Page 35 of You Make It Feel like Christmas

Nick turned. He hadn’t paid much attention to what she was wearing when he showed up but he was pretty sure she’d changed her top because this one was short-sleeve.

A little sliver of her skin showed where the shirt didn’t quite cover her stomach.

He wanted to run his lips along that spot like he had the other night.

He wanted to fall asleep with her again and wake up knowing neither one of them would disappear without a word.

He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “These are amazing.” He walked toward her, holding her gaze so she could see he meant it. “ You’re amazing.”

Once again, her bottom lip quivered. “What are you really doing here, Nick?”

Nick stopped just in front of her, curled his fingers into his palms so he didn’t touch her just yet.

“I’m here because you left before I could tell you that I didn’t want you to go. That one night isn’t enough. Neither is two. I told you I don’t have all the answers but I want to figure them out with you . I want to be with you and I’m not letting you walk away a second time.”

One side of her mouth hitched up. “Technically, you walked away the first time.”

Now he reached out, pulled her against him, grateful for the flash of humor and for the way she wrapped her arms around his waist and held his gaze. “Then we’re even. Now, we both agree that neither of us walks away again.”

A cautious sort of hope brightened her eyes, making the already-dazzling brown sparkle. “I’m hungry,” she said a few seconds later.

Nick let her go and followed her into the kitchen. “Got enough to share?”

She walked to the cupboard, pulled out two plates. “Not enough to fill you up but definitely enough to share.”

“That’s fine,” he said, unpacking the bag.

There was a strange sort of comfort that came from moving around her kitchen with her, piling rice, veggies, egg rolls, and chow mein on their plates. She grabbed them both a couple of sodas and they settled on her couch.

He didn’t even realize how hungry he was until he took his first couple of bites. Once he had, and his nerves felt a bit less shaky, he gestured with his fork to the photos again.

“Those are stunning. How much do they go for?”

She laughed around her noodles. “What do you mean go for ?”

He speared a bite of cauliflower. “Tell me you’re selling your work, Maze. It’s gorgeous. I’ve never felt lonely and hopeful from looking at a picture and that first one makes me feel both.”

Maisie sucked in a sharp breath. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me about my work. Thank you.”

“I’m just telling you the truth. I’ll always do that, Maisie. And the truth is, those belong in a gallery.”

She swallowed, her jaw flexing as she picked up her plate again. She stirred noodles around it, twirled them on her fork. “Actually, there’s a contest to have your work shown in one of the downtown galleries that I was thinking of entering.”

“You absolutely should. Not sharing that kind of talent is a crime, baby.”

She looked up at him then, her gaze locking on his and the wonder, the gratitude he saw in it squeezed his heart.

“Thank you.”

They ate for a few more minutes in silence while he took in more of her space. Soft pillows, bright colors other than the photographs. Comfort and style. It suited her and made him feel a bit better about the neighborhood.

She still had food on her plate when she set it on the coffee table. “So, what? You want to have a torrid affair for a few more days and then say goodbye properly before you go back to your life and I go back to mine?”

Jesus, she made him laugh. He grinned at her and set his plate down, took a long drink of his soda. When he set it down, he pulled her back onto his lap.

“I like that you can say what’s on your mind.”

Maisie adjusted herself so her legs were straddling his waist. “It saves time.”

Nick’s hands settled on her ass, dug in a little to pull her closer.

“You working this week?”

She shook her head, put her hands on his shoulders. “No. Not until the new year. I start at the university January seventh.”

“How do you feel about me staying here for the week?” He had so many thoughts and ideas swirling in his head. There were opportunities out there he hadn’t considered until now, professionally, that he wanted to explore. Mostly, he wanted to explore this with Maisie.

Maisie’s hands cupped his cheeks. She kissed his forehead and he closed his eyes, fighting back a wave of emotion that could have drowned him if he let it all the way in.

When he opened his eyes, Maisie was staring down at him. “I feel like that would be amazing but saying goodbye at the end of it might break me.”

Reaching up, he circled his hands around her wrists. “I don’t want to say goodbye to you, Maisie. That’s why I’m here. So we can figure it out.”

Should he tell her that he was considering retirement?

It was an almost constant thought sitting in the back of his brain, weighing on him.

She was the only person, outside of Ellie, he’d felt a deep enough trust with to share everything.

