but really, how could I be when he wore such a huge, sexy grin? My irritation melted like ice in hot water. Oh no, it was happening again. I was under his spell; for the life of me, I couldn’t resist the warmth in his eyes or his smile.
“Come outside? You’re not serious, are you? I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a hassle, with the crutches and getting to the front door…”
“Come out the window.” He held out his arms as if to show how he’d catch me.
“What? You’re not serious. You actually want me to crawl out this window?” Was the man nuts?
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I’m not going to let anything happen.”
I’ll admit the offer was tempting, far more tempting than it should be. I did need to talk to him and I didn’t want to do it when Jo Marie was around. Biting into my lower lip, I considered it. “I…I don’t know.”
“Come on, Emily, you know you want to. Besides, Elvis is here and he misses you.”
It was ridiculous to even consider anything so juvenile. The last time I crawled out of my bedroom window I’d been fourteen and snuck out of the house for a Halloween party my parents forbade me from attending. Naturally, I’d gotten caught and paid the price.
Nick held his arms out to me. “You coming?”
“How did you know I’d be awake?” I asked while I toyed with the decision.
“You said you’d slept all afternoon, remember?”
“Right.” So he’d planned this all along.
“Come on; we don’t have all night.”
Actually, we did, but I wasn’t about to point that out.
Opening the window as far as it would go, I crawled out headfirst, taking care to protect my injured ankle. I smothered my giggles as Nick grabbed hold of my arms, then tucked his own around my torso as he pulled me the rest of the way through the opening.
“If anyone sees us we’re likely to get arrested,” I taunted.
“No one’s going to see us.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this…”
Sure enough, within a matter of moments I was in Nick’s arms. He carried me around to the front of the house and onto the porch where we’d sat that one other time.
The night was clear.
“How’s the ankle feeling now?”
“I’ll live,” I assured him.
“Good.”
“I’ve put a real dent in your work for the last two days, haven’t I?” I felt guilty for all the time I’d taken when he clearly had more important matters to attend to rather than fussing over me.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, dismissing my concern.
He reached for my hand and I held my breath, unsure how to start this uncomfortable conversation. “Listen, I think we need to talk about what happened in the shower,” I said as I gently pulled my hand free. This was hard enough without adding his touch to the mix.
“Oh?” He arched his brows. “What about it?”
This was tricky. “I know you regret it and…”
“Who said?”
“You aren’t sorry it happened?” This wasn’t going the way I assumed it would.
“Not exactly.”
His answer confused me. Okay, time to try another approach. “If I led you into thinking I wanted you to kiss me…”
“You didn’t.”
“I mean, it’s nothing, right? I’m making a mountain out of a speed bump.” By this point, I regretted saying anything. I sounded like I was in junior high.
“I wanted it, Emily. I needed it. Those kisses were something wonderful to me,” he countered, frowning.
“Really?” I asked, in a weak attempt to make light of it. “I was thinking you’d like to ignore that it happened and well…you know.”
“Can’t say that I do know. What made you think that?” he challenged.
“Well, this afternoon…you didn’t want to sit down and you seemed uneasy and…”
“And Jo Marie was in the other room. If I appeared uncomfortable it was because…because I’m uncomfortable being around people just yet.”
“You are?” This was probably something I’d picked up on earlier. Dana mentioned how he didn’t answer the door when she came to ask about the house and he’d certainly made it plain he didn’t want me on his property.
“You were at the tavern that night…”
“Yeah, I thought I’d test myself. Big mistake.”
“You were there for me.”
“That was a fluke.”
“One I’m grateful for.”
He nodded, dismissing my appreciation.
“Why are you here now?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with my question. “I could say I’m here to check on your ankle, but that would only be partially true. I wanted to be sure you understood that it was never my intention