“Nash is the best stepfather ever.” I rest my cheek on his chest, grateful that Felicity is asleep in her stroller and not listening in. She probably wouldn’t understand what “stepfather” means anyway, but I don’t want to confuse her.
“It’s easy with a kid like Skeeter,” Nash says, the affection in his voice so sincere it makes my chest ache. “Sweet and funny, just like her mama. A man can’t help but fall in love with either one of them.”
I glance up at him again, my heart skipping a beat. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe he means every word. I’d think that he thinks I’m sweet and funny, and that maybe…
Just maybe…
For a moment, the world and everyone in it, disappears, and it’s just Nash and me, looking deep into each other’s eyes, wondering what’s real and what’s pretend, and if it even really matters when being together feels so right.
At least, that’s what I’m wondering until Rachael says, “Divorced and remarried already, with a baby so young? That must have been so hard on you, Aria.”
Leave it to Wertz to lift her leg and pee all over a beautiful moment.
I smile in the face of her false concern. “I’m back with Nash, where I belong. As long as that’s true, nothing else seems all that hard.”
“Aria and I met when she was fifteen,” Nash says. “We were young, but even back then a part of me knew there’d never be another woman for me. She was the one.” His arm tightens around my waist. “I’m just so glad we found our way back to each other before I settled for something less than the real thing.”
Nash’s drawl is as honeyed as always, but the barb comes through loud and clear. And there’s no doubt Rachael feels the sting.
I swear I actually see steam drifting from her ears as she snatches Lee by the arm and snaps, “Well, you two certainly deserve each other. Don’t you? I swear to God…”
Lee calls out, “Nice meeting you,” over his shoulder as Rachael drags him away, but I don’t wave goodbye.
I’m too busy squeezing Nash’s arm, trying not to laugh.
I wait until we’ve turned Felicity’s stroller around and started back toward the truck before I whisper, “Rachael Wertz? Seriously? What were you thinking, Nash? She’s a snake.”
“I didn’t realize you two knew each other,” he says, chuckling.
“Oh yeah, we know each other. I have no idea what I did to get on her bad side, but she’s had it in for me since elementary school and was willing to sink to whatever depths necessary to cause me pain and suffering.” I shudder. “What did you ever see in that witch?”
“She wasn’t a witch when we started dating,” he says. “I didn’t see that side of her until we’d been living together for a while. Then it took a few weeks to realize the ‘new’ Rachael was the real Rachael and the sweet stuff had been an act.”
“Ugh.” I stick my tongue out. Living with Rachael is the stuff nightmares are made of. “Thank God you got away from her before it was too late. You deserve so much better.”
Nash stops at the corner, waiting for the crosswalk sign to change. I feel his attention on my face and look up, meeting his warm gaze.
“Thank you,” he says in a voice that makes my insides turn to mush all over again. “For saying that. And for putting on such a good show back there.”
I shrug, feeling shy all of a sudden. “There’s no need to thank me. It’s true. You’re a good man. And I truly appreciate everything you’ve done to help me and Felicity. How kind and patient you’ve been and…everything else.”
Nash reaches down, brushing a stray hair from my face with a gentleness that’s almost enough to break a girl’s heart. “Why did we spend so much time hating each other?” he murmurs, making me wonder…
Making me hope…
I swallow hard, my heart waging silent war with my head.
My head insists I should blow him off with a joke or a lie, whatever it takes to protect myself, but my heart…
My heart is of a very different opinion.
Despite my painful history with Nash, despite my disastrous relationship with Liam, my heart wants to believe in love.
It wants to believe in Nash Geary.
Chapter Seventeen
Aria
Pulse racing and my stomach tying itself in knots I summon the courage to tell the truth. “I don’t know. I cared about you. A lot. I’d never felt like that about anyone before. But when we ran into each other in town it seemed like you couldn’t stand the sight of me. So, I figured it was best to pretend I felt the same way.”
Nash frowns as we start across the street, dividing his attention between maneuvering the stroller and my face. “I hadn’t heard from you since the night everything happened, Aria. I assumed you’d decided to see things from your dad’s point of view. And that hurt. A lot.”