16. Riley
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
RILEY
Nash
I’ll be there in fifteen minutes to pick you up.
I stare at my phone, shaking my head as I read over Nash’s message again. After my appointment this morning, he came and dropped me off at his sister’s house. He wouldn’t tell me why—only that he needed me out of the house for a few hours.
“Hello? Is anyone home?!”
Nova glances over at the front door just as Nonna comes strolling into the house. Posey climbs off the couch and goes running for her, the older woman scooping her up in her arms as she gives her a hug.
“Hey, Nonna,” Nova says with a smile as her grandmother walks into the living room carrying a bag and Posey. She smiles at the two of us, coming to sit next to me as she sets her bag on the coffee table. “I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
“I had some things for you and Poe and figured I would swing by since I was running errands this way.” She glances at me, a smile brightening up her face. “How are you, Riley?”
“I’m good.” I nod, smiling back at her. “Can’t complain.”
“Nash is coming to pick her up soon,” Nova tells her grandmother, wagging her eyebrows at her. She looks at me, an apologetic smirk on her face, although her eyes don’t say she’s sorry at all. “He’s gotten pretty comfortable at your house, huh?”
“Don’t either of you start.” I laugh, shaking my head as I shove away my real feelings. “Nash and I are just friends, you both know that.”
“Honey, I hate to break it to you, but friends don’t look at friends the way that man looks at you,” Nonna tells me, a soft snort escaping her.
Nova nods, giving me a knowing look. “I know my brother, Ry. I’ve never seen him this way with anyone else.”
“Never seen who what way?” Lincoln asks the three of us as he comes strolling into the room. He looks back and forth between Nonna and Nova before looking at me. “What did I miss?”
“You’re home early,” Nova says, a grin drifting across her lips as she rises to her feet to greet him. She steps up to him, her arms moving to link around the back of his neck as he grabs her waist. He leans down and she lifts up onto her tiptoes, their lips meeting in the middle.
I glance away, feeling like I’m suddenly being invasive. I glance at Nonna and she looks at me, half rolling her eyes with a knowing smirk as she turns her attention back to Posey. Nova and Lincoln break apart from one another and she gets swept away in him as she starts to ask him how his day was. Lincoln went golfing with some of the guys earlier today, but he didn’t disclose whether or not Nash was with him.
I think if Nash was doing something as simple as golfing, he wouldn’t have needed me to get out of the house since he wouldn’t have been there anyway.
The back door opens and closes, the sound echoing through the kitchen before bouncing into the living room. I sit up on the couch, glancing behind me, feeling a wave of relief as I see Nash walking into the house. His eyes meet mine, his face lighting up as soon as he sees me. He changed his outfit and his hair looks damp, almost as if he just got out of the shower.
“Hey,” I say softly as he walks up behind me, his hands landing on the back of the couch by my shoulders.
His eyes drop to my lips before his gaze collides with mine once more. “Hey.” His voice is husky, his lips parting as he almost starts to inch his face closer to mine. “There’s my wi—” He abruptly stops himself, straightening back up. My breath catches in my throat, my heart pounding erratically in my chest. “Are you ready to go?”
Swallowing roughly, I nod as I begin to climb up from the couch. Lincoln says something to Nash as I say bye to Nova and Nonna, giving both of them hugs before kissing the top of Poe’s head. The four of them all say bye to us, and I let Nash lead the way as we walk out of the house and head to the car.
Nash stops by my side, opening the door for me, and waits until I’m in my seat before he closes it and walks over to his own side. I’m putting on my seat belt as he climbs in behind the wheel and turns on the engine.
“So, what’s the secret you’re keeping from me?”
Nash glances at me, a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips, but he doesn’t fully turn to face me as he begins to back out of the driveway. “It’s not really a secret, but more of a surprise.” He pauses as he reaches the street, putting the car into drive as he looks at me. “If I tell you, it will ruin it.”
“But if you don’t tell me, doesn’t that still make it a secret?”
He looks at me from the corner of his eye. “Do you like secrets, love?”
“Maybe,” I admit, my voice quiet as I look at him then glance back out the window.
“Perhaps I’ll tell you mine sometime,” he says softly, one hand on the wheel as he rests the other on the gearshift. “But only if you tell me yours in exchange.”
