Torin took a small step back at her words. Or maybe it was the light blue orbs sparkling at the edges of her vision.
Nova worked hard to control her temper, but this man seemed determined to push her to her limits.
“I take myself plenty seriously,” she said. “But your priorities in life are not my priorities. The things I value can’t be gained through financial or professional success. They’re achieved through new experiences and learning new things. In the people I meet along the way. In the joy I feel when I witness something amazing in nature or in life. I don’t take life seriously because, if I did, I would be too anxious, depressed, and just plain discouraged to enjoy a moment of it. There are always shitty moments in life, but, if I take them too deeply to heart, they will grind me down to nothing.”
Torin took another step back, his face changing from anger and embarrassment to something akin to compassion.
“I laugh because it’s better than crying, Torin. I value my memories more than I value my bank account. The family I create and the one of my blood are more important than any professional accolade I could receive. Just because you don’t feel the same way about your life, doesn’t invalidate my feelings toward mine.”
As she made this speech, Nova managed to get her door open.
“Now, I’m going inside to have a glass of wine, soak my feet, and get some rest. Tomorrow is my day off so I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond. She didn’t give herself time to process the way he was looking at her. She also ignored the blue lights that zoomed around her head as she spoke.
For once in her life, Nova did the safest thing in the situation.
She escaped.
ChapterSix
For the next week and a half, Torin was in a seriously shitty mood.
He was pissed as hell about his last conversation with Nova Eckhart.
And not because she was wrong.
No, it was because she was right.
Everything she said was spot on. She read him like an open book, clearly having an innate understanding of his nature just by spending a few hours with him.
Yet she was a complete enigma to him. A puzzle that he couldn’t solve because he couldn’t find all the pieces. Every time he thought he had, another one appeared on the board out of nowhere.
It was frustrating as hell.
He was also pissed at himself. Deeply.
Nova was right about his view of priorities and life. One hundred percent. He had dismissed her as flaky and ridiculous because she didn’t value the same things he did. Which was incredibly stupid because once she’d laid out her philosophy on life and what she considered meaningful, he’d fervently wished that he knew more.
He wanted to understand why she was the way she was. He was even a little jealous. Torin knew that he valued his financial and professional success more than he did his family. Or at least his actions made it seem that way. He worked hard, all the time. He played hard, too, but only when he felt like he could take the time away from his various pursuits like the restaurant, cookbook, and now the show his agent was trying to talk him into filming for a television channel.
It would mean even less time for him to relax. And he wasn’t all fired up to be on television, anyway. Sure, the money would be nice, but he liked being able to walk down the street or go somewhere without being recognized constantly.
His agent insisted that with his recipes and his looks, he would be a star, which was something he really didn’t give a damn about. He didn’t want to be famous. He wanted to establish restaurants, cook, and write his recipe books. That’s where he was happy.
Somehow, during her rant the other night, Nova had managed to help Torin come to that decision. All without meaning to.
Despite her free-spirited demeanor, Nova seemed to understand herself better than most people. Including Torin. She had a self-awareness that he wished he’d attained as well.
He owed her not only an apology, but a thank you.
Unfortunately, the frustrating woman seemed determined to avoid him. She’d been at the restaurant since a couple of hours before opening, helping Addie with stocking and prep. Though Torin hadn’t exactly agreed to it yet, Addie had already decided to begin Nova’s training as the assistant manager. Which was why Nova was there so early.
Somehow, Nova ensured they were never alone.
She’d even skipped her dinner break, something she’d never done before. That both irritated and worried him.
It was a little after eight-thirty now and the dinner rush was over. There were still people in the dining room but not so many that Addie and the other waitstaff couldn’t handle it without Nova.
