Wild For You (Always a Bridesmaid 3) (12 page)

“Do you really think something weird is going to happen?” Melody asked, sticking her thumb out and giving an experimental waggle.

“Probably not, but with our luck today…”

“I think we’ve had good luck today,” Melody said. “Except for the car, I had a wonderful time.”

“Me too,” Nick said, brushing an impulsive kiss across her cheek. “We should do it again sometime.”

“We definitely should,” she said, looking like she was going to add something else before she noticed headlights coming from over his shoulder. “A car!” she cried out, bouncing up and down on her toes. “Get ready!” She shouldered in front of him and stuck out her thumb.

“But that car’s going the wrong way, Mel,” he said, laughing at her obvious excitement.

“So?” She waggled her thumb back and forth, looking like she was doing some strange seventies disco move. “Maybe they’ll turn around if we’re really sweet.”

“I’ll leave the really sweet to you,” Nick said, marveling as the old white pick-up truck slowed, pulling over to the opposite side of the road and stopping a dozen feet away.

The window of the truck rolled down and an old man wearing farmer’s overalls and a faded blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves stuck his head out. “You kids all right?” he asked in a cautious voice.

“Our car was towed while we were swimming at Lake Wiley, and we’ve got no way back to town,” Melody said, twining her fingers together in front of her chest in a silent plea Nick knew he would have found impossible to resist. “Do you think you could give us a ride, sir? We’d really, really appreciate it.”

“We can give you money for gas,” Nick added, drawing the old man’s attention.

Nick couldn’t see the man’s eyes well in the fading light—the bushy white eyebrows growing wild across his forehead didn’t help much—but he could feel himself being sized up. He did his best to look as harmless and friendly as possible and, after only a moment, the farmer waved a hand.

“Come on, then,” he said. “I’m Dan.”

“Oh, thank you, so, so much, Dan,” Melody said with an excited grin at Nick as they crossed the road. “We’re Melody and Nick.”

“Nice to meet you. Only room for one in front, but one of you can ride in the bed,” the man said, smiling kindly at Melody before shooting Nick a stern look that made it clear who he thought should ride in the back.

“You take the front,” Nick said, taking Melody’s bag. “I’ll ride in back with our stuff.”

“Thanks again, sir,” he added before swinging up into the back, finding a mostly clear place between a tool box that looked too heavy for the old man to lift and several pairs of muddy work boots. He settled into a spot with a clear view of Melody through the truck’s back glass, just in case this sweet old farmer wasn’t as sweet as he seemed, and they were off.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Melody’s apartment and Nick—covered in squashed bugs, with his hair standing out in even more directions than usual—hopped down on the passenger’s side and opened Melody’s door. She laughed at him, clearly amused by his disheveled state, before they both thanked Dan, and the farmer headed back the way he came.

“Well, that was an adventure,” Melody said, turning back to him with another giggle. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But you look like you were attacked by wild dogs.”

“Wild dogs would have been less gross,” Nick said, swiping at his cheek, feeling like he’d never get all the bug guts off. “I’m going to catch the bus and run home and grab a shower before I start making phone calls about the car. I would kiss you good night, but…”

“Let me drive you,” Melody said. “That’s why I asked Dan to drop us here. I figured we could grab my car and I could drive you home.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to,” she said, punching him lightly in the stomach. “Let me be your warrior princess in shining armor.”

Nick smiled. “I’ve never been with a warrior princess before.”

“I think you’re going to like it,” Melody said with an arched brow. “All the perks of a normal princess, but with saving included when you need it.”

“I do need saving every once in a while.”

“Everyone does,” she said, as she dug her keys from the bottom of her swim bag. “It’s a known fact. Come on, my car’s parked around back.”

While Melody drove across town, Nick made a few phone calls and discovered that his car had, in fact, been towed. The towing company said they had left a card behind with the ticket Nick hadn’t found, but he wasn’t sure if they were telling the truth. Either way, at least the car was safe, if impounded.

“At least it wasn’t stolen,” Melody said, echoing his thoughts as he hung up.

