Page 41 of A Little More

She turned her soft brown eyes to him. “I thought about brewing some coffee but didn’t have the energy. I was taking a nap. I don’t want any now.”

He moved around the futon and sat down, pulling her feet into his lap. She shivered under the thin blanket. “Why don’t you put on a sweatshirt or something?”

“I packed away all my winter clothes. They’re in a storage compartment in the basement.”

Nash unrolled his sleeves and began to unbutton his plaid shirt, ending up in only his white tee shirt. She took the long-sleeved shirt from him and slipped it over her arms. With a cute smile on her lips, she snuggled back down on the sofa and back into the safety of her blanket burrito.

“That’s much better. Thank you.”

He shifted on the doll furniture called a futon, oddly feeling as though it might dump him out on the floor at any moment. The television played a home improvement show, the volume turned down low. A small ache in his chest spread further through his body, like a virus, the longer he sat on the uncomfortable sofa, her feet encased in pink fuzzy socks in his lap. When they decided to end this “thing” between them, she’d be alone again. Or at least back in the dating line without someone here to really take care of her. She deserved someone to take care of her. Not another man like Charlie.

The door clicked opened. Juliana slipped into the room. “Lexi—” She stopped. Straightened. “Nash?”

He put a finger to his lips and then pointed at Lexi, sleeping.

She held up a bag. “I brought soup,” she whispered.

Nash slipped out from under Lexi’s feet and met Juliana in the kitchen. “Good. She looked weak when I got here.”

Juliana wiggled her eyebrows. “Maybe you made her weak, Casanova. What are you doing here?” She motioned to his white undershirt and blue jeans. “And dressed so nice. Do you think Country Boy Chic was the way to win her heart?”

“She’s wearing my shirt.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my. You really do have some smooth moves since I just talked to her thirty minutes ago.”

“Juliana,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I came to surprise her, and she was cold. Too bad I ended up passing along whatever virus I had the last time she saw me.”

She nudged him. “How in the world did you manage to pass it along?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Juliana sniffed. “My dating life isn’t headed toward the gutter any time soon, so I have to live through you and Lexi.” She wrinkled her nose. “It would be a little easier, though, if she dated someone else. You’re like a brother to me.” She opened cabinets until she found a big mug for the soup. “It’s funny that both of us are destined to be single for the rest of our lives.”

Nash set his hand on Juliana’s shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “You’ll find someone.” He started a pot of coffee while Juliana poured out the soup.

“Not likely. Not once I move back to Statem. You know how my father is.”

“A ray of sunshine everywhere he goes.”

She snorted before slapping a hand over her mouth. “Not hardly. Here, pop this in the microwave. I seem to have awoken your Sleeping Beauty.” She sat down on a stool at the island in Lexi’s kitchen. “Hey, girl. Sorry, you feel like crap.”

Lexi sniffed and shuffled with her pink socks into the kitchen, pulling Nash’s shirt down over her fingers and sitting at the stool on the other end. “Thanks for bringing me the soup. I’m pretty sure the Health Department would not want me going out in public with this crap, and I finally gave in.”

Nash pulled the soup from the microwave after it dinged. The two women had developed some sort of friendship. His worry for Lexi being alone eased a little. But no matter how much Juliana may help her, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted to be the one Lexi relied upon.

Trusting and relying on anyone else for help, or any man for help, put that scared kitten in a thunderstorm look on her face. Sheer panic that someone would think her weak.

Nash approached her like he would a frightened animal. Ignoring the distress in her eyes, he crossed the kitchen to stand behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. Directly approaching the subject wouldn’t work with Lexi. He’d have to ease himself into that role as a provider. Lexi was a brilliant woman with a mixed-up sense of what made her strong. Falling back, letting him catch her when she needed it didn’t take away her independence.

Lexi blew on her soup and took a sip as Nash gently massaged her shoulders.

Juliana smiled and wagged her finger in his direction. “I told you Nash was a good man. You need to forget about Charlie.”

“I agree. Forget about Charlie.”

She ducked her head lower into her mug of soup, if possible. “I haven’t spoken to Charlie since you magically showed up on our lunch date.”

“You’ve got to tell me that story.” Juliana leaned on the island, looking like a teenager wearing an old tee-shirt from high school. “But it sounds good for you. When are you leaving?”

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