But he wasn’t sure what his next step was and didn’t want to say the word until he was sure.

He didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. “My team plays here on New Year’s Eve. I’ll do extra physio here and see a doctor to get the all clear for my knee. I don’t have to be with the team until the thirtieth.”

“Will you play?” she asked gently.

“I want to.” I need to. It might be the only way to get the answers he needed.

She didn’t push. The easy acceptance in her gaze allowed him to give her more.

“I want to spend some time with you, Maisie. I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t often have a chunk of time in the season like this, which Ellie would say is fate or some shit like that.”

She laughed. “Charming.”

He grinned. “I am. Let me stay. Show me your city.”

Maisie tipped her head to the side and Nick couldn’t stop himself from moving one hand into her hair. It was like silk sliding through his fingers.

“That sounds almost like we’re dating.”

He smiled while bringing her closer, ran the tip of his nose along the bridge of hers before kissing the corner of her mouth. “I guess we are.” Nerves buzzed like bees in his chest as he forced the next words free. “Am I supposed to formally ask you to be my girlfriend?”

The way her body melted into his and her eyes brightened was worth the price of feeling like an awkward teenager instead of an almost thirty-five-year-old man.

“Only if you want to,” she said.

“Yes, please. I’m out of practice and probably won’t bring you flowers since I’ll be waking up here.”

She laughed and he kissed the other corner of her mouth, traced his tongue along the seam. Before he could kiss her the way he needed to, she leaned back.

“What if I hadn’t let you in? Or didn’t want to see you?”

His gut cramped with the just the words. “Then I would have left and regretted not giving you a reason to give me a chance, probably for the rest of my life.”

Her mouth formed a little O . Then she brought her mouth back to his, whispering against it, “Good answer, King.”

He sighed into their kiss, absorbed the feel of her pressed against him, her hands sifting through his hair, then down, over his shoulders, down still until she was tugging the hem of his shirt, yanking it up over his chest. He tried to slow them down, to gentle the kisses, to show her that it wasn’t just about sex.

He couldn’t define it but he knew it wasn’t only that.

Nick had never needed to just be near someone and he didn’t know what to do with the onslaught of feelings crowding his chest.

When he gave in and tugged his shirt the rest of the way off, she copied him, pulling hers up and off, tossing it to the floor. Nick sucked in a breath, reverently tracing one calloused fingertip slowly from the hollow of her neck, between her breasts, and all the way down to her belly button.

Lifting his gaze, the softness in hers invited his honesty. “I like you, Maisie,” he whispered, worrying about the vulnerability in his tone but loving the way her gaze flashed with happiness.

She wiggled her ass against him and gave him a sassy smile that heated his blood.

“I can tell.” He laughed, stilling her with his hands on her hips.

Her lips trailed over his cheek and along his neck, making it impossible to focus on anything other than the feel of her.

Her teeth caught his earlobe and he gripped her hips as he stood, urged her legs around his waist. “Not sure if you can tell, but I like you too,” she whispered in his ear.

“Where’s your bedroom, Maisie?” The words tumbled out gruff and urgent as he pushed off the couch, wrapped her legs around his waist.

She kept kissing his neck and he’d made it two steps into the hallway before she said, “Who cares?”

Pressing her against the wall, he lifted his head, his gaze burning down into hers as he smiled at her.

Taking her arms from around his neck, holding her in place with his hips, he gripped her wrists in one hand, held them above her head as he took a turn driving her crazy with his mouth against her neck, along her collarbone, that spot just under her ear that made her shudder against his body.

His hips flexed against hers and he swallowed her groan. Doing his best to rein himself in, he lifted his head. “You should. I need room to do this properly.”

Maisie laughed, tugged at his hold. “As the lucky woman who has been with you in a bed, on the floor, in the shower, and against a wall, I can confidently say that’s not true. Your surroundings do not seem to matter.”

Laughing as he slid his hands down to her butt to hold her tight, he moved away from the wall while memories of their first night flashed through his brain. He pushed open the door next to them. There were only two doors and the other was open, revealing a small bathroom.

Carrying her into her room, they fell into the bed together. There was a chance this was a mistake, that he would hurt both of them because he didn’t actually know what he was doing when it came to relationships, but the pull of her was too much to walk away from.

And with Maisie wrapped around him, whispering his name, he just hoped it was worth the risk for both of them.