Page 37 of Forget Me Not

“She was.”

Nova falls silent while I finish wrapping her hand. Her gaze settles on me and she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, thinking.

Oh, to be a thought in her head, so I can read the rest of them. Find out what really goes on behind those pretty ocean eyes. Maybe then, I could let her go.

Something tells me, even if I had a couple days, it would only begin to scratch the surface of this girl.

“From cats to dogs, huh?” I ask, and she jumps, like I startled her. I finish bandaging her and let her hand drop, although begrudgingly.

“I caught him stealing cat food out behind the inn the other night and I just couldn’t leave him.”

I stoop down, picking up the ball. It’s slimy, but I’m used to it. Lobsters aren’t always the cleanest creatures. I wave it at Toast, who dances animatedly in front of me before I chuck it in the sand where the tide rolls up the beach. He bounds into the ocean, happily catching the ball and completely soaking himself. “You rescue all the strays?”

“Only the cute ones,” she says, but then pauses, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of red when she picks up on the hidden meaning behind my words.

Fuck me.

She falls into step beside me, a foot of space between us like she’s afraid of getting too close. After yesterday, when I warned her away from me, I can’t say I blame her.

“He likes you,” Nova says, smiling softly.

“I throw the ball for him.” She chuckles when he instantly brings it back, dropping it for me to throw a little further. “Why live here, though?”

“Why not? I spent my summers here,” she says with a shrug. “Gran and Pappap needed help with the inn and no one else wanted it. It’s a beautiful place, right?”

I guess Port Nova is nice. Surrounded by the Atlantic and full of greenery from the forest outside the town to the cliffs on the far side, way behind Nova’s cottage. I don’t know, I just never focused so much on the beauty of a place over its functionality. From everything I’ve seen, the town needs help. Beautiful, yes. Sustainable? No.

Nothing compares, though, to the fucking way Nova smiles when she thinks I’m not looking.

“It’s alright.”

She rolls her eyes. “Let me guess. Mr. Worldwide has seen better.”

“Not really better, just different.”

“So, why are you still here?” she asks, turning to look at me as we walk. “Is the boat still not fixed?”

“Ready to get rid of me, little bird?”

“Yes,” she admits truthfully and I pause. Of course she is. A girl like Nova is too good for a man like me. She breathes out a sigh after a moment, the tension between us palpable. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she grumbles.

“So, how did you mean it?”

She shakes her head, her brow furrowing while I toss Toast’s ball, again. Thing’s starting to get real wet from our game of fetch, but I need to do something to occupy my hands before I reach for her.

“You just . . . make me think about things that I shouldn’t.”

Fuck, if that isn’t the truth.

I realize why Nova draws me in. She’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She can talk herself in circles and she’s incredibly awkward to a certain point. She knows what she wants, but then she doesn’t at all. Not to mention, she’s the prettiest fucking girl I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe ever.

She’s a walking contradiction and something about it is incredibly fucking fascinating to me. Infuriatingly fascinating.

“I don’t even know you,” she continues. “You could be a murderous psychopath and here I am walking alone on the beach with you.”

We have gotten out of sight of the town. Looking up the steep bank, there’s nothing but forest and boulders making up the rocky cliff.

“I think we’ve spent enough time alone for you to know that’s not the case. Plus, how do I know you’re not the murderer?”

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