Cold Feet in Hot Sand (15 page)

He stared at her in disbelief. “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

Nick pulled her to him and hugged her, and as he did, he closed his eyes and whispered, “When you do find someone, Kristina, he’s going to be one lucky man.”

She laughed. “Thanks.”

They held on to each other for a moment, and as they let each other go, she said, “You know, now I kind of feel bad for leaving the ring in the parking lot. Seems like kind of a waste. It was a pretty stone, and you probably spent
—
”

“Actually, I picked it up.” He paused. “If you want to keep it, I can bring it back.”

“You bought it,” she said with a shrug.

“Yeah, but I gave it to you,” he said. “I can’t really ask for it back. Besides, maybe you can have the stone reset or something. You’d probably get more use out of it than I would.”

“It’s up to you.”

“I’ll bring it by next time I come to get my stuff.” He chewed his lip. “What about you and Deanna, though? Are you going
—
”

She squeezed his hand. “Deanna and I will work things out between us. But you two should be together.” Releasing his hand, she added, “Like, now.”

“You
—
”

“Go.” She nudged him and gestured toward the front door.

“Are you kicking me out?”

Kristina laughed. “No, I’m not kicking you out. But I know you, and you’re probably itching to be with her. So…” She nodded toward the door. “Go.”

“Will you be okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I feel a lot better now that we’ve talked, so… yeah.”

“Good.” He hugged her again and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry I put you through all of this.”

“I forgive you,” she said.

“Thank you,” he whispered.
As he let her go, he said, “And just for the record, next guy that comes along? If he treats you like shit, he’s going to have to answer to your sister
and
me.”

Kristina smiled. “Good to know.”

Eleven

Kristina
.

Deanna stared at the name on her caller ID. Hadn’t Kristina said she didn’t want to speak to her again? But now she was calling?

She eyed her phone warily, then answered. “Hello?”

“Hey.” Her sister’s voice was soft, maybe even a little timid. “Can… can we talk?”

“Uh, sure. Yeah. What’s up?”

“Listen,” Kristina said. “Nick and I just had a long talk.”

Deanna’s eyes widened. On one hand, she wanted to kill him for going to Kristina even when she’d asked him to leave her alone, but on the other, Kristina was talking to her. Without an ounce of hostility in her voice, Kristina was talking to her.

Deanna swallowed. “You… you did?”

“Yeah. And
Dee
, whatever happened,” Kristina said, “I want my sister back.”

Deanna closed her eyes and released a breath. “So do I.” She swallowed. “But, what changed your mind?”

“Just some things Nick and I talked about,” Kristina said. “I probably should have listened to him
—
both of you
—
sooner.”

Lingering shame burned in Deanna’s gut. “I can’t really blame you. You had every right to be upset.”

“Still.” Kristina paused. “There’s something I need you to tell me, though. And just, you know, be honest.”

“Okay…”

“You and Nick,” she said, “did
any
of that start before he called off the wedding?”

“No,” Deanna said without hesitation. “Absolutely not. It was… it was completely out of the blue.”

The line went silent for a while, and about the time Deanna was starting to wonder if Kristina was even there anymore, Kristina said, “I believe you.”

Relief rushed so rapidly over Deanna, it was all she could do not to break down. Finally, she convinced herself to whisper, “You do?”

“Yes,” Kristina said just as quietly. “After talking to him, and hearing it from you… I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before.”

“I’m serious. You have no reason to apologize,” Deanna said. “You had every right not to feel the way you did.”

“I know, but I know you better than that,” she said. “I know you both better than that.”

“All the more reason to be upset with us when you thought we’d gone behind your back.”

“Maybe. But now that I’ve talked to both of you, I feel better about things. And… if you two are happy together, then I want you to be together.”

Deanna almost dropped the phone. She started to speak, but her sister went on.

“We should talk more later,” she said, and a grin worked its way into her voice. “But I think you’re going to have company pretty soon, so…”

“Company?” Deanna’s head turned slowly toward the door. “What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure Nick was on his way over there.”

Deanna’s pulse shot up. “You…” She could barely get her breath through her throat. “You’re… okay with this?”

“Yeah, I am.” Her tone playful and mischievous, Kristina added, “Good luck with hm.”