“Probably better if it had been,” Nick said. “I can’t afford the ticket right now, let alone the cost to get the Midge out of the impound lot.”

Melody hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I can give you a ride to any catering events, so don’t worry about that. And your apartment is close enough to walk to the shop.”

“Yeah,” Nick said, strangely unfazed by the frustrating turn of events. Usually he would be livid that his car had been towed when there had certainly been no signs stating that it was illegal to park on the access road. But Melody had a calming effect on his temper, even as she had the opposite effect on his sex drive.

They reached his apartment and she pulled to the curb. “Want me to come up and make you some tea while you shower?” she asked. “Tea soothes the wounded soul.”

“Thanks, but I’m going to have to take a rain check,” he said, reaching out to smooth a stray hair from her face, letting his fingers linger on her neck. “If you come up to my apartment, I might never let you leave.”

“That might not be such a bad thing,” she said, the look in her eyes pure temptation.

“Five dates,” he reminded her, then added in a softer voice. “I don’t want to rush things with you.”

“Why not?” she asked, leaning across the car.

“I don’t want to mess this up,” Nick said, breath catching as her lips moved closer to his. “I don’t want to scare you away.”

“I’m not scared,” she said. “I’m not scared at all.” And then she kissed him. Even though he was a wreck and probably smelled like gasoline and grease and dirt and everything else that had been shifting around in the back of Dan’s truck.

It was a hell of a kiss—sweet and sexy at the same time, with a warmth that soaked through his skin and went deeper than his bones to penetrate something deep inside of him. It was a brief kiss, lasting a minute at the very most, but when it was over Nick felt different: calmer, richer, and less alone than he’d felt in a long time.

“See you tomorrow,” Melody whispered against his lips.

“Tomorrow,” Nick echoed before he slid out of the car. He stood on the sidewalk and waved as she turned the car around and headed back to her place, his head spinning and his heart beating faster.

He didn’t know what to call the feeling that had filled him when she’d kissed him that way, but he knew he wanted more of it. He wanted to wrap both of them in that feeling and hide away from the world for a few months, or years, or maybe an entire lifetime…

“I knew you had your own code,” came a low, familiar voice from underneath the awning of the convenience store beneath Nick and John’s apartment. “But I didn’t think you were a liar.”

Nash.
Shit.

So much for hiding from the world.

Nick cursed beneath his breath as he turned to find his big brother standing in the shadows, a very angry, very disapproving look on his face.

***

Melody was up early the next morning, going through her finances, figuring out if she could afford to surprise Nick. After a little creative budgeting, she felt comfortable setting her plan in motion.

She called Nick’s landline a little after nine a.m. and was lucky enough to get a sleepy-sounding John on the phone. He promised not to give away her surprise and agreed to drop a spare key to the Midget by her place. The impound lot was only a mile from her apartment, so she could swing by before her rehearsal.

She couldn’t help with his ticket, but at least she could make sure he had his car back.

At four-thirty she pulled up in front of the tattoo shop, grinning as she spotted Nick through the front window. He was talking to a man at the counter, but as soon as he saw the Midge, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He said something to his customer and then hopped over the counter in one fluid motion that sent a zing of awareness sizzling down Melody’s spine.

She definitely had it bad. Just watching Nick jump in a manly fashion was enough to make her hotter.

“What did you do?” Nick asked as Melody slid out of the car and slammed the door behind her.

“I got your car back,” she said, holding out his spare key

“You shouldn’t have done this,” Nick said, not looking as pleased as she had hoped he would be, and not reaching out to take the keys, either.

“I wanted to,” she said, letting her arm drift back to her side.

“It’s too much money, Mel,” he said, frowning at the car.

“I checked my budget for the month. I can make it work as long as I hit my parents up for dinner a few times.”

Nick shook his head, still looking displeased. “This is too much.”

“Why?” Melody asked, refusing to let this gesture turn sour. “Wouldn’t you have done the same for me? If it was my car that had been towed while we were on a date and you had the money to get it back for me?”

Nick’s brow furrowed. “Well…yeah. But—”

“There’s no but.” Melody held out the keys again. “If you don’t accept my help and say thank you and be happy, I’ll think you’re a sexist jerk.”

