Chapter 37 #2
“Yes,” I said, hemming a little over that.
“But we didn’t end up needing him after all.
Vero and I figured out who really took the money.
The young lady returned every penny and confessed what she did to the police.
Vero had to pay a fine and do some community service for the gambling, but other than that, it’s all been resolved. ”
A smile stretched across his face as he leaned in to kiss me. “I suppose this calls for a little celebration.” His teeth were whiter than I remembered against the thick frame of dark stubble, and the effect was a little stunning.
“We should probably go downstairs,” I suggested half-heartedly.
“Or we could just stay up here,” he said into my neck, his hands beginning to wander. “There’s takeout on the counter. The three of them can fend for themselves for a while.”
“Was it really that bad, being here with my kids?” I teased.
Nick pulled back, his face suddenly sober. His eyes searched mine as if he were trying to make sense of the question. “No, Finn! Not at all. You know I’m crazy about them.”
I put a hand to his scruff, loving it even more for what he’d endured in the time it had taken him to grow it. “That doesn’t make them any less difficult. You look exhausted.”
“I could sleep,” he admitted, rubbing the circles under his eyes.
“What do you say we get the kids to bed early so we can do the same?”
“I like the sound of that.” He gave me one last kiss before letting me lead him out of the closet.
We came downstairs and found Vero and the kids already sitting at the table, chattering with one another in animated tones.
They asked her about her trip to Maryland and began telling her all about their adventures at home while we were gone.
They were so excited to see one another, none of them seemed to notice we’d entered the room.
“And then,” Delia said, drawing out the word with a dramatic flair, “Officer Roddy took us on a ride in his police car. And we got to put on the lights! The sirens, too! And we drove in circles around the parking lot really, really fast!”
“And we ated donuts!” Zach chimed in.
Vero laughed. “Your mom and I got to ride in a police car, too!”
“Did it have the lights and the sirens on?” Delia asked.
“No, but the one behind us did.”
Nick looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Funny, I don’t remember hearing that story.”
“Because you didn’t,” I said.
“Get used to disappointment,” Vero teased him.
He opened his arms to her. She beamed as he hugged her and kissed her on the head.
“Thank you for letting Finlay come to Maryland.” Vero looked up at him with such gratitude and affection it made my eyes water. “She never would have left the kids if you hadn’t offered to stay with them. And I wouldn’t be here now if she hadn’t come to my rescue. You’re a peach, Detective.”
He ruffled her hair. “We’re all just glad you’re home. It wasn’t the same without you.”
“Quieter?”
He laughed. “Much. But I’m sure we could all do with a little more excitement around here.”
“Speak for yourself,” I said, smiling in spite of myself.
We sat down to eat, gorging ourselves on takeout while the kids regaled us with stories about their field trips to the police station.
Vero told them all about Javi’s fall from the window and the crazy antics of the Fantastic Four.
Zach sat contentedly in my lap, and I relished every wiggle and spilled crumb during the meal.
Delia huddled so close to Vero, she might as well have been sharing her chair, and Vero didn’t seem to mind that one bit.
When all the food was gone, I stood to gather the dinner plates. Nick stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve been gone for more than a week. Both of you sit and enjoy some time with the kids.” He proceeded to clear the table and clean the kitchen himself.
As Nick was loading the dishwasher, Zach turned around in my lap. He looked up at me with wide, pleading eyes. “Cookie?” he asked me as he played with a lock of my hair.
“You already had two. That’s enough for tonight.” If I gave him any more, I’d never get his sugar-fueled butt to bed.
He frowned. After a mournful pause, he scrambled off my lap and scurried up the stairs.
Vero and I exchanged a look as we waited for a tantrum to erupt.
But there was no fussing or crying. Just a loud creak as his toy chest opened, then a series of clatters and bells as plastic toys were tossed out.
Vero and I listened, exchanging befuddled looks as Zach raced down the steps and ran back into the kitchen, holding something in his chubby fist. He climbed into my lap and held it out to me.
“Cookie now?” His eyes were expectant as he handed me a tiny velvet box.
Vero sucked in a breath.
Delia gasped. “Look, Nick! Zach found the present you got for Mommy!”
Nick’s head snapped up so fast, he nearly dropped the stack of plates he was holding. Our eyes caught across the kitchen. A lump bobbed in the column of his throat.
I swallowed, too. “You can each have one more cookie,” I said numbly to Delia and Zach. “Why don’t you both go upstairs with Vero? You can eat them while you help her unpack.”
The children cheered.
Vero dragged her gaze from the velvet box, her expression unreadable as she took the children and the cookies upstairs.
Nick stood frozen at the sink. I rose slowly from the table and came to stand in front of him, the velvet box in my hand.
This was what Nick had been searching for when I’d called him, the mysterious item Zach had stolen and hidden in the house.
This was the errand he’d been running with Sam at the mall.
I felt a lump form in my throat, and my mouth went dry.
“You said you lost an important piece of evidence.” I’d intended it to come out as a tease. Instead, it came out in a wobble.
Nick swallowed. “It is.”
“Is there anything I need to know?” I held the box out to him, too terrified to open it. Too hopeful about what it might mean.
I wasn’t entirely sure he was breathing, or how I felt when he shook his head. “Nothing you need to know tonight.” He hesitated before taking it. I watched it disappear into his pocket, and I knew every mixed emotion I was feeling was playing over my face.
He put his arms around me. His heart was beating hard under my cheek, every bit as fast as mine. He tipped my chin up, and there was an apology in his eyes, but I was pretty sure there was a promise in them, too.
He smiled as he brushed my cheek with his thumb. “It’s pretty damning proof. You know that, right?”
“I know,” I said, sparing him any explanations.
He was right. There wasn’t anything in that box I needed to see right now.
There was still plenty of time in our relationship for discovery.
I didn’t need him—or want him—to make any admissions tonight.
When he was ready to share what was in the box, he’d open it and show me. That much I knew.
Until then, I was content not to.
I grabbed his collar and pulled him toward me. As he leaned in to kiss me, Zach thundered into the kitchen, his eyes manic with sugar and his mouth dusted in crumbs. Nick smiled down at me, unbothered by the interruption, and it made me want to kiss him that much more.
Zach tugged hard on my pant leg. “More cookie, Mommy?”
I glanced down to tell him no, and I nearly stopped breathing. Zach clutched my unopened twin-pack of pregnancy tests in his hand. I felt the blood drain from both of our faces as Nick looked down and saw them, too.
His eyes leaped up to mine. He stared at me, dumbstruck. I wasn’t sure if it was hope or fear I saw on his face until his tentative smile broke the tension. He took the box from Zach and held it between us. “Anything I need to know?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “Nothing tonight.”