You Say It First
Page 25

She leaned against him. “I’m not sure there is a normal family anywhere. We all have our quirks.” She looked up at him. “Although I will admit your family has more secrets than most. Is your mom okay?”
“As far as I know. She swears they got the cancer in time and she’s being monitored, so I’m guessing it’s true. I know Dad worries. She’s all he has.”
Not his sons? Silly question, she told herself. She remembered what Nick had told her about growing up with the famous Ceallach Mitchell as his father.
“My mom is one of seven girls.”
Nick laughed. “No boys?”
“Not until my generation. I can’t imagine what it was like when they were all approaching puberty. There’s fourteen years between the oldest and the youngest, so hormones would have been flying high for nearly two decades. It’s amazing that Grandpa Frank survived.”
“I’ll bet.” He shifted and put his arm around her.
She liked the feel of him touching her. The strength and heat of him. In front of them, the river flowed. Come the weekend, there would be kayakers out navigating its length. Small powerboats were allowed but only in the summer. Tourists clogged the parks along the river and filled the hotels.
“You’re one of two in your family?” Nick asked.
“Yes, it’s just Cade and me. My maternal grandmother died when I was a baby, so my mom moved our family in with Grandpa Frank.”
Maybe that was why her father had always seemed so absent to her. He’d been living in another man’s home.
“I was about two at the time, so I don’t remember living anywhere else. The house is huge and old, with lots of staircases. There’s a secret passage that goes from the library on the main floor up to the attic. Cade and I would play there when we were kids. We would disappear and it made my mom crazy.”
“Good for you.”
“I don’t get the credit. It was always Cade’s idea. He’s the brave one.”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t buy that. You’re standing up to her right now. Keeping the business instead of selling it.”
“I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do on a permanent basis. I wish I was more like him. Cade never cared about what anyone thought. He’s so independent. Here I am, living in the same town where I was born. I’ve barely been out of the state.”
“Do you want to travel?”
She thought about the question. “There are places I’d like to see. Australia and Europe. I guess I’m not the adventurous type. I like living here. I like being here and hanging out with my friends.”
“Tell you what. If I take the commission in Dubai, you can come visit me there.”
“I’m not even sure where that is. I’ll have to look it up on a map.”
“You do that.”
She couldn’t imagine packing up her life and moving to a foreign country. Apparently she didn’t have the thrill seeker gene.
“When do you have to decide if you’re going?” she asked.
“After they finalize the commission. It’s for two years. That’s a long time. I like the project, but I can’t make up my mind.” He looked at her. “I meant what I said, Pallas. I’d like you to come visit.”
His words caused her chest to tighten. Desire flickered to life and began to burn. Because visiting Nick would be about more than seeing his work. It would be about being with him. Something she very much wanted.
For a second she wished she were the type of woman who could simply tell him that. Silver would. She would grab Nick by the front of his shirt, pull him close and kiss him. Then she would take him to bed and do whatever wild things Silver liked to do. Pallas sighed—she would never be like her friend.
While she liked men, they hadn’t ever been a big part of her life. Happily Inc wasn’t exactly a single-guy magnet. Plus Nick was the first man in forever to really get her attention. The thing was, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to do now.
Did she throw herself at him? Ask him to have sex with her? Play hard to get? Was he even interested in her? They’d kissed and it had been nice, but he hadn’t exactly thrown her over his shoulder and taken her back to his room. Not that she wanted a guy who would throw her over his shoulder. She had a feeling it would be very uncomfortable. But in theory...
Nick leaned in and kissed her. The action totally caught her off guard, so she wasn’t able to react before he drew back.
“Thank you,” he told her. “For listening. It helps to have a friend to talk to.”
Friend? Friend! Was that how he saw her? As a friend? They’d kissed. Didn’t the kissing mean anything? She’d been having throw-over-the-shoulder images and he thought they were friends? Kill. Me. Now.
“Sure,” she said brightly. “Anytime. I, um, should get back to work.”
Before he could say anything friendly, she jumped to her feet, waved and took off at a brisk walk.
Friends! Seriously. What was up with that? Pallas couldn’t decide if she should never speak to Nick again, corner him and flash her breasts, or simply accept the fact that she wasn’t the kind of woman men wanted to sleep with.
The latter thought was so depressing she had to go swing by the local Starbucks to get a Mocha Frappuccino with extra whipped cream. Just to take the edge off.
She would bury herself in her work that afternoon, then reward herself with some girlfriend time. At least there she knew what was expected. She understood the rules. Stupid man. She was never speaking to him again. Or kissing him. Or flashing her breasts.
That was it, she thought as she walked into the Starbucks. No more hope of breast flashing for Nick. Starting right now.
CHAPTER EIGHT
TWO DAYS LATER Pallas was still wrestling with her nonrelationship with Nick, and because that wasn’t enough trauma in her life, her mother had invited her to lunch. Being a bad liar meant she hadn’t been able to think of a reason to say no. The only bright spot was she’d insisted they go to a restaurant instead of having a depressing box lunch at the bank.
Which was how Pallas found herself with an avocado cheeseburger and the world’s largest order of french fries—when in doubt, bury your troubles in food.
“You disappoint me, Pallas,” Libby said firmly as she picked at her green salad, dressing on the side.
“I know, Mom.”
“You do?”
“Sure. I always disappoint you. Usually I want to make you happy, but even then I fail. I’m not sure how. I’d say it’s a gift, but we both end up unhappy, so it’s not like it’s a good thing.”
She picked up a fry and ate it. Her mother studied her.
“If you keep eating like that, you’re going to get fat.”
“Yet another way I’ll disappoint you.”
“What is going on with you?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
Libby pressed her lips together. “What have you decided about the business?”
Until that exact second, Pallas would have sworn she didn’t know. Selling versus not selling—it wasn’t as if she’d had a sit-down with herself to weigh the pros and cons. Yet as soon as her mother asked the question, she knew.
“I’m keeping it.”
“I see.”
Two very icy words. Pallas shivered, then took a bite of her burger.
“May I know why?”