AllFreeNovel
Share Us
'I'm getting to you, aren't I?' She snuck up behind him, stopping short of sliding her arms around his waist and laying her head against his back.
He didn't turn, keeping his gaze fixed on the stunning view. 'I guess this business arrangement of ours isn't quite what I expected.'
'That's because we share a past, you doofus.'
Oops. Had she really said that out loud? By the speed at which he turned to face her, she had.
An endearing smile curled his lips. 'Doofus?'
'I've called you worse.'
His eyes darkened, as if he could recall everything she'd ever called him and more. 'Yeah, I remember.'
She'd come this far, might as well go for broke. 'What else do you remember?'
Silence stretched between them, surprising her. Nick might be many things, but chicken wasn't one of them. She'd called his bluff, expecting some kind of answer even if it was a dismissive smartass remark.
Just when she'd given up, he finally reached out and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.
'I remember you wore your hair long, to your waist. I remember how you used to squeal on the back of my motorbike as I rounded the bends.' He tugged on her hair, bringing her closer…and closer until there was a whisper between them. 'But most of all, I remember how you made me feel back then.'
Unexpected emotion clogged her throat, effectively clouding her sweep-me-into-your-arms fantasy. She'd wanted to prove the sizzle existed between them, wanted to tease him, wanted to get a reaction out of him.
The last thing she'd expected was a serious trip down memory lane from a guy who acted as if they didn't have a past most of the time.
'How did I make you feel?'
Close, his breath feathered her lips, sending a ripple of longing so intense through her it took her breath away.
'Like I could make all our dreams come true.'
She sighed, wishing he hadn't pushed her away, wishing he'd said yes when she'd asked him to move away with her all those years ago, wishing he had made her dreams come true.
He was all she'd ever wanted, until her freedom became all important. She'd thought she had it all, convinced he'd move to London and they'd have the life they wanted. Until he'd withdrawn from her, shutting her out emotionally and physically, citing work and study and family as a means not to see her.
She'd persisted, sure they were meant to be together, captivated by the occasional glimpse of the guy she'd fallen in love with, wary of who he'd become the harder she pushed for them to leave town.
Her dreams had been big; big enough for both of them. But Nick wasn't the dream-maker she'd once been foolish to believe.
Acknowledging their attraction was one thing, opening her heart another, and while she wanted him now more than ever she knew nothing had changed.
He still wouldn't follow her to London even if she were stupid enough to ask.
'Nick, I don't think—'
'Then don't. Think, that is,' he murmured, a second before his lips locked on hers in the softest heartbreaking kiss that reached all the way down to her soul.
It lasted less than a few seconds, a fleeting glimpse of tenderness rarely seen from this passionate man, and when he raised his head, brushed her bottom lip with a fingertip and walked away, he left her reeling.
Reeling with the knowledge she still believed in dreams.
And his ability to make hers come true.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nick entered the marquee, his gaze immediately drawn to the stunning woman in a white dress chatting to the richest guy in the state.
Britt looked incredible, a soft, clingy Grecian-style dress fastened on one shoulder with a silver clip, leaving her other deliciously bare, her hair piled up with soft golden streaks falling softly around her face, and subtle makeup to enhance her beauty.
