Page 86 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It

It looks like a daisy.

There’s a lump in my throat that I’m trying hard to ignore.

‘You don’t have to wear one,’ I manage to choke out. ‘Some men don’t.’

I feel his gaze on my face. ‘I would,’ he says, his voice deep with a rough edge to it. ‘I’d wear one.’

I swallow. ‘Okay, then,’ I say as calmly as I can manage. ‘We’ll wear them. If they even fit.’

I take the two women’s rings from the box before he can do anything – I absolutely couldn’t handle having Nico put a ring on my finger – and slip them on.

And of course they fit. As if they were made for me.

Nico has put his own wedding band on, and he spins it around his finger. ‘It’s a bit loose,’ he says. ‘But that’s fine.’

I look at the gold band on his ring finger and feel a spike of something weird and primal at the sight of it. I like seeing it there. I like it a lot. When I tear my gaze away, he’s watching me.

‘So I think there’s something else we need to talk about,’ I clear my throat. ‘After this morning it’s pretty clear… you need to move back into your bedroom.’

There’s a long pause. ‘And where will you sleep?’ Nico asks slowly.

Wow. Okay.

‘I’ll sleep in there, too.’ I wish I didn’t sound so defensive. ‘We’re both adults, it’s not a big deal. We even shared a bed before, once.’

Bringing up Vegas right now is probably not a great idea, and Nico’s scowl only confirms that.

I swallow. ‘Look, when I got here we had no idea I’d be staying for three weeks. I should have said something anyway, even before Charles arrived unannounced. You can’t keep sleeping on that tiny sofa. I’m surprised you haven’t seriously damaged your back.’

‘I’m fine,’ Nico grinds out.

Okay, so he really doesn’t want to do this. That doesn’t feel great. ‘Is it—’ I hesitate. ‘Have I done something to make you feel uncomfortable?’ I manage to push the question past my lips. I think about the awkward kissing moment, and I want to die.

His expression softens. ‘No, you haven’t.’ He twists the ring on his finger again, an absent gesture. ‘You’re right,’ he says at last. ‘We can be adults about this. We can share a bed.’

He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself rather than me.

‘Great,’ I say.

‘Great,’ he echoes grimly.

Somewhere inside my brain an alarm is blaring, but it’s too late to back out now.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Nico

‘I want to try the sun-dried tomato one again,’ Tara says, leaning over the table to dig her spoon into the luminous orange ice cream. ‘I still don’t understand what the black bits are?’

‘I think it’s olive tapenade,’ Lee muses.

Luke makes a horrified noise low in his throat.

‘It’s honestly not as bad as it sounds,’ Lee insists. ‘It’s sort of…’

‘European,’ Tara nods pensively. ‘Like a gazpacho.’

‘I don’t care. It’s an abomination,’ Luke mutters.