Page 29 of Love Over Time

“Where your mom is concerned, he seems quite capable of finding a bit of decency. There’s an easy way to find out if he took your mom to that restaurant.”

“Is this more Nikki Swift stuff?” I teased. All this bullshit sucked, but at least I had Nikki to share it with.

“You bet. Let me make a phone call. And if necessary, you and I are going to check out the restaurant in the morning.” She flashed me a smile.

We had a new plan.

Chapter Eleven

A Thief, a Crook

Nikki

I squinted at the open balcony door. The rain had stopped, and a bright light blanketed the room. Reaching across the mattress, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. No response from Dom yet. Last night he’d promised to look into the miserable lead Henry and I had come up with to find Tessa. Round and round we went. Meanwhile, Lisa was running out of time. Her parole hearing was scheduled for the end of the month. If we didn’t come up with something concrete to get her out, she’d stay in jail for another fifteen years. I couldn’t stand the thought of her in jail even for one more day, let alone years. She was innocent. She should be here with me, with her family.

Letting my head fall back on the pillow, I squeezed my eyes shut and cradled the phone to my chest.Get up.I should get up, but I couldn’t move. I felt tired, drained. Just needed to sleep some more. I lay on my side and cleared my mind. A few moments later, I drifted off to sleep.

I was in the dark, musty tunnel again. A beam of light at the end flashed in my face, and I was blinded. When I opened my eyes, everything was black again.

A knock on the door woke me. I pressed my face against the pillow with a hollow feeling at the pit of my stomach. Why couldn’t I remember what we’d seen that day?

Henry knocked again, pushed the door open, and poked his head in, eyes closed. “Are you decent?”

“I’m sleeping. Go away.” I pulled the covers over my head.

The bed shifted as warmth spread along my side. Henry removed the sheet with a quick yank. “Get up. I’m taking you to breakfast.”

I peeked at him, at his wet hair and puffy eyes. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and smelled of shaving cream and spearmint. “Not hungry.” I took the covers back and turned on my side.

He let out a laugh. “I could help you work up an appetite.” He scooted closer and spooned me. My eyes snapped open. All kinds of bad ideas flooded my mind as his hand snaked around my waist and down to my hip.

Without meaning to, I wiggled closer to him, taking in his scent. It’d been so long since I had to sort out my feelings about someone I honestly didn’t know where to start with Henry. I wanted him. That much I knew for sure. What would our lives look like together? What would happen if we caved in to this? We weren’t fifteen anymore. Love was for fools. I’d learned that the hard way a long time ago.

He kissed my neck, while his full body pressed against me. Damn, he felt good. My tight nipples begged for his touch, for a bit of relief. I jumped to my feet. “Breakfast sounds like a good idea.”

With a low groan, Henry fell back on the pillow. “Fine. I’ll see you downstairs in forty-five minutes.” When I didn’t move, he threw a leg over the side of the bed and stood. “Hurry. I’m starving.”

I rushed to the shower and ran the water. Wait. Had he just tricked me into going on a date with him? No, this was just breakfast. This was the very reason why I never got involved with anyone. This constant worry of whether a guy loved me, or felt the way I did, or if we were on a date or not. Henry wanted me as much as I wanted him, but for how long? I stood under the cool spray and let it diffuse whatever ideas my body had gotten about Henry.

When I finished cleaning up, I got dressed in a simple Sunday dress. This wasn’t a date, but I took the time to blow-dry my hair, apply makeup, and even throw on some diamond earrings for good measure. With the bubbles in my chest threatening to bust out, I headed downstairs, where Henry waited patiently for me, sitting on the only piece of furniture we had in the place.We?I rolled my eyes.We are not a “we.”

His mouth fell open a little when he saw me. I smiled. “I see you,” he’d said to me the first day I came back to Paradise Creek. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had seen through Nikki Swift, seen the real me. No cons, no tricks. Just me.

“You’re nervous.” He grinned. “Why?”

“No. Just hungry.” I met his gaze, and he offered me his arm. This felt so much like a date.

We crossed the threshold, and I froze. “How long was I asleep?”

He chuckled. “You’ve been cooped up in your room for two weeks. My guys and I have been working day and night to get the old downtown ready for Founders’ Day. What do you think?”

“It looks great.” The big hole in front of the hotel had been repaired days ago, but I hadn’t noticed how they had also cleaned and restored the entire street. Some stores were even open for business. “So you’re like a real architect, huh?”

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “Something like that.”

We strolled down the street, past a couple of antique shops, a bakery, and a general store. The old downtown was back in full swing. Just as it’d been before my parents were killed, when we were part of this community. “Where are we going?”

“Mrs. Blaine is open for business. She makes the best griddle pancakes. What do you think?” He held me as if we were boyfriend and girlfriend.

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