by Lindsey Hart
“Or your phone,” Chet added helpfully.
Nina didn’t look at him. She was afraid of what would happen if she did. His eyes were far too kind, his handsome face open, all the emotion laying out there on the surface, his heart literally reflected in his eyes. She couldn’t look at him, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to maintain her composure.
“What did you come out here for then? To tell me that I can’t take care of myself? To tell me that I’m going to ruin your life and your family and that I’m the worst best friend this world has ever known because I- because I- felt something?”
Shane actually smiled. He smiled and then he laughed. He laughed until his shoulders shook, even though she failed to see what was funny. Her hackles rose. She was immediately defensive, annoyed as hell that he’d apparently spent a carefree week while she’d been in torment.
“I like your fire, Nina, really. This is the first time I’ve really seen it. Directed at me at least and I must say, it’s a fearsome thing to behold. I know you can take care of yourself. I have little doubt of that, especially now. I came to apologize.”
Nina took a step back. “I’m sorry, what? The Shane I know doesn’t apologize to anyone.”
Shane rolled his eyes. “Well, this Shane does. I am sorry, Nina. I overstepped big time. I risked our friendship because I was angry and I’m sorry. I had no right to tell you how to live your life. I had no right to doubt you at all. You just… took me by surprise and I reacted badly.”
“The understatement of the year,” she muttered. Finally, finally, she let herself look at Chet. God, he was beautiful. Was it possible for someone to grow even more handsome in a week? If it was possible, he was, though he really hadn’t changed anything at all. He was the same was she remembered, glowing eyes, curly hair, strong, sharp, dark features. And he was still there. “You didn’t leave.” She wanted to slap herself after, for taking her biggest fear and slinging it out there, just like that for the entire world to see.
“No. I didn’t leave.” Chet smiled at her softly, those eyes so tender, a promise in their depths that she barely dared to believe. “Turns out that I rethought dragging a dog all over the world. What Charlotte needs is someone stable. And I’m thinking about putting a deposit down on a real cool old building. This brick place that used to be a bank. It would be a great place for a shop plus it’s got two stories above. Just in case you were looking for living accommodations, I’m thinking of becoming a land lord.”
Nina’s eyes swept to Shane’s face. She wasn’t about to take Chet up on that wild offer, as unbelievable as it was, when she’d already pretty much made a promise to Shane. He shrugged while the shadow of a grin played over his lips.
“Might as well take him up on the offer. Then I can have my basement to myself.”
“I gave my notice already,” she blurted. “I’m going to be out on the street soon.”
“Well, you know, it just so happens that until then, I’m also looking for a dog friendly place. Maybe a house with rooms up and down or a three bedroom. Just saying, I’m also looking for a place, if you happen to need somewhere to crash in the interim.”
“You’re both crazy,” Shane grumbled. “Thinking about this after knowing each other for all of a week. I hope you guys know what you’re doing. I seriously hope so because I’m not going to be around to pick up the pieces. Chet, you break her heart and you are dead meat. Nina… well, I- I just want you to be happy. Really, I do. If you think this would be best for you, then I’m in. I miss my best friend. I want her back, even if that means she’s with my brother.”
Shane was right. Everything was moving too fast and maybe they were crazy. Or maybe the rest of world just took too damn long to think everything through. She’d never rushed into anything in her life. She wasn’t an impulsive person. And nothing about Chet’s offer felt rushed or impulsive. She had a feeling it was a no strings attached deal and even if they weren’t going out, they could be adults until they found a place that suited both of them. She knew it would work. Because she’d try like hell every single minute to make sure it turned out that way.
“Then maybe,” she hesitated for just a second. Her eyes met Chet’s and their gazes held. That warm feeling of heat sizzled right through her. “Maybe I am looking for a place. As long as you wouldn’t mind sharing it with a broke college student and a rambunctious yappy puppy.”
“Loud, annoying, fluffy, cute little dogs are my favorite,” Chet said with a grin.
“Clearly,” Shane added dryly, casting a glance at Charlotte.
She stood there, twisting her hands, not fully knowing what to do with herself. Finally, she nodded towards Shane. “I missed you too. I was completely out of focus this week. I’ve never not had you in my life. We’ve been best friends forever. Maybe we should get one of those damn corny necklaces that says so. I actually saw one the other day at a thrift store. One was a poop and the other one was also a poop. But it was rainbow colored.”
“And let me guess, I’d be getting the brown one.”
“Pretty much right on.” She laughed, and did it ever feel good after her week of torture and of doubting herself. “It turns out though, since my incredibly annoying best friend and his far too handsome brother have taken up way too much of my life lately, I’m really behind on my paper and on my studying.” Her gaze locked with Chet’s again. “So, if it’s alright, maybe that painting can wait until next week?”
His smile was the most beautiful thing she’d seen all week. No, his smile was the most beautiful thing she’d seen in her entire lifetime. His laugh flowed through the entire parking lot, melodic and sweet. “Sounds like a date.”
CHAPTER 17
Nina
“I never thought that I’d see the day Shane actually apologized to someone for something. What did you say to him?’
