| |
Quinn stood back from her monstrous painting and brushed a stray hair out of her face with the back of her hand. The warm colors astonished even her. They stirred her soul, sending a shiver down her spine. Paints alone were just pretty goop, but mixed together and brushed onto a canvas, they brought new worlds to life.
Some people read books or watched movies to escape.
She painted.
Satisfied the piece was complete, she reached over, flipped her paintbrush into the mason jar, and wiped her hands on her overalls. This project had taken longer to finish than any other. Of course, her others didn’t have a fifteen-month hiatus built into the process, but even without that, it had taken a while.
Painting always brought her peace and purpose, and she hadn’t basked in either of those for way too long. She was herself again—the person she was intended to be. And the reason was obvious.
Nick fluttered through her mind in whirls of beautiful color. Then she pulled her phone from her bib pocket. Almost five. How did it get so late? Speed dial one and his phone was ringing.
He picked up his phone on the second ring. “I was beginning to wonder about you.”
She winced. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Josh is here. He brought over Halo, and how can anyone sleep through that?”
“Hey, Quinn! Don’t let him fool you. He’s been all over this game.”
“Hi, Josh! So, dinner for three?”
“Nope. Josh has to leave. Right, Josh?” His voice took on the snarky sarcasm that was Nick. He sounded like himself again, making her heart leap. “You have... somewhere you need to be.”
“What?” Josh protested. “We’re in the middle of a game.”
“Pause it, save it, whatever you need to do, but don’t be late for your... whatever.”
“Nick, don’t be rude. He can stay.” She laughed, but she didn’t want him to stay either. Josh had become her friend too, and she’d never want Nick to be without him. Tonight, though, she needed to be alone with Nick.
“No, he can’t.”
“Fine. I know when I’m not welcome. I’m chopped liver, Quinn. Nobody likes chopped liver.”
“Not tonight, buddy.”
She giggled at their boyish banter. The guys had been friends almost as long as she and Claire had been. “I’ll see you in an hour.”
“An hour?” Then to Josh. “All right, man, you have an hour.”
Almost an hour later, Quinn drove into the parking garage and checked in her rearview mirror to make sure she’d washed all the paint off her face. She’d cleaned up as best she could in the small bathroom in her studio, changed clothes, released her hair from its braid, then gone by to grab the takeout she’d called in.
Her feet couldn’t carry her—nor could the elevators run—fast enough to Nick’s door. Not too long ago she was running the other way, and the elevator couldn’t carry her quickly enough back to ground level. Now, she was soaring to the sky.
She knocked and spooked when the door swung wide. Then she broke out in an equally wide grin as Josh met her.
“Quinn!” He twisted his New York Yankees ball cap around backward and grabbed her up and spun her around, setting her down in front of Nick, who was a little slower getting to the door. He held onto her as he spoke, and she tried not to drop their dinner. “So glad you guys are out of denial.”
She closed her eyes in a silent laugh. “You know, you don’t have to go.”
“No, I do. I do have somewhat of a date tonight.” He looked past her to his best friend. “You get this guy up and running, and we’ll all go out and celebrate.” Then he grabbed the door handle, wiggled his eyebrows at them, and closed the door.
“Huh, he did have a whatever.”
Quinn turned on her heel to see Nick’s head cocked to the side and his brow furrowed. Her gaze brushed over him. Bare feet and jeans looked oh-so-good, but the bruising on his right arm glared from between his T-shirt sleeve and his cast. She ignored the twinge at the sight. “Nick, a date is not a ‘whatever.’ ”
“With the eternal bachelor? It just might be. That guy’ll never settle. I worry about the boy.”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you sometime. Chinese?” He took the brown paper bag and set it on the entry hall table. “You didn’t have to bring more food, but I sure hope there’s fortune cookies in here.”
“There’d better be, or I’m going to be upset. They’re my favorite part.” She unrolled the top of the bag to peep inside. “There just might be extra.”
“Extra good fortune. I like that.” His left arm slid around her, his right with a stationary elbow, doing its best to follow, only pulling her tight at the hip. “You, Madam Q, are the most beautiful thing I’ve seen all day.”
