“I’ll be damned.” He couldn’t do much more than watch in fascination. Mr. Lombardi, the grumpy, picky old codger who’d sent more than a few of Nic’s waitresses storming away in tears, looked up at her and smiled. Smiled!
On her way to the drink station, Beth glanced at him and raised her brows. “Did you say something, boss?”
He tipped his head in Anna’s direction. “When the hell did that happen?”
Beth set the empty glass she carried beneath a spout and pushed the button to fill it, then leaned sideways, following his gaze. She laughed quietly.
“It’s something, isn’t it? That man still glares at me every time I see him, but her he smiles at. Best employee you’ve ever hired.” Beth winked at him, picked up her drink, and strode off into the dining room.
Anna patted Mr. Lombardi’s shoulder and moved in Nic’s direction. He followed her trek, unable to take his gaze off her. God, she was beautiful with her shoulders back and her head held high, her strides long and self-confident, and a bright smile on her face. Not at all the frightened woman who’d come in here that first night.
That friendly smile melted from her face as she approached the register, check in hand. Her back stiffened as she came to a stop beside him. “Nic.”
She turned to face the dining room and clasped her hands together in front of her, distinctly not looking at him. His heart sank into his toes as he took the check from her and rang it up.
“Nice job, Anna. Mr. Lombardi’s a tough customer. He’s been coming here for longer than I can remember, and Nonna is the only other person I’ve ever seen him smile at.” He held the card and receipt out to her.
“Told you I could do this job.” As she accepted the receipt, she finally graced him with a glance. She looked him right in the eye for a beat then walked off.
As she approached the table again, tossing Mr. Lombardi another of those sweet, friendly smiles, regret tightened in Nic’s chest. He’d wanted to put distance between them and had accomplished it in spades, when the truth was he missed her. Missed every little thing. The clean scent of her shampoo after her shower in the morning. Making dinner together. Hell, he missed sleeping wrapped around her soft, lithe curves.
Most of all? He missed those shy little smiles she’d toss his way, the glances filled with longing across the dining room. He’d hurt her, offended her, to the point she wouldn’t even smile at him. Such a simple thing, a smile, often taken for granted, but he’d give anything for one.
He was a fool, that’s what he was, for ever letting her go. For pushing her out of his life. He’d wanted to play the safe card and all he’d done was set himself right back in the same old pattern. Safe but achingly lonely.
The question was, what did he want to do about it now?
• • •
Anna sank onto the plush blue sofa with an exhausted sigh. It was after eleven. Only the sound of popcorn popping drifting from the apartment’s tiny kitchen and the low hum of the television filled the otherwise silence of the night. She and Beth had agreed on a late-night movie, but Anna paid only half attention to the opening credits flashing across the screen.
The day had been long and exhaustion weighted her, but she was too keyed up for sleep to come. Two weeks had passed since she’d moved out of Nic’s house. Nights like this she missed him the most. He’d have gotten up with her, and they’d have shared a cup of tea while talking at the kitchen table. It didn’t help that she had to see him every day at the restaurant. The longing-filled glances across the room were killing her.
Beth sauntered into the room, bowl of popcorn in one hand and two glasses of white wine in the other. She wiggled her brows as she took a seat on the sofa and held the glasses out in silent invitation. “See, this is exactly what we need. A girl’s night. Sexy movie heroes we can turn off at the end of the night, a glass of Chardonnay, and we can do it all in our jammies.”
Anna smiled as she took one of the glasses. “Have I told you recently how grateful I am you let us move in with you?”
Beth took a sip of her wine and shook her head. “Oh, honey, you’re doing me a favor. My roommate up and left a month ago. Thought I’d have to give this place up and get something smaller. I love this apartment. Who else can say they live on the beach overlooking Penn Cove and not pay a small fortune for it?”
Beth set the popcorn bowl on the sofa between them and plucked out a piece between her index finger and thumb. She was silent for a moment before lifting her head, her gaze filled with soft concern and curiosity.
