Page 67 of Her Faithful Protector

“All right,” she said slowly. “You want to move forward. I get that. Let me get well, then we can date.”

“Fuck that noise.”

Her eyes went wide. “I beg your pardon?”

Nic shoved himself up off the chair and paced to the door and back. He clasped the back of his neck with both hands and looked down at Cami. “Sorry, didn’t mean to pop off like that.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Sure, under normal circumstances I would love to date you, honey. But these aren’t normal circumstances. You’ve been through hell; there is no way you should be alone right now. And I want to be there for you. If you really want to stay in your apartment, that’s fine, let me stay with you.”

“My apartment is close to the University, so it’s really small, it only has one bedroom.”

“It’s okay, I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said immediately.

He saw her wiggle her fingers. He reached out and touched them. “Staying at my place is stupid.”

Nic had learned how to be patient over the years, so he waited for her to continue.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Really, really sure?”

“Cami, this is our chance. We were too young before, and then later circumstances took away our choices, but fate or God slammed us back together. We were meant to be in this moment, here and now. It’s our shot. I don’t want to waste it.”

Camilla looked up at him and swallowed. “Nic, I want to say something important. Will you listen to me?”

“Always.”

“You keep saying you love me, and I have needed to hear that more than you can imagine. But truthfully, you don’t know me anymore. I’ve changed a lot between eighteen and twenty-four; there is no way you can love the me I am today.”

Nic hid his smile. He had to be careful and treat her words respectfully, but that was a load of horseshit. He knew this woman down to her bones, this brave, beautiful woman who endured and thrived. He knew Cami Ross down to her toes, and he intended to marry her. But she was right, she needed to be courted. So he was damn well going to get her to stay with him. He’d bring her breakfast in bed every day with a flower on the damn tray. He’d court the hell out of her.

“Nic, tell me what you’re thinking,” she prompted.

“Huh? Oh, well you’re right, honey. We’ve both changed. Like I said, I want a second chance. I think having you come and stay with me is the perfect way to get to know one another again. Yeah, you could rest and recuperate in your apartment, then we could date for a year. But my way is better. We will know in six weeks if we really have a shot at this.”

She bit her lip again and gasped.

“You’re going to have to stop doing that.”

Her lip went up on the side. “Yeah, I am.”

“So do we have a deal? Are you going to let me take care of you?”

“Yes, Nic, we have a deal.”

* * *

Camilla thanked God that Nic’s apartment was on the first floor, she honestly didn’t think she could walk up a set of stairs.

She could feel him staring at her as she walked over the threshold of his apartment.

“I’m fine,” she said for the ninety-ninth time.

“The sofa is right here, let’s get you settled.”

It was the only thing she could see in the living room; it had her entire focus. Just about six steps and she’d make it. How could she be trembling so badly? Nic’s steady hand was under her left elbow as he helped ease her down.

Camilla closed her eyes with relief when she was finally sitting again, even though it had been only ten minutes since she had been in Kane and A.J.’s sedan.

“It was nice of your friends to pick us up from the airport,” she murmured.

“Honey, just sit back and rest, today was a lot. Do you want to go straight to your room? Maybe go to bed for the night or take a nap?”