Page 20 of Forever With You

Nick laughed deeply, surprising me. It was the same kind of laugh I’d heard at the bar tonight, before he realized I was there. A deep and infectious laugh. “And you really do say whatever is on your mind, don’t you?”

“Pretty much,” I replied. “You have a problem with that?”

“No. Not at all.” He sounded surprised. “So you’re going to let me in or is this it?”

I mulled over what to do. Nick had been a jerk to me, and his view on hookups was beyond archaic. He thought that he could tell girls that once they had sex they weren’t allowed back in the bar? What in the hell? But then again, maybe the girls fully knew that going into it. I hadn’t, but for some reason, Nick thought I had.

­People made mistakes and screwed up all the time, and it wasn’t like me to hold a grudge, butthishad just happened. And truthfully, underneath the anger there was hurt. While I hadn’t expected much from Nick, I wasn’t expecting that kind of greeting. It stung. I was only human.

“By the way, not sure if you’ve realized this yet or not, but Reece lives in the same condo. Upstairs,” he said, flicking his gaze up. No. I had not known that. “And Roxy spends a lot of time here. They’re probably on the way here once she gets off, so it’s going to get real awkward, me standing out here and them strolling on by.”

My eyes narrowed into thin slits. “I haven’t seen either of them, but that makes sense. I’ve seen the police car a bunch of times.”

Uncertainty flickered across his handsome face until I sighed and stepped back. “You’re not getting any,” I warned.

His thick lashes lifted. “I didn’t come here for that. No. Seriously,” he said when he must have read my doubtful look. “As hard as that is to believe—­and I’m not going to lie, when I look at you, sex isn’t too far from the brain—­but that’s not why I’m here.”

“You always say what’s on your mind, too.”

“Guilty.” He stepped inside, and I closed the door behind him. “I know it’s late, but I don’t have your number or I would’ve called you.”

“You could’ve just waited till the morning.”

He glanced at me as he shook his head. “Actually, it would’ve driven me crazy all night if I didn’t come and at least try to talk to you.”

Unsure of what to make of all of this, I bit the inside of my cheek and stepped around him. Nick glanced at the TV and raised a brow. “Never Been Kissed?”

“You say one bad thing about this movie and you can walk right back out that door.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “I wasn’t going to say a thing.”

“Uh-­huh.” I plopped down on the couch, placing the pillow in my lap. “So are you going to apologize or something?”

Nick sat on the couch, his gaze fixed on the paused TV. For a moment I got kind of lost in staring at him. The guy didn’t have a bad angle. His profile, with the high cheekbones and cut jaw, could launch a thousand razor blade campaigns. “I am ... I am sorry about the way I acted. I’m kind of a dick about certain things,” he said, letting out a deep breath. “I know that’s not a good enough excuse. I do know you didn’t do anything to deserve the way I acted. That was all me.”

I decided to drop a little of the attitude. “When I went to Mona’s tonight, I honestly wasn’t going there just because you worked there.”

“I know.”

I took a deep breath. “But you were an added bonus of going there.”

His gaze cut to mine and held.

“Not a huge bonus. A small one,” I added.

Nick smiled as he leaned back against the couch. “A little bonus, huh? I’ll take what I can get.” Lifting his left hand, he knocked the hair off his forehead. “You ... you surprised me.”

Hugging the pillow close, I averted my gaze. “How so?”

“I don’t know,” came his now familiar response. “I don’t really know you, so everything about you should surprise me, but it runs ... deeper than that.”

“I surprised you because I didn’t think it was cool of you to expect me never to step foot in the bar again?” Incredulity seeped into my tone.

“I know how it sounds. Trust me. I know.” Suddenly, the weariness was evident in his voice, dragging my gaze back to him. He was staring at the TV now, his brows knitted. I quickly looked away as he exhaled deeply. “I don’t do relationships.”

A laugh climbed up my throat and I cut it off. “That sounds ... cliché.”

He chuckled, and out of the corner of my eyes I saw him smooth his long fingers under his mouth. “Yeah, it is. But that kind of shit ... well, it’s not my thing. The ... the women I get with, they know it. I don’t lead anyone on.”

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