“May I ask what happened with you and Nic? You guys seemed pretty cozy there for a while. Now suddenly you’ve moved out. Trouble in paradise?”
Anna sank back into the sofa cushions with a sigh. “Were we that obvious?”
“Yes and no. We’re a small town. People notice things.” Beth popped a couple of bites into her mouth and paused to chew before shrugging. “There’s been a lot of tension between you two lately. You haven’t been the same since the afternoon you left the dining room in tears. What happened?”
Anna turned to the movie playing on the flat screen, a romantic comedy of all things. She wanted to unload, to share. Over the years, Tony had slowly isolated her friends. Simply having another woman to talk to provided a lure she couldn’t resist. But should she? The story wasn’t all hers.
She took a sip of wine before answering. “There’s really nothing to tell. Things got a little too close for comfort, and he decided me staying with him wasn’t in anybody’s best interest.”
“Ah.” Beth nodded and turned to the television. “Far be it from me to give you dating advice, but for what it’s worth? He hasn’t been the same since his wife left. He works. Too much. After Luc married Liz, he started taking more time off, but Nic? He buries. If he let you in at all, that’s something.”
Anna wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted to be angry with Nic, but he didn’t have it in him to be cruel. Beth hadn’t told her anything she hadn’t deduced for herself. Truth was, Anna was every bit as terrified as Nic was. They’d gotten caught up in a moment’s passion, but where would it lead them?
Which was exactly what made working with and for him so difficult. Every time she looked at him, whether from across the dining room or in his office at the end of a shift, the longing hit her full force. The same emotion often flitted through his gaze, making her chest ache all the more.
When she didn’t say anything, Beth laid a hand on her arm. “I don’t mean to pry. I just like you. You’re the first real friend I’ve made since I moved into town, and you seem so miserable lately. I only wanted to help.”
Anna smiled, touched by Beth’s candidness, and squeezed her hand. “Me too. My first real friend, I mean. Thank you. I appreciate the concern.”
Then and there, the decision made itself. With the exception of Nic and Luc, everybody in town knew her as Sarah. Beth had become a friend, one who’d taken her and Lacey in at the last minute. She deserved to know the truth, and it would be nice to let someone else into her sphere. She needed to take another aspect of her life back from Tony.
Anna’s heart hammered in her throat. “My name’s not really Sarah. I mean, it is, legally, but it’s not who I was born as. My name is Anna.”
What she expected from her new roommate and friend, she didn’t know, but Beth set the popcorn bowl on the table, scooted closer, and wrapped Anna in a tight hug.
“That’s brave of you to admit. Thank you.” Beth leaned back and took Anna’s hands but looked down at her lap for a moment. “We’ve all got our secrets, our reasons for hiding.”
She squeezed Beth’s fingers and spilled the whole ugly truth. She’d told it once before, to Nic, but retelling it still filled her chest with a wonderful sense of freedom.
When she finished, Beth enveloped her in another tight hug. “Thank you for trusting me. You’re not alone, I promise. I’ve been where you are, and it is possible to leave that life behind. Fight for it, sweetie. You deserve it.”
<
br /> Tears flooded her eyes. She had no idea how to tell Beth what her words meant, to express her gratitude. So, she hugged her tightly in return. “Thank you.”
The doorbell sounded through the apartment. Beth pulled back, offering a watery smile.
“I’ll get it.” Beth pushed off the couch, strode to the door, and pulled it open.
Nic leaned against the frame, his large body filling the doorway. He wore a gray T-shirt with the restaurant logo on the front and a pair of faded jeans that hugged all the right places, showcasing those endless legs and muscular thighs. Anna’s heart leapt into her throat.
Beth folded her arms, her voice friendly but aloof. “Hey, Nic. Kind of late to be out.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I won’t stay long. I came to talk to Anna.” Nic straightened off the doorframe, peering at Anna over Beth’s head. Uncertainty screamed from the depths of his eyes.
Beth arched a brow in silent question. When Anna nodded, she turned from the door, leaving it and Nic behind her.
