To distract herself, she flipped through the channels as poor Nick shivered violently behind her. After a few minutes, his shivers quieted and he sighed.
Her head was tucked under his on a pillow that held his yummy scent, and she was all warm and cozy, so when Raiders of The Lost Ark showed up on the guide she asked, “How about—”
“Yup.”
Tossing the remote on his coffee table, she settled in, grinning in anticipation. It was one of her favorite movies.
While the beginning credits rolled, she remembered why she’d called him in the first place. It might even make it easier to ask because he was too sick to tease her—much. “Nick, my outfit tonight screams ‘please sleep with me’ doesn’t it?”
He grunted. “Greg still just wants to play football with you?”
“Sort of. What do you think I should do to make it clear I want more?”
“Back up. What did you guys talk about at the party? Did he ask if you’re seeing anyone?”
She rewound their conversation in her mind. “He mentioned he knew I was between men. And that at first he thought you and I were together. He was glad we weren’t because he didn’t like you because you reminded him of my last boyfriend.”
Nick’s body stiffened behind her. “He’s an ass, Shelby. Find someone else. You could have any guy you want.”
“But I think I want this one,” she whispered.
He blew out a long breath. “Kiss him. You’re really good at it.”
She turned her head to see his face. He had to be kidding, right? “Don’t tease Nick, I’m serious.”
“I’m not teasing. You are.” He tightened his hold on her as he shivered again. “Now can we please just watch the movie? All this talking is making me wish I’d told you I was a solid type A patient so I could have some peace and quiet.”
“Fine.” Shelby snuggled a little closer and smiled. A guy like Nick thought she was a good kisser? Wow.
After a few minutes of reliving their last kiss in his Porsche, she whispered, “You’re a good kisser too, Nick.”
His hand found one of hers, then he wove their fingers together. “If I didn’t feel like I’d just been hit by a dump truck, I’d show you what else I’m good at. You want a rain check?”
“Even when sick, men are such dogs. Shut up and watch the movie.”
When his low chuckle reverberated off her back, she grinned and tucked their entwined hands under her chin. Why was it so nice to hold Nick’s hand? She’d never felt that comforting connection with anyone before.
So did she want a rain check?
The way he kissed, and with that smoking hot body, she could only imagine how good he’d be in bed. But sex was all he wanted, so it wasn’t worth thinking about.
But it was tough not to. As she watched the familiar movie, her lids grew heavy so she closed her eyes.
After what seemed like a short ten-minute nap, Shelby blinked her eyes open. A different movie played on the big screen. She reached above her head and felt Nick’s forehead. Still burning up.
Her phone showed enough time had passed so he could take more medicine. She’d dose him up with the nighttime stuff to knock him out and then be on her way.
When she tried to slip out of his embrace, his arms clamped tightly around her. “Stay!”
“I’m not a dog you can order around, Nick.”
“I feel like crap. Please?”
She knew the feeling. When she’d gotten sick after moving in with her aunt and uncle, the only one who ever checked on her was the cook. She’d laid in bed feeling miserable all by herself. “Okay. But I need to borrow a T-shirt and some sweats. I’m not sleeping in my jeans.” Or her push up bra. It was doing its job a little too well and killing her.
“My bedroom dresser, bottom right-hand drawer.”
“Fine, but just know I have a tendency to snoop.”
Shelby went to the kitchen to get Nick’s medicine along with a sports drink. She texted Jo and told her she wouldn’t be home, and then after badgering Nick until he drank every bit of the sports drink, she climbed the stairs.
At the top she turned to the right and opened a door. It wasn’t the master bedroom, but one a princess could call home. It held a pink canopy bed and shelves stuffed with books and toys. Must be Emily’s room when she spent the night.
Too cute.
