CHAPTER TWENTY #2
Nova pulled out her phone and handed it to him. “Because my father and Rick’s father apparently decided my participation wasn’t necessary.”
Snow looked down at the screen. The headline was impossible to miss. His gaze moved over the words once, then again, because surely he had misunderstood what he was reading. But he hadn’t.
He could feel the anger slowly working its way through him as the pieces finally clicked into place.
Her father had publicly announced her engagement without her consent, effectively handing his daughter’s future over to another family as though she were some goddamn business asset he had the authority to negotiate.
Snow lifted his gaze from the phone. “Your father did this?”
Nova nodded. “I’m sure that Rick’s dad played a role in it as well.”
He looked back at the headline before returning his attention to her. “Does Rick know?”
Nova sighed. “He does now. But he wasn’t aware of what our parents had planned.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah. I talked with my sister, and my brother spoke with Rick, and according to him, Rick was pissed.”
The whole damn thing sounded like something straight out of a daytime soap opera, except apparently Nova had been cast as the unsuspecting bride without anyone bothering to give her the fucking script.
“Okay, so that I’m crystal fucking clear about this...” Snow turned fully toward her, needing to hear the answer even though she had already given it to him. “You are not engaged to this guy."
“No.”
“You’re not seeing him?”
“No.”
“And you have absolutely no intention of marrying him?”
Nova’s lips curved into a small smile. “That would also be a no.”
Snow nodded slowly, but he wasn’t finished. There was one more question he needed answered, and this one had absolutely nothing to do with Rick, her father, or the clusterfuck they had created.
“Is there anyone else?”
Her lips twitched. “No.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
A slow smile spread across his face as he reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her cheek. “Yeah, sweetheart. Good.”
Her breath caught when his hand settled against the side of her neck, and Snow felt the rapid flutter of her pulse beneath his thumb.
“Why is that good?” she asked softly.
His smile deepened. “Because then I can do this.”
He didn’t give himself another second to think about it. He slid his other arm around her waist and pulled her toward him, his hand tightening gently at the back of her neck as he lowered his head and captured her mouth with his.
The first touch of her lips nearly destroyed him.
He had meant for the kiss to be gentle. Hell, after everything she had just told him, he had planned on nothing more than a soft brush of his mouth against hers, enough to finally answer the question that had been hanging between them since they had met.
Then Nova kissed him back. Her hand curled into the front of his shirt as her lips moved against his, and every carefully constructed ounce of restraint Snow had been clinging to went straight to hell.
He deepened the kiss, drawing her closer until her body pressed against his and there was no mistaking the hunger that had been simmering between them for far too long.
Fuck. So much for taking things slow.
◆◆◆
Nova forgot how to breathe. The moment Snow’s mouth settled over hers, everything that had consumed her over the last several days disappeared.
There was only Snow, the warmth of his hand against her neck, the strength of the arm wrapped around her waist, and the incredible feel of his lips moving over hers.
She had wondered what kissing him would be like—more times than she cared to admit, actually.
There was something almost tender about the way he kissed her at first, as though he was giving her every opportunity to change her mind, but the instant she curled her fingers into his shirt and kissed him back, something shifted.
The restraint she had come to recognize in him slipped, and the kiss deepened as he pulled her closer.
Maybe she should have been embarrassed by how quickly she melted into him, especially considering she had been sobbing into the man’s shirt only minutes earlier. Still, she couldn’t summon enough common sense to care.
When they finally pulled apart, Nova kept her hand against his chest as she tried to catch her breath. His forehead rested lightly against hers, and when she opened her eyes, the expression on his face made her stomach flutter all over again.
“Well,” she whispered.
Snow chuckled. “That’s all you’ve got?”
“My brain is currently rebooting. Give it a minute.”
His grin widened. “Take your time.”
She laughed softly, and for several seconds they sat there, neither apparently in any hurry to put space between them.
Eventually Snow’s expression grew more serious. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry Rick did that to you. Being betrayed by someone you trusted...” His jaw tightened slightly. “It fucks with your head in ways people don’t always understand.”
Nova studied him. There was something in the way he had said it.
“You sound like you’ve experienced it.”
His gaze held hers for a moment before he nodded. “I have. A long time ago.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“College. Girl I thought I was going to marry cheated on me.” His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. “Pretty much blew up every plan I thought I had for my life. Joining the Navy wasn’t even on my radar before that.”
Nova’s heart squeezed. “She cheated on you, so you joined the Navy?”
“When you put it like that, it sounds slightly dramatic.”
She smiled. “Slightly?”
He laughed. “Okay, maybe a lot dramatic. But it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.” His eyes softened as they settled on hers. “Especially considering it eventually led me here. To you.”
Then something clicked.
“The phone calls.”
Snow frowned. “What phone calls?”
“The ones you’ve been silencing.” She tipped her head. “I’ve noticed your phone lighting up several times this week, and every time it does, you look annoyed and decline the call.”
Understanding dawned across his face, followed immediately by an exaggerated roll of his eyes.
“Yvette.”
“The ex?”
“Unfortunately.” He sighed. “She’s divorced now and apparently decided that means we should reconnect.”
Nova tried very hard to keep her expression neutral. Apparently, she failed.
Snow chuckled. “Easy there.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You didn't have to.”
“I was merely processing the information.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m an attorney. It’s what I do.”
His hand returned to her cheek, his thumb brushing slowly across her skin as his amusement faded into something warmer.
“Then process this. I don’t want Yvette. I made it clear to her last week that whatever we had ended years ago, and I’m not interested in going backward.” His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes. “There’s only one woman in my sights right now.”
She swallowed. “Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“And who might that be?”
Snow’s grin returned. “You’re a smart woman. Figure it out.”
She barely had time to laugh before he kissed her again.
This kiss was shorter but no less devastating, and by the time they separated, Nova was seriously beginning to question whether she would ever be able to look at the man again without remembering exactly how his mouth felt against hers.
Snow stood and held out his hand. “Come on. We should probably get back. The team was worried about you.”
“They were worried about me?”
Snow grinned. “Of course. As Derek said, you’re part of the team. And teammates look after each other.”
Nova slipped her hand into his and let him pull her to her feet.
They had taken only a few steps when Snow suddenly stopped, and Nova nearly walked into him.
“What—”
He lifted one hand.
Catching his drift, she clapped her mouth shut.
For several seconds, all she heard was the constant hum of machinery and the waves moving far below them.
Then she heard it. It was an engine.
Snow moved toward the railing, Nova following close behind as the low rumble grew louder before abruptly changing pitch.
It was a boat, and it was moving away from the platforms.
They both stared toward Platform Three, but the clouds that had rolled across the sky while they had been talking now covered the moon, swallowing most of the surrounding water in darkness.
Nova strained to see something—running lights, a silhouette, anything—but there was nothing except black ocean.
Snow’s entire demeanor changed beside her. The man who had been kissing her seconds earlier disappeared, replaced instantly by the Navy SEAL she had seen emerge whenever something didn’t feel right.
“That sounded like it had come from Platform Three,” he said quietly.
Nova’s stomach tightened as a conversation from earlier suddenly replayed in her head.
Brett asking Clint if Delilah was fixed because he wanted to take her out.
Nova turned toward Snow. “Do you think that could have been Delilah?”
Snow continued staring into the darkness long after the sound of the engine had disappeared.
“I don’t know.” His hand closed around hers. “But I think it is about time we find out what’s happening over there.”