“I’m tired anyway.” She winked at Anna as she passed through the living room. “We can finish watching this tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Beth.”
Nic closed the door but didn’t move from his spot, and the room filled with unbearable silence as Beth’s footsteps faded down the hallway. When her bedroom door closed with a quiet click, Nic moved closer. He stopped in front of Anna and held out his hands, palms up. “May I have your hands, please?”
Anna folded her hands in her lap and arched a brow instead. “For?”
He wiggled his fingers, insistent. “Just give them to me.”
She hesitated. She ought to refuse, but set her palms on his anyway. Nic pulled her onto her feet, tugging her so close her belly touched his, her breasts grazing his chest. Her nipples tightened, and a wave of longing swept through her.
Nic didn’t release her or step back, and Anna’s heart skipped a beat. The heat and intensity in his eyes made her insides tremble. “What are you doing, Nic?”
His fingers tightened around hers. His thumb stroked along her right wrist, the touch tender and enticing. “Promise you won’t hit me.”
Her breathing hitched. Anna straightened her shoulders in a vain attempt not to melt on the spot. “Why on earth would I hit you?”
One corner of his mouth quirked upward. “’Cause I’m about to do something that should probably get me slapped.” When she didn’t respond, Nic playfully narrowed his eyes. “Promise.”
Anna rolled her eyes to cover the flutter in her stomach. Right then, Nic was sexy as all get out. Confident and playful. Capable of melting the knees of the coldest woman on the planet. She sighed. “Fine. I promise. Now what—”
Nic covered her mouth with his, silencing the rest of her question. His kiss was every bit the man—tender and sweet and slow. His lips moved over hers, hot, wet and heady, stroking, tasting, never pushing, but coaxing her to respond.
When she couldn’t do anything more than remember to breathe, he drew her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked gently. A fresh wave of goose bumps skittered over her skin. Then his tongue stroked along the seam of her lips, and her mouth fell open of its own accord. A soft sigh slipped from her. She leaned into him, into the press of his mouth against hers.
Nic groaned low in his throat and released her hands, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her closer. His tongue swept inside, flicking against hers, a slow, sensual slide. He lit a flame within her, and it spread like a wildfire over her skin. She couldn’t remember needing someone as much as she did him right then. His big, solid body wrapped around hers made her forget whether or not she remembered to breathe, and every inch of her liquefied.
He seemed as lost as her. His body trembled against her, and the hard press of his erection against the softness of her belly coiled languid desire through her.
When she gave in, winding her arms around his waist and blatantly offering herself up to him, Nic released her, but the heat in his eyes didn’t subside.
Shaking from head to toe, she could only hold on to him. Whatever anger and hurt she’d felt these last two weeks deserted her as her traitorous body followed his, leaning into him.
Nic stroked her back, pulling her tighter against him, until there wasn’t so much as a hair between them. “I don’t know how to do this. I really don’t.”
She looked down at his chest. “So you were shoving me out of your life.”
He released a heavy breath, his thumb sweeping her cheek. “Yeah. I wanted to put you back in the only safe box I knew. You were an employee and a tenant, and I wanted to ignore what you made me feel and put it all away.”
She arched a brow. He seemed on the verge of something, but damned if she’d make it easy on him. “Then why are you here?”
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t sleep at night because I stay up wondering how you’re sleeping. Hell, I miss having you in bed beside me.” He released his hold on her only to slide his hands into the hair at the nape of her neck. He pressed a series of small, soft sips to her lips, making her melt into him all over again. “Come over for dinner. Just you and me. I’ll cook and clean up.”
She pulled back enough to see his face and because she couldn’t think clearly with his mouth attached to hers. “Because you’re hoping to pick up where we left off?”
Nic stared at her for a moment, then narrowed his eyes again. “All right, you want the truth?”
She straightened her spine. “Please.”
