Page 3 of All He Wants

“And coffee shop,” Nick chimed in and I laughed lightly.

“Yes, and coffee shop.”

“Oh wow, that’s so cool.” Harper practically had hearts in her eyes and I had to say that it was a reaction I got a lot — there were a lot of people who assumed I was living the dream. And I was, in a way, but it wasn’t without its difficulties.

Nick’s parents nodded. “So who’s watching the store while you’re away?”

I sipped my hot chocolate before replying. “Well, we’re open til Christmas Eve and I have staff members working at the store while I’m not there. My best friend is my store manager, so she’s holding down the fort.”

The attention moved away from me and I exhaled a shaky breath of relief.

“And you, darling? How’re things going at the University?”

Nick nodded. “Good, thanks. Still teaching. Still loving it.”

His mom looked disappointed at the lack of detail and I could empathise, Nick was often a man of few words. It had never bothered me, though. Not when he could do so many other talented things with his mouth.

I nudged him and he blinked, continuing on. “I, ah, they’re talking about promoting me, actually. Head of the department.”

“Oh that’s wonderful, darling!”

It was wonderful — and this was the first I was hearing about it.

The glance he sent me was apologetic and I looked away, sipping my hot chocolate as Harper tried to explain her job to a very lost-looking Lyn. Oakley glanced between me and his brother, one brow rising slightly as if to ask if I was okay, and I lifted a shoulder before quickly letting it drop. Nick was who he was and I loved him, even if his frequent tight-lipped stoicism sometimes annoyed me. Nobody was perfect, after all. And our relationship was new-ish, we were still learning and figuring out what the other needed. We would get there. I hoped.

After dinner, we found our bags already in the room we’d been given to stay in. Apparently, it was Nick’s favorite guest room and used to be his childhood bedroom three renovations ago.

Dinner had been gorgeous. Braised pork and mashed potatoes with caramelised onion and creamed greens, with plenty of wine to keep the nerves at bay and the conversation flowing. Yet, despite my pleasantly full belly, things remained tense between Nick and me.

He’d dimmed the overhead light and closed the burgundy curtains, hiding the snow flurries outside, bathing the large room in a golden glow. Making his way around the side of the bed closest to the window, he pulled his sweater up and over his head before speaking. “Everything okay? You seem quiet.”

I shrugged. “I’m fine.” The zipper on my boots snagged and I grunted as I forced the thing down and toed them off by the door. My socks followed suit and I sighed when the soft carpet met my feet. It was cream, a bold choice for a guest room if you asked me — but then again, perhaps the Hart’s guests were more civilised than the rowdy friends I had. My thoughts flashed to Morgan, my best friend, and I bit my lip on a smirk as I imagined how she’d react if she saw this place.

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed Nick move closer. “Fine? Are you sure?” His hands dropped onto my shoulders, pressing gently but with a firmness that made me sigh.

“You have a favorite guest room.”

He paused before continuing his massage. “Yeah.”

“You’re up for a promotion.”

This time, his pause was longer, his voice graveled. “Yes.”

“Do I know you at all, Nick Hart?”

His hands pressed gently on the sides of my shoulders as he turned me around, levelling me with a soft look full of love and heat. “Better than anyone.”

I considered him, the earnest tilt to his lips and the wide desperation of his eyes. “Tell me something you’ve never told anyone else.”

Nick chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the bed and then flopping back against the red and cream checkered sheets while he considered my request. “You know Oakley and I went to college together, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, wondering where this was going as I laid down next to him. There was only a year between the two brothers, Nick being the slightly older of the pair.

“Well…” He hesitated, mouth opening and closing before he glanced at me and held my gaze. “One time, we were out at a bar and a girl agreed to go home with us. The both of us.” Was that it? His big secret that he’d never told anyone else was a threesome? I scoffed and he held up a hand to indicate he wasn’t done. “So we took her home. Had a great night. But then… we both liked her, and she liked both of us.”

“Okay…”

“So for a while, Oakley and I shared a girlfriend.”