Page 31 of Mateo & Nicole
And he knew exactly what it meant.
Nikki’s eyes found his, and she gave him a small smile. That smile was all it took for Mateo to make his decision. The next moment he could get her alone, he’d finish the conversation they’d started a few days ago. One way or another, she’d have to make her own decision.
Mateo nodded, offering his friend a tight smile. “You’re right. I can’t keep sitting on the sidelines.”
Daniel’s surprised gaze followed Mateo as he left the building. He didn’t call after him, thank goodness. Mateo wasn’t sure he could handle the conversation continuing at this point. The last thing he wanted was to lose his nerve.
* * *
Mateo strodetoward Nikki’s door, passing those of his siblings down the hallway, and then he skidded to a stop. Clenching and flexing his fists, he stared hard at the door like doing so would allow him to see through it. Everyone had turned in about an hour ago, Nikki included. From what he could hear, Paxton wasn’t up and moving around. There was a light on that he could see beneath her door.
Nikki was still up.
He took a step toward the door again, then stopped himself and brought his fist to his teeth. Hadn’t he told Daniel he was going to do something about his attraction? He couldn’t be the coward that he’d been since she’d shown up. It was now or never.
Forcing himself to move another step onward, he lifted his fist and rapped his knuckles quietly on the door, then held his breath. If she didn’t answer in the next few seconds, he would slip away and pretend he hadn’t come at all.
As if his feet jumped on board with that idea before he was ready, they shuffled backward. But the knob turned, and he forgot to breathe altogether.
Nikki opened the door, and her eyes met his. “Mateo?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
He bounced his fist against his thigh and shrugged. “I live here.”
She smirked, glancing behind her shoulder. She slipped from her bedroom and came out into the hall while closing the door behind her. “What did you need?” Her voice was still low, and her brows were pulled together with concern. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he breathed. “Everything is fine.” He let his focus sweep over her, from the way her soft waves of warm chocolate hair framed her face to her toes that peeked out from beneath her bright red and pink pajama pants.
Nikki fidgeted expectantly.
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Right. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Okay…” she drawled.
Once again, he coughed to clear the lump that refused to stop blocking his airways. He brought his hand to his back and rubbed it as he dropped his gaze. “I wanted to finish that conversation we’d started when Paxton broke his collarbone.” He met her eyes just as they widened, but he couldn’t tell if it was from fear or something else entirely.
“Mateo—”
“Before you say anything, hear me out. I want to take you on a date—a real one. Just you and me.”
“Why?” she blurted.
“Why?” he repeated. “What do you mean, why?”
She shook her head, her cheeks flushing a deep pink color.
Mateo didn’t wait for her to answer his question before he answered hers. “Because I think you’re beautiful.”
Nikki scoffed, and he frowned at her reaction.
“I’m crazy about you,” he said, stepping closer to her.
She flinched, holding her hand up. “No, you’re not.”
He let out a surprised laugh. “Because you’re so in tune withmyfeelings? What do you mean?”
Nikki dragged her eyes from his and scooted back so she leaned against the bedroom door. “You just… it’s nothing.”
“No, you can’t say something like that and brush me off. There’s no way for you to know what’s in my heart unless I tell you. And right now, I’m telling you that I want you.” He reached for her hand and held onto it firmly despite the gasp that escaped her.
