Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she met his gaze and tried to breathe away the emotion threatening to sweep through her body.
“I like having you here,” she whispered.
Nick reached over, putting his hand around her neck to pull her close. Against her lips, he said, “I like being here, too. I’ll be back, baby.”
What did that mean? Back for a week here, a week there? Not even a week? A few days? Long-distance romances never worked.Your parents’ does. Jacob travels for work sometimes.Lots of no-distance relationships didn’t work. What would make them special? He was a freaking NHL player. She was, as her mom told her time and again, just a photographer.Stopitstopitstopit.
Nick turned his body in the chair and took both of Maisie’s hands. “Okay. Get it out. What are you worried about?”
Despite the opening to tell him everything, words escaped her. Pulling her hands from his, she picked up her fork, dug into her food. Nick did the same but sent her frequent glances.
“This is really good,” he said after taking a large bite of lasagna.
“There are a ton of good restaurants in this area. That’s one of the reasons I like it.”
“Yeah? What other areas of Seattle do you like? Where could you imagine yourself living?”
Stabbing a few bites of penne, she thought about that. “Seattleis an amazing city and there’s a lot of areas I like. My sister lives on Bainbridge Island and that’s really gorgeous. I’d love to live by the water but I don’t know that I want to be isolated. Maybe Queen Anne. That’s pretty without being pretentious.”
He gestured toward himself. “Like me?”
A loud laugh escaped her lips. “Yes. Exactly like you.”
He’d told her more than once that this wasn’t the end. Instead of wasting time worrying about it, she needed to enjoy the time they spent together.
“I know you said that you weren’t sure about what was next for you, but is there anything other than hockey you could see yourself doing?”
She leaned back in her chair while he got up to grab a soda. Bringing it back to the table, he sat next to her again, his expression thoughtful.
Shrugging, he opened it. “It’d have to be something still connected to sports. A lot of guys I know do broadcasting. But you know how it is, when you’re in the thick of it, doing what you love, you don’t think about what else is out there.”
“That makes sense. You’re right. When I do think of anything outside my regular shoots, it’s still wrapped up in photography.”
“Have you talked to your parents?”
She shook her head. “Nat called today while I was in my studio. I just want to stay in this little bubble for now. Reality can come crashing in next week.”
When they finished eating, he heldout a hand to her. “Show me your studio.”
She slipped hers in his and used the moment to press herself into his body, wrap herself around him. When his hand stroked down her hair, she sighed and settled more deeply into him.
“I’m sorry your mom makes you feel so bad about what you do, but if it’s any consolation, I agree with you about doing what youlove. You could have every degree possible but it doesn’t bring bone-deep satisfaction the way following your passion does.”
She leaned back and did her best to smile up at him. “Thank you. Come on. I’ll show you where I make magic.”
Across the hall, she let him into her small room that had once been a utility and storage area for the building. When she’d asked the building manager about it, he said they used the basement for storage because there was no point running up to one floor for what they needed. Maisie had made a deal with him to clean it out in exchange for using it. It wasn’t like rent in Seattle was cheap, so she was thrilled when she’d worked out the deal.
Nick stepped in and did a slow turn. Moving to the right, he stared at the photograph she’d taken of a bride and groom. She loved the photograph so much. Neither of their faces could be seen but the way they held each other, locked themselves around one another, always stole her breath. Her bare arms were clasped around his neck and he’d bent a bit at the waist to hug her. It’d been one of those perfect days with a hint of a breeze and sun and absolutely no rain. Love and connection radiated off the couple.
“This is gorgeous,” Nick said, his tone low and serious.
“Thank you. It’s one of my favorites.”
He continued to move around the space, not that he had to go very far, and took everything in like he was cataloging it to know her better.
When he looked at the little setup she had with a roll-down screen and a couple of stools, lights pointed toward them, he glanced back and grinned.
“Want me to pose?”
