“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t give her the idea. We were just talking about you…”
“Really?” Her expression is so sweet as she peers up at me, her eyes softening. “You like me that much?”
“I do,” I say softly, my voice barely audible. “I like youa lot, Nicole. I like you more than this entire city.”
“I don’t know if that’s saying much,” she teases, but there’s something flat about her voice. And as the elevator reaches the courtyard level and Cocoa drags her out, I start to worry about what she might be thinking.
What if she’s second-guessing things?
I try to swallow the pure panic rising in my throat. I’m not sure I’ve ever liked anyone the way I like Nicole. She’s everything I ever wanted in all the best ways. I jog to catch up to her and open the door, following her out into the afternoon.
We make it to the usual bench, but before we sit down, she stops suddenly, making a sharp turn back to face me. “Dom, I have to tell you something.”
I study her face, unable to read anything but the way she looks like she might cry. “What … What is it?”
She purses her lips, looks down at Cocoa, who’s wrapping the leash around her legs already, and then back up at me. “I got a call from Cityscape about the apartment complex.”
My brows raise. “And?”
“And they invited me to come and pitch it to them.”
“Okay, that’s really exciting. Did it not go well? Did you take Cocoa? Did he eat their notebooks or something?” I try to land the joke, but Nicole doesn’t smile.
“They loved it.”
Okay, now I’mreallylost.
“That’s great?” My hands start to sweat at my sides, and I wipe them on my jeans, wishing someone would tell me why Nicole is confusing me beyond comprehension. “Nicole, I don’t get it,” I finally say to her silence. “What’s wrong?”
“They offered me a deal…IfI move to Miami.”
Oh.
“That’s …great.” I force a smile, but inside, my hearthurts. “Texas has been asking about me. Quietly. My agent thinks it could turn into something.” I don’t know why I tell her. Maybe I want honesty between us. Maybe I just need to say it out loud.
“Wow.” Nicole’s smile mirrors mine. “That is so… That is socool. I’m so happy for you. I bet it’ll be nice to be so close to your family.”
I search her face for any clue of hesitancy. Any clue that she’s feeling the same sort of hesitancy about it all that I am. “Yeah, I guess it’s cool.”
“Are you going to Texas?”
“Are you going to Miami?”
We stand there, the space between us suddenly vast—wider than the whole courtyard. Neither of us moves. Neither of us answers.
I have this wild, reckless urge to tell her I’m falling for her. To say it out loud before one of us disappears to a different coast.
Instead, I let out a slow breath. “I have to talk to my agent tomorrow morning.”
Nicole nods, her fingers tightening around Cocoa’s leash. “And I have to give the investors my answer, too.”
“Cool,” I say, clearing my throat and giving her a lame nod. “To us.”
“To us,” she echoes.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nicole
