“You’re right.” And I will have that conversation with Nick, but only after my desire to deck him wanes.
Just kidding…mostly. I think I already clobbered him when I said I wasn’t one of his girl toys. I know I reacted more than I responded. Nick hasn’t done anything to give me that impression, but there’s a part of me that’s still afraid. I let my heart cloud my judgment once.
He points to his chest with his thumb. “I know I am. That’s part of what made me a good cop. I could read the room, so to speak.”
I give him a succinct nod. “Okay, message received. I will talk to him.”
He cocks a brow. “And if he’s still acting like a jerk after that, just let me know. I still have my gun.”
“Ben!” I’m aghast, but I can’t help laughing.
He’s chuckling so hard he grasps the edge of the pool to keep himself steady. “I’m just trying to get a smile out of you. My Viv always said laughter makes the heart lighter.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“It is. And she was.” The sadness returns to his voice, but his grin doesn’t falter. I can tell he’s lost in a lifetime of thoughts about the woman he loved. Still loves.
If I had one of those GIFs of a person pointing up and saying ‘THIS,’ I’d be plastering it in the comments section of my life. Because that’s what I want—the real lifelong deal.
“How long were you married?”
“Sixty-two years.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.”
“It is. And it wasn’t always easy, especially in the beginning. Love hit us both fast, but it took years to really know and understand each other. Once you hit that point, you step on each other’s toes less.”
His words strike a note and make me wonder…had I stepped on Nick’s toes by talking to his mother? My only intention was to help him. Maybe I should have thought about it long enough to consider how he’d feel about it.
Might as well get a male perspective while I have one. “Mind if I ask you a bit of a personal question?”
“Shoot.” He winks at me.
I grin at his subtle humor. “Did Vivian ever try to help you, thinking she was doing something special for you, but it wound up making you mad instead?”
He studies me for a moment, then chuckles. “That’s a loaded one. Yes, as a matter of fact, she did. Right after I made sergeant, Viv threw a little party. I thought she just wanted to celebrate because it hadn’t exactly been an easy road. But she had something else in mind.”
“Oh?”
He nods. “My wife considered herself a bit of a diplomat. She knew my captain and I didn’t always see eye to eye on some policies. I’d confided in her that I felt like some of my ideas weredismissed. She thought if she got us both in a social setting, we could bridge the gap.”
“Did it work?”
“Quite well, actually. But it still made me mad.” He frowns as if lost in the memory.
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Pride. Embarrassment. Whatever you want to call it. I knew Viv loved me, but what she did made me feel like she didn’t have confidence in me to handle it myself.”
I inhale and then let it out in a puff of frustration. That’s pretty much what Nick said, but it made little sense to me at the time because it’s so far from the truth. I totally believe Nick can do anything. He’s passionate about his work…and the turtles. The guy may be sexy as all get out, but he also has a big heart. To want to show up every day and make sure every person on the beach stays safe is a testimony of that. And the way he takes care of Bandit…and me, come to think of it. He’s always anticipating my needs or concerned about me.
I groan inwardly. This whole situation is a gross misunderstanding.
“How did Viv respond to your anger over it?”
Ben grins. “You remind me a lot of her.”
“I do?”
