He cursed.
“Is everything okay? They’re coming right?” Her voice was soft, but he heard the trembling fear in her tone.
“They’re coming. We’ll get out of here soon.” He turned to face her, holding her loosely in his arms. There was a mixture of apprehension and concern in her gaze. He hated seeing her anything other than happy.
“Nick…” She gulped, bit her lip and glanced at his mouth before meeting his gaze. “When we get out of here…”
He knew what she was asking. The same questions were in his mind. Anxiety worked its way into his gut. Where did they go from there? “Tell me something, do you still want a divorce?”
She swallowed. He held his breath and waited. “I’m not sure how to answer that. I never really wanted a divorce, but we lost our way.”
He cupped her cheek and kissed her. She tasted so good, like the biggest temptation to ever touch his heart. She was his. The only woman his body craved. The only woman his soul had ever connected with and claimed as his other half.
She pulled back. A frown marred her brows and hurt filled her eyes. “You can’t expect me to forget what happened between us. Where do we go from here?”
“We start over.” After he said the words, he realized how true they were. There was no way he’d want to pick up where they left off anyway. Things had been much too messed up between them then. Not just that. In the past year and a half, he’d changed, and he was sure she had also.
She licked her plump lips, nodding. “That sounds much better. How do you propose we do that?”
A siren blared in the distance, growing closer with each second. The energy holding his muscles tense slowly dissipated. Help was almost there.
He met her gaze. Words he really didn’t want to say tumbled out brokenly. “I have to travel for a few weeks, but when I return we can have dinner. Maybe spend some time together again?”
Her gaze softened along with her features. She smiled. The soft upward tilt of her lips made his heart clench. All the love he’d always felt for her expanded inside him.
“I think that’s a great idea. I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I also have a few trips coming up.”
The sound of the ambulance and fire truck was right by the window now. They were informed via a loud speaker that the fire crew was going to remove some of the pieces blocking them inside before they could get them out. He held her while they waited. He knew the situation was rough. It didn’t matter. Having Ari in his arms again was the best feeling in the world.
She leaned her head into him, her soft, dark curls tickling his jaw, and rubbed her cheek on his chest. “I missed you.”
His heart pounded hard. She’d said the words softly, but he’d heard it through the noise outside. “I missed you too.”
He wanted to tell her all would be all right between them. The reality was he couldn’t make that assurance without knowing what the future held. What she wanted. This was a new start. He was getting a second chance with the only woman he loved. He wasn’t going to mess up again.
“I’m not sure this is the right thing for you, Son,” his mother argued.
“She’s my wife, mom. I love Ari. What could be wrong with me and her working out our differences?” He held on to his patience by a thread. He loved his mother, but she’d never liked that Ari had a career and wanted to do more than just be a wife to him.
“She completely pushed you away when she couldn’t get pregnant. If she’d stopped her desperate need to go have a career, she’d have been able to get better medical treatment for her fertility issues,” his mother said, placing her cup of tea on the glass coffee table.
“Mom, you know I love you, but those are issues that were mine and hers alone. We’ve talked. Neither one of us wants a divorce.” At least he still hoped she didn’t. It had only been a few hours since he’d dropped Ari off at her home after taking her to the hospital to get checked out. His mind was firm in his belief that he didn’t want to lose her. With his schedule pushing him to travel. In fact, he wouldn’t get a chance to see her for a few weeks.
“And what happened with Kevin?” His mother asked, showing more concern for his lawyer than for his wife.
“Kevin’s fine. I told you, he and his assistant were able to get out of the building without a scratch. We were the only ones left inside.”
She leaned forward and patted his cheek. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want to see you hurting again.”
He knew she didn’t mean any harm. His mother loved him and had her own views on what a wife should be doing. “Yes, I’m sure.”