He didn’t ask whether she wanted him to come inside. He just did, pulling her from the truck, blocking the sleet’s assault while she unlocked the front door, guiding her to the living room, where he knelt to spark a fire.
He breathed the flames to life. “You should put on dry clothes.”
Aubrey pulled his soggy jacket closer, then reconsidered and draped it over the nearest chair. The cold no longer had her in its grip. Far from it. “What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
She shook her head and went to her room. He could refuse to look after himself, but now that he’d tended to her, he couldn’t stop her from returning the favor. She tossed her wet clothes into the bathtub and pulled on a cozy waffle-knit pajama set, then snuck upstairs to her parents’ old room.
There, the stillness had a weight to it, which she resolutely ignored. Her mother had gotten rid of most of her father’s things when he’d died, but nevertheless, she managed to unearth a pair of worn sweatpants and a soft, sky-blue button-down.
She returned to find a drenched Nick seated before a roaring blaze. Warm light swelled from the hearth, repelling the muted gray glow from the windows.
“Here.” She held out the clothes.
His head swiveled. He eyed the offering like she’d tried to hand off a venomous snake. “Whose are those?”
“My dad’s.”
He turned back to the fire. “No, thanks.”
She stood there, awkward. “What, you hate him that much?”
“I don’thatehim.” He hugged his knees. “I never hated him.”
“So you’re refusing these because...?”
“I’m pissed.”
Her breath hitched. “It’s been seventeen years. And he’s dead.”
“Yeah, well. No one’s ever accused me of not holding a grudge. Which I’m sorry about. I’m sure you don’t want to hear it. But what he did wasn’t right.”
She shifted her weight. “It wouldn’t have changed anything, you know.”
His shoulders hunched, the great muscles in his back knitting. “It would’ve changed everything, Aubs.”
She sucked down a pained inhale. He was right. She’d only claimed otherwise because shewantedit to be true. “Okay. Maybe. But... you have Paige to show for it. And we’ve agreed that was for the best.”
A long silence spun by. “Yeah.”
“So what does it matter?”
When he didn’t answer, she set the unused clothes aside and joined him on the floor. The fire lavished her with enough heat to combat the chill of still-wet hair against her neck. “Okay. Moving on, I guess.”
“Let’s.”
She looked down at her hands. Her fingers gleamed red and raw. “Can I ask... would it be okay if I checked on Paige? I was thinking of texting her to see how she’s feeling, but I don’t want to be weird. So I figured I’d better ask you, first.”
“Christ.” He closed his eyes and massaged between them. “How do you always do that?”
She eyed him. “Do what?”
He tapped the center of his chest. “Say things I can feel, right here.”
She stared at the spot he’d touched long after his hand had fallen away. She had no idea how to answer.
“Look.” He sighed. “Thanks for worrying about her, but she was only upset because she walked in on me and Tansy arguing this morning. Which understandably freaked her out a little.”
