I snap my fingers. “Ooh, that’s a good thought. I think that historical museum over in Everhope does one of those. We need one a bit closer, and it seems that we have a place. I should run that by Holden and Stone.” I roll my shoulders back with a cocky tone. “I should have given this place more attention the last few years. I’m full of great ideas.”
“Hey, Stuart, do you know when the coffee repair guy is coming? That machine Holden ordered way back keeps breaking down. It’s becoming a nuisance,” Summer asks as she focuses on a few papers in her hand.
“Kind of like me?”
Her eyes shoot up. “Shit,” she mutters to herself, clearly being caught out and aware this was going to happen.
I give Stuart a warning glare to disappear, and he gets the message.
“Avoiding me is classic,” I inform her.
She rolls her eyes. “Can we just leave it?”
Approaching her, I tsk my tongue. “No. So either we talk here or I’m happy to carry you to the dock since you tend not to shut up there.”
Summer seems irritated. “Nash, now isn’t the time?—”
I shove my half-eaten cookie into her mouth and her sound is muffled. “I need you quiet.”
She wipes the back of her hand across her mouth as she chews and swallows the cookie. “What the hell, Nash,” she barks.
“You’re freaking out, I know you are.”
“This is happening so fast. You’re back a week and I’m sharing a bed with you. I should feel guilty or… it’s only been a few months since…” She is quick to scan the room and sees we are alone. “A few months as a widow. Am I dishonoring him by ending up in bed with you? I don’t know the timeline for these things.”
“There isn’t one,” I blankly remind her.
Summer jabs a finger into my chest. “Why aren’t you feeling the same way? This must be a slap in Zac’s face. Don’t you feel guilty?”
“No.” I’m direct. My bluntness causes her eyes to spear me with surprise, as she wasn’t expecting me to say that. “Not today, at least.” Which makes me an asshole, I’m sure.
She blinks as she tries to contemplate my answer. It’s a long silence. Idling in some ways, too.
The tip of her tongue darts out to lick a crumb away. “Damn, the seasonal cookies are good.” She shakes her head, realizing she’s slightly off track. “Nash, I’m…” She heaves a breath and straightens her posture. “It just feels…”
I cross my arms. “I’m waiting, otherwise that dock is calling our name, and throwing you over my shoulder is no issue for me.”
Summer provides me with a pointed look. “Fine. My sentence as a non-flustered human is that this thing between us, it just feels… gravitating, impossible to ignore. But a fucking clock is taunting me; I should be taking longer to mourn.”
“Language, Summer,” I goad her to try and get the faintest of smiles from her. But then I step closer, realizing the magnitude of her thoughts. “Don’t run away. We’ll figure it out together. I’m also on the same timeline of history as you.”
“Everyone doesn’t stare at you the same way,” she hisses softly. It kills me that she appears to fear shame.
“Summer, who cares what people think? You have a backbone. Don’t let anyone but me get to you.”
She exhales a deep breath as she soaks in my words. “Okay.”
I touch her shoulder delicately. “Okay, you’re saying it to get rid of me now, or okay because you are agreeing?”
She’s exhausted by me, but her smile developing means she doesn’t mind. “Okay, I am agreeing.” She still sounds a bit stubborn, and I’m still not 100% convinced.
“Can I also hold you while you sleep again tonight? Maybe tomorrow too?”
Her tongue darts to the corner of her mouth, and she contemplates for a second. “Well… considering last night, then it would feel kind of… empty sleeping alone. So, yes.”
I grin at her response, as it is the only answer for me.
Her hand shoos me away. “Now go. I need to get back to work, so can you just…” She ushers me in the direction where I need to go, but I don’t budge.
