After last night, Silvia was surprised she hadn’t heard from Nick. Not a call, not a text, nothing. There hadn’t even been a professional check-in regarding the resort.
Silvia swung by Mama Jane’s and ordered double fried chicken, potatoes, rolls and banana cream pie. It was early enough in the evening that she could surprise Nick and return his sweet gesture from last night. Though, after that heated encounter on the plane, she’d say they were pretty equal.
Still, amazing sex aside, she found she wanted to take care of him, to offer comfort where she could. He was going through so much right now and even if they went nowhere romantically, she wanted to be someone he could count on.
Silvia turned up the steep incline toward Nick’s drive and stopped at the gate. She punched the button to announce her arrival and waited. She hoped he was home. That was the drawback to surprises. But if he wasn’t, she’d take all this food home and eat really well for the next few days. She still had some leftovers in her fridge from his delivery, but she wanted to have a casual dinner with him tonight.
Finally, the gate slid open, and Silvia eased her car up the mountainside. She curved around each turn until the stone-and-log home came into view. The magnificent structure matched the owner: strong, bold, demanding.
Silvia couldn’t ignore the flutter that curled through her belly...one that had nothing to do with nausea and everything to do with the man inside that house. She’d dated over the years, but she never recalled getting schoolgirl giddy over anyone before.
Ridiculous, really, to have these innocent, adolescent feelings when she was expecting the man’s baby. A little late for crushes and giggles.
Silvia pulled to a stop in the circular drive right in front of the extended porch. Nick didn’t step outside like he had before to greet her, which she found odd. He knew she was here, but perhaps he was busy on a call or something. He did have a life beyond her, and she had to not only remember but also respect that.
Just like she wanted to stay guarded, Nick did as well. He was still hurting from his loss, and Silvia would do well to remember that he could just be seeking comfort from her and nothing more.
Ignoring those weighted thoughts, Silvia gathered the takeout bags and headed up the stamped concrete steps to the front door.
She was trying to figure out how to juggle the sacks when the large double doors opened. Immediately she knew something was wrong. His hair was a mess, his glasses were on top of his head, he had on a fitted black tee—which did amazing things for those sculpted arms and shoulders—and he was barefoot. He seemed at home and relaxed, save for the disheveled hair and the sadness in his eyes.
Similar to what she’d seen the other day when he’d pushed her away.
“Did I interrupt something?” she asked, stopping on the third step.
Nick shook his head and pulled his glasses off. He shoved them in his pocket and came down the steps toward her to take the bags.
“This is fine,” he told her. “And if this is dinner from Mama Jane’s, then it’s even more fine.”
Mama Jane’s was a little hole in the wall that had been at the foot of the Tennessee mountains for decades. It was a local hangout with the best fried chicken and homemade potatoes she’d ever had in her life.
“Please tell me you got dessert, too,” he said as he gestured for her to go ahead of him into the house.
“If you don’t like their banana cream pie, then you’re wrong.”
Nick followed her into the kitchen and started unloading the bags. He didn’t say anything as he pulled out plates and drinks and silverware. She watched him carrying everything out to the patio, still in silence. Once she realized he intended to eat out there, she gathered what she could and followed.
When the silence stretched, Silvia couldn’t take it another second. If he didn’t get whatever this was off his chest, he was only going to grow more miserable, and then where would that leave them?
“Something bothering you?”
He set his plate on the table and moved around to take hers and do the same. Then he pulled out her chair.
“Nothing worth discussing,” he told her without looking her in the eye.
An unease came over Silvia, and worry settled in deep. Did he want to tell her he’d met someone? Had he decided this secret relationship wasn’t working out? Maybe he was worried about the emotional state he was in right now, or that getting involved was a bad idea.
She couldn’t argue with that last one, but her heart didn’t know common sense. Her heart only knew what she wanted—and she wanted Nick.
Heartache was inevitable. She knew it. She’d told herself over and over that long-term relationships couldn’t stem from a passionate fling, and he’d never given any indication he wanted more. Yet she hadn’t been able to stop her feelings from turning serious any more than she could stop the sun from setting.
“You don’t seem fine,” she pushed, taking a step toward him and ignoring her chair. “You can talk to me, you know. I’m a pretty good sounding board, and you clearly need to get something off your chest.”
Nick glanced out toward the mountains and the glowing sun, but she didn’t take her eyes off him. The muscles in his jaw clenched, and he gripped the back of the chair.
“This might not be a good night for you to be here,” he murmured. “I’m just... I’m not in a good space and I won’t be good company.”
Ignoring his statement, Silvia took another step, then another until she came to stand right next to him. She covered his hand with hers, and every muscle in his body tensed.
“If you’re this upset, this is the perfect night for me to be here.”
He turned his attention to her, and the torment in his eyes tore at her heart. He opened his mouth, and she waited for him to let her in on what had hurt him, but he ultimately shook his head and took a seat.
