Page 9 of Canvas of Lies (Spruce Hill #3)

Nico snorted and walked up to stand beside me. “Computer stuff. That about sums it up, yes. And you’re selling vintage toys online?”

“That about sums it up, yes,” I mimicked, smirking at him.

“Seems like a far cry from joining your father’s firm.”

“Ugh,” I muttered. “You know that was never an option. I started Kat's Keepers while I was still in college—it turns out I have an eye for finding hidden gems, I guess. It’s like hunting for buried treasure.”

“Maybe you’re the one who became a pirate, after all,” he teased.

I smirked at him. “Maybe. I really love that aspect of my job, though plenty of the items need to be fixed up before selling them. I’ve learned a lot about mechanics over the years. ”

“I remember how you used to take things apart just to put them back together. It always amazed me when you could remember where each separate piece went, even if it was something entirely new. Remember that old boom box my dad found in his closet? We couldn’t believe you fixed it—I think you were nine at the time.

I can take apart a motherboard, but only because I’ve had so much practice with it. ”

I nodded and flashed a quick smile. “I do love dissecting inanimate objects.”

“And you made your passion into a career.”

“Yeah. The business stayed small until I graduated, then I decided to focus on expanding my operation enough to make a living from it. A few years back, I was able to hire Erin on, though she only went full-time about eighteen months ago.”

“You’re a fascinating woman.”

My business was something I was immensely proud of.

I’d refused any financial assistance from my father through school and in starting my business, though I was sure Aidan Willoughby wouldn’t be caught dead funding such a plebeian venture as the Keeper, even if I’d asked.

I hadn’t, because I knew better than to become beholden to my family.

To Nico, I gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I know what I want and I work hard to get it.”

The dig didn’t go unnoticed, given the spark in his dark eyes, but he didn’t bother to argue. Until he told me all of the details of this fake ransom plan, I would remind myself the best course was to assume the worst of him .

Nico blew out a long, slow breath and looked out across the water, a pensive expression on his face.

“When are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked quietly.

“Once it’s safe. I don’t want your father to have any reason to suspect your involvement in this.”

My lip curled in annoyance and his own quirked, but he valiantly attempted to suppress a smile, probably knowing it would only piss me off further.

“You’re really not going to tell me what this object is that’s worth my life to you?”

“Dammit, Kat, nothing in this world is worth your life to me!” he burst out. My lips parted in shock, but he surged on. “If I thought for one second that you were in any real danger, I’d walk away without hesitation, no matter what the cost. Do you understand me?”

Wide-eyed, I searched his face. Standing before me now was my protector, my best friend, pirate and white knight all wrapped into one—everything he’d been to me so long ago finally erupting from the man he’d become.

Any question of whether that had dwindled during our years apart evaporated like mist on the breeze.

“I understand.” The words sounded a little too breathless for my liking, so I repeated more firmly, “I understand.”

Nico drew a deep inhale, like he was trying to get his emotions under control. After a second, he moved closer to cup my cheek in his hand .

“This isn’t about money or revenge or whatever the hell you imagine it might be.

I’ve spent every day since my father’s death trying to figure out how to make this happen, and if I’d come up with any other feasible option that kept you out of it, I would’ve gone that route.

” When my brows drew down, he laughed softly and added, “And not because I didn’t want to see you again, but because I hate the thought of putting you at risk. ”

I stared at him for a long moment. Years, I thought absently. So many years of my life had been spent imagining a moment like this, imagining Nico touching me like this, and it felt completely surreal now that it had come to pass.

Then, before I could think any more about it, he dropped his hand and stepped away. It left me feeling strangely hollow.

“We should get back,” he said.

I could only nod and trail along a step or two behind him as we wove our way back through the forest toward the cabin. Every time he had his hands on me, I could see the edges of his careful control crumbling a little bit more.

Some wild part of me wanted to use that to my advantage, see where it led.

If I pushed the boundaries, what would he do? Lock me in the bedroom until it was over? Lock us in the bedroom together?

That thought sent a bolt of heat through me. I’d been crushing on him for a long time, long enough that I’d gotten used to the dull ache in my chest whenever I thought of him .

But now, of course, I had long since outgrown childhood crushes. I was very much a woman, one who knew her own mind. He still seemed interested, and my desire for him had never waned, not completely.

If I offered myself willingly, I might have a chance with Nico, now that my father wasn’t standing in our way.

But I had to nudge Nico out of his own way, too.

Twenty yards before we reached the cabin, I set my hand on his arm, drawing him to a halt. It took a moment—or maybe longer—for him to draw his gaze from my lips, curved in a tiny smile, and finally meet my eyes.

“Nico,” I said softly.

“Yes?” he croaked.

I leaned in close enough to catch a whiff of that scent that had soothed me to sleep, vanilla with a hint of citrus, then I peeked up at him and flashed a playful grin. Only then did he seem to note the devilish gleam in my eyes, narrowing his own in response.

“I’m going to kick your ass at cards this afternoon. First one to the cabin picks the game.”

With that, I bolted toward the door. He would’ve won easily if I hadn’t distracted him, given that he was in jeans and sneakers while I wore pants that dragged a few inches too long as they came untucked from my clompy boots.

Unfortunately, it took him an instant too long to process the challenge in my words before he reacted and I heard his feet pounding into the ground behind me .

As it was, he reached the cabin door barely half a second after I did. His hand closed over mine on the doorknob, trapping me between the door and his chest.

“You cheated,” he growled into my ear.

Though a shiver rushed up my spine, I turned in a tight circle to face him. It took a great deal of willpower to resist planting my palms against his chest. I knew he would feel as firm as he looked, as warm as those brown eyes promised. Better to keep my hands to myself.

For now, anyway.

“What happened to your advantage in a physical contest?” I asked sweetly, batting my lashes at him.

When his eyes flared, I knew exactly what kind of physical contest he wanted to engage in. Once he’d firmly locked down his reaction, he leaned close enough to brush the tip of his nose against mine.

“I am going to crush you at cards, Kitten. Prepare to lose.”