Page 65 of Nicole
Emotion clogged my throat as tears sprang to my eyes.
As if he could feel my presence, Drew looked straight at me. His face appeared the same as it always did—square jaw, Roman nose, and a soft cleft in his chin barely visible. Yet his eyes were changed, though they held his unique shade of ginger, the lightest brown I’d ever seen. They contained a heaviness I’d never witnessed before in his gaze. There was no court jester joking in his orbs. No dancing or merriment in his irises.
He looked back to the girl and made the violin sing a serenade. A tear rose over my bottom lid and slid down my cheek.
I’d been right. Drew Bauer wasn’t the cheating kind. He was the visiting the sick kind. And brightening someone else’s day kind. Helping single mothers kind. And—I swallowed past the lump in my throat—the easy to love kind.
His bow slowed, the last note humming through the air. With a sad smile, he lowered his instrument. A smattering of applause followed. He rested his gaze back on me.
I’m sorry, I mouthed. For taking away his voice after the confrontation with Greg, but also for doubting him, even for a moment.
A touch of familiar brightness returned to his countenance, and he held out his hand to me. It seemed symbolic, his invitation. Hadn’t that been what he’d been doing all along? Inviting me to let go? To laugh? To live again? To love again?
I stepped forward and put my hand in his. Hoped he saw the gesture for all that it was.
“Two of the most important women in my life meet for the very first time.” He gently pressed my fingers. “Nicole, I’d like you to meet Miranda.”
I let go of Drew so I could properly greet this young lady who so obviously meant a great deal to Drew. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Her hand was limp in mine. “You too,” she wheezed.
My heart clenched. The poor lamb. My eyes pricked as Drew’s warm palm came to rest at the small of my back in support.
“You two have a lot in common.” An almost imperceptible quake entered Drew’s baritone. “You’re both fighters.”
A woman about my own age approached and gripped the wheelchair’s handles. “And fighters need their rest for battle.”
“Bye, Drew.” Miranda waved.
Drew and I watched until Miranda had been pushed out of sight.
He picked up his violin case. “How did you know where to find me?”
“A receptionist informed me of your location and that you were with ‘your girl.’”
He stopped me with a hand to my elbow. “You must have thought…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry I put you through that, even for a minute.”
“Relax. You didn’t.”
“So you didn’t storm down here wanting to tear into my hide?”
Visions of supply closets popped into my head. I pressed my lips between my teeth. “Let’s just say I’m glad my intuition didn’t fail me.”
He searched my eyes. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not jumping to conclusions.”
I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips.
His smile quirked. “What was that for?”
My grin turned saucy. “For not making me exterminate you.”
He threw back his head and laughed.
22