Deanna laughed. “Thanks. I
—
”

The doorbell rang. Her throat constricted.

“Was that the door?” Kristina asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll let you go, then. We’ll talk more later, okay?”

“Okay.” Deanna swallowed. As she stood and started down the hall, she said, “And thanks. For understanding.”

“You’re welcome. I love you, sis.”

Deanna smiled. “I love you too.”

“Now go. Have fun.” Kristina giggled. “Call me later?”

“I will.”

After they’d hung up, Deanna slid her phone into her pocket and, hands shaking and heart pounding, she went downstairs. Her heart beat even faster as she made out his broad-shouldered silhouette on the other side of the frosted glass.

She opened the door.

From across the threshold, they made eye contact, and she wondered if he could breathe any more than she could.

She coughed to get the air moving. “So you and Kristina talked?”

His cheeks colored as he nodded. “I know you didn’t want me to, but I had to give it a try. And she’s
—
”

“I know.” Deanna smiled. “She told me you were on your way here.”

Nick smiled too, and they held each other’s gazes, but neither moved.

He shifted his weight. “I wasn’t sure you were even free or wanted to see me right now, but I had to come over. I need to know…” He paused, holding her gaze. “I need to know what it feels like to be with you with a clear conscience.”

“Then what are you still doing out there?” She reached for his shirt, and he reached for her, and as her hands slid up his chest and around to the back of his neck, he pulled her close and kissed her. At first it was gentle, just their parted lips against each other, moving slowly, with agonizing restraint, each searching the other for resistance. Then she let her tongue graze his upper lip. He shivered and held her tighter as their kiss deepened. His touch unsteady but gentle, he slid his hand up her back and into her hair.

When he broke the kiss, he paused, his lips a breath away from hers, furrowing his brow as if trying to decide whether to pull away or kiss her again. He settled on the latter, and they kissed like there was nothing left to hold them back from each other.

They stumbled all the way into the house, and he must have kicked the door shut, because it slammed behind them even though neither of his hands left her body.

“We should go upstairs,” she murmured. “The… to the…”

“Bedroom?” He didn’t wait for any kind of affirmative. Instead, he kissed her again and nudged her back a step. Then another. They kept going until her back brushed the banister, and only then did they separate.

Without a word, they hurried upstairs, down the hall, and into her bedroom. It was tempting to grab him and kiss him again, to fall into bed fully-clothed, but Deanna went for the buttons on her blouse as Nick pulled his shirt over his head. They kicked off shoes and peeled off clothes, dropping everything haphazardly on the floor at their feet.

Then they both stopped. Looking him up and down, she took in the sight of him inch by uncovered inch, wondering how she’d ever missed how attractive he was. He was gorgeous in clothes, but naked? Oh God. He had a spectacular body, from his perfect arms and shoulders to his narrow waist and sculpted legs.

And those abs. Perfectly flat
—
not quite a six-pack, but so close
—
and smooth, with a dark strip of hair leading down to his very hard cock.

He didn’t seem to mind her stopping to stare. He’d stopped to do the same,
and she shivered as she watched
his gaze slowly slide up and down her body like she wanted his hands and mouth to do.

Their eyes met.

Deanna’s heart quickened. Again when he swept the tip of his tongue across his lips. Again when he reached for her, and as soon as his palm met the curve of her bare waist, she put her arms around him as much for support as contact. He’d barely touched her, and he’d already melted her, and she wanted more, more, more.

Nick lowered her just as he had that night on the beach, and she landed as softly on sheets and pillows as she had on white sand. She parted her legs for him. His hips settled between her thighs, but he made no move to slide into her. As much as she wanted him inside her, she couldn’t object to this either. They’d get there. Kissing, breathing each other, just touching and holding on, she was as relieved and aroused by this as she was desperate for more. And all the while, as his
erection
pressed against her hip and his soft lips moved against her mouth, she couldn’t decide if she felt more like a nervous kid going down this road for the first time, or a woman who’d been here countless times and knew she’d finally gotten it right.

He dipped his head to kiss her neck. “I want you so damned bad, Deanna.”

“Fuck me,” she moaned. “Please.
Now
.”