Chapter 17
Nico was folding his clothes on top of the dryer in the basement when he heard footsteps above his head. Julia, awake and moving around.
His fingers closed around the shirt he’d just folded, then he smoothed out the creases his hands had caused. He took a deep, steadying breath, then climbed the stairs.
How would Julia feel about last night? Would she be embarrassed? Or would she assume that crawling into the same bed every night was their new normal?
Nico’s steps slowed as he reached the top of the stairs. Julia had stopped walking, as well. When he stepped into the kitchen, Julia stood at the stove in her pajamas, her back to him. She fiddled with her kettle, then turned on the burner.
She slid a couple dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Straightened two canisters on the counter that looked perfectly aligned. Finally, her chest expanded with a deep breath, and she turned to face him.
“Hey, Nico,” she said, her smile strained. “You sleep okay last night?” Then, apparently realizing how her question must sound, she spun around to face the counter again. Two splashes of red stained her face.
She opened a cabinet and took down a mug, then opened another and reached for the tin of coffee. As she tried to pry off the lid, her hands shook.
“Want me to do that?” he asked.
“I’ve got it,” she said, and the lid popped off with a tiny squeak. Keeping her back to him, she fussed with measuring the coffee into her French press. Fussed with getting it exactly even in the bottom of the press.
“Coffee?” she asked, her back still turned.
“I’ll get it,” he said, moving to stand beside her at the counter. The heat from her body burned into him, and he wanted to move closer. Wrap his arms around her and kiss her good morning.
But he stayed where he was.
“You okay with last night?” he asked quietly.
That finally got her to face him. Frowning, she asked, “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m pretty sure we both had a good time.”
Memories of way she’d tasted, the sounds she’d made when she came roared through him, and he shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “You were scared. Shocked. I feel like I took advantage of you,” he said, his voice stiff. Tight.
“You took advantage of me?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Did we fall into a time machine during the night and wake up in the 1950’s?”
Nico shoved his hand through his hair and knew it was sticking straight up. “I didn’t mean it that way, Julia. On top of being upset about what happened at Madeline’s, you were terrified about that guy waiting for us in the back yard. You were vulnerable. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
“I don’t recall telling you to stop,” she shot back. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I asked for more. I thought I made clear I was a very willing participant. So don’t blame yourself. If anything, blame me. I didn’t push you away.”
“I’m the trained professional here, Julia.” His voice was sharper than it should have been, but she was beginning to piss him off. “I’m supposed to be protecting you. And that means not getting involved with you, either emotionally or physically.”
God.After almost seeing him shot by the guy in the back yard, after watching Nico shoot him, he’d known she was shaken. On edge. Their coming together against the wall was explosive. Elemental. But he shouldn’t have gotten into her bed afterward. Shouldn’t have spent the night making love with her.
He was horrified by his unprofessional behavior.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “So you don’t get involved with your clients. Is that what you’re saying?”
“No. I don’t. I’ve protected a lot of people, both before I started working for Mel and Devlin and since they hired me, and I’ve never done anything like that.” He sighed and shoved his fingers through his hair again. “I didn’t feel a connection to any of them. It was easy to keep my distance. Keep it professional. But you? Never been able to keep my distance from you, Jules.”
She slumped against the counter and blew out a breath. Her shoulders relaxed as if her anger flowed out of her. “It’s the same with me, Nico,” she said quietly. “I felt a connection with you from the beginning. It only got stronger as I got to know you. I’m not sorry we made love last night. But I understand it’s a problem for you. I’m not going to tell your bosses. Or Spence. Or any of my friends. I don’t want you to get into trouble.” She sighed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t stronger last night.”
Nico reached out slowly and took her cold hand. Wrapped his fingers around hers. “I wouldn’t trade last night for anything,” he said. “But I shouldn’t have gotten into that bed with you. We got lucky. Nothing bad happened while I wasn’t paying attention. No one tried to break into your house. No one was prowling around outside. But it can’t happen again.”
“I know,” she said as she tugged her hand away and turned to deal with her whistling tea kettle. Carefully pouring the boiling water into the French press, she set the kettle back on the stove and drew a deep breath. “I’ll keep it professional between us, Nico. It’s not what I want, and I’m pretty sure, deep down, it’s not what you want, either. But I know it has to be that way.” She forced a smile, but her mouth trembled. “Okay?”
“Yeah, Jules. That’s okay.” He bent closer and brushed a kiss across her cheek. Inhaled her scent once again. He knew he’d made a mistake, but he still wanted her. “Maybe, after this is over…”
But she shook her head. Held up her hand. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Nico. We both know you’re heading back to Montana after your job here is done. We’ll behave ourselves while you’re here. We’ll figure out if there’s more going on than three employees stealing from me. If there is, we’ll deal with it. And then we’ll say goodbye.”
His heart ached at the thought, but he knew she was right. He had to focus on his job. Protect Jules from the threat. “You’re right. And that’s what we’re going to do today. We need to figure out who Carole’s boyfriend is. How he might be connected with what’s happening at Madeline’s. But today, we need to focus on your past. On the accident that killed your family.