Nick’s sudden smile was like the sun punching storm clouds from the sky. “All right,” he said, taking the keys. “But I’m paying you back as soon as I can.”

Melody shrugged. “No rush. Really, I’m fine. I wouldn’t have done it if I couldn’t afford to. I like you a lot, but I like eating and paying my electric bill more.”

Nick’s smile faded. “I like you a lot, too. So does my brother. Probably more than he likes me right now.” He tucked the spare key into the back pocket of his jeans with a sigh. “He was at my place looking for me last night. He saw us kiss.”

“Oh,” Melody said, the expression on Nick’s face leaving no doubt Nash hadn’t been pleased about the kiss. “Why was he at your place at ten o’clock on a Tuesday?”

“He came to apologize for being a jerk the other night,” Nick said with another sigh. “But then he decided
I
was the jerk. He told me to call things off with you before I did something he couldn’t forgive me for.”

“You and I are none of his business,” Melody said, anger rising inside her. “I’m a grown woman.”

“He’s a good guy,” Nick said, “His heart is in the right place.”

“I know his heart is in the right place,” she said in a softer voice, understanding Nick’s need to defend his brother. She was the same with Aria and Lark. “But I don’t need another older sibling in my life. I have two already.”

“Try having seven.” Nick rolled his eyes. “It’s impossible to keep anyone out of your business. That’s why I don’t always tell them the entire truth about my private life. I like it to stay private.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, but the strands all snapped back into their previous wild configuration. “I tried explaining that to Nash, but he’s too pissed. He’s not a fan of bending the truth.”

Melody thought for a moment. “Then we’ll just have to make him a fan of
us
.”

Nick peered at her through narrowed eyes. “What do you mean?”

“We’ll have Nash and Aria and the baby over for dinner and show them that we’re not a train wreck waiting to happen,” Melody said. “We could have it at my place if we want to keep it small, or do a family thing at my parents’ house if you think you’re ready to meet the entire March clan.”

“You don’t know the meaning of clan until you’ve been to a Geary event.” Nick shrugged as he glanced over his shoulder, checking on his customer who was still flipping through the books. “I’m fine with meeting everyone at once, if you think that’s a good idea.”

Melody stared up into his eyes, wondering how it was possible to feel anxious and filled with clarity at the same time. “Yesterday, you said you wanted to go skinny dipping with me in the spring. Did you mean that?”

Nick blinked, and seemed to be genuinely considering the question. “I did,” he said. “I know it’s still early, super early, but…” He glanced down at the sidewalk before meeting her eyes. “I don’t like to think about not being around you, you know?”

“I don’t like to think about not being around you, either,” she said, a giddy, blissed-out, hopeful feeling rising inside of her.

Was this what it felt like to fall in love? Real love, the kind that took hold of you and refused to let go? The kind that started out full of sparkles and only shined brighter and stronger the longer it lasted?

She didn’t know, but there was no way she was going to let anyone—especially a member of her or Nick’s family—get in the way of her finding out.

“Okay, so I’ll work out all the details for a family thing. Is next Saturday night good for you?” she asked. “We have that fiftieth anniversary to cater this Saturday, and a wedding on Sunday, but next weekend is open after the wedding Saturday afternoon.”

“Next Saturday is good,” Nick said, with a nod. “But I couldn’t get John to cover for me tonight. He has a date with some girl he met at the bar. But I’d love to see you tonight, if you don’t mind hanging out until I close the shop.”

“I’ll see you after rehearsal,” Melody said, kissing him on the cheek as she turned to go. She was about to cross the street when Nick called out from behind her—

“Hey, Mel…thanks,” he said, smiling when she turned around. “For the car and for, I don’t know just…being you.”

Melody flushed and blew Nick a kiss, before turning and practically dancing across the street.

If this was what falling in love was like, she decided she liked it. She liked it very, very much.

Chapter Ten

Late the next Saturday afternoon, Nick stood on the sidewalk outside Bob and Sue March’s house, working up the courage to walk up and ring the bell.