Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 69(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 69(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Nick watched Kate closely. She seemed fragile and tense, every word drawn from the deepest places inside her. Which meant he was finally getting the truth.
“I realized I was in your bed, and I had all these intense emotions that maybe you didn’t really want. You’d asked for a chance, not for everything I was feeling. So I did what I thought most men would want after a one-night stand.” She didn’t meet his gaze. “I left.”
“One-night stand, my ass,” he muttered, squeezing her hand. “As soon as I realized you were gone, I thought about how I should have laid my feelings out for you before I took you to bed.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure words would have done it,” she admitted. “I don’t think I was ready to hear them and I’m not sure I’d have let myself believe you.”
“Why not?” he asked, more gently than she thought she deserved.
“Because I thought you liked the idea of a challenge. I mean, you haven’t been serious with anyone outside of Faith. You went through women like they were interchangeable. And I’d been hurt by someone who’d used me. I couldn’t imagine you wanted me as deeply as I wanted you.”
Her open vulnerability struck him hard. He’d never wanted her to doubt his intentions, but he realized now the problem was more about her than him.
“I can’t change my past, but do you want to know why I didn’t stick with any of those women?” he asked, tipping her chin up so he could look into her green eyes.
She moistened her lips, and it was all he could do to stifle a groan. “Why?”
“Because they weren’t you.” He touched his forehead to hers. “It’s not about Faith. It’s never been about Faith. It’s been about me finding the right person who just … fit.” He shifted and sat up, looking her head-on. “Yesterday, you said Faith was it for me. And she was.”
At his words, Kate visibly stiffened, but he wouldn’t let her run emotionally or otherwise.
“Faith was it for me—in high school. And when she broke up with me, she bruised my ego. I guess she hurt my heart, but I was a guy and didn’t want to give it much thought. I wasn’t about to believe a woman could hurt me, but she did. Then she left and went to college, and like you, I went to school here. I worked for my dad and learned the business. I dated but didn’t get serious about anyone. Just like you said.”
He moved in close, pulling her against his chest. To his relief, she went easily, no longer fighting him and obviously listening.
Good thing, since this was where he made his case. “And all the while, you were here too, in the background. We were friendly, but I was too blind to notice. I could kick myself for that, but it wouldn’t change anything. Maybe I just wasn’t ready to see.”
“Just like I wasn’t ready,” she whispered.
He nodded, holding her against him, breathing in her sweet scent and wishing he could forget the conversation and take her to bed. But at this moment, talk came first. Afterward? He hoped they never had to be apart again.
“But then . . .” And here’s where it got tough, Nick thought. “Faith came back and . . . the feelings didn’t.” He eased her away then and looked into her eyes. “Honest to God, Kate. Asking Faith out just seemed like the thing to do, to see if we could pick up where we left off. Maybe fix the old ego or something. And when Ethan went after her, it became more of a pissing contest than anything else. I’m not proud of it, but that’s the truth.”
* * *
Kate studied Nick. She let herself look at his features, which she’d long since memorized, and into his eyes, which she knew now never lied. Real regret shone in them. He meant what he said. It wasn’t about Faith. It hadn’t been for a long, long time. And though Kate thought she knew that before he rang her doorbell, it felt good to hear him say the words.
But there was still more they had to get out into the open. No more holding back the things that scared or hurt her.
“You kissed Faith.”
He nodded. “I did. I needed to prove to myself that there really was nothing there for me. So I could walk away, leave her to Ethan, and not be hurt by it. Ego, pure and simple.”
Kate shook her head, amazed at the lightness inside her. “Men are such idiots,” she muttered, and with a laugh, he agreed.
“But that kiss was a good thing because from that point on, it wasn’t about Faith. It was about me opening my eyes to what’s been in front of me all along. It’s you, Kate. It’s been you for a long time, and I don’t want you to ever doubt that it will always be you.”