Page 11 of Mine This Time

Chapter Ten

Mari

The feel of Nash’s lips on mine sent flames licking through my body.

I sighed against his mouth and pressed closer.

I craved the feel of his strength and warmth encompassing me.

He murmured something against my lips, and I slipped my hand around his nape, my fingers teasing along the edge of his collar.

With a muttered imprecation, Nash’s hand slid down my back, and his tongue swept inside my mouth as he angled his head to the side. In a matter of seconds, I was swept into our kiss—the sensual glide of his tongue against mine, the way he held me strong and sure in his grip.

Just as the fierce fire was pulling me in, Nash drew back swiftly. A moan of protest slipped out. I wanted to yank him back, but he broke away entirely and took a few steps away.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he ran a hand roughly through his hair and stuffed the other in his pocket. Turning away, he stared out the windows for a moment. When he looked back toward me, his eyes were dark. “I promised myself I wasn’t going to do that.”

“Why?”

Argh! I hated how much I wanted to know. Why couldn’t I play this cool and simply dismiss him?

“Because I respect you, and your brother?—”

“Oh my God! Don’t you dare tell me you mentioned our kiss before to Max.”

Nash shook his head sharply. “If you’d let me finish my sentence, you would’ve heard that it’s just that I respect your brother, and I don’t think he would appreciate me doing this. Not now, not after what just happened to you.”

“Max has no say in my sex life,” I said, my voice coming out with a high pitch.

Nash eyed me with trepidation. “Mari, I’m not saying your brother should have a say in this. It’s that, well, you just came out of a relationship. Max might think I’m taking advantage. Not to mention, I don’t want to be your rebound.”

Anger laced through me, tangling up with the tumult of desire still humming in my veins.

“You’re not a rebound,” I murmured. “Like I told you, Brett and I were practically broken up.” Again and again, I wondered why the hell I said yes when Brett called and asked me about this trip.

Maybe it was my pride, maybe it was me wishing there was something more for me with anyone, and Brett happened to be convenient.

“That’s not my point,” Nash said.

We stared at each other, and the air felt charged around us. After a long moment, Nash took a step closer. “I didn’t expect this, but whatever happens between us, I don’t want you to think it’s just a quick thing for me. I’ll see you tomorrow. Let me take you to lunch or dinner.”

“Shouldn’t you be at work tomorrow?” I was being stubborn, and I knew it, but whatever.

“If I feel like taking time off, I will. See you tomorrow. I’ll be in touch about when.” At that, Nash bent low once more and brushed a brief kiss across my lips. It felt as if I’d literally been shocked as the electricity spun through my system when he stepped away.

“Good night, Mari,” he said when he reached the door.

Flustered, hot, and frustrated, I simply nodded. I sensed the beat of hesitation in him, but he moved decisively after a moment. The door shut behind him, and I heard the lock automatically click.

As soon as Nash was out of my sight, doubts and recrimination began to crowd my thoughts.

I felt so foolish. Here I was, craving Nash’s attention and touch.

I didn’t doubt he was attracted to me, but I shouldn’t have let myself read any more than that into it.

He was right. Well, except for caring about my brother’s opinion.

I loved Max, but it was my stubborn reaction to his dismissive opinion on Brett that probably contributed to me staying in that stupid relationship—if I could even call it that—longer than I should’ve. If I ever doubted whether Brett was using me, his recent actions had made that abundantly clear.

The moment my thoughts tripped over Brett, a sense of unease rippled through me, and my gut churned with anxiety. I didn’t understand how he’d tracked me down here. I certainly didn’t understand why he would think we could talk this through somehow.

If there was one piece of sanity in the midst of my emotional confusion, it was that I didn’t trust Brett. I firmly knew I didn’t want to revisit anything with him. We were over, and I should’ve recognized it sooner.

When I looked back on when he asked me about coming on this trip, I should never have agreed.

He’d been distant and sporadically in touch for the last few months or more.

I hadn’t even particularly missed him. I thought perhaps it was just my own not-so-great self-esteem around relationships and the sting to my pride.

As if those two things alone weren’t enough, if I was honest with myself, it was my pride that drove me to prove Max wrong that really made a mess of it all

Love or not, that was a funny thing about brothers. You didn’t want them to be right. Hell no.

Uncomfortably aware that Brett somehow knew I was in this building, I checked the security panel by the door before getting ready for bed.

Once I’d taken care of washing my face and brushing my teeth, I laid down.

I was comfortably propped up on the pillows and scrolling through my e-reader to find a book to read when my phone vibrated on the nightstand beside the bed. Lifting it, I saw a text from Nash.

I had the security team run a check on all the systems for the building. Everything is locked down. Don’t forget there’s a security guard there all night handling the door. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call him. I’m forwarding you his direct number. If anything happens, please call me.

Immediately following that text, Nash forwarded the number for the security guard.

I set my phone back on the table and smiled slowly as a sense of warmth spun around my heart.

I didn’t know what to think about my response to Nash.

He was going out of his way for me, and I truly did appreciate it.

Lifting my phone again, I typed out a quick reply.

Thank you. I appreciate everything you’re doing. See you tomorrow.

