Page 113 of Hold Me Today

I love him.

Truly, madly, deeply.

“One more, Mina,” Effie pushes gently. “Give me one more, that’s all.”

“I love him.” I exhale quietly, hands folded in my lap. “I think I loved him when I was seventeen and he danced me around your mom’s living room. I think I loved him even on his wedding day because the relief I felt—” I break off with an uneasy laugh, but at Effie’s patient expression, I let myself continue even as my cheeks burn with embarrassment. “We laid in that bed and all night I thought one thing:maybe now. Maybe now he would look at me as something more than his little sister’s friend. Maybe now he would hold my hand instead of letting our fingers kiss, and nothing more. Maybe now . . . Maybe now he wouldseeme and know, without a doubt, that I was always meant to be his and he was always meant to be mine.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind,koukla,”says an oh-so-familiar voice from behind me, “I’m already yours.”

39

Nick

Slowly, like she’s in a horror movie and piss-her-pants terrified to see the axe-murderer standing behind her, Mina turns and spots me standing in the doorway leading into the kitchen. Her beautiful honey eyes are round in her makeup-free face, and those perfectly pink lips of hers part on an audible gasp.

“N-Nick! How, um,lovelyto see you here!” She shoots a dirty glare over at my sister. Whatever communication she’s trying to pass along via Eyebrow Code (the new and unimproved Morse Code) goes unreceived because Effie launches up from the sofa like it’s caught fire.

“I have to pick up my laundry from the laundromat.”

Mina’s mouth gapes open. “Seriously?That’syour getaway excuse? You have a washer and dryer down the hall!”

“It’s broken.”

“You’re a liar.”

“No, what I’mtryingto do is give you and my older brother a chance to talk.” Effie wriggles her fingers in the air at me. “Lucky for you, he was already here when you showed up. We were planning to go to dinner so he could spend the next three hours talking about how much he misses you.”

I feel the rush of heat all the way from my chest to my face. “Effie.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m leaving.” Only, she doesn’t make it more than halfway to the front door before she whirls around on her heels and stares me down. “Before I go, house rules—no sex.”

Like I’ve had the wind knocked out of me, a hoarse cough gurgles to life and I pound a fist against my chest.Gamóto.I’m gonna kill her and enjoy burying her body. Out loud, I croak, “I have no idea why you’re looking at me when you say that.”

Her chin hikes up. “Because you’re a man and all men are horny, and I refuse to have dried semen on my furniture.”

Dried semen on her furniture . . .?

Christ, forget killing her. Someone just grab a knife and put me out of my misery. Huffing out a laugh, I scrub my hand over the side of my flushed face. “Please, say no more.”

With her gaze narrowed on me, Effie clucks her tongue and then turns to Mina, completely dismissing me. “And you . . .” Her expression softens almost immediately. “I love you,filinída.No, I love you like asisternot just a friend. But him right there?” She gestures to me, not once looking away from Mina’s face. “He loves you the way Sarah loves me. Best friend. Lover. Soulmate.” With a small smile, she steps back. “Be brave and trust.”

Silence invades the room as Effie lets herself out of her own condo with an undeniable pep to her step.

I give myself leave to soak in Mina’s presence as she pushes to her feet and comes around the side of the sofa. Each step reveals more of her outfit: socks with holes in the toes, a pair of baggy sweatpants that give no indication that she’s curvy in all the right places beneath all that fabric, a Pats sweatshirt with a stain . . .

As if noticing the direction of my attention, she clamps a hand over her breast and grins sheepishly. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

A soft chuckle warms my chest. “You mean you would have worn shoes that matched, if you knew?”

She growls beneath her breath. The sound is cute as all hell and makes me want to smile. “You heard that too?” she asks, dread deepening her voice.

“It was hard not to.” I jerk my thumb over my right shoulder, pointing toward the kitchen. “I was pouring myself some water when you came flying in here like a bat outta hell.”

If possible, her cheeks turn an even pinker hue. “I didn’t . . . I don’t . . .” Her throat works with a hard swallow. “I wanted to get my thoughts in order before I saw you. I didn’t want to lose the words.”

I didn’t want to lose the words.

God, this girl. She breaks me, challenges me, and in just a few sentences, cuts me right at the knees.Patience, have some patience. I told her that night in Maine that when she was ready to talk, I’d be here. I said nothing of the sort in the email I spent the last few days putting together, mainly because I wanted her to feel pressure-free.

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