Page 32 of Never and Always
Chapter 7
Something changed in Nick.
He could feel it. It sparked from the moment Mia confessed the confusion she felt when she was aroundhim.
But from the moment he realized that the necklace was the very same one he’d given her when she was eighteen, something he couldn’t quite describe changed withinhim.
It was something that eradicated all the reasons not to be with her from his mind, and he no longer had that warning sign blocking his way, telling him that she was offlimits.
He took one look at her and saw this perfect being who cared enough for him to value a gift he’d given her just over twelve years ago. There was something significant to be noted about that, and he hadn’t been able to helphimself.
Glenn was right about one thing—when Nick was around Mia, he became a fool. A fool to the attraction he felt for her. While he could control it most times, tonight he’d allowed it to grip him and capture him within its claws. His brain turned to mush and he no longer saw Mia as Glenn’s babysister.
He saw her for what she was: an incredibly beautiful woman who treasured a gift he’d givenher.
He remembered the day he gave her the necklace. She looked beautiful then, too. At the time he’d been a Marine for a few years, on an income that would allow him to buy her something meaningful for a specialbirthday.
Nick didn’t know at the time just how much it would have meant to her. In her desperation, she could have easily sold it. It cost him just over a thousand bucks. He knew that was crazy, but he felt she was worth it. It would have been worth a lot morenow.
He might have pushed back on his attraction and feelings for her all these years, but he wasn’t stupid or blind. All he had to do was look at her and see that she felt for him, too, and it wasn’t the crush or the phase he’d previously thought she’d grow outof.
The question now was, what did he do aboutit?
The question weighed down on him on the journey home, and even as he watched her go up the stairs to herroom.
He took his time admiring her perfect body and continued to watch until she reached the top and looked back towave.
He waved back and turned to go in thekitchen.
Of all the women Nick had ever known, Mia had been the one to trouble him the most. For years he’d gone from one emotion to the next and had this pent-up attraction driving himcrazy.
Tonight had brought it all to surface, and now that it had he didn’t know how he was going to maintain any form ofcontrol.
Glenn was inside the kitchen sitting at the table. Nick looked at him and reflected on the argument they had earlier. He still felt like punching Glenn, but the strength of their friendship bridled his anger. It always came back to that. Theirfriendship.
It was that same friendship that stopped him from crossing the line with Mia. Just the thought of doing something he knew would anger Glenn was enough to stophim.
That night when Glenn warned Nick away from Mia, he’d said he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea about his behavior towards her. What Nick didn’t tell him was that whatever idea Mia had about him seeing more to their friendship wasn’twrong.
“Did you find her?” Glenn asked as Nick leaned on the counter. Glenn twisted around in his chair so that he could facehim.
Nick noticed how troubled he looked and that the annoyance he’d displayed over the last few days had lessonedsomewhat.
“I did,” Nick replied, not bothering to go into details, because what should have happened was Glenn should have gone with him. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know she’d be out on the streets at night with nomoney.
It was that same basis that he’d gone on when he followed his hunch and went to the motel. First he’d looked around the area hoping he’d find her, but then he headed straight into town and went to the first motel he saw, which also happened to be the cheapest due to the rough area it was locatedin.
While he hoped she hadn’t gone there because he knew all kinds of stuff happened in the place, he took a chance and checked it out. He hadn’t been there two minutes when he heard her voice as she called out to the creep who stole her necklace. It infuriated him now as he sat with Glenn that Mia had to go through all ofthat.
Who knew what else could have happened? He could have killed the man when Mia said the guy tried to force himself on her. That was Glenn’s fault for being so disgusting in saying that Mia had always disappointedhim.
What a shit thing to say. He didn’t know if he could speak to Glenn right now. It was probably best notto.
Nick moved away from the counter, went to the fridge to grab some orange juice, and was about to leave the kitchen when Glenn startedtalking.
“I know I was wrong to say what I said to her,” hestated.
Nick turned back to face him. “I’m not the one you should be telling that,” he said firmly. “You know how much she looks up to you, and she seeks your approval ineverything.”
