Chapter 20
Closing time came around, and Thea hung up her apron gratefully.
She’d been nervous all afternoon about talking to Nick, and now she just wanted to speak to him and get home.
The thought of another tense day tomorrow made her try to be more patient, though.
The atmosphere between them had added another layer of stress that she just didn’t need.
As she closed out the till and put the drawer into the safe, she straightened up again and let out a long sigh.
She was tired. Really, really tired. Thank goodness Cora was going to cook dinner tonight.
‘Everything OK?’ Nick asked as she went back through to the shop, having picked up her bag from the back office.
‘All good,’ Thea replied. ‘Er, you said you wanted to talk to me?’
‘Yeah, is now a good time?’ As Thea watched, Nick rubbed the back of his neck, a classic nervous gesture she’d seen him do a thousand times before. Tonight, though, it irritated her.
‘I do have to get home, Nick,’ she said quickly. ‘The kids have been on their own since they got back from school and I’d like to see them sometime tonight.’
‘Sure, sure. Sorry.’
‘Well?’ she said, a little more sharply than she’d intended. ‘What is it, Nick?’
Nick, obviously catching her tone, got to it. ‘Look, there are a couple of things, actually. The first one is about what you saw the other night. It was nothing, honestly. Tally took things into her own hands?—’
‘And you, it would seem,’ Thea interjected. ‘You were very much in her hands from what I saw.’
Nick looked pained. ‘She grabbed me before I had the chance to do anything!’ he protested. ‘And all right, she’s a very attractive woman, but I keep telling you, she’s not for me.’
‘Not so much that you didn’t hook up with her last time, though,’ Thea observed. ‘You must fancy her a bit.’
‘Honestly?’ Nick paused. ‘I did then, but I don’t any more. And that stupid kiss proved it to me. I think it might have proved it to her, too. She didn’t exactly look thrilled afterwards.’
‘I wouldn’t know. I left pretty sharpish, but you probably didn’t notice.’
‘I did notice, and I wanted to explain.’ Nick’s tone was gentle, but firm, and Thea found her pulse beating a little bit faster.
‘You don’t have to explain anything to me. I’m your friend, not your—’ She broke off, and started to blush. ‘Look, I really do have to go.’
Nick shifted a little. ‘Not my what?’ he asked softly.
‘Nothing,’ Thea muttered. ‘Forget I said anything.’ She didn’t want to admit to herself just how much seeing Nick kissing Tally under the mistletoe had affected her.
She was frustrated she’d reacted so strongly, and it didn’t make any sense, in her mind at least. Nick could kiss whomever he wanted; why, then, had a huge part of her wanted to be in Tally’s place?
‘Thea…’ Nick murmured, and his tone made her look up from the floor, where she’d been resolutely staring.
‘Would it help if I said I was sorry?’ His eyes showed concern, affection, and an obvious desire to make things right between them.
She didn’t doubt his sincerity, in that moment, but she was still unsettled by her own reaction to the kiss she’d seen.
‘It’s not that,’ Thea muttered. She didn’t want to admit how she felt to him: she was terrified about losing the connection they were beginning to strengthen. ‘Honestly, Nick, it’s fine.’
Nick’s expression communicated all too clearly that he didn’t believe her. Just as she was about to speak, again, he beat her to it.
‘Come here.’
Nick moved towards her and Thea was enveloped in a hug.
Nick, after a day hefting stuff in from the barns single handed, smelled warm, musky and delicious.
The traces of sweat and deodorant assailed her senses, and she breathed in, relishing their closeness.
‘Tally was a stupid mistake, and that’s all there is to it.
I’d hate for you to think otherwise. And I really do want to clear the air,’ he said softly, his breath brushing her hair.
‘Me too.’ Thea rested in his arms, enjoying how good it felt to be held again, and by Nick.
She glanced up at him, and as their eyes met, and their lips hovered a breath or two apart, her head started to spin.
But just before she could close the gap between them, reality reasserted itself.
‘You’re a good friend,’ she said, half-sadly, pulling back.
‘You too.’ He let her go. ‘I’ll, er, see you tomorrow?’
‘Bright and early!’ she replied. As she walked out of the door towards her car, Thea’s heart was hammering faster and faster.
It would have been so easy to tilt her face upwards and kiss him while they were hugging, but she wasn’t sure how things might have ended, if she had.
She was shocked by just how much she’d wanted to do that.