Worth the Wait (McKinney_Walker #1)(70)

She walked over to Hannah, waiting for a break in the conversation. “Hey. Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do?”

“No. Thank you.” Hannah hugged her, held on tight. “Thank God you were there.”

She wasn’t sure she’d helped. “I think I’m going to go.”

“Okay.” Hannah pulled back. “Wait, what about your car?”

She’d driven them all in Sarah’s car. It had been the closest. “I’ll call a cab.”

“No, don’t do that. One of us can drive you back.”

“Absolutely not. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll drive you,” Nick said.

She turned and met his eyes. He was so beautiful. So strong and steadfast. She’d missed him to the point of pain over the past months. “Okay.”

They didn’t speak the entire way through the hospital halls, the elevator, more halls, but he took her hand.

When they got outside and the cold air hit her face, she took her first deep breath in over an hour. When they stopped at the passenger side, Nick opened his arms, and she walked right into them. Not crying, not hot with lust or crazy need. Just breathing and being grateful for the way her cheek rested so perfectly right on his chest. The way the top of her head fit under his chin.

She squeezed her eyes shut and he wrapped her up like she’d always wanted, and she let him, sank right into him. She could stay here and stop time, but time didn’t stop, and eventually he’d let go and she’d have to wonder if he’d always be there. She started to pull back. “I’m okay.”

“I’m not.” His wide palm cradled the back of her head. “Just…give me a second.”

She gave him a second and a few for herself too. She closed her eyes again and let herself be comforted by the steady beat of Nick’s heart under her cheek. They stood there together, had a moment to think about what they’d lost. Lost before they’d ever really had it.

When he finally released her, their eyes met. He stared at her so long she thought he would kiss her. She shouldn’t want him to so badly. He looked at her a minute longer, brushed the back of his hand down her cheek, then opened the door and made sure she was in and buckled before closing it.

They rode in silence until they were out of the parking lot and the traffic thinned. The car was full of him, his scent, his size. Her heart was so full of him it ached. She’d thought she remembered, but she hadn’t, not all the way. How Nick filled her up and smoothed her out.

The mere idea that they could have that kind of love again shook her. But did she fill him up? Could he really be happy? Would he let her in? And if he did, could she take a chance that she’d be locked out again?

Christmas lights looped along storefronts. Wreaths hung at the top of lampposts. They passed a tree lot set up with signs, ready for the first batch of trees that would come well before Thanksgiving. She thought of all the Christmas trees they’d decorated over the years and the nights spent lying under the tree together, looking up at the lights. “Remember how long it always took to get Hannah to sleep on Christmas Eve?”

“Yeah.” He laughed softly, and it filled the space with warmth. “She was so excited, and so determined to see Santa. So were you. Excited, I mean. I think you knew about Santa. I still remember how your eyes shined as bright as the Christmas lights.”

A teasing smile tugged at his lips. It also tugged deep inside her.

“Hannah asked me to be her maid of honor,” she said.

He nodded. “She told me she was going to. It’s coming up soon.”

“Yeah. Hannah mentioned you hadn’t killed the groom, and she thought that was very generous of you.”

“God, I’m not that bad.”

She glanced over, smiled at his almost pouty expression.

“Okay. I can be. I’m trying not to be.”

“Which reminds me—why were you out with Stephen tonight?”

“Just having a guy talk. You know.”

“Putting the fear of God into the man?”

“Me? Why would you think that? Just having a friendly drink. Luke and Zach were there, too.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t quite believe him, but she let it go. They passed more lights, and he told her about his work, the case and how much longer he expected it would take to wrap it up. It was nice talking to him like this. Even if her stomach was fluttering just from being near him like it had at seventeen. Maybe he was right about it being the same. At least some parts.

“I’ve been thinking about getting a dog,” she said after a quiet moment.

“Really? I’d like a dog. Not in town enough, though. What kind?”