Page 104 of Keep My Heart
She turns and leans back against my chest. ‘You’re exactly what I want, Nick. I just wish I’d been able to see that back then.’
I wrap my arms around her and kiss her head. ‘This is our chance to start again.’
We look out at the pond, at the ripples forming in the water from the soft summer breeze. We remain there until the clouds roll in, then make our way back to the house.
It was a perfect day, and hopefully the start of even more. It almost scares me how good it felt being with Lyndsay, finding out she wants to be with me as much as I want to be with her. I feel like it’s too good to be true, or that I’m dreaming this and about to wake up. Things can’t just turn out this well, can they? I made partner and got the girl of my dreams all in the same week? How could I be that lucky?
Chapter 23
Lyndsay
‘I can’t believe you guys did it!’ Diane says, racing into my room and shutting the door.
I smile and lay down on my bed. ‘It was so good. I can’t even describe how good it was.’
‘Really?’ she says, like she doesn’t believe me. ‘Huh.’ She sits beside me on the bed. ‘I guess I thought Nick would be kind of .?.?. shy, hesitant, unsure of himself.’
‘Not at all. Not even a little. If anything, he made Chris look that way. I always assumed Chris knew what he was doing because he’d been with so many girls before me.’
‘And while he waswithyou,’ Diane mutters with disgust. Chris cheated on me twice in high school and probably also during our marriage, but I could never prove it.
‘But compared to Nick, Chris was like an awkward teenager trying to figure out how to do it. He never even cared if I finished. It was all about him.’
‘Then why the hell did you stay with him all those years?’
‘Because I didn’t want to be divorced. I wanted the fairytale. The happily ever after.’
‘With Chris?’ she says, scrunching up her nose.
‘Hey, I was young.’ I sit up, crossing my legs in front of me. ‘I didn’t know a lot back then. I thought if a guy said he loved me that he really did. I didn’t know he’d say it just to have sex with me. I didn’t have sisters to talk to, and I wasn’t going to talk to my mom about this.’ I cringe, just imagining that. My mom and I aren’t close that way. We don’t talk about sex or dating or guys. She never even gave me the sex talk.
‘You had friends to talk to.’
‘Who all thought Chris was a god. They didn’t care what he did. They would’ve taken his side and told me I should be grateful to have the guy every girl wanted.’
‘Not me. I would’ve told you to dump his ass.’
‘And I did, twice, but he begged me to give him another chance.’ I sigh. ‘I don’t want to talk about Chris. I just want to think about Nick and about our future together.’
‘I know Nick is a great guy, but don’t you think you’re kind of rushing into this?’
‘No. He’s not some guy I just met. I’ve known him forever.’
‘You knew the Nick from 15 years ago. You’re just getting to know adult Nick. People change from high school. Just look at us. I’ve definitely changed and so have you.’
‘Yes, but Nick has changed for the better. He’s mature. He has a successful career. He’s more confident and bold and definitely better looking.’
‘But you still don’t really know him. You’ve only spent a few days with him and you’re only seeing what you want. Nobody’s perfect. Nick has his flaws like everyone else.’
‘Why are you doing this?’ I get up from the bed. ‘I’m finally happy with a guy and you’re telling me to let him go?’
‘That’s not what I’m saying.’ She gets up and stands in front of me. ‘I’m glad he makes you happy. I just want you to be careful. You tend to believe what people tell you, even if they’re just telling you what you want to hear.’
‘So you’re saying I’m stupid.’ I walk to my closet. ‘You know what, Diane? I don’t need your help finding something to wear. Despite how stupid I am, I think I got this.’ I yank a red dress from the closet.
‘Lyndsay, that is not what I said.’ She comes over to me and takes the dress, shoving it back in the closet. She faces me, her hands on her hips. ‘All I’m saying is that this is moving really fast. Maybe you should give it more time before you move to New York.’
I throw my hands up. ‘Would you make up your mind? One minute you’re telling me to date him and the next you’re telling me to stay away from him!’
