Page 26 of Mateo & Nicole
And then he’d nearly kissed her.
Mateo groaned, earning himself more than a few strange looks from the men surrounding him. He waved them off and stalked toward the house. He needed to get out of eyesight of these cowboys. The last thing he wanted was for any of the men who worked for him to think he was going crazy.
But as he passed the mess hall he’d built for the people who worked for him, his steps slowed. Last night, he’d brought Nikki home—Sophia, too. His sister’s presence had prevented him from talking to Nikki about that near kiss. He would rather choke on his own spit than admit in front of his sister that he was developing feelings for Nikki.
And yet…
He stared at the building, knowing that Nikki was likely inside and getting ready for dinner. He’d avoided her for breakfast and again at lunch. What was the point when, no matter what he did, they were always interrupted?
A sigh burst from his lips, and he continued toward the house. Eventually, he’d figure everything out. Right now, he needed to ignore his growing attraction unless she showed him any indication that she was as interested in him.
* * *
A few dayslater and Mateo was cursing his terrible resolve. He stared at the kitchen door from the cafeteria, his brow furrowed. Yesterday, he’d gotten so close to asking Nikki if he could have a private conversation about the night they’d gone dancing. But he’d chickened out just before Daniel materialized, asking Mateo to come check on something.
Now, as he was drilling a hole into the door that separated himself from the woman he felt inexplicably drawn to, he wondered what on earth he was going to say. They still had a professional relationship he needed to uphold.
And at the same time, they had a past friendship that he wanted to believe trumped what was going on now. He’d never been in a situation like this one before. Was he willing to cross that line? Would anyone even care?
Life was short. What if this was the only chance he had at gaining the upper hand of fate? How many times had he told his sister and his friends that he’d ignored fate once and had regretted it every day?
Nikki had been that fate. He’d had feelings for her when he’d been engaged to Caroline, but he’d brushed them aside—buried them so deep that they couldn’t be found. And when Caroline had broken his heart, he’d refused to dig them up.
It wouldn’t have been an honorable thing to do along that time and he wasn’t that kind of guy. But now? Things were different.
He swallowed hard.
Lunch had just ended. She was in there cleaning up. Could he intrude and finally say something?
All he wanted was a chance. That’s what he kept telling himself. He wanted a chance to tell her that he liked her, and he wanted to spend more time with her like they had at the club.
Taking a deep breath, he rolled back his shoulders and pushed himself through the swinging door into her domain.
She glanced up at him right away, her smile fading when her eyes met his.
Shoot.
They were alone—which was something he’d been grateful for until she looked at him like he was the last person she wanted to see. This might have very well been a bad idea.
As quickly as she’d frowned, her smile returned. She tilted her head and gave him an inquisitive look. “What can I do for you, Mr. Palmer?”
He bristled at the formality of it all. Ignoring the way it felt to be spoken to like he was nothing more than her superior, he shifted closer and plastered his brightest smile onto his face. Leaning his hip against the stainless-steel countertop, he cocked his head and waited for her to meet his eyes again.
When she did, she stilled—giving him the reaction he’d wanted from the beginning.
“I’ll bet you can’t guess what I’m thinking.”
She’d grabbed a dish from the sink before her and was in the process of drying it when he’d spoken. “No, I don’t suppose I can.”
“Come on, Nikki. Humor me,” he said. “Tell me what you think is on my mind.”
The hand holding a dish towel was placed on her popped hip, and she scrutinized him. “What is this about?”
He sighed, moving closer, and he lowered his voice. “I was thinking about how nice it felt when you were in my arms.”
It was quiet, but he didn’t miss the way she sucked in a breath. Her eyes rounded as she remained pinned beneath his stare. Good. He’d thrown her off balance. Maybe now she’d finally accept that he wasn’t just being playful.
Because he wasn’t.