***
“After you,” he says, opening the front door in a sweeping motion as he stands off to the side, letting me walk in first. “I’m not going to tell you what the surprise is. I’m just going to wait until you discover it yourself.”
As I walk into the house, I glance at him over my shoulder, my eyes narrowing on his. “You’re not going to even give me a hint?”
“If you look around, it’s kind of hard to miss,” Nash tells me with a smirk as he steps into the house and shuts the door behind him. He kicks off his shoes the same time I remove mine and he takes my jacket before motioning for me to move. “Go ahead, see if you can find it.”
I blow out an exasperated breath before I start to walk around the first floor of the house. My eyebrows are pulled together, my eyes squinting as I look in each and every room, looking for something different or out of place. Nash simply follows me around, his face giving absolutely nothing away.
“It’s not on this floor, is it?”
He shrugs with indifference. “You tell me.”
Another huff escapes me, and Nash chuckles as I begin to walk up the stairs to the second floor. He’s right behind me, following me up each step. I glance at the room he’s been staying in, walking over to that one first as I push open the door. It looks exactly as it always does—his bed a mess like he just crawled out of it because he insists making it is a waste of time.
We walk out of his room and I push open my door, giving it a quick once-over without stepping into the room. Nothing looks any different. I turn around to look at him, glancing at the door for the nursery before looking back at him.
“Nash…”
Emotion consumes me, my throat constricting as I roll my lips between my teeth and swallow back the tears that threaten to flood my eyes.
“Open the door, Riley.”
My footsteps are light as I walk over to the nursery, my hand instantly finding the doorknob. I slowly turn it, my heart still in my chest as I hold my breath. I push the door open, lifting my hands to cover my mouth as tears blur my vision. Nash’s hand grazes against my lower back and he eases me into the room.
I step inside, wiping the tears from my cheeks as I look around, my eyes scanning the walls. I never told him the color I wanted to paint, but he’s clearly been paying attention to the different pictures I’ve shown him for inspiration. The walls are painted a soft gray-blue color with the far side a darker blue as an accent wall.
“You painted the nursery for me.”
“Do you like it?”
Emotion chokes me and I close the distance between us, my body crashing into his as I grab the sides of his face. I can’t stop myself as I lift up onto my toes, my lips finding his in an instant. “Yes,” I murmur against his lips, kissing him again. “I love it.”
“Good,” he breathes against my mouth before his lips begin to move with mine. I kiss him with the fire that’s been building and multiplying deep inside of me since the moment he decided to step in. Really, that fire sparked years and years ago, but only recently has it begun to burn as deeply as it has.
My feelings for Nash started when we were younger and they always felt forbidden, like something I couldn’t explore. Perhaps things are different now. Perhaps everything between us has changed. We’ve shifted into unknown territory. Friends don’t kiss friends the way he kisses me.
His legs move against mine as he turns my body, walking me backward until my back collides with the wall in the hallway. “I wanted to do this when I saw you this morning,” he murmurs against my lips as he lifts his hand to push the hair away from my face, stroking my jawline with his fingertips.
“Do what?” I ask him, my voice barely audible as I drop my hands down to his shoulders, fisting the material of his shirt as I hold on to him.
“Kiss you until you’re gasping for air.”
His lips move against my own, soft and gentle as he kisses me with an intensity that has warmth pooling in the pit of my stomach and my toes curling. He kisses me as if time ceases to exist—like it is ours for the taking. He’s attentive and tender, his tongue sweeping across mine, tangling and dancing together as he pins me against the wall.
My hands dig into his shoulders, holding on to him as I tilt my head back, granting him further access. Our surroundings fade away and the only thing that matters is him. He’s all I see, all I feel. Nash Simmons grounds me in more ways than one. He’s like an anchor—strong and steady, keeping me from drifting out to sea.
He kisses me slowly as if he’s trying to siphon my soul from my body. He doesn’t have to ask and he doesn’t have to try. I’ll gladly give him every piece of me; whatever he wants, it’s his.
Nash moves his lips from mine and my lungs scream for oxygen as my chest rises and falls in rapid succession. He pulls back, just enough to scan my face as he bites back a grin.
“Mission accomplished.”