Chapter 25
The next morning, I'm up before Bianca. The coffee in our room sucks, so I go down to the cafeteria for a cup.
I'm pouring it when a deep voice startles me. “Good morning, beautiful.” I turn to find Graham looking sexy in a tank top and basketball shorts. My gaze travels over his sculpted pecs and toned abs. They're engraved in my mind. Mmm.
“See something you want, Nora?” His intense eyes catch me looking him over. I blush. Dear God, I can't handle another day of this sexual tension.
“Nope.” I smile and turn toward the elevator. I need to get far away from him before my body betrays me.
At the elevator, I press the up button. Graham joins me, standing right at my side. Is it just me, or did someone turn up the heat?
The doors open. I step inside, and Graham follows. They close, leaving us alone. I watch the numbers overhead. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife, and from the corner of my eye, I can see him watching me. I take a deep breath. “I don't hate you, Graham.”
His gaze sweeps over me as though searching for something.
He steps closer and faces me. With barely an inch between our faces, my body feels a million degrees hot.
Butterflies swarm in my stomach, and he hasn't even touched me.
His eyes drop to my lips. Before I can speak, he claims them, threading a hand into my hair to draw me closer.
I wrap my arms around him, careful not to spill the coffee.
Our kiss grows more passionate, more urgent.
Graham breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine, grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you.” He draws a deep breath.
“For what?” I ask.
“For not hating me. And for letting me in, even a little.” He cups the side of my face, his gaze holding me spellbound. The elevator dings, and we step out. Damn it. This wasn't supposed to happen. Now everything's going to be awkward.
I walk into our room. “Hey! Where's mine?” Bianca whines, eyeing my coffee.
“In the cafeteria.” I smirk.
We get dressed and go down to the lobby. Graham stands beside Owen in shorts, a T-shirt, and a ball cap. As we approach, he smirks at me, clearly pleased with himself over our elevator kiss. I can't let him get to me any more than he already has. Although he does look really good.
Owen speaks up. “Okay, where to now, Nora?”
I sigh. “I want to visit someone who helped me the night I ran away.”
Owen takes Bianca's hand. “All right. What are we waiting for?”
We catch a cab to Gigi's house. I don't even know whether she still lives there, much less whether she's home.
The drive takes us into the middle of nowhere. “God, Nora, are you sure this place is safe? We're miles from anything. How did you even get here?” Bianca asks.
As we step out of the cab, a woman comes onto the front porch. I ignore Bianca and walk toward Gigi. She shades her eyes with her hand, squinting as she tries to place us. Then she looks directly at me, and her eyes go wide. “OH MY GOD! Nora, is that you?”
Tears start down my cheeks. “Yes, Gigi.”
She hurries down the steps and pulls me into a tight hug. The others join us. When she lets go, she looks me up and down. “Wow. I knew you were beautiful, but just… wow.”
I blush. “Thank you. I probably look a lot different without all the bruises.”
She nods, then turns to my friends. “Hi, I'm Gigi.” She shakes each person's hand.
“Gigi, these are my friends, Bianca, Owen, and Graham.” I point to each of them.
Gigi turns toward the house. “Come on. I'll get some tea, and we can sit on the porch and talk.” We follow her over.
Bianca and Owen settle into rocking chairs while I sit beside Graham on the porch swing. Gigi brings out a tray of tea glasses, then takes the rocking chair next to Bianca.
“Well, let's address the big white elephant in the room. Or outside, I suppose. Where are Damon and Henry?” she asks.
I look down at my tea. How do I tell her I killed my husband? “He found me eventually. He beat me, but I fought back. I ended up shooting and killing him.” My voice is nervous.
She watches me with concern. “And Henry?”
Graham answers before I can. “He had Nora against a wall and hit her. I took him down to get him away from her. He drew his gun on me, and I shot first. They won't bother Nora again.”
Gigi stands and hugs me. “You did the right thing. He would have killed you that night. He probably already planned to, especially if you fought him.”
I nod, tears spilling over. Graham puts a hand on my back and rubs it. I look at him and manage a smile.
A car pulls into the driveway, and Tyler steps out. I rise and head down the stairs. When he sees me, he stops, a broad smile spreading across his face. I reach him and hug him tightly. “Thank you, Tyler. Thank you for everything. You gave me my life back. You helped a complete stranger.”
He hugs me back. “I told you I'd help any friend of Gigi's.”
We return to the porch, and I introduce Tyler as the man who helped me put my life back together, at least to some degree. Graham's relaxed posture changes completely. His face hardens, and the easy manner disappears. He's suddenly stiff, almost on guard. Weird.
We sit and talk. I tell Gigi about the past year: my job, Renzo adopting me, and finishing my education. I leave out dating Graham. There's no point opening that can of worms.
“Are you dating anyone?” Gigi asks. I should have known she'd ask something so direct.
Graham looks away from me and scans the property. He probably doesn't want to hear whether I'm seeing someone.
“Not right now. I'm not dating anyone. I was, but the lies about my past caught up with me, and I hurt someone badly. I know I have apologies to make.”
I glance at Graham and find those ice-blue eyes looking straight into my soul.
Tyler gets up and offers to show everyone around the property so Gigi and I can talk alone for a while.
“You know, Nora, not every man is like Henry or Damon.” Gigi looks at me and rests a hand on my knee.
In the distance, Graham turns to look back at me as he walks away. “He's in love with you, you know,” she says.
I turn to her in surprise.
She smiles. “The way he looks at you says everything. He seems very protective too. I thought he was going to jump the railing and rip Tyler's throat out for hugging you.”
I chuckle. “Yeah. He's a little too protective.”
She grins. “Does he know you love him?”
My eyes fly to hers, wide with surprise. “You can't fool me,” she says. “You look at him exactly the way he looks at you.”
I shake my head. “No. I haven't told him.”
She purses her lips. “Sometimes life's biggest risks bring the biggest rewards. Let your heart take that leap. Hell, your heart told you to run that night. Look where it brought you.” She kisses the side of my head.
Soon the others return from their tour. I hug Tyler and Gigi goodbye. Tears run down Gigi's face, and I kiss her cheek, promising to keep in regular touch with them both.
Sunday…
We board the plane and fly back to South Carolina. I can't wait to get home. I've missed it. Home. Huh. I've missed home. I can finally say I have a home and a family, and the thought makes my heart leap with joy.
We get into Graham's truck and drive to Bianca and Owen's place to drop them off. Once they're gone, silence fills the cab. I have no idea what to say to him.
At my apartment, I unbuckle my seatbelt and head to the front door. Before I can unlock it, Graham stops me. “Can I cook you dinner at my house Saturday evening?”
My body aches for his touch. I nod. “Yes.”
He cups my face and kisses me slowly. His tongue brushes my bottom lip, and I part my lips for him. The kiss deepens. I wrap my arms around his neck, slowly working my fingers over his scalp. When he breaks away, he says, “God, Nora, I've missed you like crazy.”
I smile and kiss his cheek. “I've missed you too.”