Loving Her Crazy (Crazy Love)

by Kira Archer

  “Oh my God.” She giggled. “I think I’d like to meet your dad.”

  Nash’s smile turned sad again. “He’d like you.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah. He says there’s no better woman in the world than one who knows her own mind and doesn’t bother with the rest of the world when it comes to living by it. He means my mom. But it describes you, too.”

  The lump in Iris’s throat grew larger, and tears burned behind her eyes. She blinked, trying to keep them at bay.

  “What else would you show me?” she asked, knowing nothing of what they were saying would ever happen, but not wanting to dissolve the fantasy just yet.

  He kissed her forehead and then laid his cheek against her hair. “Hmm, I think the orchard next. One of my favorite places as a kid. My brother and I even built a treehouse up in one of the trees. I still go there sometimes when I want a quiet place to sit and think. I’d like to show you that. Though I don’t think we’d do much sitting and thinking.”

  She nuzzled closer to him. “Oh really,” she murmured, knowing where this line of conversation was going and loving it. Even though it made the fact that it would never happen that much worse.

  “I’d love to see you lying back on a blanket, the setting sun lighting up that beautiful body of yours.”

  She shivered with the promise of pleasure and lifted her face to him. His lips met hers, moving over them slowly, sweetly, every brush burning an irreparable hole in her heart that she’d cherish forever. A tear escaped through her tightly squeezed eyes, trailing down her cheek to land on his hand that still cupped her face.

  His thumb caressed her cheek, drying the tears as he kissed her. God, how am I going to let this man go?

  When he sat back he drew her into his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin.

  “Where will you take me when I come visit you?” he asked quietly.

  She released a shaky laugh and continued playing the game.

  “One of my favorite places in North Carolina. The Biltmore Estate. Have you heard of it?”

  Nash shook his head.

  “It’s this gorgeous, insanely extravagant mansion built by the Vanderbilts. It’s just so…unbelievable, I guess. The beauty of the place is surreal. At Christmastime they bring in this massive tree, and the entire mansion is decorated. I could wander around for hours. My favorite part is the grounds. There are gardens and fountains and flowers. It’s so peaceful there, and so incredibly beautiful. Sometimes I imagine what it would have been like if I lived in a place like that. Silly, I know.”

  “Not silly at all.”

  “No?”

  “No,” he murmured, kissing her head again. “Tell me more. What’s your home like, your family?”

  She smiled. “My family. They’re all crazy.”

  Nash laughed and Iris closed her eyes, committing the sound to memory. “Ah, they can’t be that bad,” he said.

  “Don’t get me wrong. I totally love them. But yeah, certifiable, no joke. My mom’s a romance writer. Like those novels you see in the supermarket? Yeah. Well, hers aren’t in the supermarket, but that’s what she does. Do you have any idea what it was like growing up with a mother who writes sex for a living?”

  Nash shook with laughter beside her. “No. Awkward, I’d imagine.”

  “Oh, you have no idea. I mean, sometimes it was great. If I ever had any questions, she certainly answered them. But the depth and detail was sometimes a little too much.”

  He laughed out loud at that one.

  “Plus,” she continued. “When my friends found out what she wrote…”

  “Tortured mercilessly, I’m guessing?”

  She snorted. “Oh yeah. Well, most thought it was pretty cool. But the boys… They tended to think I had some insider knowledge. And was willing to use it.”

  “Ah.” His arms tightened around her. “Guys can be dicks.”

  That startled a laugh out of her. “Yeah. Some of them. Some are surprising,” she said, squeezing his hand.

  He drew in a ragged breath. “You know, I’m sure Montana could use a few good nurses, if you ever wanted to consider moving out my way.”

  She glanced up at him. “Oh yeah? Think I’d fit in out there?”

  “Hmm, let’s see.” He leaned a little to look her up and down. “Well, we’d need to change those awful biker boots for a pair of real boots. Squeeze this luscious backside of yours into a nice tight pair of Wranglers,” he said while his hand wandered down to give the body part in question a good squeeze. “And you need a hat for sure.”

  “Oh, of course,” she said, a smile playing around her lips.

  “But other than that, I think you’d fit in perfectly.” He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to the back.

  She bit her lip and looked down at their entwined fingers. She wished she could believe him. But would she really be okay out there? It sounded wonderful. But isolated. And so far from everything and everyone she knew and loved. What about Lena? And Tyler? But Nash would be there. That was a perk that might just make up for the rest. Then again, she’d only known him one day. She couldn’t uproot her whole life for a guy after one day. That had disaster written all over it.

  So why did the thought of doing just that fill her with happiness and excitement and the thought of going back home to never see him again make her so damn depressed?

  “You know, you’d fit in pretty well in North Carolina, too.”

  “I would, huh?” he asked, his voice amused but with that hint of sadness she knew colored her own.

  “Sure. We’ve got horses and everything.”

  He laughed and hugged her. “Horses and you. What more could a guy ask for?”

  “I hope I rank slightly higher than the horses,” she said.

  “Oh, most definitely,” he murmured against her ear, sending tingles up and down her spine. “No one outranks my Cookie. Even my horses. You’d always be first with me. Always.”

