Sweet Tomorrows (14 page)

My cell rang. I'd set it down in the office next to my business line and I hopped up. “If you'll excuse me for a minute.”

“Of course.”

I left Emily sipping her tea and rushed in to catch my phone, suspecting it was Greg, and I was right.

“Hey,” I said, pleased to hear from him. He had a deep voice that soothed and fascinated me.

“Hey,” he returned. “Just checking to make sure we're still on for tomorrow night.”

“I'm planning on it.”

“I probably shouldn't admit this, but I called because I wanted to hear the sound of your voice.”

I don't think my smile could have gotten any bigger. “I like the sound of your voice, too.” He'd reached out to me every night since our outing on Saturday to Mount Rainier. One evening we talked for two hours. Two hours, which I found unbelievable. I've never had so much to say to anyone that demanded a two-hour conversation—well, other than Paul.

“You having a good day?”

“Yes, but Emily isn't. She tripped on her run this morning and wrenched her ankle. Some interesting developments on that plane,” I said, lowering my voice, not wanting it to carry into the other room. “I detect a bit of a romance blooming between her and the owner of that house she's interested in buying.”

Settling down in my office chair, I leaned back and relaxed. As if he understood this might be a lengthy conversation, Rover wandered in and sat down at my feet.

I'll be the first one to admit I'm not a good patient. By the end of the following day I was both frustrated and impatient. Before dinnertime I was more than ready to toss those blasted crutches into the cove and be done with them. My underarms ached, and getting up and down from a seated position twisted me into contortions a gymnast would have trouble doing.

This entire day had been a nightmare from beginning to end. The only bright spot, and I hesitate to admit it, had been…Nick. He'd stopped by late in the afternoon to check on me. Our conversation, with Jo Marie in the other room, felt stilted and uncomfortable, as both of us were aware she was within earshot. Nick was uneasy. I knew being at the inn in daylight with other people around was way out of his comfort zone.

I wasn't sure how to act around him, seeing that I'd completely embarrassed myself when he kissed me. If anyone was handing out blue ribbons in a kissing contest, Nick would win hands down. I'd never meant to respond the way I did, but then I couldn't help myself. It was happening again…I was falling for this guy, and after two disastrous relationships, I could almost predict the future. Experience had taught me it wouldn't be unicorns and rainbows, either.

I should tell Nick the truth about myself right now and be done with it. He had a right to know before our relationship went any further. Dread filled me. I liked this feeling of being wanted, and selfishly, I wanted it to continue. It'd been a long time since a man made me feel the way Nick did.

For most of the night I'd been awake and restless. Jo Marie noticed first thing in the morning and assumed I'd been in pain. Yes, my ankle ached, but what kept me staring at the ceiling until the wee hours of the morning was the memory of Nick's kisses. I couldn't stop thinking about how good they'd been.

Right away my mind started making up excuses not to tell him the truth about me. It was personal, private. Intimate. But to not tell him could lead to problems in the future. More heartache. I'd dealt with enough of that to last me a lifetime. Surely two broken engagements were all the evidence required.

The kissing should never have happened. It must have been the pain I was experiencing. Or the cold. All I can say is that I wasn't myself, because sure as I'm sitting here, leg propped up and bandaged, and high on pain meds, I know for a fact no one man's kisses could be that good.

“How are you feeling?” Nick asked, standing in the middle of Jo Marie's living room. Although I offered, he refused to take a seat. He paced the area in front of the sofa where I sat as if he would rather be anyplace but here. My guess was he felt as unsettled about our exchange as I did.

Good.
All the better.

Perhaps we could count it a fluke and move past what had happened. I was willing and I hoped Nick was, too. Only we couldn't discuss any of it with Jo Marie a short distance away.

“Emily?”

The question. He wanted me to answer the question. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember what he'd asked. Oh, it was about my ankle.

“I'm better…thanks.”

“You should never have gone out without dressing appropriately for the weather,” he chastised.

“You're right.” I could only agree.

“Or leave your phone behind.”

“Right again.” Did he honestly expect me to argue? Perhaps that was what he wanted me to do.

“I'm just glad I came when I did.”

“Me, too.”

He remained standing, his eyes full of concern. “You still in pain?”

I shook my head. “The pain meds took care of that, although I slept most of the afternoon.” I didn't mention that was the result of not having rested the night before.

“Which means you probably won't sleep tonight.”

“Probably not,” I agreed. Nothing new there.

To my relief, Nick left a few minutes later, and I was grateful.

Jo Marie heated up some leftover soup for dinner. Afterward she guided me into the downstairs bedroom and helped me into bed. Because I wasn't tired, I sat up reading.

About midnight I heard someone tapping against the windowpane. I tried to ignore it, but the tapping only got louder.

Thankfully, the bed was next to the window. Kneeling on the mattress, I peered out and was stunned to find Nick and Elvis on the other side. With a bit of effort I was able to open the window.

“Nick? What in the name of heaven are you doing here?”

“Come out so we can talk.”

I was all set to be irritated, but really, how could I be when he wore such a huge, sexy grin? My irritation melted like ice in hot water. Oh no, it was happening again. I was under his spell; for the life of me, I couldn't resist the warmth in his eyes or his smile.

“Come outside? You're not serious, are you? I can't.”

“Why not?”

“It's a hassle, with the crutches and getting to the front door…”

“Come out the window.” He held out his arms as if to show how he'd catch me.

“What? You're not serious. You actually want me to crawl out this window?” Was the man nuts?

“Don't worry, I've got you. I'm not going to let anything happen.”

