Chapter 16

XXX

 

Nothing, I mean nothing, could pull me off the cloud I’d been floating on since Nick texted me. Not even Beth. She’d made one nasty comment after another today. This morning she was in her office when I got to work, which was unusual, but it did happen. However, today she made a point of coming out and greeting me; that had never happened. Before I had the chance to stow my purse, she’d started in. Where’d I meet Nick, what did he do, did I know how good-looking he was, people would stare when they saw us together and wonder what was wrong with him. She was relentless. I was getting ready to tell her to shove it up her ass when the boss came in, and she turned to sugar. The same way she always did. They’d gone into her office, and after he’d left, she stayed holed up in her bitch lair and hadn’t emerged since.

Thank God!

I had approximately two minutes until Nick said he’d be here to pick me up and my belly had decided now was the right time to start doing somersaults. I couldn’t believe I’d sent him those texts. I’d never admitted to a man I was turned on, and I certainly never texted like that. It wasn’t exactly sexting, but it was skirting from R to maybe one X on the XXX rating scale. I was kind of proud of myself. Not that I’d have the gumption to say anything like that to his face, but maybe I could flirt a little over text with him.

I could smell his cologne before I looked up and saw him standing in front of my desk. Beth was right about one thing – he was damn good looking. Way out of my league. He filled out a suit with his broad shoulders and trim waist. I’d felt how strong his chest was and his thighs were just as muscular. He was a fitness model rolled up in an FBI agent package.

“Red?” Nick chuckled. “You okay?”

“Caught me staring,” I blurted.

“I don’t mind one bit. I’m finding I love it when your pretty green eyes are on me,” he said.

“Holy crap,” came from behind Nick. When he turned, Rory came into view.

Now she was more in his league, and suddenly I felt out of place. She was taller than me, had a killer body I knew she worked hard to keep, and her skin was flawless and made up perfectly. In short, she was everything I wasn’t. Whole.

“Sorry.” Rory shook her head and put her hand out to Nick. “Hi. I’m Rory. Sorry to interrupt.”

Nick took her hand and gently shook it before pulling it away and taking a step back, putting space back between them.

“Nick Clark. Nice to meet you, too.”

“Hey, Rory, what’s up?” I asked, not wanting to be rude but wanting this conversation to move along quickly.

“I was coming down to see if you wanted to go to lunch with me and some of the girls,” Rory explained.

“Sorry. I have plans, but thanks.”

“If those plans include Mr. Clark here, I’d turn down the offer too.” She stopped to wink before she finished. “Enjoy lunch.”

The way she said lunch had me rolling my eyes. She made it sound like lunch was code for a covert sex operation. Geeze. Not that I’d be entirely opposed to covert sex after Nick’s text but… Nick’s chuckle pulled me from my thoughts.

“Thanks, we will,” he answered.

“Meadow!”

Holy shit, what now? My desk was turning into Grand Central Station. All I wanted was to escape this place and enjoy my lunch hour with hot Nick, but now Queen Bitch Beth was bellowing my name as if there was a football field between us and not twenty feet.

“Yes, Beth?”

“I need the Hoppers file when you get back from lunch,” she demanded.

“No problem.”

I didn’t bother waiting for a reply. I pulled my bag out of the bottom drawer of my desk and yanked when the strap caught on the metal, causing the cheap leather to tear.

“Crap!” I picked up my now broken purse and secured it under my armpit, determined to get the hell out of the office.

“I told you, you need to stop buying those cheap knock-offs and invest in a high-quality purse. My Coach bag would never rip like that,” Beth chastised.

“Good for you,” I mumbled and made my way to Nick. “Save me. Hurry, let’s run to the elevator before something else happens.”

Nick’s answer was to lean down and brush his soft lips against mine, stopping to linger just a moment before looking at me. “I’ll always save you, Red. On three we’ll make a break for it.”

I appreciated his humor and the accompanying smile made the shit Beth had slung, Rory’s appearance, and my broken purse melt away. Nick was here. We were going to get lunch together. And he’d promised to kiss the hell out of me.

Best day!