  Those words made all the emotions battering her far too intense. A few more lines like that and she’d follow him home like a little lost puppy.

  She sighed again and draped her legs over his lap. He wrapped an arm around them, drawing her in to him. “Why don’t you close your eyes for minute? We haven’t slept all night. You’ve got to be tired.”

  His words triggered a yawn and she gave in to it, but then shook her head. “I don’t want to sleep. I can sleep later.”

  When you’re gone…

  The words hung unspoken between them, but he seemed to know what she meant.

  “Then we can just sit and talk.”

  She nodded. “Tell me about the treehouse again. What kind of tree is it in?”

  He chuckled and started telling her all about his ranch. She relaxed against him, her eyes growing heavier. The last thing she heard was how his father had surprised him with a big brown suitcase for his fifth birthday…

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be making our descent into Miami in just a few minutes. If you’ll return your seat backs…”

  Iris nearly cried out. How had the plane ride passed so quickly? She wasn’t ready yet. How could she have fallen asleep and wasted what time they had left?

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep,” she said, angry with herself for giving in to her fatigue. Though it had been wonderful to sleep curled in his arms. Another memory to treasure.

  “No apologies necessary. Holding you while you slept was the perfect end to the perfect day.”

  “I don’t want it to end,” she murmured, her voice cracking.

  Nash seemed to agree with her. He hugged her even tighter, leaning his head down to rest against her shoulder. She wrapped her arm around his head and held him there, the tears that had been threatening to spill for the last several hours finally breaching her control. A small sob escaped her tightly clamped lips, and Nash sat up, undoing her seat belt so he could pull her into his lap.

  “Shh, darlin’, shh,” he murmured to he
r.

  She clung to him, trying desperately to rein it in. His thumbs brushed across her cheeks, wiping away her tears, though more spilled out to replace them.

  He cupped her face and drew her to him, kissing her slowly and thoroughly, whispering gentle nonsense to her until the stewardess cleared her throat, looking almost apologetic when she asked Iris to put her seat belt back on as they were landing.

  Iris slid off Nash’s lap and buckled up.

  He took her hand, entwining his fingers through hers as he leaned over to whisper something in her ear again. “Do you think we’ve got time to join the mile high club?”

  The question startled a laugh out of her.

  “That’s better,” he said, touching her smiling lips.

  She puckered up and pressed a quick kiss to his finger and then laid her head on his chest as the plane touched down.

  They took their time gathering Clyde and the Sloane Ranger, letting everyone else deplane before they did. They held hands as long as they could, walking slowly until they reached the spot where they needed to split—she to her connecting flight, he to where his brother would be waiting to pick him up.

  “Well,” she said, turning to him, holding her breath to keep the volcano of emotion in her chest from escaping. “I guess we gave the term layover a whole new meaning, huh?”

  It was a horrible joke, not remotely funny. But he smiled at her, an expression that was somehow loving and tender and exasperated all at once.

  “Thank you. For dragging me around with you and showing me how awesome life can be.” His smile stretched wider and he let go of Clyde so he could take her face in both hands. “My sweet, funny, absolutely crazy girl.”

  He kissed her again, one last time. The moment seemed to last forever, yet was over far too soon. He pulled away, leaving her reeling, shattered, and completely his.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nash knew he should walk away. They’d said good-bye. They’d kissed. God, that kiss. She’d been stealing little pieces of his heart the whole night but with that kiss…with that kiss she’d walked away with the whole thing. Yes, he knew he was being ridiculous. He’d known this woman for one day. Twenty-four hours. The emotions burning through his chest had no business being there for someone whose middle name he didn’t even know.

  But he still couldn’t make himself walk away.

  “I…better go,” she finally said, breaking the silence between them.

  “Wait,” he said.

  She stopped, something in her face conveying both hope and fear.

  “I don’t have your number…so we can call…”

  “Right.”

  She pulled out her phone, got it to the contact page, and handed it to him. He did the same with his. A minute and a half later, they had exchanged phone numbers. That they both knew they’d never use.

  For a second her face crumpled, and then he could see her literally pull herself up, her spine straightening, her face clearing, a smile appearing…though it didn’t reach her eyes. She stuck out her hand, her smile softening into something a little more natural, more real.

  “It was nice meeting you, Nash Wallace.”

  He took her hand, his fingers caressing it. “It was absolutely my pleasure, Iris Clayton.”

  He brought her hand up to his lips, lingering, not letting go even as she began to walk away. He held on until the last second. When they were no longer touching, she gave him a sad smile. And turned away.

  Call her back, call her back.

  But it would serve no purpose. They had different lives. Trying to force them together would be nothing but a disaster. He had more than enough experience with that. Not only did he not want to put himself through that again, the thought of seeing that incredible, wonderful light in her eyes slowly die was more than enough to keep his mouth shut.

  He stood there and watched until he couldn’t see her anymore. She didn’t turn around.

  Well. That was that.

  He grabbed Clyde and headed toward the exit, texting his brother to see where he was waiting.

  Hey, I’m here. Where are you?

