Stepping back, he took a deep breath of air free of Darcy’s warm, feminine scent. “Hey, Maddie, Darcy’s had a long day, and I think it’s time for the puppies to hit the sack, too.”
“Oh, Daddy, do we have to go?”
The use of the cast-aside name hit Nick in the heart and refused to let go. He’d be damned lucky to get out of there without promising his daughter all four of the puppies, and he knew it. The soft smile Darcy gave him told Nick she recognized a sucker when she saw one, too, and that moment, that shared moment of emotional intimacy, had his stomach taking a sudden plunge down to his boots before rebounding back up into his throat.
He wasn’t sure how he kept his voice even as he said, “Yeah, kid, we have to.”
Maddie gave the mama dog a final pat before pushing to her feet and grinning up at Darcy. “Thanks for letting me come see them, Darcy.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. I know they liked seeing you.”
As they stepped into the living room, Maddie glanced down the hall, taking note of some boxes stacked outside what Nick assumed was a bedroom. “What’s all this?” she asked as she rushed over to check out the boxes and whatever else she could see through the open doorway.
“Maddie.” Embarrassment filled his protest at his daughter’s unabashed nosiness, but Darcy only laughed and followed her down the hall where she reached into the bedroom and turned on an overhead light.
“My dad never lets me leave stuff out all over like this.” Maddie waved her arm, her eyes sparkling, as if the piles of boxes formed some kind of magical castle.
“Yes, well, I should be better about putting things away, but most of this is for my shop and until I get all my shelves set up and displays arranged, I’m not going to have any room for this stuff.”
Nick could tell most of the boxes were recent arrivals, packages marked with shipping labels. But toward the back of the room, he saw some moving boxes, each one carefully labeled with a specific room so Darcy would know where the items inside were meant to go—assuming she ever unpacked.
My mom and I moved around a lot when I was growing up. I don’t know how many places we fixed up before packing up again.
Nick supposed that moving-on part was that much easier if you never bothered to unpack in the first place. “This is all product for your store?” he asked.
“Most of it. Some are my mother’s belongings. Other boxes are things I haven’t gotten to yet. I’ve been so busy with getting the store ready,” she added as if sensing some unspoken criticism, “I haven’t had time to give much attention to this place.”
“Sure.” Her words made sense, and he couldn’t argue with how hard she’d been working. He’d seen that for himself. But the boxes still unnerved him.
“Aunt Sophia said you’re having a big party at your store,” Maddie said.
“A grand opening, yes.” Determination filled her voice, but that unwavering statement wasn’t enough to erase the worry from her eyes.
The reminder made Nick realize he hadn’t volunteered his and his brothers’ help, but before he had the chance Maddie jumped in. “Can we go? Please?”
“We’ll see.”
His daughter seemed to have anticipated his response and gave an expected sigh in return. As they stepped outside with Maddie rushing a few steps ahead and down the porch steps, Darcy murmured, “I realize it’s not your thing, but you should let her come to the grand opening with Sophia. She’ll have fun, I promise.”
He didn’t have any doubts about that. But when it came to how much time he wanted Darcy to spend with his daughter? Oh, yeah, doubts up to his eyeballs. Especially after seeing the stacks of boxes that reminded him too much of coming home and finding a moving company packing up all his wife’s belongings.
“We’ll see,” he repeated.
He thought Darcy might argue, but instead she simply gave him a smile. One that was both knowing and a little bittersweet. As if she sensed what he was doing. Opening the door to let her in, but only by the slightest crack. Pulling her close, but not too close.
He hadn’t been kidding on the front porch swing when he had told her he didn’t know what he was doing. He figured in the last few minutes, he’d done a good job proving it.
* * *
Quickly sweeping her hair back into a ponytail, Darcy glanced at the clock by her bedside. She still couldn’t believe she’d slept so late. Lying in bed until after nine o’clock was a luxury she couldn’t afford, not when she still had so much work to do. As tired as she was yesterday, she’d anticipated dropping like a stone the minute her head hit the pillow. Unfortunately, her mind had other ideas.
Her thoughts had spun around memories from the night before. Nick’s unexpected invitation. Sophia’s pleasure at seeing her and Nick together. Vanessa Pirelli’s warm welcome. The kisses she and Nick shared on the front porch swing...
With Maddie as a mini chaperone, Darcy hadn’t expected a repeat performance on her front porch. But she’d longed for...something. A hint or promise that their first date wouldn’t be their last.
But then she’d encouraged Nick to let Maddie come to the grand opening, and everything changed. His reaction had nothing to do with spending time at her shop, but instead was about Maddie spending time with her. And while she could understand and even appreciate how protective he was of his daughter, she couldn’t help wondering if the walls he had up around them might be too high to climb.
She had already tried to scale her way into a man’s carefully constructed world only to fall. Aaron had let her close enough to convince Darcy he trusted her completely, close enough for her to agree to marry him. But the minute she turned out to be someone who might damage all he truly held near and dear, he’d let her go without a second thought.
The loss had been hard, but she’d survived.