She turned out the light, closed the door, and then walked the opposite direction down a long hallway. When she opened the door at the end and crossed the threshold, she smiled. Talk about nice. The master bedroom had rich hunter-green walls, beautiful cherry wood furniture, a huge bed—of course—and sage-colored carpet. And because she had to pee, she checked out his bathroom. It was equally large, with a deep jet tub and a shower that could hold ten people.
The closet was one any woman would envy and was scary-neat and organized. All his shoes stood in straight lines on shelves, and his neatly folded ties were grouped by color. His formal wear and suits were on one wall and his casual clothes on the other. Geez, she’d never known a man could be so tidy. But not when it came to his fridge, evidently.
She found some sweats and a beer T-shirt and then changed into them. Even after pulling the drawstrings on the sweats as tight as she could, she still had to hold them up at the waist while she snooped in his bedside drawers. Was Nick the naughty-tools-and-gadgets type?
Nope. Nothing unusual, just a few popular mystery paperbacks—mostly unread if the bookmarks were any indication—lip balm, a mini flashlight, a pen, and some paper. Digging deeper, way on the bottom, she found two condoms. Boring. But nice to know he wasn’t a freak or anything since she was about to sleep with him. Sort of.
Nick’s voice drifted up the stairs, “Stop whatever you’re doing and get back down here!”
She laughed and ran to the other side to see if Beth had left anything more exciting. When she opened the drawer it was empty. He said she never spent the night. He’d been telling the truth about Beth after all.
Shelby went downstairs and straight to the kitchen. “You’re single again Nick, so two condoms, that are probably old, aren’t going to cut it. I’ll put them on the grocery list for you.”
“You went through my nightstand? What if I’d had whips and handcuffs in there?”
“It would have been a lot less boring, that’s for sure.” She wrote “condoms” in extra-large print on the top of the empty grocery list attached by a magnet to the fridge. Hopefully when he was feeling better he’d get his sense of humor back and it’d make him smile.
Nick had a great smile.
Shelby turned out the lights and made sure the screen around the still-burning fire was extra secure. Then she slipped under the blanket, snuggled up against all of his glorious muscles, and laid a soft kiss on his hot forehead. “Behave.”
“Now who’s boring?” Nick pulled her closer and shivered. “’Nite, Shelby.”
“Goodnight, Grump.”
She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
***
Sometime deep into the night, Shelby’s thrashing woke Nick. The fire had flared so the living room was unnaturally bright. Shelby mumbled about running to get away. Should he wake her?
Then she sat straight up. “Fire! We have to get out!” She pulled on his arm. “We have to go, Nick. Now!”
“It’s just the fireplace. You were dreaming. Look.”
She turned with widened eyes and stared at the fireplace for a moment before she closed them tight against the tears that leaked out the edges.
Her fight against the tears killed him. Pulling her against his chest, he tucked her head under his chin. “You’re safe, Shelby.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight as her whole body shook. “Sorry. I still get dreams about the fire sometimes. I’m so pathetic, I’ve never even used my fireplace and I don’t allow candles in the house.”
“No, that makes sense.” He laid a kiss on the top of her head as jolt of pain stabbed h
is heart at the thought of Shelby, trapped in a burning house, trying to save her sister. “Do you want a drink of water or something?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. Sorry I woke you.”
“It’s okay.” He laid another soft kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
After a while her breathing finally steadied and she fell back asleep. Only then would he allow himself to do the same. As he thought about her story, something still bugged him about the fire. So what if she’d left the burner on? That alone wouldn’t necessarily start a fire, unless she’d left a towel nearby or something. What if there had been faulty wiring or something entirely unrelated. Would they think to tell Shelby, who was a child sick in the hospital, and who’d just lost her family? There must be a police or fire report somewhere to confirm what had happened. But he wouldn’t want to upset her by dredging it all up, especially if her theory was true. So maybe he’d find a way to look into that without her knowing. He owed her that at least for deceiving her.