  Had to take a leak. On the benches by the bathrooms at the baggage claim.

  K. Be right there.

  Nash switched directions, taking his time to get to the baggage claim area. He needed to get a grip. This week was supposed to be fun. Celebrating his brother’s graduation from college. It was huge. And Chase deserved better than a big bro who was too busy moping over some woman he barely knew.

  He spotted the bathrooms and Chase sitting near them. Some of the ache in his heart lightened at the sight of his little brother. They’d been close most of their lives until Chase had decided to head off to Florida. He’d missed the little shit.

  Chase jumped up when he saw him and rushed over to give him a big hug, clapping him on the back.

  “Hey, you made it!”

  Nash laughed. “Yeah, barely.”

  “What’d you do, just hang out in the airport? No offense man, but you look like shit.”

  Nash clapped his brother on the back. “Thanks a lot. Fly all this way to see you, and that’s what I get.” He flipped a finger at Chase’s shoulder-length hair. “I thought you were getting a haircut for graduation.”

  “Why’d you think that?”

  Nash snorted. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  “You got luggage?”

  “Just Clyde,” he said, nodding down at his suitcase.

  Chase looked at it with a grimace. “I can’t believe you still have that piece of shit.”

  “Hey, watch what you say. Clyde’s sensitive.”

  His brother’s eyes narrowed. “I think you’re going crazy in your old age, bro.”

  Nash froze, hearing the echo of Iris’s laughter in his head. She would have laughed at the Clyde joke. In fact, she was probably the only person he knew who’d laugh at that. Probably because she was just as crazy as he was. Crazy and fucking perfect.

  And he’d let her just walk away.

  “Hey, you okay?” Chase asked, the teasing gone from his face.

  “I think I just did something really stupid.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me. You’ll have to be more specific, though.”

  Nash scowled at him and then dropped to the bench with his head in his hands. Chase sat beside him.

  “Seriously, Nash, what’s going on?”

  Nash sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “I met this girl…”

  Chase snorted. “Yeah, that’ll do it. So what’s the problem? The ladies love you, always have.”

  “Yeah but this time I think I might love her back.”

  Chase’s eyes grew wide. “Well…shit…”

  Nash snorted this time. “Yeah. It gets worse.”

  “Dude, you just said you loved some girl. That’s bad enough.”

  “I just met her yesterday. We were on the same plane. We hung out all night in Chicago until our plane left this morning.”

  Chase’s mouth hung open, and Nash could almost see him warring between cracking a joke and being supportive. “You work quickly, don’t you?”

  Nash snorted. “I know how ridiculous it is.”

  “I don’t know. Dad said he knew Mom was the one the second he saw her smile. Sometimes it just hits you that hard, I guess. Doesn’t mean you know it’ll work out or anything, but that doesn’t mean what you’re feeling isn’t real.”

  “You’re kind of sounding all Dr. Phil right now,” Nash said, his lips pulling into a half smile. “When did you turn into a grown-up?”

  Chase punched him in the shoulder. “I’ve been one for a while. You were just too busy being my big brother to notice.”

  “Yeah. That sounds like me.”

  Chase grinned at him. “So where is she now?”

  Nash’s head dropped again. “On her way to some fucking island somewhere.”

  “Forever?”

  “No, for a week.”

  “Do you have her numbe
r?” Chase asked patiently.

  “Yeah.”

  “So why don’t you just call her when she gets home?”

  Nash sighed. “It’s not that easy.”

  “Why not?” Chase asked frowning. “You like her; I’m assuming she likes you. You have her number. I’m not seeing the problem here.”

  Nash scowled again, his brother’s lack of understanding beginning to get on his nerves. “She lives in North Carolina.”

  “Yeah, I’m still not seeing the problem. Call, Skype… They even have these cool things now called an airplane. You just get on it and fly to wherever you want to go…”

  Nash’s scowl deepened to a glare. “No shit, Sherlock. It’s just not that easy, okay.”

  “Sorry, you’re going to have to explain it to me.”

  “I’ve tried the long-distance thing. It doesn’t work. It’s great for a while, and then one of us will start resenting the other one for refusing to move closer, and neither of us can just pick up and leave. At least I can’t. And she doesn’t want to. She has family she can’t leave. So that leaves us with a permanent long-distance thing which would just end up leading us both to being unhappy. And even if I did get her to move out with me, that would be worse. I like her too much to drag her out to the middle of nowhere just to watch her be miserable. I like myself too much to go through that again.”

  Chase frowned. “Are you talking about what happened with Allison?”

  Nash flinched at his ex’s name, and Chase grimaced.

  “You really need to get over that. She never gave a shit about you. All she wanted was what she could get out of you. She saw a successful ranch and assumed that meant big money, and when she figured out it meant hard work she bailed. That had nothing to do with you. You can’t assume that every relationship you’ll ever have is going to end up the same way.”

  “It’s not just me I’m worried about. Iris is…she’s…amazing. She’s this goofy, spunky, crazy woman who would probably go out of her mind on the ranch.”

  “Whoa. You’ve known this woman what…a day?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So why are you planning the rest of your lives already?”