Caring for Nick, for Maddie, only to have him realize she was too big of a risk to take on... Darcy wasn’t sure she’d bounce back from that as easily. Was starting over with Nick really such a good idea when she already had a preview of how things would end? They’d played the game backward, giving in to passion before truly getting to know each other, but even if they started at square one and took things slow, feeling their way through the usual steps of dating, maybe even falling in love, did she really believe Nick would find room for her in his life? That “just the two of us” could become the three of them? Or would she always be on the outside?
Her heart ached at the thought, but daylight wasn’t giving her any of the answers she hadn’t found during the night. Forcing aside her thoughts, she shoved her feet into her tennis shoes without bothering to untie the laces and headed for the kitchen for one more check on the mama dog and her puppies. She’d filled the food bowl first thing that morning, not that anyone would know it. As always, the shiny metal surface was licked clean.
“Better than any dishwasher,” she murmured as she took a few steps closer than usual into the laundry room. Moving slowly, she knelt next to the dog. Without Nick by her side, her pulse started picking up speed, her nerves started tightening her stomach.
You’re afraid of the past. Don’t you think it’s time to let go?
She sank her fingers into the dog’s smooth silver fur, and like the night before, nothing happened. Nothing bad happened.
Was she letting her past with Aaron influence her feelings about Nick now? Bracing for a heartache that might never come?
A knock on the front door took her by surprise, but the dog instantly cocked its head to the side, ears pricked forward in anticipation. “It’s Nick, isn’t it?”
Almost as if understanding her words, the dog’s tail beat against the floor in welcome, and Darcy laughed. “If I had a tail, I think I’d be wagging it, too.”
Instead, she hurried to the front door, opening it before he had a chance to knock a second time. Faint sunlight streamed in along with a cool breeze carrying the distant hint of rain and mist off the ocean, but she barely noticed, too busy soaking in t
he sight of the man in front of her. It was crazy to feel so eager to see him when less than twelve hours had passed, but last night had ended too abruptly, leaving so much unfinished.
A feeling Nick seemed to echo as he took a step over her threshold and closed the door behind him. “There’s something I forgot to say yesterday.”
She blinked. “Oh, okay. What?” She probably sounded like an idiot, but her pulse was pounding too loudly in her ears for her to hear as Nick stepped closer.
Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands and lowered his head, each move slow and deliberate, giving her plenty of time to protest, to duck away, to offer her cheek. Too much time, she thought, as she waited for his kiss.
“Darcy,” he murmured.
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to tell you...good night.”
And then, finally, he kissed her. The ending that had seemed so unfinished the night before came to a perfect conclusion as his lips parted over hers. Despite her worries, she opened to him, to his kiss, to his embrace, to everything he was willing to give. Her arms climbed around his neck, holding fast, but even that wasn’t enough. She wanted to grab hold of his heart, the way he had hers, and never let go.
Her legs were as unsteady as her breathing, and she hoped he didn’t step back anytime soon or she might simply slide to the floor. With his mouth still hovering just above hers, Darcy met the heat and desire in his gaze and said the only thing she could think of. “It’s morning.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a grin and his lips brushed against hers in a seductive kind of Braille that she could feel the words he spoke. “Then I guess I should say good morning.”
If good morning was anything like good night, Darcy wasn’t sure she’d survive. At least not with her clothes and senses still intact. But instead of kissing her again, he stepped back and glanced down to her tennis shoes and up again, leaving a shivery heat behind. “You’re working on your shop today.”
The words were more of a statement than a question, but Darcy nodded just the same, a little disappointed she couldn’t play hooky and spend the day with Nick instead. “I am. I’ll be working right up to the grand opening.”
“Last night, I talked to my brothers about helping with the remodel.” Sensing her coming protest, he said, “You said you’d dreamed about moving here, coming back to the small town where your mother grew up, right?” At her slightly confused nod, he added, “Then let me show you the best part about Clearville and how the people who live here are always ready to lend a hand.” Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands. “I know this dream belonged to you and your mother, but maybe one small part of it could include me and my brothers.”
Fighting back tears, she joked, “Because the Pirelli boys have always secretly wanted to be part of a beauty boutique.”
“Always,” he vowed with mock gravity.
For all the times they’d talked about moving back and opening the shop, Alanna had never once made an actual plan to do so. Never looked into making the dream a reality the way Darcy had.
And for the first time since moving to this small town, this was no longer about making her mother’s dream come true. Not anymore. This was about her own dream and following her own heart. And her heart kept leading her straight to Nick.
Chapter Twelve
A week later, Nick stood with the rest of his family as Darcy took center stage in her newly refurbished shop. It had taken hard work and the effort of all Pirelli hands on deck, but they’d gotten it done.
The walls were painted a soft pink above the wainscoting and chair rail. Black floating shelves, filled with products on display, were staggered on the back wall behind the check-out area. The same beadboard paneling on the walls now wrapped the front of a cabinet, and a new counter, a piece of black granite Drew swore was leftover from another job, graced the top.
The built-in shelves Darcy loved so much had been repainted the same glossy white as the wainscoting, and the scuffed, poorly repaired floors now had a smooth, uniform finish without losing their original character.
