Page 54 of One Kind Soul

“Of course. You’re right.” Christian gave his brother and Tessa a look. “Tone it down, okay?”

“We’re sorry.” Tessa leaned into the table. “But I love having you here, Nicole. I’m being selfish. I have the fabulous husband now.” She rested her hand on Donovan’s on the table. “I want my best friend too.”

“Let’s just focus on tonight,” Christian said, agitation creeping into his tone. “We have right now to enjoy.” He picked up his menu and busied himself with perusing it.

Nicole did the same, but her stomach was all knotted up so none of the dishes sounded good to her. Clearly Donovan and Tessa wanted her to move to Vermont. Forget the life she had in Hawaii. Start over here.

The idea was tempting, but Christian was quick to tell them to simmer down. Did he not think it was a good idea for her to move to Vermont? Did he not want . . . more? Maybe the only reason he’d tossed himself so completely into this thing with her was precisely because it had a built-in time limit on it. If he was someone who normally dated and dropped women, perhaps he’d seen Nicole as an opportunity to extend his fun, but still not have to commit to anything.

Christian had acted sweet to her this entire time and the way he looked at her suggested she was more than a hookup, but maybe she’d misread all the signs. Maybe there were no signs.

Except a big Hawaii Bound one around her neck.

She joined in on the dinner conversation as best as she could while they ate, but only a fraction of her was actually tuned it. Christian hadn’t touched her throughout dinner either, which was odd, because they’d made a sport out of brushing against each other every chance they had. Tessa had freaked him out and Nicole wasn’t sure what to do to reset things.

Or if she should bother resetting things. She only had two more days in Vermont.

If Christian didn’t want more than what they’d been doing together over the past week and a half, perhaps it was time to stop whatever it was they had now. No sense in allowing herself to fall deeper for the man.

Luckily, Tessa and Donovan carried most of the conversation through dessert. The drive home was quiet, but Tessa joked it had to do with stuffing themselves at the restaurant and suffering from food comas. When they arrived at Tessa and Donovan’s house, Christian tugged her toward his truck as his brother ushered Tessa inside.

“I’m sorry about them pressuring you,” he said as soon as they were alone. “That wasn’t fair to you.”

“No worries.” She nudged gravel in the driveway with the toe of her shoe.

“There is a worry though.” Christian paced away a few steps, his hand raking through his hair. When he came to stand in front of her again, he took her hands. “The worry is that I want you to stay too, Nixen. Like . . . badly.” He squeezed her hands. “When I think of you leaving, it makes me a little crazy.”

She stared up into his blue eyes, sincerity—and a little panic—meeting her gaze. Cupping his whiskered cheek, she said, “It makes me a little crazy too. I’ve had more fun with you in the few days we’ve spent together than I’ve ever had in my life, Chrissy. You make me feel like someone special.”

He gripped her biceps. “That’s because you are someone special.” He leaned down and captured her mouth. The kiss said everything he hadn’t said at dinner tonight. It told her exactly how he felt about her. It begged her to stay.

Was she brave enough to do that though?

****

Nicole surrendered to Christian’s kiss. It scared her how the words were right there.

I love you.

They’d nearly escaped after Christian had told her she was someone special. All through dinner her feelings for him had spiraled around inside her and yeah, she loved him. She’d only known him a short time, but each moment they’d spent together while she’d been in Vermont had been full of something so big and consuming that the idea of leaving stabbed her in the chest. She kept picturing herself without him back on Kauai and she didn’t like that image one bit.

The way he’d kissed her right now suggested his feelings for her were as deep, but could she abandon her life in Hawaii and stay with him?

Nicole let out a little moan as the kiss wrapped up then she rested her head on his shoulder, her arms snug around his waist. She didn’t say anything. She just held him, committing the moment to memory.

“I want to stay,” she said softly. “I want to stay here with you, but I’m scared.”

“I understand.” He peeled away a bit so he could see her face as she looked up at him. “I’d offer to come to Kauai, but—”

She silenced him with two fingers to his lips. “But you belong here. You have the farm and orchard. You have that beautiful house you’ve put so much work into.” She gestured to Tessa and Donovan’s house behind them. “You have your family and friends here. This is your world, Chrissy.” She puffed out a breath. “I can’t picture you on a Kauai beach. Not a huge need for hot cowboy farmers over there.”

“It’s not fair for me to ask you to drop your whole life if I’m not willing to do the same.” He looked down at her, such angst in his gorgeous blue eyes that it broke Nicole’s heart.

Being away from him would break her heart too.

“How about this?” She released her hold on him so she could think better. “I have another week of vacation. I usually take it at Christmas to visit my parents, but I can try taking it now and we can spend another week together here in Vermont. Then we can have a serious discussion about what to do next.”

Another week would buy her more time to figure things out. She wouldn’t feel as if she were rushing into something if she’d spent a total of three weeks with Christian. Three weeks was enough time to decide her entire future.