CLARA: Maybe you Nightingale men just have a thing for women who rocked your world years ago.
A shiver of excitement coursed through me as soon as I hit Send on that message.I hadn’t meant to engage.But I couldn’t resist.
NASH: I only have a thing for honey-blonde babes with a green thumb and glorious curves.
NASH: Also mark today’s date down as the best day of my life.You wrote back.
NASH: I love you.I miss you.Please can I see you?
While it felt so good to be talking to him, I couldn’t open up fully.I let his message sit for hours before I wrote my response.I dove straight in to asking what I’d been too afraid to ask the other day when he showed up.
CLARA:Do you really love me?Or was it just comfortable for you?
His response came immediately.
NASH: I love YOU.Your strength, your kindness, your limitless grace.That booty, too.<3 Nothing about being in love is comfortable for me.It scares me.
NASH: But that’s only because it’s pushing me into a new chapter.
NASH: I love the way you see the world.I love the way you raise your daughter.The way you make me want to be better.I love that you fight for what matters.I love your heart, your head, your nose, your toes, your everything.
NASH: I'm so fucking sorry it took me this long to say it.
I sat on my couch, reading and rereading his words, my heart so full it felt like it had burst out of my body.Tears streamed down my face as I smiled and smiled.I was ready to see.
See how things felt.See what came next.
See if our love story would find its end or start another volume.
CLARA:Meet me at Black & Brewtiful tomorrow.
I arrived extra early to the coffee shop where I’d signed my heart over to Nash in April.Everything looked different, even though nothing inside had changed.Maybe it was because it was high summer and tourists clustered inside for a respite from the balmy air.Or maybe it was because I was a different woman now.I wasn’t scraping by on catering gigs.I was weeks away from starting my grad program.My portfolio hadn’t just been accepted, it had received early praise from my professors.I had full custody of Mia.I was financially secure and working toward a future that promised to give me everything I’d ever wanted out of life.
After ordering my usual iced coffee, I sat at a table near the window so I could keep an eye out for Nash.I tried to take in my surroundings, to focus on the families enjoying their drinks, the tourists pointing out the window, but my gaze kept sliding back to the door.
Waiting for Nash.My man.
Mine.
Excitement fluttered through me, and I tried to tamp it down.I needed to see him, talk to him, take the pulse of our potential partnership.But then the door opened, and goosebumps flared on my forearms.Nash walked in.
His blue eyes found me immediately, and the entire world faded away.He wore a short sleeve polo shirt tucked into navy slacks with a tan belt.With all his tattoos exposed, he looked like the most decadent businessman.His dark hair was slicked back, his entire attention focused on me as he crossed the distance between us in three steps.
And then his arms were around me, squeezing me into the most loving, intense hug I’d ever felt.I melted into his embrace, tears immediately coming to my eyes.
Fuck, I’d missed him.More than I’d even let myself realize.
When he pulled back, I noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hand.Wrapped in paper, I spotted the soft peach rhododendrons first thing, then the apricot petals of the barely-opening peonies.My mouth parted as I looked closer.
“Nash, are these—is this for me?”
That genuine, mischievous smile curled at his lips.The kind that told me I was about to hear a gem.
“No, silly.They’re for the barista.”
I laughed, swatting at his chest.He slid a hand over the dip in my waist, keeping me close.The boyish smile on his face was real, raw, the type that didn’t come out for just anyone.The kind I considered myself lucky to know.
“Are these our rhododendrons?”I asked softly, grazing my fingertips across the delicate blossoms.
