Nikolas pulled into the underground garage at his condo complex and kept his finger on the button for the swinging gate door so that Nova could pass in behind him. They’d wrapped up in his office after a long day and he’d told her to follow him before parking in the guest area once inside the gates. After he put his car in his own assigned spot, he’d promised to come back around and help her with her bags.
The conversation they’d had in his office hadn’t left his thoughts the entire drive back to his place and he was already planning a call to Spencer Colton, a sergeant for the MVPD, to see how much the man knew about the AAG.
Although he’d never had a reason to look into the organization in the past, Nikolas was mildly aware of them. You couldn’t live in Mustang Valley and not be.
To be honest, he had never really given them a lot of thought. But Nova’s reaction had him wondering.
Although she’d attempted to brush it off and he’d finally satisfied himself that she hadn’t actually been hurt or even overtly threatened, something still didn’t sit well. It had been pure instinct that had her running from her meeting with the AAG employee and he didn’t like it.
Even if he bought her excuse about an overreaction, there was no way she had made up the panic that had settled deep in her eyes.
Nikolas considered it all as he walked from his car toward visitor parking. Once he had her settled in and ordered dinner, he would spend a little time of his own looking up the AAG. A bit of nosing around and a few discreet searches to see if there was anything to look into a little more deeply.
In the meantime, he wanted to get Nova’s mind off her day and thought a hearty meal of Italian takeout might do the trick.
She was already out of her car, the trunk open, when he reached her. “I can help you with that.”
“I don’t have all that much.”
She wasn’t kidding. Beyond a suitcase and an oversize travel bag, there was little else in her trunk.
“Is this all?”
“I travel light.”
“Awfully light, considering you’ve been driving for quite a while.”
“I don’t need much. And I’ve been trying to save for the baby.” She extended her hand and took the rolling suitcase from him. “I haven’t seen any real reason to spend frivolously.”
And there it was. More of that bravado that suggested she wasn’t quite ready to tell him why she’d come all the way to Arizona looking for her father.
Oh, he had no doubt she genuinely wanted to meet Ace and her other family members. That mix of eagerness and trepidation when he’d called Marlowe earlier was real. But as each hour passed he knew that wasn’t the whole story.
Only now wasn’t the time to push it. So he simply gestured toward the elevators. “After you.”
The trip up to his apartment was quick, and in moments he had his key in the lock, opening the door. “I’ll get you a key, as well, so you can come and go as you please. The parking garage is a little bit trickier, but there’s guest parking outside the gate and I can get you a key fob tomorrow from the building manager.”
“I don’t want to be trouble.”
“Nova. You’re not trouble. I’m happy to help you and you can stay here as long as you need.”
She rolled her bag to a corner, pushing it out of the way, before she turned back to face him. “Why are you being so nice to me? Please don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the help. More than I can say really. But I just don’t see why you’re going to all the effort.”
“You came to me for help this morning. I’m going to give it to you.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I’ve seen all I need to know.”
Although he didn’t expect her to magically open up, he was losing his patience when he came to the discussion of why he was helping her. Which was proof it had been a long day and it was time to focus on dinner. “If you follow me down the hall, I can show you where the guest room is.”
The wheels of her suitcase bumped lightly over the hardwood floor as she followed him down the hall. “Your place is beautiful. How long have you lived here?”
Nikolas gestured to the open door of his spare bedroom. Flipping on the light, he walked the rest of the way into the room and settled her shoulder bag on the edge of the bed. “About three years. After my business started to take off, I decided I wanted a place in town. My dad and I got along well enough with each other at the house, but it was time to go it on my own.”
“I know what you mean. I love my mother and I miss her every day, but I didn’t want to live with her. As an adult.”
“Exactly.”
The talk of her mother seemed to put her at ease and after a few more moments looking around the room she sat down on the edge of the bed. “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful before. I am so thankful to you and I appreciate you having me here in your home.”
