Nico snorted. “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…”
It didn’t take much imagination to think that the visit from the Double J was precisely what it looked like.
Despite his best efforts, Nico’s anger intensified the closer he got to his house. He should’ve turned around. Should’ve gone to Stone’s and confronted the man rather than leaving. At least then he would know what he was dealing with. He wasn’t prone to jumping to conclusions, but how could he not? Did Stone deserve the benefit of the doubt? After what he’d done fifteen years ago, the simple answer was no. But then that would mean Nico didn’t trust him. And without trust, why the fuck was he even considering a future with the guy?
His random thoughts dried up instantly when he pulled down the driveway and found a familiar car parked next to Stevie’s Bronco.
“What the fuck?”
Nico prayed he was dreaming and that he was about to wake up and find out that none of this was real. He would open his eyes and find Stone and Stevie sleeping beside him. He could laugh all this off as a nightmare because there was no way the universe was cruel enough to pile all this shit on them at one time.
As he parked, he willed himself awake, figuring surely if this were a dream, that would do the trick.
It didn’t work.
And it still didn’t work as he opened the front door and walked inside to find Stevie sitting on the couch across from Melanie.
Jäger raced over, slipping on the hardwood as he came to a quick stop at Nico’s feet. He considered stalling, but he could feel the tension coming from a few feet away, and the last thing he wanted was to leave Stevie alone with Melanie any longer.
“Hey,” he greeted as he shrugged out of his coat.
Melanie smiled.
Stevie frowned.
“What’s goin’ on here?” he asked, although it was quite possibly the stupidest question ever.
“Melanie dropped by to … see you,” Stevie explained from her perch on the couch.
“Well, you’ve seen me,” he said, meeting Melanie's gaze briefly before turning his attention back to Stevie. She looked as though a light breeze would make her crumble.
Not good.
Nico hung his coat on the rack. “About?”
“I was just tellin’ Stevie that I missed you,” Melanie said sweetly. “I’ve been thinking about how rashly I behaved and thought maybe we could talk.”
It had been over a year since he broke things off with Melanie, and this was the first time she’dstopped byfor anything. When she left, she’d taken everything she could fit in the moving truck and Nico hadn’t stopped her. Not even when she started pilfering his things as punishment. He’d been too wracked with guilt to care at the time.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Stevie said, getting to her feet.
Nico wasn’t sure what prompted him, but he shook his head and took her hand before she could slip away.
“No need.” He guided her back to the couch and sat down beside her.
It was pointless to pretend they were merely roommates. Melanie would find out sooner or later, and he saw no point in delaying the information. And yeah, it was a chickenshit move on his part. Using Stevie as an excuse not to have this or any conversation with Melanie. But hey, survival instinct fed on desperation, not rational thought.
He could feel Melanie's confusion. It filled the empty space, growing heavier every second that Nico didn’t release Stevie’s hand.
When he conjured enough nerve to look at her, he noticed she was staring at their linked fingers.
“Are you…?” Her gaze shifted to Nico’s face.
“Yes,” he said simply because the last thing he wanted was any more uncertainty. He was dealing with enough not knowing what was taking place at Stone’s right now.
“Oh.” She swallowed but didn’t move to stand.
Pretending this wasn’t completely awkward or that Stevie wasn’t doing her best to extract her hand from his grip, Nico asked, “What did you want to talk about?”
