Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dominic
I toss my bag down on the couch in my apartment, fatigue riddling my body. I don’t know what it is about a three-hour ride on a jet that still makes me feel like I’ve been airborne for nearly twenty-four hours, but it happens every time.
My eyes drift to the window, where the sun beats down on the city below, and then back to my bag.
There isn’t a contract in there.
There isn’t a deal with my name on it.
But there is a decision hanging over my head—one that feels just as heavy.
Texas has been asking questions. Quiet ones. The kind that don’t mean anything … until they do.
I’d always imagined this moment would feel like validation.
Instead, I wish it hadn’t come up at all.
It’s like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey for months, and then, when the donkey finally finds a nice other donkey who is way better than the carrot, handing it to the donkey.
Okay, that’s a bad analogy. I run my hands over my face.
Before I can spiral any further, there’s a knock on the door. My heart jumps in my chest, because I’m pretty sure I know who it is, and she has no idea how much I’ve missed her.
I spin on my heels and rush for the door, swinging it open.
And all I see is red. A lot of red.
“Um,” a voice says behind three armfuls of vases of roses. “Can you put some of these in your apartment? This might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, but… I can’t… I can’t fit it all in mine.”
“Oh my gosh,” I groan, and then burst into laughter. “They actually went through with it. They didn’t cancel them.” I grab two of the three vases.
“So…” Nicole’s eyes drop to the flowers in her hands. “Why eighteen dozen roses? Is that a thing? Does it mean something?” She looks confused, exhausted, and also happy—but mostly confused. “I love the gesture. I do. I just…”
“Yeah.” My face grows bright red. “It was totally an accident. I was trying to just do three dozen, but it submitted the order multiple times.”
“Oh,” she says, sighing and laughing at the same time. “Okay. That makes so much sense, because I just wanted to let you know that I’m really not that high maintenance, just because my dad’s—”
I cut her off with a kiss, leaning forward over the roses and capturing her mouth with mine. I don’t need hands to kiss her and show her how much I missed her. She lets out a light moan, and our vases knock against each other, rattling us both.
“I can only imagine what the inside of your apartment looks like right now.” I chuckle, pulling away and setting the two vases on my entryway table. Nicole steps inside and does the same, leaving me three very full vases of roses to brighten the apartment.
“It basically looks like a botanical garden exploded in there,” she says, patting my shoulder. “But I do really appreciate it. There’s nothing quite like being told you were missed on eighteen different cards with the exact same wording on each one.”
“Oh my gosh.” I run a hand over my face. “I’m literally the most embarrassing person on the planet.”
“But def the hottest, too.” Nicole grins up at me, and I can’t help but thread my arm around her waist and pull her to me. I kiss her forehead and then work my way down the bridge of her nose as she giggles.
“I missed you so much,” I say in between kisses. “And maybe even Cocoa, too,” I add, right before pressing my lips to hers, more fully this time.
“Mmm,” she murmurs against me, and I hold her close, feeling how tiny she is against me.
As she pulls away and peers up at me, there’s something off in her pretty blue eyes, but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s the overload of roses. Maybe I’m being too much.
That’s totally valid.
“You wanna have a training session with Cocoa?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say, way too eagerly. “That actually sounds really nice.”
“Okay,” she breathes out. “Let me just run and change, then I’ll come back and get you?”
“Deal.” I give her a smile, and she lands a kiss on my cheek before scurrying off to her apartment. I watch from across the hallway, and sure enough, I see nothing but flowers as the door opens.
Yeah, I way overdid this. Stupid cell service.
I run a hand over my face just as my phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out, expecting it to be my brother sending me more insultingly funny texts about my new girlfriend, who I’m pretty sure my mother is already planning a wedding for.
As if Nicole would ever follow me to Texas.
I shake my head at the thought, but as I pull out the phone, it’s not my brother’s name on the screen. It’s Edward. I shut my eyes for a moment and then force myself to answer the call.
“Yeah?”
“We need to talk,” he says, no preamble. “Texas reached out again. Not formally—but they’re interested. Front office to front office.”
My chest tightens. “It hasn’t even been a day. I just got back.”
