Page 72 of Love and Other Lost Things

Hell, he didn’t know. If he was Scarlett’s father, and Jane had kept that from him, the betrayal would be unbearable. But… he remembered their eyes meeting across the couch cushions. The brush of his hand on her cheek. The hitch in her breath as she leaned closer. If Scarlett were his, it would be a reason for Jane to stay.

From the dining room next door, he could hear Ali’s voice telling another story from high school, followed by a burst of Jane’s laughter. She was happy here, surrounded by family and old friends. Her shoulders had finally relaxed, as if she’d stopped scanning the exits for a place to run. He’d never forget that haunted look in her eyes when he first spotted her in Ford’s General Store. The edge to her voice when she’d said she’d left Matteo. Nik’s chest filled with rage when he thought about that bruise on her cheek.

Jane didn’t belong in LA, in the same vicinity as that asshole. She would have never gone there in the first place if she hadn’t been protecting him. And she hadn’t given him one good reason why she should go back.

Jane appeared in the doorway holding a stack of plates. “Hi.” She blinked from Nik to his mom and then back. “Am I interrupting something?”

He smoothed a hand over his face and let his lips curve into a smile. At the sight of her, it wasn’t hard.

“Not at all.” His mom waved her inside.

Jane set the plates on the counter. “I felt bad leaving all the cleaning up to you. You two did all the cooking. Please let me help.”

His mom gave Jane a wide smile. “Well, if you insist, you can help Nik finish up in here while I take dessert out to the dining room.” And before he knew what had happened, his mom had picked up a pie and tray of Christmas cookies and was heading for the dining room. “There’s no rush, we’ll save you some.” And with that, she disappeared out the kitchen door.

Nik watched her go with a shake of his head. “Damn.”

“What is it?” Jane asked, moving to his side of the counter to set the plates in the sink.

He could smell her shampoo as she brushed past, something light and fruity. Green apples, maybe. He grabbed a bowl from the counter to keep from pulling her against him and burying his face in the side of her neck. Nik cleared his throat. “She’s matchmaking.”

“Who?” Jane’s head jerked up. “Your mom? And us?”

“Yep.” He leaned his hip against the counter.

“Oh.” She left the plates in the sink and turned to face him. “And, um… how do you feel about that?”

“How do you feel about it?” he countered, feeling like he was twelve and passing her a note. Do you want to be my girlfriend? Check yes or no.

“Well, she’s just trying to help.” Jane pressed her lips together, but a hint of a smile broke through. “She always liked me. And you always had terrible taste in women.”

His mouth dropped open as a laugh escaped. “What do you know about my taste in women?”

“Well…” Jane pressed a finger to her lip like she was remembering back. “There was that Kelsie in third grade. You had a huge crush on her, and she was such a bully.”

“I like assertive women.” Nik leaned closer. “Besides, what about you? That guy who took you to the ninth-grade dance? What was his name—Jeremy? He had more muscles than brains and spoke three words the whole night.”

“He was the strong, silent type.”

Nik huffed. “I think he was just silent.”

“It was my dad who liked him, not me.” She rolled her eyes. “If I recall, Jeremy left the dance with Shana Smith, and you and I ended up in an Uno battle at the Grassroots Café.”

“Just like we always did.”

She nodded slowly, smile fading. “Just like we always did.”

He looked down into her eyes, so close now that he could almost feel her sharp intake of breath. How many times had the two of them stood in this same spot in this same kitchen? How many times had he been tempted to lean in and kiss her? Back then, he’d held off, taken it slow, convinced that they had all the time in the world. But now he knew better.

“I didn’t really have bad taste in women,” Nik murmured. “I was just biding my time with Kelsie until you finally noticed me.” He reached out a hand and cupped her cheek. “I’m still just biding my time until you notice me.”

“Nik,” she whispered. “I always noticed you. And I think I’m realizing that I always will.”

From the dining room, the voices rose, and laughter erupted, but there was no place else besides this narrow space between them, no one besides Jane. He reached out to pull her against him just as she took a step forward and came crashing into his chest. Their mouths collided, desperate, almost bruising. He parted her lips, sliding his tongue against hers, tasting her, familiar after all this time. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, but it wasn’t close enough. It could never be close enough. He shifted his weight, lifting her off her feet and onto the counter so he could settle between her thighs, tangle his hands in her hair, run a trail of hot kisses down her neck.

“Nik,” she gasped, tugging on his hair to tilt his face back up to hers.

He was sliding a hand under her shirt just as another peal of laughter from the dining room finally yanked him back to his senses.

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