I'll admit the offer was tempting, far more tempting than it should be. I did need to talk to him and I didn't want to do it when Jo Marie was around. Biting into my lower lip, I considered it. “I…I don't know.”

“Come on, Emily, you know you want to. Besides, Elvis is here and he misses you.”

It was ridiculous to even consider anything so juvenile. The last time I crawled out of my bedroom window I'd been fourteen and snuck out of the house for a Halloween party my parents forbade me from attending. Naturally, I'd gotten caught and paid the price.

Nick held his arms out to me. “You coming?”

“How did you know I'd be awake?” I asked while I toyed with the decision.

“You said you'd slept all afternoon, remember?”

“Right.” So he'd planned this all along.

“Come on; we don't have all night.”

Actually, we did, but I wasn't about to point that out.

Opening the window as far as it would go, I crawled out headfirst, taking care to protect my injured ankle. I smothered my giggles as Nick grabbed hold of my arms, then tucked his own around my torso as he pulled me the rest of the way through the opening.

“If anyone sees us we're likely to get arrested,” I taunted.

“No one's going to see us.”

“I can't believe I'm doing this…”

Sure enough, within a matter of moments I was in Nick's arms. He carried me around to the front of the house and onto the porch where we'd sat that one other time.

The night was clear.

“How's the ankle feeling now?”

“I'll live,” I assured him.

“Good.”

“I've put a real dent in your work for the last two days, haven't I?” I felt guilty for all the time I'd taken when he clearly had more important matters to attend to rather than fussing over me.

“Don't worry about it,” he said, dismissing my concern.

He reached for my hand and I held my breath, unsure how to start this uncomfortable conversation. “Listen, I think we need to talk about what happened in the shower,” I said as I gently pulled my hand free. This was hard enough without adding his touch to the mix.

“Oh?” He arched his brows. “What about it?”

This was tricky. “I know you regret it and…”

“Who said?”

“You aren't sorry it happened?” This wasn't going the way I assumed it would.

“Not exactly.”

His answer confused me. Okay, time to try another approach. “If I led you into thinking I wanted you to kiss me…”

“You didn't.”

“I mean, it's nothing, right? I'm making a mountain out of a speed bump.” By this point, I regretted saying anything. I sounded like I was in junior high.

“I wanted it, Emily. I needed it. Those kisses were something wonderful to me,” he countered, frowning.

“Really?” I asked, in a weak attempt to make light of it. “I was thinking you'd like to ignore that it happened and well…you know.”

“Can't say that I do know. What made you think that?” he challenged.

“Well, this afternoon…you didn't want to sit down and you seemed uneasy and…”

“And Jo Marie was in the other room. If I appeared uncomfortable it was because…because I'm uncomfortable being around people just yet.”

“You are?” This was probably something I'd picked up on earlier. Dana mentioned how he didn't answer the door when she came to ask about the house and he'd certainly made it plain he didn't want me on his property.

“You were at the tavern that night…”

“Yeah, I thought I'd test myself. Big mistake.”

“You were there for me.”

“That was a fluke.”

“One I'm grateful for.”

He nodded, dismissing my appreciation.

“Why are you here now?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with my question. “I could say I'm here to check on your ankle, but that would only be partially true. I wanted to be sure you understood that it was never my intention to kiss you, but it happened, and I can't say I have any regrets.”

After that rather long speech I had only one word to say: “Oh.”

Elvis moved closer and glanced up at me as if expecting me to lavish attention on him.

Okay, this was about to get even more awkward. “I'm glad you said something. It's important that we be on the same page. I need to be honest here. There's something you don't know about me. Something I need to tell you.”

“You're married.”

“No, no,” I said, shaking my head. I didn't know why he would even suggest such a thing. I swallowed tightly and squared my shoulders. “I'm infertile.”

He stared at me as if he didn't know the meaning of the word.

“I can't have children,” I elaborated.

“Okay, and you're telling me this why?”

I closed my eyes. It would have been better if I'd said nothing. All I'd done by blurting this out was make a fool of myself.

“It's best you learn this about me now. If, you know, we started seeing each other, then this is information you should have.” I was convinced my face was the color of a ripe summer tomato. Nick must think I was leaping to conclusions and after the shower incident I assumed we were destined to be together.

“We kissed, Emily. I didn't ask you to have babies with me.”

“I…I'm telling you this now because…because I've been engaged twice and both men wanted out when reality hit them.” I was being unfair to James. We broke the engagement because he loved Katie, and once I came to know her I knew she was the right woman for him.

Nick didn't say anything for a long time.

Perhaps if I explained further, letting him know this wasn't something that could be fixed. “I was born without a uterus.”

He grinned. He actually grinned like I was making a joke when I'd bared my very soul to him. Irritation stiffened my spine. “This isn't a joke,” I said tightly and started to rise, balancing as best I could on one foot. I'd never felt more ridiculous in my life. I'd made a complete fool of myself.

“I apologize,” Nick said, standing and using his strength to sit me back down again. “It just came out of the blue and…”

“I made a mess of telling you and for that I'm sorry, but this is information you need to know about me now. Don't toy with me, Nick. I couldn't bear that.” My voice wobbled a bit and I feared he wasn't taking me seriously.

“Emily, stop, please. I appreciate that you told me, but honestly it doesn't matter.”

“It does,” I countered, shocked that he didn't appreciate the significance of what I'd revealed. “You think it doesn't now, but you're wrong.”

That irritating grin was back. I was seriously beginning to doubt he appreciated what it had cost me to tell him this part of myself and my past. I shrugged and decided to play along as if what happened was of little significance. “You're right. It was just a few chaste kisses. It was nice, but you have to remember my head wasn't exactly working on all eight cylinders.”