“I know,” Edward replies. “That’s why I’m asking where your head’s at. If you want me to shut it down, I can. If you want me to listen—really listen—I need to know.”
This is the part people don’t talk about.
The part where nothing has happened yet … but everything could.
“I don’t have an answer,” I say quietly.
“Well, you’re going to need one soon,” he replies. “Because if this moves forward, it won’t be subtle. And once it starts, it’s out of your hands. So, figure it out, Dom. I’ll be in town tomorrow.”
Nicole steps back into the hallway, wearing cut-off shorts and a Comets T-shirt, Cocoa bouncing at her feet.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I tell Edward.
“Dom,” he says, firm but not unkind. “Just remember—careers don’t wait.”
I hang up and step into the hallway, plucking a rose from one of the vases and tucking it behind Nicole’s ear.
“There,” I say. “Perfect.”
“You’re such a romantic.” She slips her hand in mine. “I love it.”
“Yeah?” I gaze down at her as we make our way to the elevator. “I think it’s kind of a new thing for me.”
“Well, I think it’s a good new thing.”
I hit the down button, wait for the doors to glide open, and then lead her into the small space. Cocoa whines at my feet, so I lean down, patting his head. “I missed you, too, you know. Just not as much as your mom.”
“I think he’s offended by that.” Nicole squeezes my hand.
I can’t help but laugh.
“Your mom followed me on Instagram,” she blurts out, her cheeks turning red.
So she does pay attention to who follows her.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t give her the idea. We were just talking about you…”
“Really?” Her expression is so sweet as she peers up at me, her eyes softening. “You like me that much?”
“I do,” I say softly, my voice barely audible. “I like you a lot, Nicole. I like you more than this entire city.”
“I don’t know if that’s saying much,” she teases, but there’s something flat about her voice. And as the elevator reaches the courtyard level and Cocoa drags her out, I start to worry about what she might be thinking.
What if she’s second-guessing things?
I try to swallow the pure panic rising in my throat. I’m not sure I’ve ever liked anyone the way I like Nicole. She’s everything I ever wanted in all the best ways. I jog to catch up to her and open the door, following her out into the afternoon.
We make it to the usual bench, but before we sit down, she stops suddenly, making a sharp turn back to face me. “Dom, I have to tell you something.”
I study her face, unable to read anything but the way she looks like she might cry. “What … What is it?”
She purses her lips, looks down at Cocoa, who’s wrapping the leash around her legs already, and then back up at me. “I got a call from Cityscape about the apartment complex.”
My brows raise. “And?”
“And they invited me to come and pitch it to them.”
“Okay, that’s really exciting. Did it not go well? Did you take Cocoa? Did he eat their notebooks or something?” I try to land the joke, but Nicole doesn’t smile.
“They loved it.”
Okay, now I’m really lost.
“That’s great?” My hands start to sweat at my sides, and I wipe them on my jeans, wishing someone would tell me why Nicole is confusing me beyond comprehension. “Nicole, I don’t get it,” I finally say to her silence. “What’s wrong?”
“They offered me a deal… If I move to Miami.”
Oh.
“That’s … great.” I force a smile, but inside, my heart hurts. “Texas has been asking about me. Quietly. My agent thinks it could turn into something.” I don’t know why I tell her. Maybe I want honesty between us. Maybe I just need to say it out loud.
“Wow.” Nicole’s smile mirrors mine. “That is so… That is so cool. I’m so happy for you. I bet it’ll be nice to be so close to your family.”
I search her face for any clue of hesitancy. Any clue that she’s feeling the same sort of hesitancy about it all that I am. “Yeah, I guess it’s cool.”
“Are you going to Texas?”
“Are you going to Miami?”
We stand there, the space between us suddenly vast—wider than the whole courtyard. Neither of us moves. Neither of us answers.
I have this wild, reckless urge to tell her I’m falling for her. To say it out loud before one of us disappears to a different coast.
Instead, I let out a slow breath. “I have to talk to my agent tomorrow morning.”
Nicole nods, her fingers tightening around Cocoa’s leash. “And I have to give the investors my answer, too.”
“Cool,” I say, clearing my throat and giving her a lame nod. “To us.”
“To us,” she echoes.