Page 75 of Nolan
Embarrassed, I rub my eyes and turn away from him. “I’m sorry. I’m a bit of a drama queen. Apollo will tell you all about it, I’m sure. I just needed a few minutes.”
I can sense him closing the distance between us, and I don’t want to explain myself. I don’t even know where to start.
He takes my hand in his. “Mia.”
I look up into his eyes, seeing the curiosity, the compassion there.
“Apollo said you visited me every day. While I was being repaired. Is that true?” I nod silently, looking away, but he tilts my chin back up. “And that we went on a date or two?”
More than that. But I give him another nod.
He grins at me. “Well, then, it sounds like I was a damn lucky droid.”
I’m helpless against that smile. “Opposite, actually,” I admit with a weak chuckle. “I was the lucky one.”
He caresses my face before pulling his hand away, all confidence and ease. “Also sounds like I lost out on a hell of a lot.”
“You didn’t,” I say. “I did. I was scared of losing you, and I almost pushed you away once. But we promised we’d make it work, and . . .” I tuck my hair behind my ear. “It’s weird talking about it, I guess, because you don’t remember.”
We stand there quietly together. When I glance at him, he’s admiring me unapologetically. “You stayed by me every day. And I don’t even know you.” He looks around the half-vacated parking lot for BioNex employees. “That’s enough for me to know that this must be worth chasing.”
He’s still as sweet as he ever was. I wish I could tell him everything. How I feel. How amazing he was and still is. But I err on the side of caution, not wanting to scare him away or turn him off. Our romance was a whirlwind of a lot of things.
“Want to know something funny?” Nolan asks.
I look up at him. “What’s that?”
“I don’t remember shit.” He glances at me slyly, touching his temple. “But my gratification drive? That’s another matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“One look at you, and it’s going absolutely insane,” he replies with a playful little shrug. “I may not have all those memories, but . . . it knows. All I can think about right now is how to serve you. Make you happy. Take care of you. It’s like a little conscience. Mia this, Mia that. Maddening, really.”
All my shattered hopes start piecing themselves together. “Really?”
“Really.” He tilts his head down, gazing intently into my eyes. “So . . . think I could take you out sometime, and you could refresh my memory?”
My cheeks heat, and I can’t help myself. I throw myself at him, and he catches me. I’m kissing him before he can say anything else. He’s caught off guard, but he swiftly kisses me back, and his arms encircle me the way they were always meant to.
He’s back. He’s alive. He’s curious. A part of him recalls me. Enough to draw him to me, after all of this.
I love you, Mia.
I’ll refresh his memory. I won’t squander this chance. I break away, breathless. He stares at me intensely. “Sorry, I—I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He grins. “Do it again.”
Several slow, tender kisses later, I tell myself to take it easy.
He rubs my back. “About that date. How about Friday night?”
“I’d love that.”
His entire face lights up. “Then I’ll get your number.”
I give it happily. He doesn’t remember, and he doesn’t know it yet.
But he’s already mine.
