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“I wouldn’t change that either,” he said, capturing her gaze. “It brought me to you.”
Lexie didn’t shy away this time, didn’t dip her head or hide her smile. Instead, she let herself be held in those honey-brown eyes.
She reached out and clinked her bottle on his. “I’ll drink to that.”
Things felt so easy with Lexie. They drank, ate chips, laughed, talked about anything and everything, and not once did Nico’s thoughts drift elsewhere, which for a guy married to his job, was saying something. Truth be told, Nico had never intended to get this cozy with her, having decided long before his transfer that this was just a temporary stint. A quiet reprieve from the noise of the city and—if he was lucky—an opportunity to make peace with the Rileys and slay his demons for good. Which made the fact that he was still sitting here on Lexie’s couch, talking about his childhood, his family, and whatever else she wanted to know about, disconcerting. And as much as it scared the shit out of him, he seemed to be developing feelings for her, feelings he couldn’t put a name to if he tried—but he suspected they weren’t one-sided. The more they spoke, the more he felt something from her that hadn’t been there before. An openness. Not quite trust, but something in the ballpark. Whatever it was, Nico had the distinct impression that she didn’t offer it lightly, and no matter what happened between them, he planned to be very, very careful with it.
“So, explain to me why you’re going to the trouble of studying Business and Economics just to open a bookstore?” he asked, clearing the empty bottles from her coffee table. “You could do all kinds of things with that qualification, run any kind of business. Do people even read books anymore?”
She rolled her eyes like he had no idea. “Because it’s what I want. And since I like you, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that awful thing about books. Of course, people read books. People will always read books.”
Nico cocked a brow at her from the kitchen. “Did you just say you like me?”
“Don’t let it go to your head,” she said, standing. “Anyway, when I get the finance sorted out, I’m hoping to rent the empty shop space on Main Street; it’s been boarded up since the travel agent closed and nobody else seems to want to do anything with it. I’ll add a café in the back, hire a couple of staff. It will be beautiful, like Barnes & Noble, only better.”
“You’d need to renovate to make it suitable.”
“Obviously.”
Nico tucked his hands in his pockets. “I could help you out with that, if you want.”
“We’re talking a long way into the future here, Nico.” As her laugh faded, a kind of sadness replaced it. “Who knows where you’ll be by then.”
“Are you so sure I won’t still be here?”
Idiot.
Now he was playing games with her. She’d already assumed he would move on eventually, so why was he dropping hints that he wouldn’t?
She shrugged, saying nothing.
“Well, wherever I am, there’s nothing stopping me from visiting you,” he said as they made their way back into the foyer to say goodbye. He dared inch closer, enough that she was forced to tilt her head back to see his face. “Is there?”
Lexie’s breathing changed, became shallower, but she held her ground.
“I guess not.” When he made no move to retreat, she cleared her throat and said, “So, tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What does the future hold for Lieutenant/Detective Nico Dominici?”
Nico’s eyes roamed her face, taking in every detail. She didn’t have a hint of makeup on, and he loved it. Loved seeing the real her. Having been left to dry naturally, her hair was all wavy and damp, falling over her shoulders in a tempting tumble of gold. He could feel her breath on his skin, the heat of her body. Could see the wet sheen on her lips, evidence of her licking them after finishing off her last beer.
“I can’t imagine being anything but a cop,” he said. “I never wanted to do anything else. Probably be doing it until I’m too old to hold my own, then I’ll retire with a measly pension, get a cane, and shout at kids who walk on my perfect lawn every day on their way to school.”
She laughed. As she reached back to grab the door handle, Nico was caught off guard by the heavy disappointment descending on him now that it was time to leave.
“But is that all?” she asked. “No vision of yourself climbing the ranks or ending up somewhere in particular? Captain Dominici, perhaps?”
He put his tongue in his cheek, and her eyes lit up at the hint.
This time, it was she who moved closer. “You can tell me.”
He considered her question, then forgot all about it when his eyes landed on her mouth again, the way she had the bottom lip tucked under her teeth in that way that drove him mad. Unable to help himself, he stepped closer to her, closing the small space between them. She backed up against the door and gasped as the latch clicked closed again.
“What are you doing?”
Nico used his hand to tilt her chin toward him, thumb lightly pulling at the lip she was no longer biting. “This,” he whispered.
