Page 60 of Meet Me in the Penalty Box

He pulled me along with him and I followed him inside. The lights were dim and light classical music played in the background. The aroma of garlic drifted through the air and I closed my eyes as I inhaled deeply.

“Italian?” I asked him as we walked up to the host who was waiting for us.

Nico nodded. “They have the best food here.”

He gave his name and we were led over to a table for two. We were seated along an ivy-covered wall with a small candle burning between the two of us. It was incomparable to the actual fire that was burning between us. Nico folded his hands on the table and his left dimple was showing as he smiled at me.

“Both of my parents are Italian, so we grew up eating the authentic shit.” He drifted for a moment, like he was caught in a memory. “My mother actually came here from Italy as a kid. She used to make her own pasta and I haven’t tasted anything quite as good since. But this place—they have the closest to hers that I could find.”

I watched him carefully for a moment as his gaze drifted and grew distant before he returned to me. “Do you talk to your father much? You don’t say much about him.”

His face fell but he quickly recovered as he attempted to keep his face neutral. What he couldn’t shield was the pain that washed through his blue irises. “We talk occasionally,” he said with a simplicity that didn’t match his eyes.

Silence settled between us and my heart pounded in my chest. I didn’t want to push the topic if he didn’t want to talk about it. Our server appeared and took our order for drinks and appetizers before disappearing from the table.

“He loved her more than anyone in the world, including G and I.” Nico’s voice was hoarse and he caught me off guard. “When she died, we lost him too. He was still here and present, but he really wasn’t. He was vacant and distant. The day my mother passed away, we lost both of our parents.”

My heart broke for him as I watched the moisture grow in his eyes. There was such a sadness to him, such a vulnerability as he spoke of his father. It was evident he probably hadn’t expressed this to anyone else and it was taking such a toll on him to even entertain the thoughts.

“He follows my hockey career, but he’s never been to any of my games,” he said quietly with his voice thick with emotion. “I don’t think he ever will be without her. Giana and I kind of just knew we had to accept the fact that he was living with a broken soul that would never be repaired. I think the only reason he’s still here is because of us, even though he would much rather be with her wherever that is.”

I reached across the table and took his hands in my own. “I’m so sorry, Nico. For everything that you’ve gone through.”

“It’s okay,” he said as he pushed a sad smile onto his face. “It’s something I’ve accepted and I’m beginning to understand why he would feel the way he does.” He stared at me, his eyes piercing my soul. “I know the love he had for her because I can feel it too. For you, Harper. All for fucking you.”

His words ran through my veins and tangled themselves around my heart. The pads of his thumbs were soft as they stroked the backs of my hands and his eyes were trained on mine.

“Don’t ever leave me, Harper,” he said, his voice barely audible. “I don’t know that I would survive your destruction.”

I stared back at him as I was lost in his stormy eyes. He had already pulled me in deep and there was no way I was ever swimming to the surface again. He thought he wouldn’t survive my destruction, but he had no idea what losing him would do to me.

“Never,” I promised him.

And that scared me more than anything.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

NICO

Harper settled in the passenger seat of my car as we drove down the street of the quaint little town. We stayed at the restaurant talking about our lives until they were getting ready to close. It was late into the night already and Harper yawned as she curled her legs up onto the seat. She turned to look at me with a tired smile touching her lips.

“Thank you for dinner tonight,” she said softly as her eyes glimmered through the darkness of the night. Every streetlamp we passed cast its light across her face. She was absolutely breathtaking and I could spend the rest of my time in this life staring at her.

I smiled back at my girl. “Of course, love.”

Her eyes were still on mine and I was alternating between looking at the road and looking at her. “Don’t tell your sister, but I’m glad she didn’t come. I like my time with you.”

“You can have all of my time, Harper. Every second, every minute, every fucking hour. They all belong to you.”

She sat up a little straighter, the smile still on her lips as she glanced out through the windshield. I watched her face abruptly fall and her eyes widened before she pointed at me. “Oh my god, Nico! Look out!”

I tore my eyes away from her and watched in horror as someone was pulling out from a side road in front of me. My body reacted and it was as if time had slowed down. As I slammed my foot down on the brakes, I jerked the wheel to the left, attempting to veer away from the car. My tires squealed loudly as the brakes locked up and we slid across the road.

We just narrowly missed the car that pulled out, but it didn’t stop us from crashing into the guardrail on the other side of the road. The sound of metal crunching was loud and piercing. Harper yelled out as we bounced off the guardrail. My head jerked with such force. The airbags were blasting out at us and the car finally stopped. Silence settled in the air around us and my mind was jarred from the impact.

My head felt like it was swimming through the thickest sludge and I slowly looked around. All of the airbags were deployed and my body ached from the impact of the accident. Other than that, I couldn’t tell if anything was really wrong with me. I didn’t care anyway. All I wanted was to make sure she was okay.

And my stomach sank when I saw her sitting in her seat with her head hanging.

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