“I want to bury myself so damn deep inside of you that you become a part of me. I want to make up for every pain he’s ever caused you, and bring you more pleasure than you’ve ever had, and by God, Anna … ” His fingers curled in her hair, anchoring her to him. “I want to watch your face when you tip over the edge with me.”
A tremor raked through her. The fire in her belly flashed hot, racing along the surface of her skin and devastating everything in its path. She drew a shuddering breath but couldn’t make her tongue work. Nobody had ever spoken to her like this. His words, coupled with the hunger in his eyes, were almost more addicting than his kisses. Almost.
“Remember, you asked.” Nic chuckled and nipped at her bottom lip. “I also want to fall asleep wrapped in your arms, and I want to wake up and make you breakfast. I miss having breakfast with you and the girls every morning. The routine.”
Anna opened her mouth to protest, but he put his finger to her lips.
“Just have dinner with me. I’ll find a sitter for the girls, and you and I can spend some time getting to know each other.”
She closed her mouth, sighed and gave in to the pull between them. She had to learn to trust, would have to be brave and take a step toward love again, or Tony would win. She couldn’t think of a better person worth taking a risk on than Nic.
“Okay.”
Chapter Ten
The doorbell sounded through the house, and Nic’s heart shot up into his throat. Damn it. Anna was early. He set the lid back on the pan of steaming pasta, wiped his hands on a towel, and turned to survey his handiwork. Dinner kept warm on the stove. The table was set the way he liked it ... but missing the damn candles.
He spun in a circle. Candles. Candles. Where the hell did he put the candles?
He turned again, slower this time, and found them sitting on the counter beside the stove—the last place he’d been. He let his shoulders slump and blew out a breath. This date would be the death of him.
A week had passed since Anna agreed to have dinner with him. Seven days not only to plan but to work himself up so much that the thought of being alone with her tied his stomach in knots. She had a passion that belied the quiet, soft-spoken woman he’d come to know, and damned if the thought didn’t put his libido on a low boil.
The doorbell rang again. He picked up the candles, speed-walked them to the table, and set them in the holders seated in the center. Then he pivoted and jogged to the front door. He sent up a quick, silent prayer for h
is sanity, pulled the door open, and promptly froze on the spot.
The sight of Anna knocked him for a loop. He’d never seen her in anything more than a sweatshirt and well-fitted jeans or her work uniform. Now, in an ankle-length skirt and a T-shirt that molded itself to her curves, she looked … soft and feminine.
“Wow. Look at you.” The words left his mouth on a stunned murmur as he took in the vision in front of him. “You look incredible.”
The smile plastered across her face wobbled. She glanced down at herself, smoothing a trembling hand over her skirt. When she looked up again, she shrugged, the pink in her cheeks deepening. “Beth’s handiwork.”
“Beth did good.” He smiled, hoping to set her at ease, but couldn’t stop his gaze from raking over her again. “Beth did very good.”
She held out the bottle in her hands. “I brought wine.”
Them drinking wasn’t a good idea. Merely standing in the same space together had heated tension rising between them. Simply in accepting the bottle from her, their fingers brushed and an electric current arced between them.
It took all the reserve he had not to close the space between them. He wanted her closer. So much closer.
He took a step back and pulled the door open wider. “Come in.”
Anna stepped over the threshold and stopped in front of him, tipping her head back to meet his gaze. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He swallowed in a vain attempt to wet his parched throat. Her scent drifted to him, something light and feminine that filled his head with visions of burying his nose in her throat. The heat between them cranked up several more degrees, and for a moment, he was lost in her beautiful eyes.
Nic shut the door and hooked her waist with his free hand, pulling her close. The instant her body hit his, a bonfire lit inside of him. Christ, he’d never wanted anybody the way he wanted her. Jen had been an addiction. They’d burned hot. Like a crack addict, he hadn’t been able to get enough of her. Only it had no staying power.
Anna scared the hell out of him. In the darkness of night, he could tell her things he’d never been able to tell Jen. The vulnerability in Anna’s eyes told him she needed him as much as he needed her. Their connection rocked him to the core.
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