it could have been a lifetime. Everything about Nico and me just felt so…right. I glanced at him and smiled. That night when I just showed up on his doorstep, he told me when something is right, it just is, and I knew exactly what he meant. We were just right.
And I didn’t want the study for the bar to ruin that.
I sighed as I twisted noodles onto my fork.
“You okay?” Nico’s eyes immediately shone with concern, and I smiled at him to reassure him.
“Yeah. Just thinking we won’t have a whole lot of time for this when I have to knuckle down and study.”
He touched my fingers, just a fleeting graze of skin, but it was electric, sending a surge of affection through me. “You know, I can help you study if you like? My time is yours—as much as you need.”
I chuckled a little. “If you knew how good you always look to me, how much of a distraction you could possibly be, you wouldn’t think that was a remotely sensible suggestion.” I slurped a mouthful of pasta in as I considered Nico’s charms. I’d never counted ‘study partner’ among them before.
“Hmm.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Do you think I could get away with wearing a disguise?”
“God, no.” If he had any idea how much even the smell of his cologne affected me, he wouldn’t have made that suggestion either. Everything about Nico distracted me. Working beside him each day was an exercise in frustration and self-denial.
He touched my hand again and waited until he had my attention. His beautiful eyes, with their ever-changing kaleidoscope of hues, were soft and serious. “I really do want to be a more active part of your life. I’d love to help you across that final hurdle. If you need a study partner—hand me your textbooks, a cheerleader—hand me your pompoms and a short skirt.”
I smiled at the image.
“I’d do anything for you, Jamie.”
The raw beauty of his statement choked me, and I stared at him for a long time. His mom had told me how much he liked to take care of people, and I’d seen that trait in action every day in the office. It was in his nature. She’d also told me he’d had no one special before, and a sense of awe that he’d chosen me came to rest in my chest.
And although I was very used to relying on my parents to provide the support to get me through college—finances and a place to live—there were still many things where I proudly retained and staked my independence. I enjoyed controlling the aspects of my life that I could. It was important to me.
But I looked at Nico again—the face I couldn’t imagine losing and the heart I wanted to keep alongside mine forever. I was falling in love with him.
So maybe if he wanted to be there for me, there was no reason to tell him no. I could let him in and trust him to take care of me, too.
I drew a long, slow breath. “You know what?” I lifted my wine glass with fingers that trembled. “I think I’d like to have your help.”
The uncertainty on Nico’s face cleared, and relief brought a smile to his lips. “That’s great.” He couldn’t keep the emotion from his voice, and my stomach flip-flopped at how truly happy he was.
“And…” I hesitated at the next bit, a whim I couldn’t quite control.
He lifted an eyebrow. “And?” he prompted.
“Would you like to come over for family dinner on Sunday? I mean, just say if you’d rather not. It’s pretty big and noisy, and my brothers can be full of themselves sometimes, and Mom probably won’t leave you alone the whole time you’re there. Dad might have questions, too…” I trailed off and looked at him then stuffed a bit of bread into my mouth so I didn’t continue talking. Way to sell something.
He went very still. “A big family dinner, you say?”
I nodded.
“The one you have every week where your whole family gets together?”
I nodded again and prayed for my stomach not to drop away. I suddenly very badly wanted him to say yes, and I didn’t want to have to go to dinner on my own this week.
His smile lit the entire room. “I’d love to come and sit at a table where no one can hear what anyone else is saying because you’re all talking at once,” he said. “As long as I can sit next to