Page 12 of The Meaning Of You

A chuckle sounded from somewhere behind and a voice came over my shoulder. “You really do need to start watching where you’re going.”

I groaned at the familiar voice and spun to find Nick Fisher watching me, his grey eyes edged with gold in the last rays of the evening sun. What washedoing here? A wave of uncertainty accompanied the question, but a quick scan of the carpark confirmed we were alone. Because of course we bloody were. If Nick was feeling the need for a little one-on-one, I had nowhere to run.

Instead, Nick raised his hands. “I come in peace, I promise. I just—” His expression turned sheepish, and he rubbed a hand over his scruff. “I guess I want to apologise—” He practically choked on the word. “—at least for my part in what happened.”

Hispart?Jesus Christ.The guy really was a piece of work.

Making no attempt to hide my eye-roll, I pocketed my phone and walked past Nick to the driver’s door of my Toyota. “Saveyour apology for someone who actually gives a shit.” I unlocked the door and threw my coat and book across the centre console into the passenger seat. “And just for the record, there was really onlyonepart in what happened that was deliberately rude—yours.Mypart was an accident, which I apologised for the second it happened. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to be on my way.” I was halfway into my seat when Nick’s hand wrapped around my trailing arm.

“Madigan, wait, please.”

I stared pointedly at his grip, and he instantly let go. “Sorry...again.” He gave a rueful smile. “Guess it’s my day for being a prick.”

I met his gaze. “Practice makes perfect, they tell me?”

His eyes widened and then he laughed, the booming sound making me want to smile but I kept the impulse in check.

“Come on.” Nick stepped back, waving me out of the car. “Please. Two minutes of your time?”

I studied his handsome features for a moment longer, then sighed and got out of the car. Who was I kidding? The guy was intriguing if nothing else. I folded my arms and leaned back against the rear door. “Okay, I’m listening.”

Nick’s gaze locked on mine. “First off, I deserved all of that.” He paused, and when I didn’t respond, he chuckled. “Tough crowd.”

I made a point of glancing at my watch while at the same time wondering where the hell the Madigan, who didn’t usually do conflict if he could avoid it and who might be blunt but certainly not rude, had disappeared to.

“So, I might’ve just happened to catch your aunt’s comment before we collided—” He chose the word carefully. “Something about getting yourself a boyfriend, I believe.” His brows pitched up in amusement.

“Oh, dear God,” I groaned. “You and most of Golden Oaks, I think.” Then a thought occurred to me. “Please don’t tell me you’re a homophobe as well as a bit of a jerk?”

He snorted. “Definitely not a homophobe, but the jerk thing is a work in progress. But your aunt’s comment makes me feel comfortable explaining my behaviour a little bit.” He glanced toward Golden Oaks, then back at me. “My husband is a resident here.”

I blinked.Firstly, not straight. Wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. And secondly, a resident?Exactly how much older was the husband?

Nick let out a long sigh and then clarified, “I know what you’re thinking, but Davis is actually younger than me.” His gaze dipped down as he scuffed the soles of his trainers on the asphalt. “He had a car accident eighteen months ago. There were massive head injuries and he never recovered. A little over six months after it happened, the hospital discharged him to Golden Oaks for long-term care.” Pain flashed behind Nick’s eyes and my heart plummeted, those stupid heated words coming back to me.

I’m sure that Nick never has bad days...

Well, shit.

“Don’t do that.” Nick narrowed his gaze. “Don’t excuse my bad behaviour because you pity me.”

“I wasn’t excu—” I stopped. “Okay, maybe a little, but it’s a better-than-average excuse, don’t you think?”

A smile flickered at the corner of his mouth. “It is, isn’t it? But it’s also about time I stopped using it to justify being rude. At first, it was a useful shield. Now, it’s just a bad habit.”

I watched him closely, appreciating how hard it must be to admit. “I’ll take your word for it.”

His gaze tracked my face. “You’re not wrong about me, you know. Icanbe a real prick. Some would even say a consummate arsehole. Davis would for sure.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m liking this man more and more.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “God knows why he persevered with me, but he did. The man is a sucker for punishment. Over time, he has civilised me, somewhat, at least enough to let me loose in polite company—most days.” He grinned. “But it would be fair to say that without his daily attention, I’veregressedsomewhat to old habits. Not something I’m proud of. Anyway, my visit turned out rather... emotional, which led to you catching me on one of thosebad daysyou mentioned. I’m sorry for biting your head off. It wasn’t about you at all.”

Oh, Jesus.“No. It’s me who should apologise for jumping to conclusions when I should know better. I shouldn’t have said what I did. It was tactless and completely untrue.”

“No, I’m glad you called me out.” Nick glanced sideways to where Jerry was sneakily keeping an eye on us from the reception desk. “He’d be disappointed in me, you know. Davis.” He swallowed hard before facing me again, his eyes suspiciously shiny. “I need to do better for his sake at least.”

“Can he talk?” I winced, immediately regretting the ill-mannered question. “Sorry, that was rude.”

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