“Then you do whatever you have to in order to rid yourself of that feeling.”
I smile. And I’m taken aback when Nick stops walking and stares at me. “What? What is it?”
“Nothing.” His long legs catch up.
“Nick, what is it?” I ask impatiently.
“It’s nothing.”
“It was something,” I argue.
“It’s just, that’s the first time you’ve smiled at me in almost twenty years. I wanted to enjoy it.” He tries to move past me, but I snag his arm.
Then beneath the cloudy Juneau sky, I tip my head back and smile up at Nicholas Cain. Not because I’m trying to flirt with him, but because I’ve owed him smiles for any number of reasons and I’ve withheld them.
I didn’t smile at him at Kara and Jennings’s wedding, nor Meadow and Kody’s.
I refused to smile at him when he ran after me to make sure I was okay after the will was read.
I couldn’t smile when he came to both of my parents’ funerals. I was too heartbroken.
But this smile? It’s a smile that belongs to him that’s been inside of me waiting a long time to be shared.
Finally after a few moments, I turn my head away and say, “Come on. I’m parked in the garage.”
I think he might be too stunned, because Nick follows me without a word.
Nicholas
I was never one to hide my emotions. If I believed something needed to be said, I came right out with it. But as Maris drove me back to the Meyers residence, I feel like I’d be a heel to do something like that.
There’s no sound in the car, not even music. Our conversation has become nonexistent. We’re driving the speed limit, if barely a mile over. I’m about to open my mouth to ask if there’s something wrong with her SUV because of the focused way she’s concentrating when I notice how tightly her hands are clenched on the steering wheel. Her knuckles are so tight, they’re practically translucent. I frown and turn my head out the windshield. Does Maris not like to drive? I rack my brain trying to recall if Jed ever mentioned that to me. I want to ask her about it, but not now. Not when she’s so focused on what she’s doing.
But as quickly as the thought enters my mind, the minute we turn off the main road, the intensity evaporates as if it wasn’t there. “Do you need to call Rainey to let her know when you’re arriving?” There’s not a hint of the strain she’s been under the last few miles.
“No, Brad said only to call if I needed a ride.”
Her eyes briefly leave the road. “Mind if I pop in? If she’s home, I need to speak with Rainey about a fundraiser she wants to do at the Brewhouse for the kids’ school.”
Disconcerted because one moment Maris looked like she’d rather be doing anything than driving and the next she’s completely at ease, I stumble. “Sure. Guess not. Don’t see a problem. Not my house.”
“You know, Champ, I’m not entirely sure how those smooth words of yours managed to bag so many women.” The saccharine sweetness in her voice swirls together with the venomous sarcasm.
Ah, familiar territory with Maris. I relax. “Despite what the rags report, there haven’t been that many women.”
“Mere thousands instead of trending towards the millions? You know you have your own hashtag, Nick.”
I chuckle. “Maris, the paparazzi is so deranged, they think I’m sleeping with my assistant, Charmaine.”
“It’s been known to happen.” She turns her vehicle down Rainey and Brad’s street.
“True. Charmaine is a knockout for her age.” I relish the hiss of breath that whistles out between Maris’s teeth before I finish my explanation. “Except Charmaine’s longtime boyfriend, Harold, would likely find some way to take me out despite our age differences. I wonder if he’d run over my foot multiple times with his scooter to even the advantage.”
Her lips twitch. I enjoy as she struggles to prevent the giggle from escaping. “He sounds like a ruthless foe. Even not knowing him, I like his style.”
“You would just flat out like him. Your problem is Charmaine though.”
“Why?”
“First, Charmaine is much more mobile. Second, if she ever caught Harold flirting with you—which is more than likely to happen since he charms everyone he meets—she’d turn into a barracuda.”
Maris parks the car and turns her face fully in my direction. My heart thumps hard in my chest over the devilish sparkle on her face. “And now I know I’d like her as well. Give me an example.”
“The last woman who hit on ‘her Harold’ wound up with a bowl of salsa dumped over her head.” I pause for a moment. “It was the waitress at bingo night. Harold told me they needed to roll over the jackpot prize to the next week in order to break up the ‘humdrum’ Charmaine caused.”
Maris’s body begins to shake. “I have to hear more. I feel like she’s my spirit animal.”
I decide to press my advantage while I can. Reaching over the center console, I touch her hand. “Will you let me see you again while I’m here?”
Every inch of the laughter slowly drains away, and it causes an ache I don’t want to explore. Maris bites her lip. “Is this such a good idea, Nick?”
“Friends eat. Friends share stories about their lives. Besides, I have it on good authority I don’t check my email often enough.”
“Well, we know that’s the truth. Otherwise, the adoption wouldn’t have come as a surprise.”
“I plan on slugging through it.”
“When?”
I open my mouth to reply before I catch the gleam in Maris’s. “Shit. Why do I get the feeling you’re going to make me clean out my email?”
“I’ll make you a deal, Nick. Show me your email box is empty and we’ll discuss it.” Maris opens her door and slides from the vehicle.
Well, I know what I’ll be doing later after I make plans to meet up with Oliver and Reece. Hopping out, I catch up with Maris, who gives a perfunctory knock before entering. And we’re both greeted with chaos.
Rainey is running around after Josh and Sophie yelling, “Pick up your toys or I swear you won’t have electronic time for a week. And stop making that awful racket. You were supposed to grow out of your savage years.”
I lean down to whisper directly into Maris’s ear, “Is this normal behavior? Children deciding to start their own marching band using the clean pots their mother scrubbed?”
Her head tips up, so close our lips are practically touching. “Don’t you remember doing anything like this as a child?”
“Honestly, no. I remember running around the woods outside wherever…” Then I catch myself. I’ve told Jed more than anyone, but I don’t know what he shared about my past with his sister. Anxiously, I try to slow my heart rate while I gauge her reaction.
Maris isn’t reacting to my words. Instead, she’s looking at the Meyers hellions. Frowning thoughtfully, she finally declares, “They’re thawing out.”
“Like what? A frozen chicken breast?”
Maris barks out a laugh before patting me on the arm. She puts her fingers between her lips and lets out a piercing whistle. All movement in the room stills. “Kids, outside. Burn off some of that energy before your mother ties you to the bed for the foreseeable future.”