Chet glanced up from his sketch book. She didn’t think her living room was a very appealing place to have him draw her, but he knew she’d be more comfortable there, perched on her couch. He’d actually been the one to suggest it. He still hadn’t painted her, but now that they didn’t have a finite amount of dates set, neither of them were in a rush.
“Nothing. He came around all by himself. I asked him the same thing though when he showed up at my doorstep. I asked him if he’d contacted you.”
Nina grinned. She shifted on the couch, placing more of her weight on her hip. Chet let her pick whatever she wanted to wear. She’d put on a black maxi dress, since it covered everything while still being flattering to her body shape and long enough to hide everything.
“That’s funny. That we both had the same thought. That Shane couldn’t apologize on his own, without some coaching or someone talking sense into him. You’ve only known him a week, really. I’ve known him my entire life. Not sure what that says about him.”
“It says,” Chet’s pencil moved over the pad in little sweeps. “It says that he’s probably got more sense than either of us realize.”
“His emotions run high. I’ve always known that. He’s way more sensitive than he acts. No one would believe me if I told them that beneath all the asshole layers and the macho layers and the pretty boy layers, there is really feeling down there.”
“Then people are missing out. I know he’s a good guy just by the way he defended you.” Nina made a strangled noise at the back of her throat and Chet quickly amended his statement. “Or at least, by the way he tried. He had enough restraint not to kick my ass and he really was just concerned about you. He doesn’t know me from a hole in the ground. It would be a mess if I had come here and treated you badly and just took off. It might have ruined your friendship. You would never be able to look at my brother the same way again.”
“I don’t know about that.” Nina shifted on the couch again.
She stared across the room at Chet, seated on one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs from the kitchen. He didn’t even look like he minded. He was lost in his work. He kept looking at her and then back down at the
sketchbook. Sometimes he’d stare at the page for a few minutes before he started working again, as though trying to figure out just how exactly to bring his drawing to life.
She was almost afraid to look at it. She knew that whatever he drew wasn’t necessarily how he saw her. She’d never actually looked up any of Chet’s artwork or his tattoos. She assumed he was good, but maybe he wasn’t.
Nina reached up and wiped a few beads of sweat off her hairline. The apartment was hot and the nerves about being on the other side of that drawing were definitely getting to her.
“Do you find it hot in here? Does it matter that I’m moving around? Should I stop and stay in one position?”
Chet finished up whatever he was doing and looked up. “No, it doesn’t matter. Truthfully, even if you got up and left the room entirely, I would be able to finish. I would be able to start too.”
“What?”
“Yes… well- I guess I wanted to sketch you like this because- more for my benefit than the actual drawing. Once I met you, there was no way I’d ever forget a single detail.”
She should have guessed as much. “I wish I had something to throw at you.”
“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when your eyes are shooting fire and flames at me?”
“No. No, I don’t think you have.”
“Then I’ll tell you now. You’re incredible. Always. You’ll always be beautiful, no matter what.”
Nina hadn’t seen Chet for a week. He’d left her alone to finish up her exams. By some miracle, she’d done alright. Even the papers she couldn’t focus on eventually came together. She’d had a week’s break, which meant for a week, she hadn’t blushed once. Her respite was over. She couldn’t stop her face from heating and coloring.
Chet didn’t look back down at the sketchbook. He held her gaze. She expected to see a teasing sparkle in his eyes, the curve of a smile that gave him away, but there was nothing, not one hint that he was sort of poking fun at her.
“That’s a crazy thing to say.” She finally squeezed the words out. She gave herself a little mental shake and tried to regain her composure. “I could use a break. Do you want some water or tea or something?”
“It’s a million degrees.”
“It might be, but I could make cold tea. Or there’s juice.”
“Water is good. Thanks.” Chet unfurled his long limbs and stood. The movement was oddly graceful and captivating. He set his sketchbook, open, on the chair.
“Can I see what you’ve done so far?” They’d been sitting there for over an hour. She could see dark marks on the paper but couldn’t actually make out what was there.
“I don’t see why not.” He stepped aside and let Nina advance.
She walked slowly, holding her breath the entire way. When she finally saw what he’d done, just sketched her face on most of the page, she was amazed. “This looks like a photograph.”
Chet shrugged modestly. “I’m not even done yet.”
“That’s crazy! How do you do that!”
“Believe it or not, I can tattoo like that as well. At least people tell me that my portraits are pretty good.”
Chet followed her to the kitchen, where she poured two glasses of water. She dug in one of the top cupboards and produced a box of cookies, the kind with the lemon icing and the little lemon gummy filling on top. She wasn’t sure how old they were, but she tasted one and it was fine, if slightly soft.
“Do you want one?”
“Why not.” Chet dug in the box and took out three. He ate them like he hadn’t eaten anything for a week.
“Help yourself,” Nina laughed. “I don’t even like them very much anyway. You’re actually doing me a favor by eating them.”
“When do you get your puppy?”
“Oh. Right. I was going to tell you about that and then we got talking about everything else and I totally forgot. I can get her whenever I want. They’re holding her until we figure out the apartment.”
