Page 88 of Begin Again
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
MY MIND COMMANDS MY feet to move forward, but they don’t obey. I’m stuck in the same loop of what-ifs…each one terrifies me more than the last. I can’t do this. I can’t walk out that door if he isn’t going to remember me. That’s a fate worse than I’ve been living the past year.
Shadow huffs and stomps his foot behind me.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” I say, taking a deep breath. I lift feet that feel like they’re trudging through wet cement.
When I reach the door, my eyes are drawn to the man who has joined Joseph, Jace, and Ben near the truck parked in front of the house. My breath catches in my throat, and my right hand maintains a death grip on the wood frame as I try to contain the sob building in my chest.
It’s him.
It’s really him.
“Nick.” The name comes out in a broken whisper.
As if he can hear me, warm, whiskey-golden eyes look my way. Even from this distance, I can see the wheels of recognition turning. Slowly, moving forward from their stationary position, kicking the dust off, until finally, it all clicks in place. He takes one step forward, then two, then three, until he’s sprinting up the hill.
“Dee,” Nick says. He sweeps me off my feet and into his arms in a soul-crushing hug, so tight it’s sure to leave an imprint on me. I hang on for dear life, never wanting to let go. He pulls away enough to meet my gaze before his mouth covers mine in a bruising kiss. The kiss is all-consuming. I have no choice but to get lost in it.
Lost in him.
Our bodies…Our souls are not strangers. They are familiar in a way I can’t explain, but being in his arms feels right. Feels whole. The yearning I’ve buried deep inside me is now satisfied when every one of my senses is full of him. I will never let this man go again. My heart has craved the beat of his against mine. My body has craved his touch on my skin and the comforting smell of him when he’s near. Everything about this kiss feels like coming home.
He’s finally home.
“You remember me?” I ask when we part, breathless, his forehead against mine.
His eyes meet mine and he smiles, calming the storm behind them. “I could never forget you, Dee.” Nick kisses me again.
“I thought you were gone. I thought I’d never see you again,” I whisper. “I didn’t—”
“You found me, baby.” Nick brings the back of my hand to his lips, then holds my hand to his chest. I can feel the beat of his heart underneath my fingertips. The sensation fills my eyes with fresh tears. He’s here. He’s really in front of me. My fears have been put to rest because he’s standing here, and heremembers. “Elena?” he asks, a bit desperately.
“She’s okay.” I smile at the thought of finally bringing him home to our daughter. “She misses you, but she’s good.” I notice the white bandage on his left hand and a deep purple bruise on the left side of his face fades into the skin beneath his eye. “What happened to your face? And your hand?”
“It’s nothing, Dee. I’m okay,” he says, trying to reassure me. “I promise. I’m better than okay.”
“I guess it’s time to come clean,” I hear Ben say when the others make their way up the hill. His tone holds a hint of humor like he’s about to let the others in on a private joke.
I refuse to take my eyes off Nick, scared if I look away, he might disappear and I’ll wake up to find the whole thing to be a dream.
Jace chuckles. “I have to apologize, Joe. You see, when we arrived this morning, itwasto discuss the sale of your property. However, our true intentions shifted when we saw him leaving with your daughter.”
“You know him?” Joseph asks.
“Sir, I’d like to introduce you to Nick Davis.”
Nick smiles at the sound ofhisname. I do the same when he tugs me into his side, turning to face the others, but still holds my hand to his chest.
There’s a woman with them now, or maybe she was there all along. I didn’t see anything besides him. Her narrowed gaze sweeps across the different members of the group before landing on Nick, but he doesn’t even seem to notice, re-introducing himself to Joseph. Her pale green eyes move to me, and she looks me up and down before her gaze narrows even further.
“And this is my wife, Davina Villa,” Nick says, drawing my attention away from her.
“It’s nice to properly meet you,Nickand Nina,” Joseph says with a smile.
“I have to apologize, Joseph; I came here under false pretenses. You see, I’ve spent the past year thinking my husband was dead. When Jace called me this morning to tell me he’d seen him, I dropped everything and ran.” I smile up at Nick briefly. “But after seeing this place, I’ve fallen in love with it.”
“What a load of bullshit.” The woman scoffs, shaking her head. “Villa? You’re married to aVilla? You’re exactly who I thought you were.”
