“I know,” she said.“Amazing, huh?”
He nodded, even though it wasn’t what he meant.
Pretty soon, he’d be in Victoria, and he already missed her.
Shit.What am I going to do?
Nick held her for a few minutes then went to the washroom to clean himself up.As soon as he got back to bed, they fell into each other’s arms again.Her touch was magnetic.He couldn’t stay away.
And yet, he would have to.
At some point soon, he’d have to find a way to say goodbye.
He buried his face in her hair and she curled up against him.For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Claire drifted off to sleep not long afterward, but he continued to stroke her back and shoulders.He turned and kissed her on the head.“Sleep, sweetheart.”
But Nick didn’t.
He lay awake for most of the night, tormented by what the future would bring.
* * * *
When Claire awoke out of her fitful sleep in the middle of the night, she lay still for a few anxious seconds.Arthur’s voice sometimes teased her out of her sleep, calling to her in that admonishing tone her brain had fabricated.
Only this time, his voice didn’t intrude.
There was just silence and the faint hum of the air conditioner kicking in.
Had she finally managed to kick that voice out of her head?
Nick lay next to her in the dark, rustling under the light sheet.His breathing was regular, but the rhythm struck her as too quick for someone who was sleeping.
Was he awake too?
Not wanting to disturb him, she slowly rolled over to face him.
“Hey, beautiful.”His quiet baritone was as comforting as a prayer.“Restless?”
“A little.You too?”
“Yeah.I’m getting used to it.I haven’t been sleeping well for a while.”
Claire looked over his shoulder at the clock on the bedside table.The digital display showed three a.m.Considering the night they’d had, along with the sexual aerobics afterward, they should both be dead to the world.
And yet, here they were, both unable to sleep.
Was he wrestling with his thoughts too?
“How long have you been having trouble sleeping?”she asked.
“Hmm, let’s see.Since I met you.”
Claire strained to see him in the dark, but all she could make out was a glint around his eyes and the shape of his hair and shoulders.
She needed to see his face, but she held back, knowing what she would see there.
Her racing heart told her they stood on a precipice, and that Nick might be willing to take a leap.