“Speaking of that, I found a nice place. The rent is fairly cheap, but you won’t have to worry about that. I can easily afford it.”
“And put a deposit on that building and pay to renovate it? I don’t think so. I work during the summer you know. Or at least, I’m planning on finding something now that school is done for the year. I’ll help out.”
Chet smiled slowly. His dimples stood out and like the first time she’d seen him, she couldn’t help but be entirely charmed. “There are other ways you can contribute. Cooking and cleaning for example.”
“No way. I’m not a housewife.” She blushed after she said it. Even thinking about sharing an apartment with Chet, just for a short while, made her insides squirm.
“Walking the dogs?”
“That’s too easy.”
“Helping with renovations at the shop?”
“That,” she said with a smile. “I could do. Although I will keep the apartment clean. Maybe even cook a meal or two here and there. I just don’t want to feel like it’s a domestic arrangement exactly. I haven’t even told my parents about you. About us, I mean. I don’t know what to say.”
“I haven’t told my mom either. Shane and I are still waiting on that.”
“You don’t think she’d be glad?”
“You know her better than I do.”
“Your mom would be glad. I think she always secretly hoped that I’d one day marry Shane.”
Chet wrinkled his nose. “I’m glad that never happened. I would have been pretty hard pressed to be happy for him then.”
“Would you really?”
“I don’t know.” Chet shrugged. “I’m just glad that it wasn’t the case. I don’t know how someone like you, Nina, someone smart and attractive and talented and witty… how does someone like you stay single?”
“I guess I was waiting for someone like you to come along,” Nina said coyly. She couldn’t keep a straight face and soon their laughter filled up the kitchen.
Chet opened his arms and she stepped into them. They closed around her back, holding her tight against his massive, thick chest. She hadn’t been in those arms in over two weeks. She missed it. She’d missed him. It was crazy, but the day he walked into her life changed her. Maybe she really had been waiting all that time for him. She let him hold her, soaking up the warmth of his body, the scent that was so familiar and intoxicating. It was a long while before she took a step back.
She always thought one day it would happen. She would meet someone, and it would just click and she’d know that she was supposed to be with them. It was a silly, romantic notion, but she believed in it all the same. She never thought it would be Chet or that it would happen when she wasn’t ready for it, but maybe that was when she needed it most, when she could be taken by surprise and wasn’t looking for it, trying to force it to happen.
“And here I am. Whatever this is, Nina, I promise it’s going to be good. I’ll make sure that it’s always good, that you never regret any of this.”
“Good. That’s good, especially if I’m going to be living in the same building. And I’ve completely fallen in love with Charlotte. I don’t want to have to share custody with your dog.”
“Won’t happen. Not on my watch. I’ve known, deep down, that I needed to come back to Houston for a very long time. Seeing you with Shane in that photo all those years ago was just the catalyst. Coming here and meeting you though, it changed everything. It changed me. I don’t want to ever go back to being what I was before. I want a family. I want to be a brother and a son again. I want friends here, a business, a life. Most of all, I want you.”
“People are going to tell us we’re crazy. They’re going to try and talk us into having all these doubts…”
“We won’t let them. They can say we’re crazy all they want. Technically, we’re just roommates right now.”
“Roommates who sleep together?”
Chet grinned. “Who said anything about sleeping together.”
“I did.”
“Well, if you say so… maybe the drawing can wait.”
“Oh, it can wait, alright. I might have missed you, these past two weeks.”
“And I might have missed you.”
“Might? I’ll just have to change that.”
Chet’s hands fell to her waist and he lifted her easily. Nina let out a surprised squeal. Her hands flew to his neck automatically to keep from falling and her legs locked around Chet’s hips.
“Some people say change is bad,” she whispered, breathless, her face inches away from Chet’s. “Not me. So, if you want to change it, go right ahead.”
When Chet claimed her mouth, hot and scorching, with a passion as liquid and molten as she remembered, she just knew it was him. For her, he was the one. Even if it took years to fully develop or to be defined properly or to make people understand, that was okay with her. She didn’t mind spending them with him. He said that he wanted to come back home. She’d never left, but oddly enough, she felt like she’d done the same when she found him. She might have been lost before, or not. She couldn’t say. She just knew that if she was, she was finally home as well.
EPILOGUE
Chet
“Here it is. The morning of your graduation, when all your friends and family come to congratulate you on making it through four long, hard, somewhat useless years of school.”
Nina let out a strangled sigh and tucked the mascara wand back into the tube. She set it down on the corner of the bathroom sink. Turning, she gave him a pointed look.
“I know you don’t believe in the whole education thing, but it really was four long years. Is it really so bad to have everyone come to celebrate with me?”
“Of course not. That’s why we closed the shop. So that I could have this day to celebrate with you. You’ve been working so hard to make me a believer in the education system. Maybe it’s rubbing off a little. Either way, you’re going to make a great teacher.” Chet paused. He loved Nina’s tender smile. He could tell by the way she looked at him that his words meant the world to her. He cleared his throat. “I took a week off so I could whisk you away to some secret romantic spot to congratulate you my own way.”