Kady might as well have “sucker” stamped on her forehead. That was what her brother had told her. Connor had told her she was an idiot when he’d found out she’d agreed to a date with Nick. He’d roared and yelled and told her she was only setting herself up for more heartbreak, but in the end, he’d simply hugged her and told her he hoped he was wrong.
He was a good brother, but she hoped he was wrong too.
So far, he had been.
So far, Nick had done nothing but convince her he was real.
In the last week, she’d let him take her out three times. Three dates. Three chances for him to show her he was still the man she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
And he had.
He’d been sweet and charming. He’d reminded her of all the good memories they’d shared. She’d remembered all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him as a girl. He could be serious and thoughtful, but he also had a sense of humor that never failed to make her laugh. Dad jokes. He’d told those silly, ridiculous dad jokes even when he’d been a kid himself. She’d fallen in love with that side of him and spent so long yearning for the day when they would have a family and he would be a father.
Nick would make such a good father.
“Kady?” His deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she blinked, taking a moment to remember where they were, and when.
They were on her front porch—their front porch, really. They’d bought this house together, but after Nick left, she’d never found the time or the strength to change the paperwork. The swing he’d hung on the corner the day they’d moved in was where they’d sat down to talk when he’d brought her home from dinner.
She hadn’t been ready to invite him inside. Even now, she was scared to let him in. She still wasn’t certain she could see him in there, surrounded by all the memories in that house,—memories of the life they could have had, the one he’d set aside like a book and then come to pick back up years later, as if nothing had happened to make her reconsider finishing their story.
But she wasn’t the same young, naive twenty-something he’d left behind. He wasn’t the only man she’d ever been with either. She’d moved on, even if her heart never had and going backwards seemed scarier than going forward ever could.
“What’s wrong?” Nick pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “You zoned out on me, babe.”
She looked at their joined hands. They fit together so well. They always had. Like two puzzle pieces that had clicked together from the very start. Only she wasn’t as naive and accepting now as she’d been back then, and what he’d done had made her the skeptical woman she was now.
“I was just thinking…”
“About what?” Nick tilted his head curiously when she trailed off.
“Do you… Do you want children?”
Nick squeezed her hand. “Of course I do. You know that. We talked about it before…”
“Before you left, you mean.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Things change. People change. You’ve changed.”
“Not where it matters.” He pressed her hand to his chest, just over his heart. “Kady, look at me. Please?”
Her eyes went back to his; they had to. She’d never been able to deny him anything. His dark, soulful orbs looked deep inside of her and let her see inside of him as well. To the truth.
“I love you. I’ve always loved you. I made a mistake leaving. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, but I want to fix it. I want you. I want us back. I want the life we’d planned together, filled with so much love and happiness that it feels like we’ll bust at the seams. And, of course, I want kids, Kady. I want them with you.”
Kady’s heart ached as she stared into the eyes of the man she loved so much. Not past tense. She still loved Nick. Always had and always would. He’d broken them, broken her, but he’d come back to try and fix it. How could she possibly tell him that it was too late, when everything inside of her still yearned for a chance to have all that she’d lost?
The answer was, she couldn’t.
Maybe she was a sucker. Maybe Connor was right and she was only setting herself up for more heartache. Or maybe Connor was so wrapped up in his own sense of loss that he couldn’t fathom what it would mean to have the person you loved come back to you, to choose you, to put every fiber of their being into convincing you that they would never hurt you again.
Kady took a deep breath and reached out gently, tracing her fingers over Nick’s scruffy jaw. He eased closer at her touch. His eyes drifted shut as if he were taking in the moment, soaking it in. Whatever doubts and fears she had, Kady knew they didn’t change the truth.
“I want that too,” she whispered and Nick’s eyes flashed open. “I want us back too.”
“Kady?” His dark eyes searched her face. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I want the life you promised me, Nick. We have to at least try, don’t we?”
“I won’t just try. I’ll give it to you. Everything you ever wanted, it’s yours. I’ll give you the world, Kady.”
Nick’s mouth was on hers before the last syllable of her name was out, and she felt the tidal wave of his need crash against her. She drowned in it. In him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, kissing him back with all the love she hadn’t been able to erase from her heart.
It wasn’t a sweet kiss; it was hard and demanding. It was a promise of so much more.
Kady threaded her fingers in his dark hair and pulled. Nick moaned into her mouth, his teeth nipping her bottom lip. He’d always loved it when she ran her hands through his hair. So had she. She loved the feel of the thick strands beneath her fingers, loved knowing that just touching him like that made him want her.
