“You kind of are,” Addie pointed out. “You and Torin have always had your own sort of…vibe. I guess that’s the best word for it. You bickered but it was obvious you were both having fun and the tension was off the charts between you. Even though it wasn’t ugly, we could all feel it.”
“Okay…how does this pertain to Torin and I having sex?”
Addie clapped her hands over her ears. “Do not say those words. I don’t need the visual!”
Nova rolled her eyes and waited.
Finally, Addie answered, “The tension isn’t there anymore. I mean, not really. There’s definitely something. Maybe chemistry. But y’all don’t look like you want to go into verbal smack down right before you tear each other’s clothes off anymore.”
That was true. Nova no longer felt the need to bicker with Torin. They did that enough when they weren’t in the restaurant. The tearing each other’s clothes off thing? Well, that wasn’t going to stop anytime soon if Nova had any say about it.
“That’s how I knew that y’all were, you know, doing it,” Addie continued.
“Doing it?”
“I’m not saying the s-word!” Addie said.
Nova wanted to laugh, but there was something more important she needed to know first.
“All right. So, Torin and I are having a physical relationship as well as an emotional one,” Nova said, carefully avoiding the word ‘sex.’ She took a deep breath. “I know you’re worried about him, that I’ll hurt him, but we’ve talked about a lot of things. He wants to give it a shot and so do I. We’ve agreed to try and keep things quiet here at the restaurant, to not let it bleed over into work so that you guys don’t feel put in the middle. But it’s happening. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
Addie stared at her for a long moment, her arms still crossed over her chest. “I’m not uncomfortable,” she said.
“Then, why are you wrapped around yourself?” Nova asked.
“When I told you that I was worried you were going to hurt him, I never got a chance to say something.” She paused and licked her lips. “I was worried that you might get hurt, too. I care about both of you. Obviously, I’ve known him longer, so I know that he has never,everdated an employee. It’s one of his cardinal rules. Yet, here he was, making out with you in the cooler like he needed you more than the air he breathed. That’s why I was worried. If he was far enough gone to break that rule, then he was falling for you.”
Nova froze as Addie’s words penetrated. “Falling for me?” she repeated on a whisper.
Addie nodded.
Nova swallowed, her throat suddenly tight. Not from fear, but from realization. “I’ve already fallen in love with him,” she murmured.
She thought she was falling fast and hard. She hadn’t realized that she’d already tumbled straight into love.
Addie’s face lit up. “You do?”
Nova blinked, shaking herself out of her thoughts. “Yes, I do,” she confessed. “But I haven’t told him yet. And he hasn’t told me.”
Addie waved a hand. “Well, it’s obvious to the rest of us that he’s already halfway in love with you, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Fear and elation warred within Nova’s belly. For the first time in her life, she was in love. She should celebrate that because she’d wanted it. She wanted someone to care about and who cared about her. Someone who would be by her side.
But the fear was still there, too.
What if he didn’t love her the way she loved him? What if it wasn’t forever for him?
Because, when she thought about it, Nova couldn’t imagine a day in her future where Torin wouldn’t factor into it in some way. Maybe they wouldn’t constantly be together, but he would still be a factor in her life if he wanted to be.
“Hey, hey, your face just turned white,” Addie said, coming forward to take Nova’s elbows in her hands. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Nova answered. “Just…this is a little scary.”
Addie grinned. “Of course, it is. That’s how you know it’s real.”
“Then, it must be the realest thing ever.”
Addie laughed. “Don’t be so afraid. And don’t feel like you have to rush. This is new, even if you are in love with him. Neither of you has to make a decision right this very second. It’s not life and death.”
