Page 70 of Too Good to Be True

It was a beautiful spring day, and she should have felt happy and relieved. Instead, she was troubled by what she’d learned from Eric. It was almost like Nick had manipulated the situation to his advantage. He’d planted the idea in Eric’s head that there was someone else (namely him) and then shown up at her house last night and seduced her. Not that it had taken much work, but still. Was this just a game to him? Now that he’d won her over, would he soon tire of her and move on to someone else?

There was only one way to find out. She’d have to confront him, but not over the phone. She needed to see his face when they talked. Only then would she know what his true intentions were. Only then could she decide if this was the start of something good or if she’d made a huge mistake.

Seventeen

Later that afternoon, Stacy pulled into the parking lot of Nick’s apartment building incognito. At least, she was trying to be. She was wearing a Detroit Tigers baseball cap and large sunglasses just in case she happened to run into Fran. Nick had sent her a text message thirty minutes ago, stating that his aunt and uncle were getting ready to leave, but she knew about Fran’s tendency to linger.

Since Stacy drove a nondescript black sedan, Fran might not even realize it was her, but the hat and sunglasses provided extra assurance. On the other hand, Fran drove an expensive SUV that Stacy would instantly recognize. Since there was no sign of the vehicle, she parked in a visitor’s space and went up to the building.

Nick must have been watching for her, because, when she reached the door, he yanked it open and pulled her into his arms. He was about to kiss her, but she stepped back. “Not here! What if Fran comes back?”

He reluctantly let go, opened the inner door, and motioned her inside. He didn’t speak or touch her again until they were safely inside his apartment. Then he tugged her forward and kissed her.

His hello kiss was just as passionate as his goodbye kiss had been the night before. She wanted to blame her breathlessness on the hurried walk to his apartment, but she knew better. He quite simply took her breath away.

After some amount of time, he let go and rewarded her with a huge smile. “Nice hat.”

She’d been in such a hurry to get inside that she’d forgotten she was still wearing her disguise. She whipped off the hat and sunglasses and put them in his outstretched hands.

“Was that your disguise?” he teased.

“Yes. I don’t think Fran would have recognized me.”

“You’re probably right. But even if she saw you here, she wouldn’t be shocked by it. We’ve gotten together outside of work before.”

Minus the sex, she thought, but she just nodded.

“Come in and have a seat. Do you want some water or anything?”

“Water’s fine.” She sat down on his new couch and tried to relax.

Soon he came back into the room, sat down beside her, and handed her a bottled water.

“Thanks.” She uncapped it and took a long drink, aware that he was watching her every move.

“You regret it, don’t you?” he said, taking her by surprise.

“Regret it? No, not exactly.”

He shoved his hands in his hair and eyed her with concern. “I was worried about this when I left last night.”

“You were?”

“Yes. I figured you’d overthink it and decide we shouldn’t do this.”

“We kind of already did it.”

“I’m not talking about sex.”

“Oh.”

“I’m talking about us having a relationship.”

In one sentence, he’d answered some of the questions that had plagued her since last night. Still, she wanted to make sure she understood him correctly. “Is that what you want? A relationship.”

“Yes. Don’t you?”

“I…well…I…”