***
Sunlight flowing through Nick’s twelve-foot-high windows assaulted Shelby’s eyelids. She blinked her eyes open and found herself still draped over Nick, his chest a fine pillow. She hadn’t moved since he wrapped her up tight and held her after the dream. The only difference was his hand had slipped under her loose sweats and cupped around her butt. Because she’d worn a thong, it was bare skin he held.
“Nick?” She lifted her hand to feel his forehead. Still hot.
He moaned, but didn’t wake, so she poked him in the ribs. “Nick!”
His eyes jerked open. “What?”
“Move your hand.”
He gave her bottom a gentle squeeze. “Nice.”
Before she could snap at him, his hand slipped under her T-shirt. When his fingernails softly raked in long, slow strokes up and down her back, she arched like a cat.
His chest rumbled under hers. “Shelby likes her back scratched.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” She closed her eyes and fought the sigh that wanted to escape. “Sorry about the nightmare last night.”
How embarrassing that he’d seen her like that. It probably wasn’t normal to still be such a freak about fire. But he’d been so patient and sweet, holding her tightly all night, making her feel safe.
There it was again, that sweet side he hid so well.
Nick murmured, “Thanks for staying.” His long fingers, still gliding smoothly up and down her back, had just found the side of her bare breast when the sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen stopped his movement.
“Someone’s in your kitchen? Does Beth have a key?” Awkward. Especially because Beth was her client now.
Nick’s fingers started up their pattern against her sensitive skin again and it sent a shiver down her spine. “Only my mom has a key.”
“Your mom? Do you think she saw us?” She threw back the blanket, hopped off of Nick, and moved to the loveseat.
“I’m sure she did. We’d be hard to miss from the front door. Who cares?”
“I’ll bet she couldn’t miss your grocery list either.”
His head whipped toward hers. “I thought you were kidding about that. Dammit, Shelby!”
Before she could escape, his mom walked into the living room. “Good morning, you two.” She laid a kiss on Nick’s forehead and winced. “That’s some fever, sweetheart.”
Nick grunted.
“Morning, Mrs. Caldwell. This looks bad, but it isn’t what you think.”
Before his mom could respond, Nick said, “Shelby’s like Buddy.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Not to Shelby. “Who’s Buddy?”
Nick’s mom smiled sweetly. “Nick had a golden retriever named Buddy when he was a kid. Buddy always seemed to know when someone in the family was sad or not feeling well, and he’d crawl up next to one of us and cuddle until we felt better.” She stared into Nick’s eyes for a moment before she turned and stared into Shelby’s. “Nick really loved that dog, Shelby.”
Shelby’s stomach took a dive at the implication in his mother’s voice. “Ah . . . okay. Well, I should get going.” She stood and hitched her pants up. “So, it’s time for his medicine again, and don’t trust anything in his fridge except the soup and the éclairs. I left some cookies for him on the counter.” She held on to her pants with both hands and started for the stairs. “Oh, and don’t try to clean his fridge out—even though it’s a biohazard—because he wants to do that himself. He’d never dream of asking his mother to do it.”
“I’m sitting right here, Shelby!” Nick growled.
She shot him a grin before she zipped up the stairs.
***
Nick glanced at his mom. “You saw her car out front and still used your key instead of ringing the doorbell?”
His mom chuckled. “I didn’t know the car belonged to Shelby. And it’s parked in the street, not your driveway. But never in my wildest did I think I’d find you and Shelby cuddled up on the couch.”
“We’re just friends.” He ran a hand down his face, digging deep for patience.
“That’s probably why you need those condoms on your grocery list so badly.” His mother sat beside him. “It’s written in bold letters.”
He’d kill Shelby for making him have a discussion about condoms with his mother. “Shelby did that to annoy me. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s her mission in life.”
“Mmmm.” She nodded slowly. “Yes, it’s always best to snuggle with the ones who annoy us the most. But it was nice of her to stay and help. Are you hungry?”
