“Nico.” I stroke his bristly cheek. “I kissedyou, remember?”
His cheeks go pink. “Oh. Right. You did.”
“Did Ifuck up by kissing you?”
“No.No. Not even for a second.” He stops. “Does that mean…”
You know you want to,my heart whispers.
“What you said? About me giving you a chance?”
“Yes?”
“I will. Give you a chance. If you still want it.”
He lets out a held breath. “Yes.” He kisses me again, a tender caress this time. “Yes, Sofia. I do. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t regret it.”
Chapter Fourteen
NICO
For once, I’m glad to see my friends leave.
Not that I don’t like spending time with them. I do. I wouldn’t have started a company with the intent on having them join me if I didn’t.
But after having them here all day, helping with Sofia’s case, I’m ready for some time alone with her. Even if it’s just us sitting together on the couch, me working on my laptop and her watching TV. Or she can fall asleep on me, using my shoulder or leg as a pillow. I don’t care what she does, really, as long as she does it with me.
I know a chance isn’t the same as a certainty. Sofia could change her mind about me. But I’m going to do everything I can to convince her she shouldn’t.
Is it crazy, being so sure about Sofia after spending so many years apart?
Two weeks ago, I couldn’t have imagined a future with her. Or if I had, I would have dismissed it as an impossibility. But now, I can see it.
I can picture us going on dates around the city. I can see us spending lazy evenings at my condo, doing the normal, couple-y things I hear some of my employees talk about. We could take trips together to all the places we dreamed about back in high school, like New Zealand and Sicily and Antarctica. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll end up deciding to spend our lives together like I was once so convinced we would.
Or maybe she’ll decide she can’t forgive me after all. We could realize we’re not a good fit for each other anymore. We could discover we both want different things.
If it happens, it happens. As we’ve both learned, sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you want. But there’s no way of knowing unless we try.
So I’m going to try.
I’m going to prove I’m a man worth taking a chance on.
And I’m going to end this insane plot against Sofia, one way or another.
“Nico.” Sofia comes back into the living room, freshly changed into her comfy clothes, she calls them—worn leggings and one of her oversized shirts. Her hair is pulled back into a loose braid and her feet are bare. “Do you want to have dinner now? Or wait?”
My heart rolls over at the sight she makes.
The future winks at me again.
This could be your life,it seems to say.Coming home from work, changing into comfortable clothes to spend the evening lounging in. Seeing Sofia like this, so cute and sexy without even trying.
I set my laptop on the coffee table and stand. “We can eat whenever you want. If you’re hungry, we can have dinner now. Do you want leftovers? Or we can order something new.”
“Either,” she replies as she crosses the room to meet me. “We have tons of food in the fridge. So we probablyshoulduse up some of it.”
“Should doesn’t matter. If you want something different, we’ll get it.”
