From the beginning he’d emphasised his determination that this wouldn’t be anything other than fun and light. Her stomach looped, her mind ran, because it was no longer light, and though it was fun, they’d gone through a trauma together, too. She’d opened herself up to him, and vice versa. Hadn’t he said as much when they’d eaten dinner at the restaurant in the caves? He told her things he never told another soul.
It was so complicated. She shook her head a little, her eyes trained on the ocean without seeing. It wasn’t complicated at all though. She loved him, and she knew she always would.
Nico reached for her side of the bed, reaching for Maddie, wanting her but not just in a sexual way. He wanted to hold her, to draw her body close to his, to bury his face in her hair, to kiss her until she was breathless and laughing.
Something pulled at his gut. Disappointment. That she was gone now, but more importantly, that she was leaving that afternoon.
He’d become so used to her. He liked spending time with her. She was easy and she was fascinating and she was addictive. When he’d first propositioned her with this summer fling, he hadn’t had any doubts about it. What could go wrong? They got on well, they were completely compatible, and he’d never once wanted more from a woman than a few nights.
So why was he fantasising about the idea of more, now? Why was he pushing out of bed and dragging jeans on, intent on finding her before he could even work out what he wanted to say?
Because she drove him wild, and in a way he completely welcomed.
Fall was coming. Life would have to go back to normal. But not just yet, surely? She was still sporting a bruise on her cheek. Her emotional injuries, though not visible, would still be just as apparent.
What he needed was a reprieve. A temporary reprieve to keep her in his life, just a little longer. Until he was ready – until they both were – to do what they’d agreed to right from the beginning.
Maddie was so engrossed in her own thoughts she didn’t hear him enter at first. Nico was almost behind her when she shifted, lifting her face to his. His hair was tousled, he wore no shirt. Just a pair of low slung jeans that showed the muscles of his torso and the bones of his hips so her mouth went dry for a whole other reason now. Dark hair arrowed towards his pants.
“It’s early.” He smiled. Was she imagining the way it didn’t reach his eyes? Was he feeling this too?
“I was up.” She turned back to the cou
nter, opening the milk and pouring a glug into the tea. “Do you want a coffee?”
“I’ll make it.”
He moved behind her, reaching for a cup, placing it in the machine, and all the while she observed him surreptitiously, as though she could store up enough sightings of him to somehow get her through this.
“How did you sleep?” His voice was deep and sexy, coated in the desire that was so much a part of them.
“Yeah, fine.” It was a lie. All night she’d been conscious of the meaning of this day.
“Did you?”
She sipped her tea rather than answer.
“I’ve been thinking.” The coffee machine came to life, making a low noise in the background. “What if you don’t leave today?”
Everything inside Maddie froze to a halt. The world stopped spinning. The rain fell, but silently. There was nothing, just a void and her and Nico standing at its centre.
She stared at him, saw the way his face was held, waiting for her response. Waiting, and yet she found she couldn’t speak. It was everything she wanted. Everything she’d been silently hoping for, thinking about, wishing could happen.
Her smile was radiant and he returned it.
He expelled a soft breath. A sigh of relief? “I don’t have to go to the States yet. I could push it back by a week or so. What do you say?”
The world began to turn once more with an almost deafening screech. Or was that her blood rushing through her body? Her smile dropped, her heart felt like it had a stitch right in its centre.
“Do you mean you want me to stay for another week?”
He lifted his shoulders. “Yeah. Why not?”
There was something in his manner, something so casual and relaxed, that it sparked anger within her. Anger! At Nico! She couldn’t believe she could feel that towards him and yet she did. It burned through her, accelerated by the sheer tonnage of her disappointment.
“A week.”
He put a hand down and Dante loped towards him, nuzzling his fingers with the tip of his nose. “What do you say, boy? Do you think Maddie should stay here a little bit longer?”