Jesus. He nearly yanked her into his arms and kissed the hell out of her. Instead, he turned his body, lowered his head. “I like it better when you say my name.”
Her face scrunched up and his heartbeat ramped up for a different reason.
His smile came easily now. “Especially when it’s all breathy and sweet.”
The flare of heat in her gaze sent a shot of adrenaline through him. She gave him a sassy smirk, yanked her hand from his, and walked right out the door.
Nick stared after her, wondering what strange twist of messed-up fate would make it so the one woman he didn’t deserve happened to be the one who made it easier to breathe when she was near and seemed to be the only one he wanted. He didn’t date much even before he met her but he hadn’t even looked at another woman with interest since the night he met Maisie.
But how could he tell her, as much as he wanted that second chance, he didn’t trust himself not to fall apart without warning. Sometimes, he was fine even when he expected to get overwhelmed. Other times, it felt like there were no triggers. The sensations—sweating, nausea, and a racing pulse—washed over him like anunexpected and inexplicable tsunami and he had to do his best to survive when it felt like he was drowning.
Moving through the house, he got some water, drank a full glass, and headed out the back door to meet up with his group.
One thing was for sure, whether he won his stupid scavenger hunt or not, getting Maisie Smart off his mind was not going to happen. She’d seen him at his worst and even more than the look she’d given him in the shower, she seemed to like what she saw.
Chapter Eight
THEY HAD SEVEN OUTof ten items and hadn’t seen the guys in a several minutes. She’d taken note of Nick joining up with them again and she found herself seeking him out more than once while they checked items off the list.
She wanted to tell herself it was a friendly interest in his well-being. Concern for his obviously worked-up state. But she’dfeltthe jagged edges of the panic surrounding him and had wanted, so badly, to pull him into her and soothe him any way she could. His sexy innuendos and larger-than-life confidence were hard to ignore. But the way he’d gripped her hand, let her stand still with him, and the look in his eyes when he came out of it burrowed into her skin and her heart indelibly.
“The app says we’re tied,” Natalie said after uploading their snow angel picture.
Maisie whipped around from where she’d been taking a photoof the clouds kissing the Cascade Mountains. “What? We’ve been watching. They haven’t done the same amount as us.” Her thoughts and attention had wandered but not enough to jeopardize their lead.
“If my brother can find a way to win, he will. Don’t underestimate him. Colt’s the same,” Ellie said. She waved them over. “Come on, we’ve got our footprints right here, let’s upload this one, too.”
“Your turn to do the uploading, Maze,” Nat said, passing her the phone. “Also, I’m getting hungry.”
“You’re eating for two, honey,” their mom said.
“That’s actually a myth, Mom. You should know that.” Most of the time, it seemed like her mom knew everything and if there was a small sliver of information she was unaware of, her dad knew the answer. They were, undoubtably, the smartest people she knew.
The women gathered by their footsteps in the snow and took the selfie.
It glitched while Maisie was uploading so she had to do it twice.
“What I know,” her mom said. “Is that my daughter is having a baby and needs to make sure she’s eating right and taking care of herself or letting us take careofher. You girls get so caught up in things, you forget to look after yourselves. At least Natalie has Kyle to watch out for her.”
Maisie looked up from the phone, irritation flashing. Right. Because on top of earning scholarships, getting a bachelor of science before attending vet school, then opening her own clinic, she had also found a man.
Sighing, she tried to breathe through the stitch in her chest. Her mom loved her. She knew she did. She just wished Maisie was more. And had more. Degrees, a thirst for knowledge, a passion for more, and a partner to wrap her life up in a pretty bow.
“Let’s go. We have twinkle lights and the Christmas sign,” Nat said.
They hustled, saw the guys taking a photo of the same sign theywere headed toward before they got the twinkle lights by one of the outbuildings.
They were sitting on the porch when the guys wandered back. Maisie started humming “We Are the Champions.”
“Wow,” Jacob said, his smile too wide for someone who lost. “You’re usually such a sore loser.”
Colton and Kyle laughed. Asher ran to his mom and Nick just arched one brow at her with a slight smirk, clearly back to himself.
“Maybe I am but since I won this time, it doesn’t matter,” she said, standing up, her hand on her camera so it didn’t sway.
“In what world did you win?” Nick asked.
Maisie looked at the other women then back at Nick, her heartrate speeding up a touch. “Thisone. We won. We’ve been sitting here for ten minutes.”
