Only Forever. Linda Miller Lael

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      3

      “Want a shower now?”

      Vanessa, her energy drained by the kiss, had sagged back against the door when it was over. Her eyes opened wide, however, when Nick’s words registered. “I beg your pardon?”

      He turned and walked off toward the open kitchen, looking too good for comfort in his jeans and cut-off shirt. His stomach muscles made hard ripples when he lifted his arm to open a cupboard door, and Vanessa felt vaguely dizzy.

      At that moment there was only one thing in the world she wanted more than a shower. She followed him, careful to keep the breakfast bar between them. “I don’t have any clean clothes to put on,” she ventured to say.

      Nick shrugged. “Some of Gina’s things are still here. You’re about her size, I think.”

      The name made Vanessa round the breakfast bar. “Gina?” she asked, looking up at him.

      He kissed her forehead. “My sister,” he assured her.

      The relief Vanessa felt was embarrassing in its scope. “I’ve never had to shower on a date before,” she confessed.

      Nick chuckled at that. “Never?”

      Vanessa looked up into his dancing eyes and felt a painful tug somewhere in the region of her heart. She wanted to appear glamorous and sophisticated, but the truth was far different. She’d never been with any man besides Parker, and, when and if she went to bed with Nick, it was going to be almost like reliving the first time. At last she shook her head and answered, “Never.”

      He started to put his arms around her and then stopped. “Do you like Chinese food?” he asked.

      Vanessa nodded.

      “Good. You’ll find the clothes and the shower down the hall—first room on the right. I’ll go get our lunch while you’re changing—okay?”

      “Okay,” Vanessa answered, not knowing quite what to make of this man. She knew Nick was attracted to her, and yet when he had an advantage, he didn’t press it.

      The room Nick had directed her to was large, though it obviously wasn’t the place where he slept. There was a private bathroom, however, and Vanessa locked herself in before stripping off the clothes she’d worn to run in the park.

      When she finished showering, she found the promised clothes in closets and bureaus and finally helped herself to a jumpsuit of navy corduroy. She buttoned it to her eyeballs and was just entering the living room when Nick returned with cartons of fragrant sweet-and-sour chicken, chow mein and fried rice.

      He smiled and shook his head when he saw the jumpsuit. “Feel better?” he asked.

      Vanessa felt a number of things, and she wasn’t ready to talk about any of them. She went to the cupboards and opened doors until she found plates for their food. They ate at the breakfast bar, perched on stools, and Nick insisted on using chopsticks.

      “Show off,” Vanessa said, spearing a succulent morsel of chicken with her fork.

      He surprised her by laying down his chop-sticks, reaching out and unfastening the top two buttons of the jumpsuit. “The weather’s getting nasty outside,” he commented, “but it’s warm enough in here.”

      Vanessa blushed, embarrassed. She knew Nick thought she was a hidebound prude, but she didn’t have the nerve to prove she wasn’t. Not yet.

      He leaned over and gave her a nibbling kiss on the lips. “Everything is okay, Van,” he promised her quietly. “Just relax.”

      A light rain spattered the windows, and Nick left his stool to light a fire on the hearth. The crackling sound was cozy, and the colorful blaze gave that corner of the room a cheery glow.

      Something Vanessa could not name or define made her leave her place at the breakfast bar and approach Nick. She knelt beside him, facing the fireplace, and said, “I’m not like you p-probably think I am. It’s just that you scare me so much.”

      He turned to her, smiling softly, and slid four fingers into her hair, caressing her cheek СКАЧАТЬ