Page 68 of One More Time
She nodded.
He continued, ‘I made them book Rehoboth and Dewey. Drove past the old house on Stockley a bunch of times.’
‘I wasn’t there,’ Lucy said.
‘I know.’ Nicky gazed at her, wanting her so badly that it was a physical thing, moving through his body along with his blood. Quietly, he asked, ‘Do you know how many Lucys were born the same year as you?’
Lucy’s eyebrows bunched at the non sequitur. ‘No.’
‘Three hundred and forty-four.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘I wanted to know,’ he replied.
‘Knowwhat, exactly?’
‘How hard it would be to find you.’
Lucy exhaled, her shoulders sagging.
‘Why didn’t you? Find me?’ she breathed. ‘You could have hired a private investigator or something.’
‘I could have, but I …’ He stopped, took a moment to try and understand the impulse himself. ‘I sort of wanted you … towantto be found. For you to findme, so I would know—’
Lucy’s eyes closed again.
He wanted them open, so he continued, ‘So a few years ago, I had this friend. The editor of a music magazine.’
Her eyes snapped open. Gasped, ‘No!’
Nicky stood up, crossed the room toward her. ‘I went to him with an idea. A crazy fucking stupid idea.’
‘Nicky—’
He dropped to his knees on the floor in front of her. Ran a single finger over her thigh. ‘I fronted a million dollars. Had a check drawn up and everything. A bunch of lawyers kept it in a safe. Waiting.’
‘Nicky.’ The sound was a murmur, a sigh.
‘I just wanted you to answer me,’ he said, before pressing his lips to the back of her hand, still damp from tears.
‘The question mark,’ she rasped.
‘Did it mean anything to you, Lucy?’ he asked, holding her gaze. His chest tightened by steady increments as he waited for her answer.
She exhaled, ‘Everything.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LUCY
Nicky’s thumb swept across her cheek, smoothing away the tears that she’d been unable to stave off.
His eyes were dark, pupils enormous. Their rims of green were more vivid than usual, shades of emerald and pine.
Nicky’s lips touched hers gently, a question asked between lovers – a tentative query of the most delicate touch. Lucy answered by opening for him and meeting his tongue with hers.Now, she said with her tongue and teeth and lips.Yes. Andplease.
Nicky pushed in closer, scooted to fit himself between her thighs. Then groaned – inpain– against her lips and clutched his right knee with his hand.