As soon as we got to the sidewalk, Nick grabbed my hand and held it on the short walk to the burger place. How could a gesture so small and normal feel so big? I was giddy at the contact, and it wasn’t because I hadn’t held a man’s hand in so long, it was because it was Nick. Last night after he went home, I’d plopped back down on my couch, picked up the throw pillow he had been leaning against, and held it to my face. In a total stalker move, I inhaled, breathing in his scent, and wondered what the hell I was doing kissing Nick. Albeit, it was only a peck, not a passion-fueled duel of the tongues. But still. I wondered if I was latching on to him because he’d extended a branch of hope and he was nice to me? Was I so desperate for attention I’d imagined things that weren’t there? After careful thought, I’d decided my attraction had nothing to do with my attack, the lack of affection, or anything else negative. It was simply because of him. I didn’t want him to save me; I wanted him to kiss me and touch me, and do all the other things he said he was going to do because I was a twenty-six-year-old woman. There was nothing wrong with what I was feeling toward him. And I’d also made up my mind to stop over-thinking everything. He’d said my scar didn’t bother him. I was going to believe him. I had to if I was ever going to escape the self-imposed prison I’d locked myself in.

Bottom line? I was tired of feeling sorry for myself. Nick had opened my eyes to another way and now that they were opened I couldn’t bring myself to close them again.

“You’re quiet,” Nick commented as he opened the door to the burger place offering me to enter.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be.” Damn. I was so used to being my myself I’d forgotten to talk. “I suck at small talk,” I admitted.

“I’m not complaining. Is everything okay? Is Beth breathing down your neck?”

“Yeah. But that’s nothing new.”

The hostess greeted us and walked us to a booth. I sat and Nick slid in after me scooting close. The girl handed us our menus and told us the specials before heading back to her podium.

“The boss came down and was in her office for a long time. She hadn’t come back out until we were leaving. I’m sure I’ll get an earful when we get back. The file she wants is one of the clients she lost.”

“Hoppers? Isn’t that a restaurant?” he asked.

“Yeah. A bar and grille type place. There are three of them in the area. They have a new point of service system they put online. It makes updates to the menu, pricing, and specials. It only has to be done at one location and is pushed through to the rest. She lost the account. All three bars. I heard the boss was pissed; it was a big account.”

“I guess he would be.”

The waitress came and took our order. Nick being the gentlemen he was had me order first. When we were done, the server smiled and hurried away. It was after she’d left the table that it dawned on me she hadn’t looked at Nick like there was something wrong with him. The hostess hadn’t either. Neither of them flinched at the sight of my face or made comments. All these years I’d let Beth’s words get in my head and take root, then it budded, and before I knew what was happening, a huge bush had grown. A big ugly bush of self-doubt and loathing. It wasn’t Beth’s fault; it was mine. I’d allowed it to happen.

“Where’d you go?” Nick squeezed my knee, and when he released his grip, he kept it there. Finding I didn’t mind his hand on my leg; in fact, I loved it, I left it there.

With the realization people were not looking at us or pointing at me, and with a new-found confidence, in a bold move I put my hand over his and smiled.

“Nowhere. Tell me about Sally and how you got involved with Homefront.”

Over lunch, Nick told me how after he’d gone home to Georgia a few years ago, he’d met one of his uncle’s friends, Brian, and his companion dog. His Uncle Nolan and Brian served in the Army together. Nick said after he’d listened to Brian tell his story of returning from deployment and separating from the Army and how hard it was to adjust back into civilian life, Nick knew he wanted to be involved. He explained because Brian didn’t have what the military considered PTSD, he hadn’t qualified for much help from the VA. A friend of Brian’s hooked him up with Homefront, and they’d paired him with a dog. That was all Brian needed, a small comfort; the loyalty of a dog and the security it brought to help ease his anxiety. Nick called Homefront as soon as he got back to Virginia and started his training immediately. Within two months, he had his first shepherd.

The amount of training Nick had to go through to become a dog handler was crazy. I was so impressed by his hard work and dedication to both the Vets and the dogs. He’d already fostered four and Sally was his fifth. He was waiting for Petty Officer Gabe Rowling to recover from his latest surgery to take Sally. The placement was supposed to happen last month, but Gabe had a complication with his last surgery. Sally also required additional training. Gabe had complete hearing loss; while he could still speak, he was self-conscious about doing so and opted to learn ASL. Sally is trained in both verbal and hand commands, as well as trained to alert her owner of sounds and lights.

She was a smart pup. I’d miss her, but knowing what Gabe was going to gain from her made me feel kind of bitchy for wishing Nick could keep her.

