounds like it’s important.”
I started to follow him, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”
52
NATE
I yanked the door open,ready to lay into whoever was on the other side for interrupting my time with Grace, but I drew up short as a stocky, balding man tried to barrel past me. I grabbed his shoulder with one hand to stop his momentum and reached for my gun with the other, only to realize I didn’t have it on me.
“Grace!” the man gasped. “Grace!” he yelled more loudly. “I need to warn you! You’re not safe!”
He made another attempt to dart past me, but I blocked his way and twisted him around, maneuvering his arm into a position I knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of without injuring himself.
“Let me go,” he spat. “I’m not going to hurt her. I’m here to help. She’s in danger.”
I partially turned him until I could see the side of his face. Flushed cheeks, watery brown eyes, and thin lips set in a fleshy face.
Darrel Weich.
“If she’s in danger, it’s because of you.” My voice was low and furious. “You’re the one hunting her halfway across the country.”
“Hunting?” He paled. “No. I would never.”
“Oh, really?”
