“Look, why don’t we give this a go?” I said softly to her. “This is good, isn’t it?”
“But it won’t stay that way,” she said.
“Why not?”
She shrugged but didn’t answer.
“And even if that is true, so what? We’ll have given it a chance, whatever it is.”
“I haven’t felt this for anyone,” I said. “I know I’m not supposed to say that. But I want to be with you.”
“But I’m not smart, I’m not like you!” she said.
“Says who? I think you’re fantastic,” I said.
She looked down and I touched her face.
“I may be good with numbers, but there is a lot I don’t understand. Things you do effortlessly.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Communication,” I said. “You were the one who got Simone back on track with the eating problem. My mom and I, we saw what was happening, but we didn’t know what to do. You did though. Something you said made her change her mind.
Nikki shook her head. “It was all her, she needed someone to show her that she was going too far.”
“How did you do that?”
Nikki shrugged. “I can’t remember. We talked, I think. I told her that I never saw her laugh anymore. We decided to do something fun. I think we went ice skating. It was winter, so cold. We fell down a lot, she even hurt her arm.”
“I remember that!”
“But she turned a corner that night. She promised to eat more, and she did.”
“You see, you know what to do. With Zoë too, I don’t think we ever had a nanny settle in as quickly as you have. You’re a natural.”
“Maybe I could stay, a bit longer?” she said.
“But the cats…” I remembered her allergy.
She bit her lip, and gave me a bit of a naughty look. “I may have exaggerated that situation ever so slightly.”
“You… what? You little minx!” I jumped up and grabbed her, tickling her to punish her and then, unable to resist being so close to her, I kissed her again. Properly.
Chapter 11
Nikki
Something happened when he pinned my arms down like that.
He was pushing me into the sofa, looming over me. I could feel the strength in his arms and knew that I would not be able to fight him. But I did not want to. I didn’t want to resist him any longer. I didn’t want to hold back anymore.
He didn’t do anything but look at me, his eyes dark and calculating as if he was trying to figure out how to use his position to his advantage.
“I’ve got you now,” he said in a hoarse voice.
“Do you, now?” I said as I shifted my weight and brought my knees up. I didn’t want to hurt him but get him off balance. One of my brothers had done wrestling at school and he’d shown me a few moves. He was always trying to trip me up or get me to fall down. It was what its like growing up with brothers.
Will’s eyes widened as he tilted over, losing his grip on me. He fell off the couch and grabbed my arm, pulling me on top of him.