Page 31 of The Perfect Heart

That was also the safest option, in my opinion. If Nash had felt something, too, he could broach the subject first. If not, I would pretend nothing had happened, and we could continue as friends as I pieced my life together.

My footsteps didn’t alert Nash to my presence—he glared at his computer screen as I stopped in the doorway. I waited for him to notice me, then knocked on the doorframe as Joseph had done. Nash’s gaze jumped to me immediately, but it took a second for him to pull himself from whatever space in his head he’d been in. I knew because his eyes finally focused, then widened for a heartbeat before he managed to get his expression under control.

“Hey, you busy?”

I cringed inwardly at the question—he’d told us all earlier he wasn’t to be disturbed because he was doing payroll. Of course, he was busy.

But instead of telling me to come back later or asking me what I needed, he waved me in and motioned for me to close the door. His answer was unexpected enough that I took a step back before getting a hold of myself and coming halfway into the room.

“What’s up?” Nash asked, as pleasantly as ever as he leaned back in his chair. Except that his gaze hadn’t stopped tracing my face, lingering on my lips.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly bone dry. “The receipt machine is acting up, and everyone else is busy. Can you help me with it? The table is getting ready to leave.”

His eyebrows dipped. “The receipt machine?”

“Yeah. It’s refusing to print. All it does is make weird noises.” I jerked both my thumbs over my shoulder, wondering at his confusion and hoping he understood the urgency.

But instead, he fixed me with a stare. “Why aren’t you cashing your paychecks?”

My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out because my mind was suddenly blank, my ears ringing as my heart rate skyrocketed. I had hoped he wouldn’t notice or care, but he had always been observant, and I knew he cared. He’d been trying to get me to open up since I arrived.

Explanations stopped in my throat, choking me—there was no way I could tell him. Not here. Not now. Not when the reason was so complicated. Not when I was positive he would look at me differently once he knew.

“I—” I started, gaping like a fish out of water before I snapped my mouth closed. It seemed like the safest option at that moment, though possibly not the brightest, since I was technically talking to my boss as well as my best friend.

Nash sighed heavily and planted his hands on his desktop before he shoved himself to his feet and walked around his desk.

“I really need that receipt,” I tried, my voice breathless to my ears. “They’re leaving—”

I took a step away, made to turn around, and head back to the front of the house, hoping Nash would follow.

But he had other plans.

A hand closed around my wrist and tugged me back, and suddenly Nash was in front of me again, peering down into my face just as he had the day before. The conversations I’d had with myself abandoned me instantly, tingles jumping up and down my arms so hard I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from shivering.

And before I could blink, he was kissing me.

It was gentle, but for a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe or think. But this time, it wasn’t out of panic. My mind went blank of all but the feeling of Nash’s mouth on mine, the warmth of his lips, the feel of them pressed against mine, the scent of his cologne all around me. It was a heady mix, and my body responded, my stomach clenching tightly, my heart beating rapidly, the flickers of tingles becoming full-fledged electric sparks running from the top of my head down to my toes.

It was a kiss unlike I’d ever had, and before I knew it, I was reaching for Nash. What had started slow, a question without an answer, a request asking for permission, exploded as soon as my hands curled in his shirt, pulling him closer. His breath caught, and electricity crackled between us as the kiss grew more heated, the fingers of one hand winding in my hair while the other curled around my waist.

Nash’s tongue flicked against my lips, and they parted, allowing it to sweep against mine, twisting and dancing until my arms wound around his neck to draw him as close as possible, my only thoughts in the world of the way he tasted, the way he felt against me, of the desire suddenly, heavily pulsing through me. And when his hand slipped down to curl around my ass, I couldn’t help the small moan of desire that left my throat.

I hadn’t felt something this explosive in a long time. Possibly ever.

As suddenly as the kiss began, Nash pulled away, a protest leaving my mouth just as the moan had. I was breathless, but so was Nash. He wiped at his lower lip with his thumb, dragging the digit slowly over the kiss-reddened skin, his eyes still on my mouth.

All I could do was stand there, my mind’s gears still at a standstill like someone had thrown a wrench into the works.

Well, someone had. And he was still standing in front of me, cheeks slightly flushed, shoulders rapidly rising and falling as though he had just run a track sprint.

Then he drew closer again, his hands gripping my upper arms, his crystal blue-eyed gaze as intense as I had ever seen it.

“Halle, I don’t need to remind you how close we once were. You were my entire world, and I would have done anything if you had asked. And that hasn’t changed. Whatever is going on, just know that I’m here for you. I want to listen and help however I can, but for that to happen, you have to open up to me.”

Before I could reply, as suddenly as he had kissed me, as suddenly as he had pulled away, Nash let me go and started toward the door, looking over his shoulder at me as he talked.

“Okay, so the receipt printer is messing up again? Don’t worry, I’ll fix that for you. There’s an art to it.”