His earlier frustration faded. She was all alone and trying to navigate a truly unique set of circumstances. It wasn’t every day a person you’d just met that day was suddenly opening their home and giving you a place to stay.
“Look, Nova. I get it. I don’t understand what you’re going through, but I do know it can be hard to depend on someone else.”
“It is.” Her voice gentled. “But it’s nice, too. I hope you know that.”
“Know you can depend on me. This room’s yours as long as you need it.”
He took her in as she sat there. Just like when she’d sat on the overstuffed couch in his outer office, the queen-size bed seemed to swallow her petite frame. Even with the unmistakable signs of her pregnancy, she was still a tiny little thing. There was something about her that made him want to protect her, yet even as he thought it, he knew those feelings weren’t actually due to her size.
Because there was also something about Nova Ellis—likely Colton—that screamed warrior. The way she was determined to do right by her child. The way she insisted on going after a job. Even in the way she stubbornly resisted taking too much of his offer to help, he saw that strength.
And in it, he understood what it was to feel beholden to somebody else.
“Why don’t you rest for a few minutes? I’m going to go ahead and order us some dinner. I was thinking Italian. Does that work for you?”
“Does it work for me?” Sparks of humor lit her eyes and he saw a few more glimpses of the woman he’d welcomed that morning in his office. “Yeah, I think I’ll manage.”
“Lasagna? Garlic bread? Side of meatballs?”
“I hate to break it to you, Slater, but you’re talking to a pregnant woman. That’s pretty much the hormonal equivalent of talking dirty.”
Her green eyes popped open as she realized what she’d said, and Nikolas could only laugh at the reaction. “I had no idea tomato sauce was an aphrodisiac. But I’ll consider myself warned.”
She smiled then, before a big rush of laughter spilled from her throat.
Nikolas smiled back, then pulled the door closed behind him. Even if it hadn’t been intentional, her comment about the food had reset the playing field between them.
He could only hope that dinner might get him the rest of the answers he sought.
* * *
Nova hadn’t intended to fall asleep. But once she sat down on the edge of the bed, it seemed like she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She vowed to herself she would only catch ten minutes, but as she glanced at her watch she realized it was two hours later than when Nikolas had walked out of the room.
“Oh no.” She sat straight up in bed, swinging her legs around to the floor. How had she slept so long?
Or maybe a better question. How had she slept so long in a strange place?
Only it wasn’t strange. She’d continued to press the point on him that she didn’t want to be an intrusion, but the reality was that she felt safe with Nikolas.
You felt safe with Ferdy, too.
Although the thought was unbidden, Nova gave herself a moment to consider the internal warning. She didn’t know Nikolas Slater and he didn’t know her. She’d leaped into a relationship that had gone horribly bad once.
Was she doing it again?
Or could she thank five months on the run and a progressing pregnancy for adding a level of worldliness she hadn’t had when Ferdy came into her life.
Either way, she was here now. All she could do was be vigilant and hope for the best.
And know that she could always go back on the run if she found the worst.
“Might as well go in and help with dinner,” she muttered to herself as she straightened the covers. “Or what passes for dinner when you heat it up in the microwave.”
Fortunately, she had remembered to slip off her flip-flops before stretching out on the bed, so she slipped back into them and padded out of the room and into the hall. The impressions that she had taken in earlier as Nikolas has shown her to the room now had a chance to take root and flourish. The hallway was decorated like much of the rest of the house—or at least what she’d seen of it—and there were a series of framed black-and-white prints that ran down the length of the hallway on both sides.
Curious, she stopped to look at them. And saw a variety of pictures from what appeared to be vistas in and around Mustang Valley. In fact, as she peered closer she recognized some of the same things that she had seen today on her drive around town.
The ridge of mountains that rose up at the edge of Mustang Valley, majestically pointing toward the sky.
A close-up shot of the arid land that surrounded those mountains, a small flower peeking up through cracks in the ground.
