Page 124 of Maximum Dare
After a brief struggle to get out of the low-slung automobile, Nick had his crutches beneath both arms and was hopping toward us at a dangerous pace.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Can I have a minute with Daisy, Mum, please?”
She stood up and gave me a reassuring nod before ambling off toward the car, presumably to speak with Carl.
“Mind if I sit a minute?” Nick hobbled up the steps.
I helped him by grabbing his crutches and holding them for him.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “This is getting old. I mean the crutches. I’m going to lose my mind if I can’t kick a ball soon.”
“Maybe you can bounce it off your head?”
He burst out laughing. “I do miss you.”
“Sorry about last night,” I said.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have walked off like that. It was your special evening, Daisy. You achieved something amazing and I should have stayed to help you celebrate.”
“I never meant to hurt you, Nick.”
He rested his face in his hands. “I’ve been such an ass.”
“I couldn’t find the right time to tell you about…”
“I wondered why Max wanted to talk about you so much.” He gave me a wry smile. “He kept bringing your name up in conversation. I think he was feeling me out, seeing if I’d be okay with you two being a couple.” Nick nudged against me. “He’s kind of goofy when he’s happy.”
“He’s fun to be around.”
“You both are.”
I couldn’t look at Nick. God only knew what he thought about me getting on a plane for Brazil to see Max.
“You two started spending time together,” he said. “You grew to really like each other.” Nick reached for my hand. “Then I went and injured myself and you both felt sorry for me.”
“We didn’t want you to have anything more to worry about.”
“And here we are.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but I can’t get on that plane.”
“It’s better than first class.”
I stared at him. “Why did you hide your family from me? Why hide all this?”
“It was something I’d always done. Dad insisted we go to a regular school, a regular college. No private education for us. He didn’t want us to be snobs. There was a part of me that feared that any girl that got to know me would like me for all the wrong reasons.” He cringed. “And Mum was always on my case about…”
“I saw her do that to Max, too. She only wants the best for you both.”
“The thing is, Daisy, you are the best. You proved that time and time again. I proved I’m an idiot.”
“It’s going to be okay, Nick,” I said softly. “You’ll bounce back from this. I know it.”
“I’ll give it my best try.”
“I’ll cheer you on as I’ve always done…as a good friend.”
“Daisy, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he paused for a beat. “But you should fly to São Paulo to see Max. It’s the best way for you to prove how much you really love him.”