I was enjoying a cup of coffee with a bagel and some cream cheese while I researched local inns for my story. Considering I could now pay Hannah for my stay at Creek’s End Inn, I needed to start there. Pulling up her contact information in my phone, I called.

“Good morning, Creek’s End Inn.”

I thought this was Hannah ’s voice, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. “Good morning. I’m hoping to speak with Hannah Grantham.”

“You found her. This is Hannah. How can I help you?”

“Hi Hannah, it’s Mari Channing.”

“Oh, hey, Mari! So good to hear from you. How are you?”

“I’m doing much better than when we last spoke. I’d like to pay you for my stay. I’d also like to follow-up and see if I could stop by for a piece I’m doing on local inns in the area.”

“You could stop by no matter what, but I would never turn down free publicity,” Hannah replied. I could hear the smile in her voice, and it eased the thread of tension inside. Despite her graciousness about the situation, I’d been worried about the bill.

“Perfect. Seeing as I’ve already stayed there, I would give it nothing less than five stars. I’d love to chat about the history of the area and need to get a few photographs if that’s all right.”

Hannah and I chatted for a few more minutes, and I took care of the bill over her protestations. She only reluctantly agreed after I explained it just didn’t feel right for me to let it slide.

“So, you’ll be in the area for a while though?” she asked.

“At least for a week.”

I explained my assignment, and she offered to give me a list of recommendations for other inns nearby.

Because Hannah was by nature a generous person, I imagined she often recommended other places she respected.

She didn’t seem short on business and was one of the all-boats-lift-each-other types of people.

“Where are you staying while you’re here? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“To make a long story short, I’m staying in one of the staff condos through Nash Reynolds. He knows my older brother through business.”

“Oh, that’s great. Nash is a nice guy. So easy on the eyes too,” she teased. “Considering how much real estate he owns in New Orleans, I’m sure he’s got plenty of options for you. Please do give Nash my best.”

“Of course I will.”

We firmed up when I would stop by for photographs.

I got off the phone feeling a bit accomplished.

It was just one story, but I felt like I was at least getting my equilibrium back.

I might not know where I was going to land as far as where I lived, but I had a job that could travel with me, and I would sort out this mess created by Brett.

After I finished my call with Hannah, I reached out to a few other places from the email she sent with recommendations. I also spent a little time online doing some preliminary research on other inns. Lastly, I followed up and finalized my most recent assignment and sent it off to my editor.

I leaned back in the chair at the small round table off to the side of the kitchen with a satisfied sigh when I hit send on my last email. My life might have been turned upside down in some ways, but it felt good to get my bearings again.

When it came to my career, I’d kind of stumbled into my online journalism job.

During college, I’d ended up working for one of the college newspapers mostly because I had a crush on a guy who worked there.

He turned out to be an asshole—I seemed to have an excellent radar for assholes—but he left his job at the paper, and I stayed on.

It wasn’t great money, but it was enough for me to cover my bills and much more flexible than many other jobs.

Although my brother was loaded now, back then, we were both scrambling just to get by.

After that, I’d gone on to get my graduate degree in journalism.

It certainly wasn’t the most lucrative field, but I enjoyed writing.

My current job gave me a lot of flexibility.

I could travel and had my pick of subject matters to explore for the most part—and when you add to that I had a supportive boss, it was a great fit.

Maybe I was close to broke at the moment, and maybe I needed to figure out what the hell was next, but I had work.

For the moment, I also had a place to stay.

The second I thought about just how temporary my living situation was, my mind spun onto dueling tracks of anxiety.

I needed a plan because this wasn’t a long-term prospect.

There was plenty to worry about in that category.

Then, there was Nash. It was sooooo not smart to be crushing on him.

It didn’t seem to matter if it was smart.

My body and heart weren’t getting the memo. I was totally crushing on him. Hard.

Merely thinking about our kiss had me leaping out of my chair and pacing restlessly in front of the windows.

I didn’t even know what to think of his misplaced chivalry.

I definitely knew what I thought about him worrying about what my brother might think.

For God’s sake, Max had too many opinions about my love life.

It stung a little bit. My pride had taken a big hit to the chin with Brett.

How the hell could Brett figure out where I was staying? That bothered me. A lot. I’d already changed my passwords on every single account I had. I just hoped he hadn’t done something I couldn’t find.

As if the universe was mocking me, my phone rang, the vibration on the table loud from where I was pacing back and forth in front of the windows. Striding back to the table, I glanced down at the screen. An unfamiliar number flashed there.

All worries about Brett aside, I never answered unknown calls. The deluge of robocalls, often masked, was exhausting and had trained me to be highly skeptical. Returning my phone to the table, I waited to see if whoever called left a message. Once the banner showed a voicemail, I hit play.

“Hey, babe. It’s Brett. This is a temporary number. I don’t know what the deal is with you and Nash Reynolds, but we need to talk. Call me as soon as you get this.”

I almost hit delete before considering that perhaps I should save the message in case anything weird happened. Setting my phone back down on the table, I muttered, “I’m not your fucking babe.”

There was no way in hell I was going to call Brett.