“I’d rather eat.”
OK. Shutting her out, yet again. She didn’t want to ignore his pain, but she couldn’t make him open up. She couldn’t make him understand that she was here for him. No, he had to come to that realization himself.
And somehow Silvia recognized that his issue wasn’t really so much about not wanting to share with her. It was more that he didn’t want to face this himself, which he’d have to do if he shared it with her. That was all the more reason he needed to open up. Or maybe it was all the more reason for her to snap back to the reality that they weren’t in a normal relationship. She wasn’t even sure what a normal relationship entailed, but this certainly wasn’t it.
He had his own life and she had hers—she’d do well to remember that once they moved on and only had a baby in common, she had to have a solid career. That was the only stability she had, and she would not only maintain it, she would grow that part of her life so she could be the best mother and provider for her baby.
Silvia took a seat, served herself a hearty helping of potatoes and dug in. Might as well push beyond the emotional turmoil and deal with what she could—eating.
“You don’t want any chicken?”
Silvia shook her head. “I had a rough day, so I’m afraid to put anything too heavy on my stomach.”
His fork clattered to the plate as he stared. “Are you okay? You didn’t have to bring me dinner. Damn it. I’ve been so preoccupied with my own issues, I didn’t think to ask how you were doing.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him.
He was obviously trying to deflect and keep the focus on her when he was the one clearly hiding something. She’d thought they were at least friends. Did he not trust her? If he just didn’t want to talk, she could understand it, but if he was keeping her shut out for another reason, that stung a little.
She finished eating and didn’t attempt any more conversation. When she was done, she simply picked up her stuff and took it back inside. She was rinsing her plate when strong arms came around her. Nick’s head dropped into the crook of her neck, and Silvia shut off the water.
“Be patient with me,” he muttered against her skin. “I just don’t want to think or talk or worry. Just for tonight.”
That raw honesty tugged at her heart. He didn’t owe her any explanations...that’s not why she had pushed. She genuinely wanted to help him through a difficult time. Because right now, even though she hated to admit it, they only had each other.
Silvia turned in his arms and looped her wet hands around his neck. “Tonight,” she agreed and covered his mouth with her own.
Nick lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her and she held on, pouring herself into him, letting him take what he wanted. She didn’t care where they went, so long as he didn’t let her go.
That mentality is what would wind up breaking her heart, but she didn’t want to think about that right now. She didn’t want to think at all.
She felt the warm evening air on her skin and knew he’d stepped back outside. He gently laid her on the swinging bed suspended beneath an old oak. Nick shed his clothes as he kept his eyes locked on hers. Silvia’s body responded, her ache becoming more than she could bear.
Before he finished undressing, she was working on her own clothes, tossing them wherever, eager to feel his skin against her own.
Nick eased onto the bed beside her, sending it swaying gently in the wind. With a quick grip of her hips, he had her up and straddling his lap. She’d never felt so exposed, not even when they’d had sex in the lounger. Here, they were out in the open, in the dusk with the sun still not quite set, and she was completely vulnerable to Nick’s stare.
When he reached up to cup her breasts, Silvia arched into his touch. She leaned forward and braced her hands on either side of his head, then lined up their bodies before easing down on him.
Nick’s lips thinned as his jaw tightened, but that dark gaze never wavered from her. The way he looked at her made her feel so empowered, so sexy. How could she not fall for this man when he made her feel things she’d never known were possible? How could she not fall for the man who made her want more of everything he was willing to give?
His vulnerability and raw state only made Silvia want to shield him from any more pain. He needed her, and she’d never had anyone actually need anything from her. The realization had her falling even more deeply.
Perhaps they needed to heal each other so they could move on together.
Nick’s hands roamed down to the dip in her waist and over the flare of her hips. He held her in place as he jerked his hips rhythmically. Silvia groaned as she absorbed all of his emotions, his strength.
The swing swayed, and Nick’s fingertips bit into her. Silvia moved with Nick as she leaned down and slid her lips across his. Her hair curtained them both, and she coaxed his mouth open. Nick’s hands cupped her backside as his hips pumped faster. The climax built, and Silvia tore her lips from his as the sensations spiraled through her. She eased back, holding her body upright as she pumped her own hips.
Nick gripped her waist and tensed beneath her as his body bowed and he followed her pleasure. Silvia squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting any of her true feelings to show—not now when she was too vulnerable and on the edge of completely falling in love with Nick Campbell.
When their bodies settled, she relaxed down onto his chest. The swing kept swaying with a soft momentum, lulling her into a peaceful state. She hadn’t been this calm for quite some time.
Nick’s arms wrapped around her, and Silvia kept her eyes shut. She just wanted this moment, with this man.
Whatever problems he shouldered could wait. At this minute, all was right with their world.