There was even a close-up of the main street, capturing the life and movement of people as they walked up and down the sidewalks.
It was fascinating to see, all those different types of shots. Most photographers she had met tended to focus on one type of image. Still life, or scenery, or people. But these seemed to infuse all those things—each distinct, yet each part of a whole.
Had Nikolas done these?
Nova continued on the rest of the way into the condo, the hallway spilling back into a great room that was then connected to the kitchen. Nikolas sat in the chair at the table, his focus on his laptop as he typed in a few things. She didn’t want to sneak up on him, but she had a chance to look at him quickly before he realized she was there.
Once again, those dark curls captivated her and she imagined running her fingers through them. Would they be soft? She’d bet anything they would be.
A different time, maybe.
Perhaps, if they were different people, things could work out a different way. But for now, she’d have to leave those curls and everything else about Nikolas Slater firmly in the realm of fantasy.
She was an unwed pregnant woman. And while she had no guilt or embarrassment about that fact, she wasn’t exactly ripe for a relationship. And he was working on a case that threatened to put her biological father away for life.
They were in very different places, without much of a bridge between them.
So she would take the kindness that he offered. And she would be a model guest. And, if things continued on as they’d started, she’d make her first friend in Mustang Valley.
And that would be all.
He glanced up then, a small smile on his face. “Sleep well?”
“I did. Sorry I slept so long. I intended to grab ten minutes, and well, you can see how that went.”
“You and the baby obviously needed it.”
“We did.”
She moved into the kitchen, where a large take-out bag sat on the counter. “I can warm this up.”
“I figured you might want to sleep a little, so I waited to order. Food arrived about fifteen minutes ago. It should be just right, temperature-wise.”
“Even better. I’ll go ahead and get the plates.”
“First cabinet, left of the refrigerator.”
Nova found the plates where he promised and took a shot that the silverware would be in the drawer below. Rewarded with the correct answer, she pulled out what they needed and closed the door with a hip bump.
And realized just how long it’d been since she had been in any kitchen at all, preparing to eat dinner.
It was a stray thought. A reminder that even little things proved how much her life had changed.
Shaking it off, unwilling to dwell too long, she took the plates and the silverware over to the table. Nikolas had already cleared off his computer and made a place for them to eat.
Within a matter of minutes, they had a feast set out before them, and Nova was helping herself to a precut slice of lasagna. “This smells like heaven.”
“I think you said that about fish and chips earlier today at lunch.”
“I might’ve said that.” She tried valiantly, but the smile peeked out anyway. “Okay. Yes. I did say that today.”
“Nothing wrong with an appetite.”
“I’d like to blame it on the baby, but honestly, I’ve always loved to eat. Ferdy used to say—” She broke off, shocked that her ex-boyfriend’s name had come out of her mouth.
“Ferdy?”
“Yeah. Just a guy I used to know.”
“Is that what we’re calling him?” Nikolas’s words were careful, but she didn’t miss his point.
“Call him what you will. He is a guy I used to know.”
“Right. Fine.”
They each finished serving themselves, the easy atmosphere between them gone. Even though the awkwardness couldn’t stem her hunger, Nova found the Italian food to be delicious, yet strangely empty of…something.
Unlike at lunch, when they had spoken throughout the meal, dinner conversation was quiet and stilted. She tried to ask him about his afternoon, and to his credit, she got decent enough answers. But something had been quelled when she shut down telling him about her ex.
Empirically, she knew she had a right to her private and personal thoughts. More, she was protecting herself. For all the tentative trust that she’d built toward Nikolas Slater, she still didn’t really know the man. And he couldn’t know what a problem Ferdy was.
Or potentially open things up if he decided to investigate so that her ex became a more direct threat.
“Would you like anything more?” Nikolas had moved in the kitchen to pour himself a second glass of wine and held up a pitcher of filtered water he left on the counter.
“Sure. That would be great.”