They’d accomplished most of the work the previous weekend, leaving the final touches and decorating for Darcy to arrange and rearrange during the week. Nick had helped with carting the many boxes from her house to the small storage room at the back of the shop, so he’d already seen the final result of all the time and effort. Wanting to thank his family for the help and support, Darcy had invited everyone for a pre–grand opening celebration.
“Thank you all so much,” she said, her green eyes shining with tears. “I never could have done this without you.”
It took every bit of willpower Nick had not to pull her into his arms, right then and there, in full view of his family, and kiss her. She’d worked as hard as he and his brothers, putting in an effort that amazed him and the rest of his family. Nothing could replace having her mother at her side to see her dream come to life, but Nick hoped having his family there might have been the next best thing.
As for him, he couldn’t imagine anything better. Watching Darcy hold her own in light of Sam’s somewhat relentless teasing. Seeing her consider Drew’s advice without every losing track of her own vision. And noticing how she carefully included Maddie in all the work, assigning the job of painting to the young girl and then following along behind her to fix any missed spots or runny messes his daughter might have made without ever letting on what she was doing.
Watching the two of them together cracked open something inside Nick’s heart. The emotions he’d locked away for the past five years spilled out as he realized what he should have known all along. Darcy fit. She might not have been born and raised in Clearville. And she wasn’t the solid, serious, boring woman he’d had in mind, but she was everything he hadn’t been looking for. A woman who could keep him from becoming too staid, too serious, too boring by bringing light and laughter to his life.
“I don’t know how I can ever repay you,” Darcy was saying.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, and she was so beautiful, she took his breath away. He’d almost, almost gotten used to her in the casual clothes she’d been wearing the past few days, brightly colored T-shirts and jeans that were not only paint-splattered but easily could have been painted on as they faithfully followed every curve. But tonight she was back in her city-girl wardrobe wearing a teal-green silk shirt that cuffed at her elbows and wide-legged black trousers. Her red hair tumbled over her shoulders, and he couldn’t keep from remembering how it felt having those strands brush against his naked chest.
Swallowing, Nick forced himself to concentrate on what his younger brother was saying before he embarrassed himself in front of his family.
“You don’t have to thank us.” Drew shook his head, speaking the words for all of them, but then he stepped close to her to add something only Darcy could hear. Whatever it was brought a hint of pink to her already flushed face as she shot a glance his way.
Nick wasn’t sure he wanted to know what his brother had said as Darcy’s quiet response of “I’ll do that” trailed like a seductive promise over his skin.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Sam broke in as he slapped Drew on the back. “Pizza for everyone—Darcy’s buying.”
“Sam!”
His family’s uniform protest had no effect on the youngest Pirelli son. Holding out his hands in an innocent-man gesture, he argued, “She said she didn’t know how to repay us.”
Laughing, Darcy overrode the rest of their objections. “Yes, definitely. Dinner’s on me!”
* * *
“I think you’ve been holding out on me,” Darcy said as Nick walked with her up the gravel driveway to her porch. After the music and laughter that had filled the pizza parlor, she welcomed the quiet sounds of night. A rustle of wind in the trees. A chirp of a distant cricket. The rapid beat of her heart as they neared her front door.
“Holding out?”
“Here I thought you were this solid, dependable single father and instead it tur
ns out you’re some backroom, pool-hall hustler.”
The sky was clear enough for Nick’s smile to flash in the moonlight. “I haven’t shot pool in years. I figured Drew and Sam would wipe the floor with me.”
“I think someone’s being modest. I kept waiting for you to say you could take them with one hand tied behind your back.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do with you and Maddie egging me on? I couldn’t afford to look bad in front of my girls.”
She and Maddie had been his cheering section during the sibling competition that turned a little more heated once the younger Pirellis realized Nick wasn’t the pushover they’d expected. “I almost feel bad for Sam. I really don’t know how he’s going to pay you that million bucks he owes.”
“One point two,” Nick corrected as they laughed over Sam’s outrageous bets and subsequent seven-figure losses. “But what about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you seemed to have some kind of secret handshake going on with Maddie. I saw the two of you earlier at the pizza place whispering in the corner over cream sodas.”
Darcy turned to face him at the front door. The porch light cast only a faint glow, but enough for her to search his gaze. As protective as he was of his daughter, she thought she might find some sign of worry or wariness that Maddie had singled her out at the pizza parlor. But what she saw lifted her heart until she thought she might float up off the ground.
Nick trusted her. With his daughter. The most precious gift he had to give.
“Darcy?”
She blinked quickly, trying to focus on what she and Maddie had talked about. “Maddie told me that she’s a little worried about being a flower girl.”
“My mom and Sophia figured she’d be thrilled to be in the wedding.”
“She is excited, but she’s also nervous about wearing a ‘poofy marshmallow dress.’”
“Poofy marshmallow?”
“Her description, not mine,” Darcy said though she had to admit, it was an accurate one. A few days ago, Sophia had shown her a picture of the dress she had ordered for Maddie. A little-girl version of the bridal gown, the dress was beautiful—a full-skirted, ruffled creation of white satin and lace with cap sleeves and a bow tied beneath the bodice.
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