Iris stood up and reached for her nightstick.
“It’s called freedom of speech, Iris,” Beth said snootily. “And if you hadn’t slept through history class every day, you might know a thing or two about it.”
“Oh,” Iris said, “I know all about freedom of speech. Just like I know all about my freedom to kick your ass and deal with the consequences later. But if you ask me, you were looking at us with some crazy eyes, and I thought the only reasonable thing to do was nightstick you in the throat.”
Beth made an appalled face and touched her throat with her fingertips.
“Iris,” I said. “Thank you, but it’s fine. And, Beth, I really don’t give a shit what you think or how you think I got promoted over you. But if you’re really curious, you could start with the fact that you were always too busy flirting with the delivery guy.”
The guy I assumed was her boyfriend looked over at her as she started dragging him away from our table. “What delivery guy?” he asked.
“Kira,” Iris said. “Have some self-respect and get out from under the table.”
Kira popped up with a napkin a second later. “Found it,” she said meekly.
Iris and I shared a grin.
“You okay?” Kira asked.
“Surprisingly, yes,” I said. “I might actually survive if Beth Stevenson doesn’t think I’m perfect.”
“And what about Robbie? Do you really think that was his big plan? Set up Nick and make it look like he was two-timing you?” She blew an unimpressed raspberry. “Like you would’ve fallen for that.”
I smiled a little nervously. “Yeah, totally wouldn’t have worked.” I wasn’t as confident as I made myself sound, though. The truth was I didn’t like the idea of Robbie scheming to split Nick and me up one bit. And after the stunt we pulled last night, I had a sinking feeling that Robbie wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.
I opened the door to Nick’s office after knocking twice. “Mr. King?” I asked with a mischievous grin.
He stood and approached me without saying anything. “You know how I feel about being interrupted,” he growled.
I finally cracked a smile, which he returned. Nick gave me a quick kiss, which turned into several kisses and then a light mauling, which probably would’ve turned into sex in the middle of his office if I hadn’t told him to wait.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I was hoping to pick your brain on something.”
“Is it about the permitting? Because I was actually going to tell you we got that all sorted out last night. There’s a spot about ten minutes out from West Valley with over a hundred acres we can use. It’ll be the perfect site for Bark Bites Resort.”
“Oh, that’s amazing.” I took a seat behind Nick’s desk, just because I liked seeing the hint of danger in his eyes when I stole his spot. He leaned against the bookshelf, crossing his arms in a way that made his rolled-up sleeves and forearms the perfect eye candy. “But that wasn’t what was on my mind.”
He frowned. “What is it?”
“It’s about everything, I guess?”
He pulled a chair out and sat down, eyes growing even heavier. “You’re not going to break up with me, are you?”
I laughed. “No. No. It’s more that I’m still worried. I feel like I should be able to relax and just enjoy where we are, but instead I keep thinking how everything could still go wrong—how Robbie might not be done trying to split us up or how my idea about the dog resort could be the dumbest thing ever. Or how maybe I’ll regret letting Max trash my reputation.”
“Hey,” Nick said. He came to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, putting his head by my ear. “The only thing that could split us up is us. And I don’t know if you know this yet, but I would give every last thing I have to stay with you. I haven’t felt good like this ever. I feel complete when I’m with you. Happy. It’s—” He stood up straight and walked in a small path around the desk, arms folded and eyes searching the floor for the right words. “It’s like I was spending my whole life trying to solve more-and-more-complicated problems because I was hung up on what happened between us. It was the original puzzle.” He spread his hands like he was reading off a billboard. “Why didn’t we end up together?”
“Because I was too chicken to sign my name on a silly little poem?”
He chuckled. “No. More like I was too afraid of the real answer. So afraid I looked for answers in every place but the one I should’ve been focused on. Us.”
“And what was the real answer?”
“That you were the one challenge I was too scared to take on. Maybe I just wanted to get enough practice before I decided to tackle it—or you,” he added with that boyish smirk of his.
I stood up and turned to look him in the eyes. I chewed my lip as I idly ran my hands over his tie. “You know you never had anything to be afraid of with me, unless the idea of somebody falling hopelessly for you is a spooky concept.”
“Very spooky,” he said, studying my lips from beneath those long lashes of his. “Because you do things to me I didn’t think were possible. I don’t wake up restless and angry, just waiting for something complex to bash my head against. Now I just want you.”
“How do you want me?” I teased.
“Vertical. Horizontal. In a boat or in a moat.”
“Hmm. I think the moat gets my vote for least desirable.”
Nick’s eyebrows were pulled together as his eyes roamed my face. He put his thumb to my eyebrow and moved it softly as he spoke. “You want spooky? I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Love. Suddenly I thought my knees might actually be made of melted butter, because it felt like I was going to collapse. It was the word that had floated around in my own head and made me feel silly. I’d said it with boyfriends before. Love you too. It was casual, almost. Like a little obligatory catchphrase to signify a relationship had gone from infancy to adulthood. But Nick made me realize how empty those words had been.
“I feel it too,” I said so quietly I wasn’t sure he could hear me. “Maybe that’s what has me so scared. I thought my heart was broken seven years ago, but what happens when I feel like this?”
“What happens is we fight for it. Nobody comes between it, because we can’t live without it. So this shit with Robbie is meaningless. He can try whatever he wants, but it’s not going to matter.”
I nodded. “You know, if this is how snails feel, I think I can finally understand why they spend their whole lives just gooping along at two inches an hour in search of it.”
He chuckled. “Did you really just turn this into a snail conversation again?”
“Maybe,” I said. “You have to admit there are some parallels to be drawn.”
Nick walked over to me and kissed me so tenderly that I thought I might just turn into warm, runny liquid and slide out of the chair. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
Chapter 28
NICK
My brothers and I were in the middle of our annual fishing trip. It had been a tradition since we were kids, and even the rinky-dink boat with a single engine and rust spots was part of the ritual.