He came back to the table and placed his wineglass down before pouring her water. Thinking he had finished, she lifted her hand, accidentally colliding with his. The motion was just enough to push him off kilter and water spilled everywhere as the pitcher faltered in his hand.
Nova leaped up, grabbing whatever she could off the table to mop up the water. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
When the few napkins they had had with their meal did little to pick up the water, she raced to the kitchen to get paper towels, a supportive hand under her heavy belly. The combination of rushed movements, distended belly altering her center of gravity, and the unfamiliar kitchen, all were enough to throw her off base.
She slammed into the entryway, pain ringing from her shoulder to her elbow and back again as her body connected with the doorjamb.
“Nova!” Nikolas ran to her, pulling her close. “Are you okay?”
His large hands were on her shoulder, stilling her, and Nova fought against the simple warmth of his touch, convinced it would vanish in an instant. “I’m so sorry. I really am. I’m just so sorry.”
Even as the words spilled from her lips, a weird sort of repetitive chant—“stupid, stupid, stupid”—kept running through her mind, an unceasing loop.
What had she done? How could she have been so dumb?
She had to apologize again. She had to make it right. She had to calm whatever anger he might have.
“Shh now. It’s fine. It’s just a bit of water and even if it wasn’t, it’s not fatal.”
The litany of self-recrimination didn’t stop but slowly she felt the soothing circles of his palm moving over her back. A bit later she heard the gentle words as he continued to croon to her in comfort.
She didn’t withdraw from his touch, but her voice was quiet when she spoke. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” He didn’t stop the gentle circles but he did move her away from the kitchen toward the large couch in his living room. The overstuffed leather was a match for the one in his office and she abstractly thought the man had good taste.
And that he knew what a couch was supposed to be. Big. Fluffy. Deep. Ready to swallow her whole in warmth and comfort.
Nikolas settled her in before turning to face her, taking her hands in his. “I’m sorry I pressed you at dinner.”
“You don’t have to be sorry.”
“No.” His eyes were serious as he brushed back a small lock of hair that had fallen out of her braid and over her eyes. “I think I do.”
They sat like that for a few minutes. Normally it made her uncomfortable to be stared at too long, like an object on display. But something in Nikolas’s kind, searching gaze didn’t bother her.
Rather, for the first time in longer than she could name, she felt as if someone saw her. Actually saw her.
Not as a colleague. Or as a toy to be manipulated. Or, even though her mother had loved her, as the residual effect of a love affair gone unfulfilled.
Nikolas looked at her—just her—when they were together.
“I’m sorry if I pushed you in a way you’re not ready. We just met this morning and I need to keep reminding myself of that. It’s just that—” He broke off, his eyes slightly unfocused before he centered back on her. “Did we really just meet this morning?”
She nodded, the fear that had suddenly swamped her in the kitchen fading to a subtle apprehension. “We did.”
“It seems like longer.”
“It does.”
And it did feel like longer. Like she and Nikolas had a genuine connection. As if something inside of her recognized the same inside of him.
Only she’d felt that before. With Ferdy. From that very first date, she’d felt a connection. She’d spent the rest of their time together trying to remember if it had been real and how to get it back.
Because after that first date, they’d never quite replicated it.
“I mean it. I won’t keep pressing you. But if there is anything you want to talk about, I will listen. Without judgment or recrimination.”
Nova nodded. For all her misgivings, there was a quality in his earnestness that spoke to her. Even the fact that he recognized she was spooked and was willing to back off said something, didn’t it?
Tell Nikolas.
Once again, that voice whispered in her head, encouraging her to trust her gut. Only this time, there was an added directive.
Trust him.
Such a simple, tantalizing thought.
One she’d sleep on and reconsider in the morning.
If she was right about him, she’d have someone to lean on. Someone who might even be able to protect her and the baby.
And if she was wrong…
She’d risk him going to the cops and bringing Ferdy down on both of them.