Page 7 of Mine This Time
I bit back the urge to tell him it was none of his damn business. I did have some manners, after all.
“I’ll be heading home. Thank you for at least filling me in on what you know about Brett. It was”—I paused and then shrugged—“illuminating.”
“My offer still stands.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, confused by what he meant.
“To help you find Brett.”
I mulled it over for a beat before replying, “I appreciate your offer, but I don’t think there’s much point in trying to find Brett. It’s best for me to move on.”
Chapter Four
Mari
“Dammit!” I muttered to myself as I glanced down to see that one of the wheels on my small suitcase had cracked. No wonder it wasn’t rolling smoothly.
“Mari,” a voice said. A voice I instantly recognized. What was it about Nash Reynolds? Just the sound of his gravelly drawl sent butterflies spinning in my belly.
The hot Louisiana sun beat down on me. The humid air was so heavy it felt as if it was sticking to my skin. Lifting my head, I unconsciously smoothed my hand over my hair. It was pulled back into a messy ponytail. The state of my hair was representative of how I felt about my life. I couldn’t seem to keep anything tidy.
Straightening, I turned and pasted a smile on my face. “Hello, Nash.”
With the sun glinting on his bronze hair, Nash inclined his head slightly. “Hello, Mari. How are you?”
I curled my hand more tightly around my suitcase handle and hoped I could fake my way through this. Because the truth was, I was not well, not one bit. Unbeknownst to me until yesterday morning, Brett had also run up all my credit cards to the limit. Hannah Grantham had been gracious enough to insist that I needn’t worry about the bill. Whether it was because she could tell I was on the verge of tears or not, I fully intended to find a way to take care of it as soon as I could.
I was mortified and utterly horrified at the situation in which I found myself. In fact, I was so embarrassed that I’d considered calling my brother and his wife, Harlow, for help. But alas, they were out of the country traveling this week. Max, of course, would help with anything I needed, but I didn’t want to stoop to that. I would get myself out of this situation on my own one way or another.
With my polite smile stuck on my face, I lied through my teeth in reply. “I’m well, and yourself?”
Nash began to say something, but in the bustle of people on the sidewalk outside the airport, someone bumped into me and sent me colliding into him. I looked up to find his eyes on me. His body was all hard planes. He had one arm wrapped around my waist, steadying me as my hand fell against his chest.
My heartbeat went wild, thudding furiously inside the cage of my ribs. My breath became short as heat spun like fire through my veins.
“I’m just fine,” he said, not missing a beat in the conversation.
This was the point when I should’ve moved away. But I found myself frozen, savoring the feel of his strength and wanting to surrender to it and stop trying so hard to do this all on my own.
“Where are you headed?” Nash asked as he stepped back.
It said something about the state of my body that I experienced a flash of yearning at the loss of his warm strength pressed against me even if it was only by accident. I met his gaze, ignoring the hum of my racing pulse rippling outward through my body. “I’m flying back to San Francisco,” I said.
Nash looked at me quietly for several long beats before nodding. “Okay then. You know where to reach me if you decide you want some help chasing down Brett.”
“I do. I appreciate your offer. I’ll think about it.”
“Please do.” Just two words, but the way he said them in that slow drawl that slid over me like sweet molasses sent my belly spinning and made my breath catch in my throat.
“Thank you again for lunch the other day,” I rasped.
Dear God. This man was literally taking my breath away.
“You’re most welcome, Mari. Give your brother my best.”
I managed a tight smile. I forced my feet to move because I couldn’t let myself get caught in the quicksand of Nash’s melting hot eyes. They made my body go a little crazy.
Without another word, I hurried past him, ignoring the rhythmic thump of the broken wheel on my suitcase. Nash couldn’t know it, but the sound of that wheel only added to the layers of embarrassment I was experiencing. I felt flustered inside and out and was beyond mortified at my circumstances. I was just praying that Brett hadn’t discovered the one credit card I’d never touched and kept as a backup.
