Here With You (A Laurel Heights Novel) - By Kate Perry Page 0,51

his own accord," she threw back at him.

"What'd you do?"

She blinked. "Why did I have to do something?"

"Because the man looked at you like you were his world. If he left, it's because you pushed him away."

"He didn't try to push back."

Bull rolled his eyes. "Men are knuckleheads. Don't you women learn that early in life?"

Susan's words echoed in her head: Sometimes the hero needs to be saved.

Did Grif need to be saved?

It was why he came to her, wasn't it?

She stood up like she was jolted. It was why he came to her.

"I've gotta go. I'm supposed to meet E and Valentine. Your friend had some ideas about how I can market and sell my smoothies." He patted her on the head. "Don't be an idiot."

"Words to live by," she said dryly.

"Dude." He winked at her. As he turned to leave, he stopped and stared at the merrywidow he'd admired. He pointed at it. "Wrap one of these up for me. I want the largest size you've got. The panties, too."

"I thought you didn't have a girlfriend."

"I don't," he said as he took his wallet out. "But now I have a goal. To find a woman to wear that for me."

Shaking her head, she found him the largest size and rang him up nonetheless. He'd do it, too—she had no doubt. She didn't know him well, but she could tell he was the sort of person who went after what he wanted.

She always thought she was the same type of person.

The problem was she didn't know what she wanted.

She shook her head. That wasn't true—she wanted Grif. But she wanted him in a way that'd work. Following him around like a lovesick groupie wasn't going to cut it even in the short term.

Her gaze fell to the sketchpad she kept behind the counter. Grif hadn't understood why she didn't become a designer.

She took it out and flipped through it, trying to see the designs objectively. Only it was hard to see anything beyond the fear that gripped her throat.

She swallowed it down and put the sketchpad away. There was no way she could be a lingerie designer. She had no training, she just knew what she liked—it was crazy even to think about it.

Just as crazy as believing she could keep a world-renowned rock star happy when she wasn’t even sure what made her happy.

Chapter Twenty-two

Nicole paced in Romantic Notions, in the narrow lanes between the dressers and tables.

Three days.

Three days since Grif left.

Three days of sadness.

Three days of excessive thinking, which was totally not her style.

Three days, and still no answers.

She heaved a huge sigh. If she went on like this, she was going to go crazy, not to mention that Grif would eventually find another woman who'd want him enough to give everything up.

He didn't need a woman like that. He needed a woman who had a backbone, who had life in her. Who existed beyond Grif and his world.

Nicole wanted to be that woman.

She shook her head. How could she have ever doubted that? He came to her for help. He pretty much admitted she had what he needed, and she sent him away.

She sent away the one man she'd loved all her life.

She smacked her forehead.

The door jingled as someone entered. She whirled around, heaving a sigh of relief. "Valentine, I'm so happy to see you. I need help."

"That's what I gathered from your text." The former matchmaker unwrapped her scarf and flashed her impish grin. "All the exclamation points after the word help were a clue."

"I didn't want to be vague." She hugged her friend and then held her at arm's length. "I need a passion."

"You've got more passion in you than most people I know."

"But I don't stick with anything." Nicole let go and began to pace again. "I'm screwed up, which doesn't make sense at all because my parents have always been wonderful and supportive."

"Some chicks stay in the nest longer."

She stopped and stared at her friend.

Valentine shrugged. "I'm no good at analogies, but that's not the point."

"No, the point is I'm twenty-eight years old and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

"What brought this on?" Valentine set her purse on a table. "You've always been happy. Since the day we met, I've envied you because it's like life doesn't touch you. What happened?" Then her eyes widened. "Griffin Chase."

"He did something to me. The thing is, I think I needed it." Exhaling to get rid of