Before I was ready, it was time to head back to work. Nick had snatched the bill from the table and the waitress was prancing away with Nick’s credit card, laughing as I tried to call her back over to take mine.

He grabbed my hand the same way he had on the walk over and threaded his fingers between mine. Every couple of feet he’d bring our joined hands up to his lips and kiss the back of mine. I was surprised how small my hand was in his. That, of course, led to me scrutinizing his height. I only came up to his shoulder, and I was in a pair of strappy wedges giving me an extra couple of inches to my normal five-feet-five inches. His bulk, coupled with his height, made me feel safe walking next to him. He chatted about his buddies from the FBI, telling me he was the youngest agent of the bunch. I’d already guessed he was by the way all the other men in his unit were beginning to gray. I’d also assumed correctly we were about the same age. I was older than him by only a couple of months.

“So, I’m a cradle robber?” I joked when we got to the elevator.

“I’d hardly call a month and a half robbing the cradle.” He held his arm out for me to proceed and waited for the doors to close before he continued. “Have you ever made out with a younger man?” he asked.

He turned, caging me in with his palms on the metal behind my head. I didn’t have a chance to think, let alone answer before his lips were on mine. It took a moment for the shock to wear off before I remembered to open my mouth when I felt his tongue grazing the seam of my lips.

I opened, and he deepened the kiss, taking it from sweet to three-alarm hot in two seconds flat. Holy shit. My world was spinning, and I struggled to keep up. His tongue glided and twisted with mine, and I fought to catch my breath as he took what he wanted, forcing me to follow his lead. The elevator came to a stop, and Nick pulled away, using his thumb to wipe my lip.

“Wow,” I whispered, trying to regain my composure.

“Red?” he called.

I had to blink several times before his face came into focus. “Yeah?”

“The door’s open. Come on.”

He tugged me close to him and guided us off the elevator into the reception area. He stopped but didn’t release me. “Thank you for lunch.”

“I should be thanking you,” I corrected.

“I have to take Sally to meet with the trainer tonight. Can I call you later?”

I thought about playing it cool and shrugging off his question like it was no big deal. But one thing I really liked about Nick was he didn’t leave me guessing. He said he was going to call and he did. Well, he sent a text, but he’d done it the next day after our first date. He didn’t give me time to wonder if he liked me or talk myself out of what I felt. He deserved the same in return.

“I’d like that.”

“Good. Come on. I’ll walk you in before you’re late and Beth gives you more shit.”

He bent down and gave me a soft peck before he grabbed my hand and steered me through the double doors and didn’t let go until I was safely at my desk.

With another kiss and a promise to call, he was gone.

I stowed my broken purse, reminding myself to stop by the mall on the way home to buy a new one and pulled out my cell.

Me: Date number two in the books.

The response was immediate just as I knew it would be.

VV21: What? When?

Me: Lunch today. Sigh. I think I’m in love.

VV21: WHAT?! Love? Isn’t it too soon for that? Meadow, you need to be careful. You don’t know anything about him. And remember he needs something from you. Are you sure he’s not using you? Sounds too good to be true.

I stared at the screen in disbelief. I’d thought Veronica Venus would be happy for me. I was hurt she was so negative about my relationship with Nick and this was the second time she told me he was using me for information.

Me: Stop worrying. It was a turn of phrase; I’m not really in love with him. Back at work. Talk later.

So, that might have been a small white lie. I wasn’t in love with Nick – Veronica Venus was right, it was too soon for that - but I was well on my way to falling. I could definitely love him, and the thought gave me butterflies.

“Meadow! The reports,” Beth yelled from her office door.

Sigh.

Why was Beth always so miserable? Would it kill her to smile every once in a while?

“Coming,” I answered, and sent one more text.

Me: Best kiss ever! To answer your question in case you were wondering – no, I’ve never made out with a younger man. Or anyone in an elevator before. I approve. We should do that again, and SOON. Have fun with Sally tonight. Give her a scratch for me. xoxo

I turned my phone off and tossed it in my drawer and grabbed the file Beth wanted. With a deep breath, I prepared to enter the den of doom and gloom, reminding myself it didn’t matter what Beth said to me, it never had, I was happy. I wouldn’t allow her to steal that from me.

Not today.

Not ever again.

I was back!