Aubrey raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“You look... I don’t know. Weird. Like you have a fever.”
“Huh.” Aubrey ran a hand across her forehead. “Yeah, I do feel a little off. Maybe it’s best that I won’t be around you guys for a while.”
“Ugh. Donotget me sick.” Renee backed away and cast a pointed look toward the door. “Go on, get outta here. And feel better.”
“Don’t worry, I’m about to.” Aubrey laughed at herself the moment she got outside.
As she climbed into the car, her smile stretched even wider. In the few minutes she’d been inside, the sky had gone from brooding to downright angry.
Maybe she shouldn’t have derived so much encouragement from that. She had one hell of a fight with her dad looming onthe horizon, and life would undoubtedly throw more curveballs before she and Nick made it to New York.
But right now, none of that mattered. She cared about nothing beyond tonight.
Tonight belonged to them, and they would make it perfect.
By the time Aubrey got home, the house was empty.
A weight slid from her shoulders as she went inside, stripped off her work clothes, and proceeded to take the longest shower of her life. She scrubbed until everything turned pink and tingly, then shaved—twice—and worked as much moisturizer into her skin as it would absorb. She wanted to be soft tonight. Soft and clean and warm and willing.
A flutter shot through her stomach. She waited for it to pass, then upended her underwear drawer onto her bed and picked through the contents, settling on a matched set in white lace. She topped off the choice with jean shorts and a cleavage-baring white tank top.
Might as well give Nick a preview. Lure him in so she could do debauched, heavenly things to him the moment he got close.
In the kitchen, she slapped together a lunch. Afterward, a search of the hall closet yielded a few faux fur throws, which she spread in front of the fireplace. Then she waited. And waited. She contemplated going to the pharmacy for protection, but after thinking over her cycle, she calculated the chances as essentially zero. Besides, she didn’t want anything between them tonight. Just him and her and the first of many beautiful experiences together.
At four, the heavens opened. Rain battered the house, its drumbeat roar barreling down every hallway. Aubrey perched on the chesterfield in the living room, too wound-up to relax, too weak-kneed to pace. Nick was probably leaving the mill right now, but he’d still have to walk the two and a half miles to her house.
Really, she should go pick him up, but venturing outside now would mean squandering the hair and makeup she’d labored over for the better part of an hour. Not only that, she didn’t trust herself to drive, not with the way each heartbeat exploded atop the next like a chain of fireworks popping off.
Very soon, she’d belong to Nick in every sense of the word. In a way no one could ever take from her, no matter how many vacations they dragged her on.
A knock sounded. Aubrey jerked a glance at the mantel clock. Four fifteen. No way he’d gotten here that fast.
Frowning, she went the door. To her shock, Nick stood on the stoop, his thin chest heaving, one hand propped against the doorframe. Rainwater coursed from his curls. The look he gave her scorched a hole right through the screen.
Aubrey pressed a hand to her breastbone, trying to ease the flurry underneath. “Oh my god. How’d you get here so fast? Did you get off early?”
“No. Same time as usual. I ran.”
She gaped. “You got here in fifteen minutes? Onfoot?”
A wry smile claimed his mouth—the one he reserved only for her. “Turns out I’m really fucking fast when I want to be.”
The thrum of her pulse swelled to join the storm.
Nick pushed his hair out of his eyes. “And look. You asked for rain. You got your wish.”
“Not quite yet,” she breathed.
That earned her a grin. He opened the screen and stepped inside, all smoldering eyes and wet dark curls and glistening skin.
Her heart cracked down the middle and sighed a single word.Mine.
Nick reached for her, molding his hands to the curves of her waist and backing her up until her heels hit the wall. Chilledrainwater dripped from him, soaking into her top, cooling her heat-drenched skin.
“So.” His face hovered close. “We’re doing this in your living room?”
