Hometown Heartache by M.J. Schiller

Author:M.J. Schiller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: New York, real estate, artist, second chance, romance, contemporary, contemporary romance, suspense, romantic suspense, mystery, thriller, abuse, lost love, childhood friends to lovers, friends to lover, growing up
Publisher: Kissmet Publishing
Published: 2016-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Nash

I stood outside her doorway, and guess who pops his head out? The Latino guy. This time I'm standing there in dress pants and a nicer shirt with a bouquet of flowers. He laughed and shook his head, saying something in Spanish—I think I recognized the word "loco"—and went back in. Then Chloe opened the door and I was blown away. She had on this killer dress, kind of like a zebra pattern, but it veed down almost to wear she wore a wide black belt. Her hair was curly and up and she looked so good I was literally speechless.

"Nash, is something wrong?"

I breathed out. "No. No. It's just...wow, that dress."

She looked down, trying to draw the crisscross material of the top of the dress closer so it covered more. "It's too much, isn't it? I'll go change."

I grabbed her arm. "Wait, wait, wait. It's not that. Not that at all." I bent and quickly kissed the corner of her lips before she could move away. "I was sort of...stunned. You look so incredible."

She blushed, and seemed flustered. "Oh. Okay. Good. Thanks." She didn't look at me, grabbing her purse and a filmy black shawl from a table near the door. I didn't move as she tried to pass me through the door. She looked up.

I touched her face lightly. "You okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah." But she looked down again and then glanced sideways, avoiding eye contact.

I put a fist under her chin and lifted her face. "Surely you're used to being complimented like that."

She shuffled her feet. "Well...yeah, sort of." She finally looked me in the eyes. "But not by you." She bit her lip, perhaps afraid she'd revealed too much.

I let my hand brush the skin of her neck, and out toward her shoulders, my eyes following the graceful curves. Her breath quickened and she quivered as I said, my voice sounding husky, "Well, we'll have to change that." I brought the flowers up to hand them to her.

"Oh, Nash. They're beautiful. Let me put them in water really quick."

She returned after a minute or two and I moved so she could exit, dropping my hand to her back to escort her, where I discovered the oval of bare-skin her dress didn't cover.

She locked the door behind her, and we hastened down the stairs. When we got to the truck, I opened the door for her, feeling a little bit embarrassed by my sad little chariot. But when I got to the other side and slid in, Chloe was running her hands over the dashboard lovingly.

"I can't believe you still have this old thing." Her eyes shone as she looked at me. "We had a lot of fun in this truck."

I chuckled. "Yes, we did." I started the engine, and she skootched beside me, like she had in the old days. For a minute, it was easy to forget how much time had passed, and how much things had changed. But as I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, it struck me; she wasn't the girl I knew before.

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