Page 57 of The Perfect Heart

“Look, I know it’s only been a couple of months, and I know everything you’ve been through. I don’t want to push you, either. If it’s too soon, you can tell me, but—”

I grinned, cutting him off. “I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

Nash’s eyes widened with surprise, and then he laughed, throwing his head back.

“How did you know that’s what I was going to ask?” he finally managed, wiping away tears.

Shrugging, I flashed him a mysterious smile. “I just knew.”

His eyebrows were raised, his crooked smile suspicious, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I heard you practicing your speech the other day.” I giggled, knowing there was mischief in my grin. I had debated telling him that I had stumbled into overhearing his speech when I’d gone to the back for more bar towels, to the closet past his office. But I was glad I did because the red color his cheeks had become was perfect.

I had to laugh, and soon Nash had joined me, finally pulling me in for a hug.

“So you’ll be my girlfriend, huh?” he asked.

“Only if you’ll be my boyfriend,” I said, craning my neck to look up at him, reveling in the laughter and love I saw in his eyes.

“In a heartbeat,” he said and kissed me, the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace, the snow falling in the dark, hushed silence beyond the window.

Half a week later, the town had dug out from the snow, and the tourists were trickling back into the Tipsy Tiki dressed in their heaviest winter gear. They would come in for good food and warming drinks, although the beer remained cold, but they warmed me with their friendliness and vacation cheer.

As I looked around, I found myself smiling. This was where I was supposed to be. It had always been where I was supposed to be. I just hadn’t known it at eighteen. Did I still want to do more with my life? Sure. My love for fashion hadn’t diminished, and a small glimmer told me someday I would find my way back. But Leavenworth was in my heart, and now so was Nash, and they would always be there.

He was across the room, mixing drinks for a table with such expert ease I felt a shiver of attraction run through me. Almost like he had felt the attention, he looked up, his blue eyes meeting mine as he smiled.

We had agreed no kissing at work, but I couldn’t help brushing up against him as I dumped some used glasses into the sink to be put the dishwasher behind the counter.

“So what do you think about what I said earlier?” Nash asked, measuring a jigger of peppermint schnapps into his famous boozy hot chocolate.

“About that trip you want to take me on?” I knew perfectly well to what he referred, but I liked teasing him too much.

“Yes, the trip I want to take you on.” He chuckled and nudged me back before ducking down to remove the whipped cream from the fridge. He piped it on with a rush of noise, then flicked the last bit on the end of my nose. I wiped it off, laughing, and licked it from my finger.

“Hot chocolate’s ready, Angie,” Nash called, holding up the mugs so the other server could see them before he placed them on the counter and then leaned back against it. “Anyway, how about it? You up for it?”

“Of course I am. I’d go anywhere with you. I’ll have to start collecting my tips now, though. No more splurges on pancake mix.” I faked a frown, but inside, my excitement built. I couldn’t wait to leave and do something, just the two of us for a few days. I wanted Nash all to myself for more than a night, a snow day, or a half-day trip to Seattle.

“I’m treating you,” he said, grabbing my hand to pull me closer, his eyes moving to my mouth even as he told me, “You deserve it.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to kiss at work,” I said, grinning, practically daring him to.

Nash looked up, his gaze sweeping the area before he pulled me into the shadows of the hallway leading to the kitchen.

“Now no one can see us.”

I giggled again and let Nash pull me into him with an arm around my waist, my mouth already hungry for a taste of his as he bent his head toward mine.

But someone cleared their throat, and we broke apart to find a woman standing at the entrance to the hallway, arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t look familiar—was she a guest who hadn’t received service yet? I opened my mouth, drawing a breath to ask how I could help her, when she smirked, her gaze running the length of me before looking over my shoulder at Nash.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here, Nashy?”

THE END

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye...