"How did you make it all these years with him hanging around looking like that?" I gestured to the general direction of the room where Nico was, and smiled at her look of confusion.
"Are you asking me how I managed not to fall for Nico all these years?" she whispered, still looking extremely confused.
I nodded.
"Are you kidding me?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No. Seriously, how'd you do it? You need to tell me so I can learn your skills. You can't tell me you don't think he's gorgeous."
She grimaced at the thought and shook her head. "I could never…" she whispered. She pointed in Nico's direction. "That's the same boy who sat on my head and farted." She touched her fingertips to the side of her forehead near her temple. "It literally came out on my head. I felt it right here," she said, shaking her head in a blank, traumatized way. "My brother helped him hold me down. I'll never forgive either of them for that."
Picturing it made me giggle, which I did as quietly as possible. As a girl with two older brothers, I had been gassed upon several times as well.
"When was this?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I think I was about eight or ten." She paused and glanced at the door to make sure Nico wasn't there before continuing. "I can appreciate that he looks good or whatever, but honestly, I've never seen him like that. He really is like my brother."
We heard the sound of more footsteps coming up the stairs—these were accompanied by Ryan talking a mile a minute. I knew Ryan and Cub would come walking around the corner any second.
"Are you still crushing on him?" Charlotte whispered quickly before anyone could hear.
"Me? No." I said.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "I knew it, she whispered, pointing at me as her eyes grew wide. "That's why I called to let you know. Are you gonna be okay? I can make him take one of the couches downstairs if you want."
She spoke quickly, but barely had time to get the words out before Ryan rounded the corner, pulling Cub along behind her.
"I'm good," I said, casually answering Charlotte's question before turning to face Cub. I had grown to love Charlotte's new husband during the time I spent with him in Africa, and it was good to see him again. We both instantly reached out for a hug.
"It's good to see you Mia," he said. "Your hair looks good like that."
"My mom did that," Ryan said.
"Did she?" Cub asked, smiling down at her as if he was really impressed.
She nodded and smiled as she regarded him. "You can see the back if you want," she said, reaching out to touch me as if to cue me to turn around. I did as she instructed, using my hand to gesture to it like a model on a game show.
"Wow!" Cub said. "That looks hard to do. Your mom must be an expert with knots. Is she a sailor?"
Ryan giggled at his question. "No, silly, she's a hair stylist," she said.
"I meant to tell you your hair looked good like that, Mia," We heard Nico (who had obviously overheard us) yell from the living room.
"Thanks," I yelled back.
"Sounds like your mom has fans," Cub said referring to Nico's statement. He smiled as he reached out to rub Ryan's head.
"Yep," Ryan said, nodding. "She has about twenty-seven likes on her website."
"Wow," Cub said. "She must be really popular."
Ryan continued to nod seriously, which made Cub smile.
Chapter 4
Ryan was eager to get out to the beach, so we all promised we'd meet her downstairs in a few minutes. Cub and Charlotte went to their bedroom to put down their luggage and get settled, which left me alone in the bathroom. I hadn't seen Nico pass the doorway on his way downstairs, so I figured he was still upstairs. I hadn't expected everyone to come upstairs when I went up to check out my braid, and my nerves were on edge as a result of their sudden appearance.
I regarded myself in the mirror, wondering if I would feel this nervous had it just been Charlotte and Cub who surprised me. There was no use speculating, and it didn't really matter anyway. I took one last deep, calming breath before heading out.
I realized, as I stepped out of the bathroom, that I had a choice to make. I could make a right, and head downstairs without visiting my spot on the couch, or I could go into the family room and say 'hi' to Nico. (This was assuming he was still up there.) I made the split-second decision to grab my phone from my purse before going downstairs.
Nico was sitting on the couch closest to mine. He was propped on the edge, staring intently down at his phone. My plan was to grab my phone and sneak out without distracting him. I was looking into my bag when I heard him speak from behind me.
"How you doing, sweet Mia?" He said in his deep, borderline raspy voice.
I instinctually glanced at him with a smile before turning to stare in my purse again. "I'm doing well," I said. "How are you, Nico?"
He didn't answer my question until I glanced at him again. It was as if he wanted me to be looking at him before he responded. I glanced behind me, and he sat back on the couch, regarding me with a devastatingly handsome, casual smile. "I'm better now," he said.
It might seem like a cheesy thing for him to say, but the way he delivered it seemed extremely sincere—like he was truly relieved to see me. Either way, it made me smile.
"I'll bet you say that to all the girls," I said, trying not to let myself fall under his spell.
He shook his head as he ran a hand along his jaw and smiled at me. "Actually, I don't," he said. "That's an extremely overused line. I just meant it this time, so that's what came out."
My stomach flipped at the sincerity in his statement.
"And you're not a girl," he continued. He sat back and regarded me with a tilt to his head. "I think you went and became a woman since the last time I saw you."
He stared at me with those bright green eyes that had been devastating me for all these years. He had a few days worth of stubble on his jawline, and I took in his face, thinking he went and became a man since the last time I saw him, too.
