Chapter 15
NASH
“Our first locum tenens will be ready to rock and roll on January one. Good work, everyone. I think we can call it a day.” I press my palms into my eyes, trying to rub away the blurriness staring at a computer screen has caused.
My employees laugh and chat as they clean up their stuff and tuck in their chairs around the conference table. I hated keeping everyone here past our regular work hours, especially the first week of December, but it’s better to work hard now then ease up the closer we get to Christmas.
“See you later, Sadie,” Harper calls as Sadie walks out the door.
“Bye.” She smiles over her shoulder, stopping her gaze on me before turning to go.
I’ve done everything I could today to avoid contact with her. It’s partly out of embarrassment for having a lapse of judgment at the party last week and telling her that I like her. What am I, five? And the other part is out of a broken heart. Her internship ends in three weeks, and watching her return to Skaneateles for Thanksgiving put it all into perspective.
She’s leaving…for good.
The ache that realization brings is beyond anything I’ve ever felt.
Lindy says I shouldn’t give up, that I should fight for Sadie until she’s mine.
But I’ve been doing that since day one at the Cubs game. The last six months feel like a boxing match. In some rounds, I didn’t fight as aggressively because I was trying to be the perfect boss, and then in other rounds, I went for the knockout, shamelessly flirting with her even when I knew I shouldn’t.
Either way, it’s the last round of the fight, and I’m throwing in the towel, accepting my loss. For the first time ever, my intuition was wrong. Sadie isn’t the love of my life—the one person I’ll spend forever with.
I just really thought she was.
“I feel bad that she called off her engagement,” I hear Josie say to Harper, and suddenly, I’m inserting myself into their conversation.
“I know! I was so surprised.”
“Wait.” I step between them, desperate for information. “Who called off their engagement?”
“Sadie did when she went home this weekend,” Josie says. “Didn’t you notice the ring was gone?”
I grab Josie’s shoulders, stopping short of shaking her for the information. “You’re sure she’s no longer engaged?”
Harper leans in with a knowing smile. “She didn’t just call off the engagement. She broke up with Stetson for good.”
The biggest bomb of excitement explodes inside my chest. My eyes skitter around the room, looking for encouragement.
“Now’s your chance, boss,” Reggie says.
“You know you want to,” Allen chimes in.
Harper bounces up and down on her toes. “Oh, come on. Everyone knows you’re madly in love with her. She probably called off the engagement because she feels the same about you.”
“You think?”
“Yes!” Josie pushes me toward the door.
Really, I didn’t need any encouragement. I was going to go after Sadie no matter what. I was just letting my head catch up to my heart.
I run to the elevator and push the button four times too many until the door slides open. Once inside, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out as the elevator jerks downward.
Sadie
Hey, it’s the girl from the Cubs game. I’d love to go out with you sometime. Especially since I don’t think you’re crazy, and I no longer have a boyfriend.
I laugh as I read the text, knowing from this moment on, my life will never be the same.
SADIE
I didn’t tell Nash at work today about my broken engagement. There’s no good way to frame something like that during office hours. ‘Hey, Nash, hand me the Mountain West Hospital file, and oh, by the way, I broke up with my fiancé.’
It just doesn’t come off the tongue well.
That’s why I texted him from the parking garage as I walked to my car.
The door opens behind me, and Nash calls, “Sadie!”
I spin, seeing him jog to me with a huge smile on his lips.
That was fast. I literally sent the text four seconds ago.
“Where are you going?” His words come out breathless.
A little V forms between my brows as they furrow together. “To my apartment.”
His eyes drop to my ring finger for confirmation then flick back to my face. “You called off your engagement?”
“Yeah.”
He steps closer, a languid smile on his mouth. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in the past five months.”
That small step does the sweetest things to my heart. “Just the past five months? Not in your whole life?”
“Probably in my whole life. I’ve just waited five months for you to be fully available.”
“Am I fully available?” I tease. “I mean, I’m still your intern, and you're still my boss.”
“Only for three more weeks.” Another step closer. “But do you really expect me towait even one more day before I make you mine?” And another step until he’s standing right in front of me. “It shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“True.” I gaze into his glimmering green eyes. “You did say you liked me.”
“I said I liked you so much. Don’t short me that extra so— it conveys a lot.” Playful charm rounds out his smile. “And now things are different.”
“And now things are different,” I say, feeling butterflies take off in my stomach.
“Now I can tell you I don’t just like you so much. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you, and I think you’ve fallen for me too.”
I’ve fallen for Nash so hard I’m like a teenager who belly-flops onto her bed, calls him on an old-fashioned landline, and twirls the phone cord while we talk. Everything is wrapped up in him.
I smile. “Well, I did just text you and ask you out, so…”
Nash’s hand lifts, gently combing through a few strands of my hair, fingers skimming over my cheek as they glide down. It’s the simplest of touches, yet it feels monumental, like the beginning of thousands of gentle touches to come.
“So, you love me too?” he asks.
“I love you too.”
Without questioning myself, I rise to my tippy toes, brushing my mouth over his. A warm sensation floods my body but centers around where our lips slowly skim, graze, and move together. Three seconds in and this kiss is already better than every single one I’ve shared with Stetson.
Nash’s fingers shift from my hair, softly cupping my cheek as his other hand wraps around my waist, bringing my body to his. Bodies flush against each other, the kiss deepens, taking the warm sensation inside me to a raging inferno. My hand goes to the back of his neck, digging fingers through the curls at his nape. The silky texture is way better than all the daydreams my mind conjured up.
Five months of forbidden passion drives this kiss forward.
Every smile.
Every longing glance.
Every forbidden touch.
Every flirtatious comment.
Every heartache of not being able to be together has built to this moment.
Nash is an exceptional kisser, just like I knew he would be. All his cockiness, charisma, charm, and playfulness combine in each tug and pull of his lips. The way his hands roam my neck, hair, back, hips, and waist in perfect precision leaves each inch of my body tingling from the warmth of his masculine touch.
Unlike all the ordinary kisses I’ve had, his kiss is explosive, opening my eyes to something more. It’s bright colors splashed on a stark-white canvas. It’s a black-and-white TV showing colorful hues for the first time.
And I know.
I want this unexpected excitement for the rest of my life.
“Phwoooooh-phwwwwwhhht!” Someone whistles behind us, breaking our kiss apart.
It’s Victor and Allen.
“Way to get the girl.”
I bury my face into Nash’s shoulder, a little embarrassed to be caught kissing the boss, but judging by their cheers and claps, they approve.
Nash wraps his arm around my shoulder, escorting me to his car. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
I smile up at him. “Where are we going?”
“You said in your text that you wanted to go out with me.”
“I didn’t mean tonight. Just some time in the future.”
Nash leans down, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. “Sadie, you are my future, and I’m tired of waiting for it to start.”