“He might—”
“Look, I have no horse in this race.” Eve shrugged. “But Nicholas is tougher than you think. Tougher than he used to be.”
But was Livvy tough enough to take a gamble on him?
“Of course, the question is,” Eve remarked, “whether or not you believe that.”
She trembled. She wanted to, so badly. She wanted to believe that this time, everything would work out. But that didn’t happen outside of fairy tales. Right?
Chapter 22
SITTING AROUNDdoing nothing wasn’t really Nicholas’s thing, but he was far too committed to this scheme now. If he had to hang out nearly naked in these woods for the whole day, he would, damn it. Even if that meant most of that time was spent battling every doubt under the sun.
She wouldn’t show up.
She’d show up and be pissed.
She’d already left town.
When he heard footsteps crunching over twigs and grass, he exhaled long and low and opened his eyes. She walked into the clearing, taking his breath away. “You look beautiful,” he said huskily, forgetting the speech he’d prepared.
Livvy placed her hands on her hips. She wore the same clothes from yesterday, her hair was uncombed, and there wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face.
Beautiful. As always.
“What the fuck are you doing, Nico?”
So beautiful.
Aware he had a dopey smile on his face, he shrugged. “I wanted to get your attention.”
“Well, you got it. What were you thinking?” She stomped over and dropped the box she carried in his lap.
He opened the flaps, smiling when he saw the cannoli inside. “You saw the sign in the bakery?”
“Yes.”
“‘i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart).’ I read the poem. Pretty. You’re not the only one who’s been carrying someone’s heart with you. I may not have put you on my skin, but you’ve always been close at hand.” Pretending not to see the tremble of her lips, he reached inside and picked up a cannoli, taking a bite of the sweet, cream-filled dessert. He offered her the other one and she shook her head.
He finished the whole thing in a greedy couple of gulps and dusted his hands off, putting the box aside. He’d feed the second one to her later. In his bed. “Thanks for coming.”
“I didn’t think you’d be naked. Presumptuous, aren’t you?”
He was, technically, not totally naked—he still wore his boxer briefs, but since he was covered by a quilt as a nod to the weather, she could be forgiven for thinking that. “I wanted to give you easy access.” He held out a Sharpie. “You still haven’t shown me what tattoo you’re gonna give me.”
She stared at the Sharpie. “You’re kidding me.”
“You want to talk to me? Give me a tattoo.” Hewas no fool. He liked having her touching him, but more importantly, drawing calmed her.
With shaking hands, she accepted the permanent marker. She looked down at him, and then knelt next to him on the blanket he’d spread out under their tree. “Turn over.”
Obligingly, he rolled over onto his stomach. “Is this going to be another nude?”
“No. I know what I want to put on you.” The tip of the marker touched his shoulder. The sensation tickled, but he held still.
He closed his eyes and pillowed his head on his arms. The fall air was chilly, but the sun was shining. Anyway, he couldn’t help but feel hot when Livvy had her hands on his body.
“Honestly, what the hell were you thinking with that big display?”