"We saw each other last year," I said.
I found my phone, and stashed it into the back pocket of my jeans, straightening my posture and smiling at him in a way that said I was planning to leave.
His eyebrows furrowed. "When'd we last see each other?" he asked.
"Africa," I said.
"You stayed at that other house," he said, as if just remembering.
"I did," I said.
He was sitting on the couch, and I just stood there staring down at him. I knew I should leave, but I couldn't make myself do it. He was just that appealing. He even smelled good; I could smell him from where I was standing. "I heard what you did for the rescue center," I said since I wasn't quite ready to leave. "That was really nice of you."
My mom had told me a few months back that Nico funded a building project at one of Rachel's parents' rescue centers in Kenya. She didn't know all the details, but it was, apparently a huge deal.
"I didn't mean for everybody to hear about that," he said. "You're probably giving me more credit than I deserve."
I stood there and stared at him for the next few seconds, debating whether or not I was going to keep the conversation going. I should just put an end to it. The longer I stood there, the faster my heart raced.
"I'll let you get back to whatever you're doing," I said, smiling and gesturing to his phone.
"I was just texting my mom," he said. "She'd have Myrtle Beach police department over here if I didn't let her know we made a safe trip."
"Do you live with your parents still?" I asked.
"No," he said, smiling in an amused way. "She just loves me and makes me check in with her."
"My mom makes me do the same thing when I go out of town," I said.
He tossed his phone onto the couch beside him and smiled at me. "Where you going in such a hurry?" he asked.
"We were gonna meet Ryan downstairs to go to the beach," I said. "And I was going to make a phone call to my friend who lives he
re in town to let him know I made it."
I added that last part because Nico's face was causing my heart to pound, and I desperately needed a distraction.
"Him, huh?" Nico said.
"What?"
"You said you had to call your friend and let him know you made it."
"Yeah, Travis."
"Are you gently trying to tell me you're spoken for, Mia?" he asked.
"No. I mean, I like Travis, and I'm excited to hang out with him or whatever, but we're not necessarily…" I trailed off.
"You're not what?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter," I said, smiling as if we were both being silly.
"What doesn't matter?"
"My being spoken for or not being spoken for."
"Maybe it matters to me," he said.
Again with the gut-clenching hope that sprang up in me. How did he have the power to affect me this way?
"Then, I guess I'm spoken for," I said, knowing that was the smartest thing to do when my only other option was to fall feet-first in love with him right there on our first day of the trip.
He made a disappointed clicking sound. "My loss," he said, standing up as if he might accompany me downstairs.
"Don't worry," I said, nonchalantly. "I wouldn't give you the time of day even if I weren't spoken for."
Nico flinched like I had hurt his feelings. "Ouch," he said. "You're breaking my heart over here."
I laughed and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. "I think you'll be all right," I said, knowing he was joking around about the whole thing.
"Are you ready to go to the beach?" Charlotte asked, coming out of the bedroom. She stopped and regarded me with a curious expression. "Why didn't you change?"
I looked down at my clothes. "I'm not swimming," I said. "I've already been out there all morning. I was planning on just walking down with you guys."
"Yeah, and she's got to call her boyfriend," Nico said.
"What boyfriend?" Charlotte asked with a perplexed look on her face.
I widened my eyes just a little, silently begging her to play along. "Travis," I said.
Charlotte nodded as if suddenly remembering.
"You got a new beau, Mia?" Cub asked, coming to stand beside Charlotte wearing his swim trunks with a towel slung over his shoulder.
"It's a guy she met a couple of years ago," Charlotte explained so I wouldn't have to. "They're on-again off-again."
"He'll have us all over this weekend if y'all wanna go," I said. I smiled at Cub. "You're gonna freak out when you see his house. He's got every piece of new technology that comes out. His phone's hooked up to his house in ways I'll never be able to understand."
"Probably like Nico's place," Cub said.
I glanced at Nico. "I thought you lived with Logan," I said. I knew he didn't, but I liked pushing his buttons on the subject.
"I do," Nico said confidently, "but I also have a little place of my own that I go to sometimes."
"And you should see it!" Cub said. "He's got his house hooked up to his phone like you were saying."
I glanced at Nico who gave me a challenging lift of the eyebrows. "Better than Trevor's, I'll bet."
"Travis."
"What?" he asked.
"You called him Trevor and his name's Travis."
"Oh," he said, not caring one bit.
"Are you ready?" Charlotte asked, making us all look at her. Her question was directed to Cub, but we all decided to go downstairs.
My dad had just gotten back from picking Evan up at the airport, and everyone was crowded around him. I hadn't seen him in four months, and I quickly crossed the room once I saw that he was here.
"Evan!" I said. I walked into my big brother's arms. "I missed you so much, but why do you burn my nose hairs out?"
Evan was the free-spirit of the family. He had long hair and tattoos, and spent his life on ships hunting down whalers and stopping other international environmental travesties like that. He was a real hero, but he looked like laid-back, surfer, hippie type, and we always gave him a good-natured hard time about it. Basically, all of us liked to joke about how bad he smelled when he first came home, so it was my duty to say he stank even though he really didn't this time.
