Chapter 4 #2
“It was good. I went for a long walk out at the bluffs, took some photos, baked some vegan pumpkin bread. Nothing special.”
He glanced at her. “You’re vegan?”
“No, but Jordan is most of the time, so I bake like one.”
“Ahh, gotcha. What does vegan pumpkin bread taste like?”
“Want a piece?”
“Uh-huh.”
Amused by his enthusiasm, Nikki went to cut him a healthy slice of the bread. She’d spent years experimenting with recipes and thought the pumpkin bread had come out particularly well, but she’d have to see what he thought. She delivered it to him with a tall glass of milk.
“Thank you,” he said, taking the plate and glass from her and placing them on the coffee table. He broke off a piece of the bread and popped it into his mouth as he continued to add ornaments to the upper branches of the tree. “That’s really good.”
“Glad you like it.”
“So Jordan is vegan some of the time? What’s up with that?”
“Who knows? She’s a fad dieter. One day it’s vegan, the next it’s Paleo and then South Beach. I can’t keep up. Vegan has lasted the longest, and I got so I preferred vegan baked goods. When there’s less sugar and carbs, you can have more of whatever it is.”
“That’s true,” he said, popping the last of his slice into his mouth. “Is there more pumpkin bread?”
“There is,” she said, appreciating his enjoyment. “Will you still be able to eat dinner?”
“Sweetheart,” he said, smiling, “one thing you should know about me is that there’s never a time when I can’t eat.”
Flustered by the endearment as much as the devastating grin, Nikki said, “Gotcha. More pumpkin bread coming right up.” She went into the kitchen and cut him another healthy slice of the bread, telling herself to stop being so easily flustered.
You’re out of practice, she thought. It’d been years since she’d spent time alone with a guy.
Not since…
No.
Her entire body went cold at the thought of the guy who’d changed her forever.
Nikki had no idea how long she stood staring out the window over the sink, lost in memories she would give anything to forget, before Riley came to find her.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Are you okay?”
Rattled to have been overtaken by unpleasant thoughts that could invade her mind at even the best of times, Nikki forced a smile. “Sorry, yes. Here you go.”
He took the plate from her and placed it on the counter. “You don’t look all right. Is something wrong?”
“So many things,” she said softly before she could take the time to decide whether she should say such a thing to a man she barely knew.
“What things?” he asked, looking at her with concern.
“It’s nice of you to want to hang out with me, but you should know… I’m kind of a mess.”
His brows furrowed adorably. He was so damned handsome and sexy, the kind of guy who might be capable of changing her opinion of men in general. “No, you’re not.”
She released a huff of laughter. “I really am. You have no idea.”
“Could I tell you something that might surprise you?”
Crossing her arms, she glanced up at him, curious to hear anything he wanted to tell her. “Of course.”
“After you left in October?”
She nodded.
“I was super bummed. In fact, I kinda went into a funk, if my brother is to be believed.”
Nikki had no idea what to say. He’d been that sad to see her go?
“If you don’t say something, I’m going to think you think I’m a weirdo.”
“I don’t think that,” she said. “It’s sweet of you to say you were bummed that we left.”
“Not you as in you and Jordan. You as in you, Nikki. I was sad that you left before I had a chance to really get to know you.”
“Oh,” she said, venturing another glance up at him to gauge his sincerity. “Really?”
“Really. And this so-called funk lasted until I saw you again, when I seemed to miraculously shake it off.”
Nikki had no idea what to do with that information.
“So please don’t tell me you’re a mess or anything else that’ll make me sad again, because I’m really, really happy you came back to the island so I don’t have to be in a funk anymore. According to my brother, I’ve been a total bore for months.”
His earnest sweetness made her smile. How could it not? “You’re very sweet, Riley McCarthy.”
“Nah.”
“Yes, you are.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so,” she said emphatically, relieved that he hadn’t chosen to ask her why she called herself a mess. If she had her druthers, he’d never know the reasons behind that statement.
“What do you say we get this tree of yours finished so we can go get some dinner?”
“Lead the way.”
He took the plate with the second piece of pumpkin bread with him when he returned to the living room where she’d left the TV on, set as usual to her favorite network.
“Oh, I love these beach shows,” she said, eager to get back to a lighthearted vibe. “I can’t believe the deals these people get for houses right on the water.”
“That’d never happen here.”
“Right?” Real estate was at a premium on Gansett. Her grandmother’s home, bought nearly fifty years ago for forty thousand dollars, was now worth millions. Or it would be if it was updated. “I love what they do with these places.”
“I’ve never watched any of those shows,” he said, winking. “It’d be like a doctor watching medical stuff.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing. I can watch HGTV for hours and never get bored. I wish I knew how to do all that.”
“All what?”
“Renovations. I dream about getting my hands on this place and updating it.”
“I could show you how.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” he said, laughing at her wide-eyed reaction. “I’ve been working construction since I was sixteen. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that.”
“Don’t tempt me. Before you know it, you’ll be knee-deep in coaching me through a new kitchen and bathrooms, hardwood floors, paint.” Nikki shuddered with ecstasy at the thought. And when she opened her eyes, Riley watched her with thinly veiled desire that arced between them like a live wire.
Realizing he liked her as more than a friend made her nervous, but she didn’t feel the need to run away like she would have with almost anyone else.
Since the first time he’d come to her rescue when the roof had been leaking, he’d given her no reason to be wary or afraid of him.
He’d been what her grandmother would refer to as a perfect gentleman in every way.
And yet, even with all her instincts telling her she could relax around him, deep inside where her darkest fears lay, she retained the healthy fear that had kept her safe from men who would do her harm.
She’d found out the hard way that even men she trusted could turn into monsters.
She’d known him for a full year before she’d realized that underneath the charming surface of a friend and boyfriend lurked a darker side he kept well hidden. Nikki shivered. Thoughts of him never failed to chill her to the bone, which was why she tried very hard never to think of him.
“Are you cold?” Riley asked, misinterpreting her shiver.
“I’m good.”
They worked in companionable silence to hang the rest of the ornaments her grandmother had acquired over the years.
When she’d sold her home outside of Boston and bought her condo in Florida to spend winters in the sunshine, her grandmother had sent most of the Christmas decorations to Gansett.
Nikki had never spent a Christmas with her grandmother, as that holiday had belonged to her father, so she’d never seen most of the ornaments before now.
“I like this one,” Riley said, holding up a miniature Gansett Island ferry.
“It looks just like one of the real ferries.”
“Here’s some McCarthy family trivia for you: My cousin’s husband owns the company.”
“That must be a fun business.”
“It’s a lucrative business when you consider that just about every person and thing on this island got here on one of his boats.”
“True.”
Riley checked his watch. “We should get going to make our reservation at Domenic’s. If you still want to go.”
“I do want to.” She was hungry and didn’t feel like a night alone. He was sweet and had been kind to her, which made her want to get to know him better.
How much better remained to be seen.