Page 36 of Until Now

“Your mom doesn’t hate her.”

“No, I don’t think so, but she didn’t know what to do with my sister. Dad was hardly home, she and I weren’t close…it left Nina feeling lonely. I think that’s why she did some of the things she did.” Kai finishes his beer and climbs out of the cart. “Don’t tell her I said anything. My sister tries to play the tough guy… She is tough, tougher than me, but let her tell you when she’s ready. Just be there for her, Mom isn’t making this very easy.”

It’s a lot to take in.

Don’t judge a book by its cover,my brother’s words echo in my mind. Alex has always had the biggest crush on Nina, always told me she was different from the way people portrayed her. I never listened. What did he know? He’d only met her once when she almost ran over him in the parking lot after a football game. Now I’m starting to wonder if maybe he was right.

“Can I ask you to translate something for me?”

“I make no promises it will be totally accurate, but I’ll do my best.”

“Fossette. Nina calls me that sometimes and when I asked her what it meant, she wouldn’t tell me. Just please tell me she isn’t calling me asshole or something in Italian.”

A toothy grin spreads as Kai pulls his club from the bag. “Fossette means dimples.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Nina

Eileen and Kaisit across the fire pit on the patio of the country club. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us,” Eileen shakes her head.

I chickened out — I couldn’t tell her the truth about our relationship, so I broke my promise. I decided I’d rather face the consequences of telling them about Nick’s birthday than answer one million questions about why I hired a boyfriend for the summer. It wasn’t two seconds after I cracked that Eileen picked up her phone to call my brother. At the same time, I called Nick, furiously apologizing. I knew he was going to be upset, I just hoped he would forgive me. Once Kai knew the truth, he told Daddy who told Mother who booked dinner at the country club. “If you didn’t want to tell everyone, you could have at least told us. We would have kept your secret.”

“We see how well that went, don’t we?” I giggle, but I was proud of them, they had kept it simple just like he asked.

“I’m sorry, I don’t usually celebrate my birthday.” Nick’s hand rests on my thigh, my legs draped over his. He’s had a problem keeping his hands to himself tonight, but so have I.

The second he stepped out of the bathroom tonight, it was like a switch flipped inside me. I’d never seen him in anything but T-shirts, jeans, and gym shorts, but tonight… Dark gray dress pants. Fitted white T-shirt. Dark gray blazer. Dress shoes. I fought the urge to cancel dinner, lock the door, and ravage him. “Too much?” he asked.

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth shaking my head. “No, not at all.” I took a step closer, letting my fingers smooth the collar of the blazer. My heels made it easy to look directly into his eyes. There was something new in those honey eyes. He was fighting the same urges I was — his hands balled at his sides afraid to touch me. Because once he did, we’d be having a different kind of feast. “You look very handsome,” I whispered.

“So do you.” He smiled when I laughed, breaking through some of the tension. “You look beautiful, Dee. Really.”

“Happy birthday, Nick,” I said softly and kissed his cheek.

I smile thinking of the memory only hours earlier. His thumb grazes the exposed skin of my thigh, igniting a fire under his touch. I try to contain the shaky breath behind a sip of champagne, but his smirk tells me he heard it. Without looking away from the conversation, his hand subtly inches closer to the hemline of my dress — a cream-colored plunge neck cloak dress, my hair pulled into a bun, a few strands falling to frame my face. My burgundy lipstick leaves a stain in the shape of a half-moon on the champagne glass. I try to focus on the conversation, but it’s hard when all I can think about is his hand and all the places I wish it was touching me right now.

“Happy birthday, Nick!” Daddy says dragging me from my burning thoughts. On our way out of the restaurant, he and Mother were dragged into a conversation with one of the other members of the club. Apparently, they just escaped. Behind them, a waitress holds a cake loaded with sparklers sending flurries into the air.

Nick shrinks back into his seat and a blush creeps into his cheeks. All eyes on him. This is what he didn’t want, a big spectacle, but I know my family and they couldn’t let him get away without some kind of show. As we sing, my fingers weave through the hair at the nape of his neck and he matches my smile. I lean in close to whisper in his ear as the song comes to an end, “Make a wish, Fossette.”

“I already have it.”

§

I walk from the bathroom to the closet so I can change into something more comfortable. Removing my earrings, I see Nick leaning against the bedroom door, arms crossed over his broad chest. He stares at me, a small smile on corner of his lips. “Take a picture, it'll last longer,” I laugh, but his expression doesn’t change. “What?”

“Thank you for tonight.”

“I’m sorry I told your secret.”

“It was worth it. I haven’t celebrated my birthday in years, but I’m happy the first time was with you.”

My heart stops.

He crosses the room and takes my hands in his. “Can I do something?”

“What?”

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