He ignored her sarcasm. “A little. Shelby brought Popsicles. Maybe I’ll have one of those.”
“She brought you Popsicles?” His mother’s eyes sparked with delight. Not a good sign. Before his mom could continue her torment, Shelby joined them again.
“Okay, he’s all yours, Mrs. Caldwell. I’ll wish you luck. He’s the crankiest sick person I’ve ever met. But I’m sure you already knew that, knowing him his whole life and all.”
His mother laughed, the traitor. “He was probably on his best behavior for you, Shelby.”
“I hope for your sake that’s not true.” Shelby moved in front of him and laid her cool hands on the sides of his face, lifting it up. Then her lips tilted into one of those cute smiles he’d seen her beam at kids. “But in his weakened state, a few moments of sweetness managed to escape. Feel better, Grump.” She planted a noisy kiss on his forehead he wished had been on his mouth, then she turned to his mom. “Bye, Mrs. Caldwell.”
“Bye, honey.”
After Shelby left, he turned toward his mom’s smirking face. “Stop. We’re just friends.”
“Uh, huh. And I’m the Easter Bunny.”
Since when had his mom become such a smartass?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Chester didn’t want to accept an apology from the kid who stole his football, but the teacher made them shake hands anyway.”
Chester Tries to Forgive
Shelby admired the beautiful orchid in the center of the kitchen table at Nick’s mother’s house. Emily had texted—or had someone do it for her—before school asking if they were still going to write a book together about being in the hospital. No way she could say no to that. “This is so pretty. But I hear they’re hard to keep alive.”
Mrs. Caldwell, who had insisted Shelby call her Linda, smiled. “I enjoy the challenge, but haven’t had one in years. Nick’s father sent it. He’s been acting strangely lately.” Linda sat across from Shelby and passed a plate of still-warm-from-the-oven cookies toward her. “Now that I think of it, it’s been ever since I started dating a younger man.”
Linda took a bite of cookie, then her eyes grew wide. “Nick doesn’t know I date, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t say anything about that, Shelby.”
“No, of course not.” Nick didn’t know his mother dated? Something was up. She’d have to explore that later.
The front door opened and a deep voice c
alled out, “Anyone home?”
Linda frowned. “We’re in the kitchen, Ed.”
Nick’s father walked in and laid his hands on Linda’s shoulders. “You got the orchid. Hello, Shelby.”
“Hi, Mr. Caldwell. It’s nice to see you again.”
Linda’s brows scrunched. “Thank you for the orchid, but I still can’t figure out why you sent it. Maybe you should get a physical. It’s like you’ve had a stroke and you forgot to act like the ass you’ve been for the past twenty years.”
Shelby stifled a laugh.
He said, “We used to always have one in the house, so I wanted to buy you another.”
“That confirms it. You have had a stroke, Edward.” Linda hopped up and scooped cookies off of the pan. “Don’t you remember why I always had an orchid in the house? It reminded me of our Hawaiian wedding, and how in love we were back then. When you left, I tossed the one I had out, just like you did with me and the kids, and I vowed to never have another!” Blinking back her tears, Linda turned her back to him and pretended to clean her already spotless kitchen counters.
Things were getting way too personal for Shelby’s taste.
Nick’s dad said, “Maybe I wanted to see if we could make an orchid grow again, Linda.”
Deciding it best to leave the two of them alone at such a crucial moment, Shelby stood and headed for the door, only to run into a familiar, hard chest.
Nick’s big, hard chest.
His hands slipped to her waist to steady her. “What are you doing here? And where’s Lori?”
“I have no idea where your sister is.” Why would Nick ask her that?
He glanced around the kitchen and when he saw his father, a scowl darkened his face.
His parents’ discussion came to an abrupt halt. They all stared at each other as tension hung thick in the air.
She felt like someone should say something, so she looked up at Nick. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be home in bed? Aren’t you still sick?”
Matching Mr. Right (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 1) Page 11
