Once Upon a Beast: A Friends-to-Lovers Steamy Romance (The Billionaire Fairy Tales Book 2) by MacKenzie Stowe

Author:MacKenzie Stowe [Stowe, MacKenzie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Layla.

Nic and I sat in the East Room and talked for hours. Henry left us alone and didn’t seem to be in any rush to make us leave. I had no idea what time it was when we finally left the library but I knew it was late.

I didn’t care. I could have stayed there all night talking, laughing, getting reacquainted, and just looking at Nic. There was something about the lighting in the East Room, or maybe it was just the setting and how romantic and perfect that it was made Nic look better than he ever had.

He seemed nervous throughout the meal, as if he wasn’t sure how I would react. It was so sweet and a little ridiculous. There couldn’t have been a better date ever as far as I was concerned. I felt awful that I had neglected him but he knew me well enough to know that was what was going to happen and he hadn’t minded.

The whole evening had been wonderful but it was also very confusing. It had been a date; he certainly had said it was but he had been acting more like we were friends. Besides taking my hand when we walked in, he hadn’t done anything forward towards me. I wanted to think he was being sweet, that he was giving me some time and space, but I was worried that somehow, we were now permanently in the friend zone.

If he did want to be friends with me, I could be okay with that. I wanted him in my life. As much as I loved Ara and Ella, Nic grew up with me and understood my father. He was there for me when my mother died. There was a connection with us that went deeper than anything I had with anyone else.

But what if it was just that? What if the connection stopped with us being friends? We had been pushed into the situation of being romantically involved. What if we were forcing something that wasn’t there? Well, was it more that I was trying to push a romantic agenda on him that he wasn’t feeling?

I cared about Nic and while I wanted to be with him, I didn’t think it was worth the possibility of losing his friendship. I had lost it once and it had sucked. I didn’t want to lose it again.

We were quiet as we headed back to my place. I wanted to believe I was quiet because I was tired but I was wide awake and my mind was running. I looked over at Nic to see him looking at me. I blushed and he smiled.

“I’m sorry I kept you out so late. I didn’t realize the time,” he said.

“It was a lovely time. Really, you outdid yourself. I didn’t want to leave.”

“I was glad to do it. I’m happy you had such a good time.”

“That was never a problem for us. We could always have fun when we were together. Even if we’re sitting in a dentist's office.

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