Quinn looped her thumbs through his belt loops. “Well, we won’t tell Caroline.”
He lowered his head toward hers, laid his warm palm against her neck, his fingers twining in her hair. “She might beat me up.”
“She might.” Their lips met in a kiss that made Quinn want to forget about dinner. Even though she’d lost herself in her own world for much of the day, her thoughts were always of him. Her body and soul cried with how much she’d missed him, how much she wanted to be near him. Now, the world melted away. There were no walls, no clouds above, no earth below, no pain, no fear.
A tear formed in the corner of her eye.
His thumb found it as it spilled over and down her cheek. He stepped back, a crease in his brow. “Quinn? Honey, what’s wrong?”
Honey. She smiled a lazy smile. “Absolutely nothing.” She couldn’t think of one thing. She wanted to lay her head on his chest, to have him hold her against him, feel his warmth, smell his skin. But he satisfied her by laying his forehead against hers.
Rubbing her forehead to his, she chewed her lower lip. “What would you say to dinner on the balcony? You could get some fresh air, and we could cover up bad balcony memories with good ones.”
He brushed her hair behind her shoulder. “I’d say my good fortune is already beginning.”
A cool breeze kept them comfortable while they ate their Chinese takeout and laughed at the cheesy fortunes wrapped up in crispy cookies, their legs entangled under the glass-topped table. With time eaten away as they lost themselves in each other, the sun hovered just above the horizon.
The patio chair screeched on the concrete as Nick pushed it back and stood. He reached out to her. “Come on.”
She slid her hand in his. His hands, always strong, made her feel protected and safe. These hands would always be there to catch her, to hold her, to lift her up.
The river was silver glass in the setting sun as Nick led her to the rail. He tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and covered it with his casted hand, working small circles on her skin with his fingers as she leaned beside him on the warm metal. He was happy. She could see it. His shining brilliance filled her with energy and warmth.
Her other hand curled around his good forearm, she held onto him. With his arm strong under her temple, she squeezed him close as the sun dipped lower. “The city is truly beautiful from up here.”
Nick rested his chin atop her head, then rubbed his cheek on her hair. “Yes, she is.”
Her heart filled. He’d said the same thing before he’d kissed her the first time. That kiss rocked her foundation, opened a piece of her heart she’d thought she’d closed off forever.
And she’d run.
But now, she’d stay. Right here, right now, on this balcony above this city with this man who loved her enough to wait.
When she tipped her head to meet his gaze, he shifted to take her in his arms.
Fingers tentative, she lifted her hand to touch his chest and hovered there, aching to touch him, have him hold her and not hurt. As she was about to drop her hand, he grabbed it and pressed it to his chest, pulling her body into his with his casted arm around her back. She gasped as he winced.
“It’s okay.” He held her fast, his cheek against her forehead. “It’s okay.”
She stood stiff in his arms, not wanting to press against his bruises.
Then, as if reading her mind, he spoke hot words into her hair. “The only way you could hurt me is by leaving me without the brilliant sunlight your life brings to mine.”
Their arms going around each other, she relaxed into his embrace, basking in his warmth and sandalwood scent. “I’m never doing that again. Where would I go when my world is right here in these arms?” A sigh released all her fear and doubt as she eased back to look into his eyes. “I love you, Nick James.”
They were words she thought she’d never say again, but hearing them out loud, her heart soared at how right they were.
He stared at her, searching her eyes. Then he took a breath and held it as if he might say something. Then let it out. “Those are precious words.”
“I wouldn’t say them if they weren’t true.”
“I know.” Another labored breath filled his chest as his gaze stayed riveted on her. “I love you so much.” The look in his eyes mirrored her release of fear. He dipped his head and their kiss reflected the intensity of the setting sun. Then he held her to him, her head safe on his chest, tucked under his chin while his musky cologne anchored her senses to him.
As the sun hit the horizon and the world was aglow with orange fire—bright, colorful, alive—she imagined those sharp scissors again cutting a red and black striped cord and it retracting back to the top of the cliff. But she wasn’t standing in a valley far beneath the world. She was standing on a summit, and the sun was rising.