Within half-a-second of making the statement about him smelling bad, he grabbed the back of my head and tried to stuff it in his armpit. I easily thwarted his efforts since he wasn't trying that hard.
"I smell good," he said defending himself.
Everyone standing around laughed at us for being so silly.
"I'll smell you, Uncle Evan!" Ryan volunteered.
"Ryan, gross!" Cody yelled from the other side of the kitchen.
"I smell good," Evan said, smirking at Ryan as he reached down to pick her up. He rested her on his hip, and she instantly bent down to try to sniff him.
"He smells good," she said, thinking I was serious when I was teasing him.
"Okaaay," I said reluctantly. "I guess he doesn't stink too bad this time."
"We're going out to build a sandcastle," Ryan said, staring at Evan. "Are you coming?"
"Give me a few minutes to put my bags away, and I'll be there."
Evan set Ryan to her feet, and a small group of us went outside to start the construction efforts. The castle we had built the day before was still in fairly good shape, so we just added onto that one, making it even more grand than it already was. Parts of the family came and went while we worked, but there was a steady group of about ten of us working diligently. We laughed and talked as we worked, catching up with each other about things we'd missed since the last time we were together.
Charlotte and Cub had gotten married recently, but it was a spur of the moment thing out in California, so the ones of us who lived in Carolina missed it. They told us all about the wedding, and we gave them a hard time for not inviting us even though we totally understood.
Nico interacted with our family as if he was one of us. I watched him work with Ryan and talk to everyone, and I couldn’t help but think that he had matured in a lot of ways. He was thoughtful and helpful, and he didn't seem at all like someone I'd label as a player. Maybe it was just that I didn't want to believe it. I wanted so badly to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I wanted to sit by him and hold his hand even though I wasn't entirely sure if he could be trusted. Seeing him shirtlessly work on that sandcastle with my family made me feel like I didn't really care whether he could be trusted or not. What was the harm in flirting with him? None. There was no harm in it at all. I knew I had told myself to steer clear of him this week, but as the hours passed, and the afternoon became evening, I had totally re-negotiated all of my harsh judgments on Nico. He was sweet, and sincere, and really seemed like he could be trusted. I made sure to warn myself that it would likely amount to nothing and promised not to get my heart broken.
It was a gorgeous evening, and most of the family ate dinner on the huge deck that extended from the main floor of the house. My dad grilled meat and veggies that we ate up like a pack of hungry wolves.
My Uncle Dave and his family had arrived as well, so everyone was officially accounted for, and the house was absolutely bustling with commotion. Toddlers were playing and running around, and all of us were cracking up as we caught up on our lives over the past year.
It was nearly dark when I decided to go back to the beach. Some of the family was already down there, and others were staying at the house for the rest of the evening. I'd been sitting on the deck for a while, and I felt like taking a walk down the shore before it got completely dark.
"I'm going down to the beach," I said to no one in particular. I stood since I knew I was headed down there, even if it was alone.
"I'll go with you," Nico said.
I expected others to volunteer to come with us as well, but they all sort of just carried on with their conversations. Maybe Nico and I had both been quiet when we announced we were leaving, but no one seemed to notice our departure.
C
hapter 5
The upper two floors of Dee-dee's house had balconies, but the main deck was attached to the first floor. The house was set up on piers, thus so was the deck. There was a long, wooden staircase leading off the deck to the sandy ground below, and Nico and I made our way down it.
I had been wearing sandals, but I kicked them off at the foot of the stairs so that I could walk barefoot on the beach. There was already a small pile of shoes sitting there from other people who had done the same thing.
"Were you planning on swimming?" Nico asked, watching me stash my sandals near the others.
I smiled and shook my head in answer to his question. "I'm just gonna take a walk," I said.
Nico didn't elaborate on what he was doing. I wondered but didn't ask whether he was planning on coming with me on a walk, or if he was going to hang out on the beach with the others who were already there. I had planned on going alone, so I wasn't counting on him coming with me. I wasn't counting on it, but I wanted him to. I didn't say as much.
There were a few people sitting in chairs near the shore, and another small group standing in the water far enough out that their ankles were submerged. I smiled and waved at both groups when they caught sight of us, and Nico did the same.
"I'm gonna head this way," I said, still unsure of what Nico was doing. I glanced at him, and he smiled at me.
"I thought I'd come with you if you don't mind the company," he said.
I shook my head. "I don't."
We walked between the groups that were gathered on the beach. The ones who were standing in the water were far enough away that I didn't think they could hear me, but I spoke to Andy and Willow and their bunch, who were sitting in chairs. I pointed down the shoreline and told them we were going for a walk and would be back in a little while.
"Where are you going?" Ryan yelled, running up from behind us a few seconds later.
I turned and smiled at her as she approached. She had on a swimsuit and her curly, sandy-blonde hair was blowing in the wind.
Back to the Beach (Hunt Family Book 4) Page 3