He leaned forward, pushing her back, and the porch swing wobbled unsteadily. Kady gasped but Nick caught her before she could fall. A giggle fell from her mouth and Nick’s eyes sparkled when she looked back up at him.
“I did promise we’d christen this thing when I hung it.”
She laughed. “And I told you there was no way in hell we were having sex on the front porch.”
“I’ll move it to the back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
She smiled as she unwound herself from him and stood up. She could see the flash of sadness that he didn’t try to hide when she moved away from him. She could practically read his mind. As if not a day had passed, she knew those deep brown eyes as well as she knew her own. She knew he was already wishing he hadn’t stopped kissing her because he thought she was about to send him home.
“Tomorrow you can move the swing.” She offered her hand to him and watched surprise spark on his handsome face. “Tonight, how about you come inside?”
Nick reached out slowly and took her hand. Their fingers laced together as he stood. She didn’t step back and his body brushed hers as he invaded her personal space. He stared down at her, wonder and gratitude and so many emotions in his eyes that she had to look away before tears welled in her own.
“Kady?” He tipped her chin back up.
“Shh,” she soothed, going up on her toes to brush her mouth against his. “We can talk more later. Right now, I don’t want to have to put what I’m feeling into words. Just come inside and let me show you.”
“You might not need the words right now, but I need to say them. I need you to know that I love you, Kady. I’ve always loved you.”
“I know.” She gave him a small, shaky smile. “I know.”
Nick swept down then, taking her mouth again, and she melted against his big body. He took control of the kiss and she let him. She’d always loved the way he claimed her with nothing but a kiss, nothing but a touch or a look, long before they were naked and he was sliding inside her. He’d always made sure she knew who she belonged to and that hadn’t changed.
With a quick move, Nick looped his arms around her waist and lifted her. She squeaked slightly and he chuckled as he peppered kisses along her jaw to her ear. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on as he cupped her ass and carried her across the porch to the door.
She wasn’t a small thing. She never had been. But she’d always loved the way he could manhandle her if he wanted. He was big and strong, muscular and fit. Having him pick her up and carry her made her feel about as feminine and desired as she’d ever felt in her life.
“Key?” He nipped her ear, his voice barely above a growl.
“It’s unlocked.”
This time he definitely growled as he twisted the knob and it gave in his hand. He carried her through the doorway and then kicked it shut behind her. Once he’d flipped the deadbolt, he looked at her again but he wasn’t smirking anymore.
“You should lock your door, Kady.”
“Come on, Nick. Nobody locks their doors in Fate.” She rolled her eyes.
“It’s not 1954 anymore, no matter what these people think. It isn’t as safe as it used to be and I don’t like the idea of anyone being able to walk in here and take something or hurt you, whenever they want.”
“Well, it’s locked now.” She nuzzled their noses together. “And nobody’s going to break in with Deputy Sloan’s truck in my driveway.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Nick?” She licked his bottom lip and then nipped it with her teeth. “Stop lecturing me and take me to bed.”
He kissed her hard and fast on the mouth. She tried not to smile against his lips. She knew she hadn’t won anything. She’d be getting a full lecture on keeping herself safe and her personal property secure tomorrow morning. But for now, she’d managed to distract him, or rather, to get him back on track. When he pulled back, she pointed down the hallway.
“Bedroom is the second…”
“Door on the left. I remember.” Nick slid one hand into her hair and kissed her again as he carried her to what had once been their bedroom.
The reminder made her shudder. So many memories. So many things she’d tried to forget but had never managed to—she’d simply locked them away. But now that he was back, here with her, in their home, about to make love to her, the locks broke and it all flooded back to her.
He eased her down onto the bed, kissing her as he gently peeled her out of her clothes. He groaned when he got a glimpse of her bra and panties. She bit her lip to try and hide a smile. She wouldn’t say that she’d necessarily planned for this to happen tonight, but she’d definitely been prepared.
“Pink?”
“Still your favorite color?”
“On you, my favorite color is naked.” He growled as he ripped her panties down her legs. “But pink is a close second.”
She laughed as he worked to get her bra off. Her own hands were busy tearing at his shirt and his belt, trying to get him naked. He chuckled when she cursed and then helped her rid him of his pants until there was nothing between them but the heat and fire of their desire.
He crawled over her, his eyes never leaving her face, and her heart clenched. She opened for him, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and welcomed him inside. She welcomed him back home. Once they were joined, both of them breathing hard and fighting for control, she forced him to meet her eyes again.
“I love you too, Nick.”