Alone in the house, she had finally allowed herself to admit the truth.
She had feelings for Sam.
Feelings that went deeper than simply friendships. Feelings that she really wanted to allow to grow but kept a lid on because she was too scared.
How could she stay here?
Sam didn’t want her here. He blamed her for what had happened, of course he did. She couldn’t hold that against him, it was true. So she had tried to flee. Only Nick had found her, and physically prevented her from leaving.
“Naomi?”
“I have nowhere to go,” she reminded him. “My house was destroyed, along with almost all of my stuff.” It was the stuff that hurt more than the house. She loved her home, but it could be rebuilt, however some of the things the fire had taken from her she could never ever get back.
“That wasn't going to stop you last time.”
“I can't stay here, Nick,” she begged. “Sam doesn’t want me here. Can't we go to a hotel? Please. I mean you're my new bodyguard, right?”
“For now,” he acknowledged.
It hurt that Sam had left her. Hurt but didn’t surprise. “So we don’t really have to stay here.”
“I guess I could take you home.”
“No,” she snapped immediately. “We can’t go to your house. I don’t want to be anywhere near my sisters right now.” Something suddenly occurred to her. “Wait, Aggie’s not alone is she? I mean, you're here, and if she’s by herself then she’s an easy …”
“Naomi, stop, stop.” Nick crouched beside her and took her hands. “Aggie is fine. She’s safe. She’s with Clara at her house, Jonathon has someone watching over them. She’s fine. I know it’s hard but try not to worry. Right now, I’m more concerned about you than anything else.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” she blurted out automatically, and mentally willed herself to calm down. She didn’t want anyone worrying over her.
“Well too late because I am.”
The kindness in his face rocked her a little. She hadn’t liked Nickolas Sleigh when she first met him six months ago, but since then he’d started to grow on her. She had come to understand him, and as such to like him. He was good to and good for Aggie, and that was what was most important.
“I want you to eat something.” He gave her hands a squeeze and then stood and went to the refrigerator. He returned a moment later with an assortment of fruits. “Once you’ve eaten you go get some sleep, then in the morning we’ll talk about moving you someplace else.”
Just the look of the food had her stomach turning cartwheels. She wasn't being deliberately contrite about eating, she knew her body needed fuel, but she just couldn’t eat right now. “Can’t we just leave now?”
“I don’t want to move you now …”
The reins holding back her anger snapped, she was tired of being treated like an object, she was injured, not some helpless child that needed to be taken care of. “Stop talking about me like I’m just some thing,” she exploded. “I want to go. Now. I can't stay here in this house for another second.”
Unfazed by her outburst, Nick’s voice remained calm when he spoke, “Naomi, you don’t think Sam blames you for what happened, do you?”
Of course she did, and of course he did.
“He was upset when he left here, he’d just found out his nephew was murdered, but that doesn’t mean he thinks it’s your fault,” Nick said sternly.
If that was true, if Sam didn’t blame her, then he would have said something before he stormed out of here. But he hadn’t said anything. He hadn’t even been able to look at her. He had fled without a backward glance.
“I know he hurt you when he just left, but you know that it wasn't intentional. Naomi, you know that you are …” he broke off as his phone began to ring.
Her eyes moved automatically to the phone on the table, and she froze when she saw Sam’s name on the screen. A wave of cold rushed through her like someone had filled her veins with ice, and she started to shake.
Nick was watching her carefully as he answered his phone. She could hear his voice bumbling but she couldn’t make out any of the words. The cold was making her numb. She felt so stupid. She had refused to allow Sam into her heart, and now she was too late. Now he hated her.
As soon as this was fixed, when her stalker was caught and in prison, she would look for a new job. She had lost her home, and her job, maybe it was time for a fresh start. There wasn't really anything holding her here anymore. Both her sisters were moving on with their lives. Clara would be married in just a few days, Nick and Aggie were already serious about each other, marriage was in their future too. With husbands, and then families of their own, they would all drift apart.
Moving someplace new could be exactly what she needed. As long as she remained here, she remained trapped in the past. She was never going to be able to fully escape that past, her stalker was proof of that. But somewhere different with no history, with a clean slate, could change everything.