his wife or daughter. And I didn’t ask to be taken under his wing or whatever he thinks he’s doing. “I’m a grown woman and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Honestly, I’m offended that he thinks so little of the both of us.”
“I know. He can be an overprotective psycho sometimes, but he’s a good guy,” Nick says. “His heart is in the right place.”
“I’m sure it is,” I say, understanding Nick’s instinct to defend his brother. I’m the same with Aria and Lark. “But I don’t need another older sibling in my life. I have two already.”
“Try having seven.” Nick sighs. “It’s impossible to keep anyone out of your business. That’s one of the reasons I don’t tell them everything about my private life. I like it to stay private.” He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, but the strands immediately snap back into their previous hedgehog configuration. “I tried explaining that to Nash, but he was too angry last night. He’s not a fan of bending the truth.”
I think for a moment. “Then we’ll just have to make him forget about that part.”
“How?” he asks, arching a brow.
“By making him a fan of us.”
His eyes narrow. “Okay. And…how do we do that?”
“We’ll have Nash, Aria, and Felicity over for dinner at my place and show them how good we are together. Once they see that we’re just a normal, happy couple and not a train wreck waiting to happen, they’ll be happy, too.” I brush my hands together and wiggle my fingers in the air. “Problem solved.”
He nods slowly. “That might actually work. Nash does love to eat.”
“And I’ll pick Aria’s brain and cook all his favorite things,” I say, getting excited about the plan. Any excuse to cook a big meal and have a party. Which gives me an even better idea… “We could do something a little bigger, too, if you’re up for it. My parents are always open to hosting a shindig. We could have a big family meal, and you can meet the whole clan.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word ‘clan’ until you’ve been to a Geary family horde gathering.” He glances over his shoulder at his customer, who’s still flipping through the books on the counter, before turning back to me. “Yeah, I’m good with meeting everyone at once if you’re…ready for that.”
I stare up into his kind eyes, wondering how it’s possible to feel anxious and filled with clarity at the same time. “Yesterday, you said you wanted to go skinny-dipping with me in the spring. Did you mean that?”
Nick blinks, then swallows. “I did,” he says. “I know it’s still early, super early, but…” He bites his bottom lip for a second before he adds in a softer voice, “I don’t like to think about not being around you.”
“I don’t like to think about not being around you, either,” I say as a blissed-out, hopeful feeling floods through my chest.
Is this what it feels like to fall in love? Real love, the kind that digs its sweet claws into you and refuses to let go? The kind that starts out shining like a diamond and only gets brighter and more brilliant as time goes on?
I don’t know, but there’s no way I’m going to let anyone—especially a member of my or Nick’s family—keep me from finding out.
“Okay, so I’ll work out all the details for a family thing. Does next Saturday night work for you?” I ask. “We have that fiftieth anniversary to cater this Saturday and a wedding on Sunday, but next weekend is open after the wedding on Saturday afternoon.”
“Next Saturday is good,” Nick says, his nose wrinkling as he adds, “But that reminds me—I couldn’t get John to cover for me tonight. He has a date with some girl he met at the bar. But I’d still love to see you, if you don’t mind hanging out until I close the shop.”
“I’d love to.” I lean in, kissing him on the cheek, knowing better than to aim for his lips. If I start kissing him for real, he’s never going to get back to his client in a reasonable amount of time. “I’ll see you after rehearsal.”
I spin and start down the sidewalk, headed to Kitty’s place for an early dinner, when Nick calls out from behind me—
“Hey, Mel?” I turn, my stomach flipping when I see the sweet, almost shy expression on his face. “Thank you. For the car and for just…being