Nick slouched in his comfortably worn couch and barely glanced at the television that blared at him. He had no idea what was on, what channel was playing, and he had no intention of finding out either. His attention was on the pile of paperwork in front of him—though his focus tended to slide towards Bryna and what she was up to.
It had been two days since the Apollo Records gala, and he hadn’t heard a word from her. He’d heard plenty about Laurel and what was happening now that she was back. Apparently, she was moving back into the Caine mansion outside the city, and Clarissa was moving out. There was a huge media flurry over the goings-on, but, suspiciously, Bryna was missing from all the press reports.
He would know, Nick thought with a sigh. He’d searched through every single one, hoping to find out how she was. His efforts were all to no avail.
Shaking his head, he set aside the stack of papers, knowing he’d never be able to concentrate. He needed to do something. Maybe he could go out, he mused and glanced out the windows of his apartment. A gray, gloomy sky greeted him, and he shook his head. Nah. He’d rather not brave the rain pelting down from the iron-gray clouds.
He was in the kitchen, rooting through his fridge for a snack, when the phone rang. Crunching on a piece of celery, he reached for the receiver. “Talk to me.”
“My, do you always answer every call like that?” The female voice on the other end was amused.
“Laurel?”
“Actually, that’s Cinderella to you, buddy,” she replied lightly, making fun of the nickname the media had bestowed upon her. “But, yes, it’s me. How are you, Nick?”
He kicked the fridge door shut with his foot and moved to lean against a counter. “Not bad. I don’t think I have to ask how you’re doing. I’ve seen the news reports.”
“Yeah, well, they’re mostly true. I’m actually on my way over to the estate now.” She sighed a little. “Have you heard from Brian at all? Or James?”
Nick grimaced. “Sorry, Laurel. I know both of them were pretty upset, and, knowing them, they need time to think.”
“So I’m supposed to play the waiting game?”
“Don’t tell me you deserve better after what you did to them,” he snapped. Then, he thought better of it and sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“No, Nick, you’re right. I was wrong, and I hurt them both.” There was a pause before Laurel spoke again. “Listen, I was wondering…”
Nick tossed out the remains of the carrot and opened his fridge to find something to drink. “What?”
“I know she’ll kill me for this, but I was wondering if you could keep Bryna company today.”
“What?!” He froze.
“I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I think you’re the only one she’s really talked to since everything went down the other night. She’s holed up in her apartment, and she won’t talk to any of us. It would be a huge help if you could just go over and, I don’t know, get her to open up,” Laurel said in a rush. “Well?”
He was quiet for a few moments, contemplating his decision. He did want to see Bryna, and Laurel was providing him with the perfect excuse to see her. Then again, Bryna might feel hemmed in if he hovered over her. He’d never exactly paid quite so much attention to her before. “I’ll do it,” he replied quickly, squelching his doubts.
***
Bryna snarled at the sound of the knock on the door. She didn’t want to move from her position on the couch, but, grumbling to herself, she dragged herself off the couch and opened the door.
Nick decided the look on her face had been worth the trip across town to see her. He grinned at her surprised expression and held up his offerings. Two spoons, a carton of Rocky Road ice cream, and the latest cheesy horror flick from Hollywood. “Hi.”
She blinked. “What are you doing here?”
“What? I couldn’t come keep you company?” he asked, feigning hurt. “I thought we were friends, Bryna. Don’t you like me?”
Bryna scowled a little, but her gaze kept sliding towards the ice cream. “How did you know Rocky Road was my favorite?”
“Bryna, Bryna, Bryna. I know a lot about you. Probably more than you think,” he added with a wiggle of his brows. “So, are you going to let me in or should I stand out here with melting ice cream?”
Her scowl deepened, but she shrugged and gestured him in. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“A wild guess,” he answered and settled in next to her on her couch. “Have you been hiding out here?”
Bryna grabbed the carton of ice cream away from him and pulled the lid off. “No.” She paused, her spoon poised above the ice cream. Her eyes lifted to meet his. “Okay, maybe. But I don’t want to talk about it.”
Nick nodded. He had no desire to push her into anything more than she was willing to give him. He’d been thinking long and hard about how to approach her, and he knew that he’d have to tread carefully with Bryna. More so because he genuinely cared about her. “Okay. So, wanna watch this slasher flick now?” He waved the DVD in her face and grinned when she rolled her eyes.
“Is that seriously the best you could come up with? Honestly, I planned on never watching that one.”
He grinned and hopped up to stick the disc into her DVD player. “You know what they say, Bryna?”
Her voice was muffled by the ice cream in her mouth. “No. Whad do dey shay?”
He plopped down next to her again with the remote. Ignoring her yelp of protest, he stole the ice cream and, taking a bite, pressed play. “Never say never.”
Two hours later, the movie ended, and Bryna groaned.
“It was as bad as I thought it would be. Not at all scary.”
Nick grinned. She’d watched half of it from between her fingers. “Really? Then that must have been some other Bryna Chambers that nearly strangled me when the guy was about to grab that blonde chick. Right?” He winked.
She threw a pillow at him. “Jerk. You’re supposed to act manly and like when a girl does that.”
“Who said I didn’t like it?” He wiggled his brows at her playfully. “ ‘Oh, my god, Nick! He’s going to kill her! Oh, I can’t watch it. Tell me when it’s over!’”
His laughter was muffled when she pounced on him in indignation. They wrestled for control for a minute or so before tumbling off the couch and onto the floor. Bryna rolled off him and lay close by his side, her head resting on his arm. Nick could see the glow of pleasure in her eyes and smiled.
“Who won?” she murmured.
“Me, of course,” he answered with a cocky grin. He was fully expecting the resulting jab to his side. “Oof. How did I miss the fact that you are so violent? I mean, I’ve known you for years, and this is a side of you I never saw.”
Bryna grinned. “And you were the one who said you knew more about me than I thought.”
Nick’s smile disappeared as he reached out to carefully brush aside a curl that fell over her forehead. “I do,” he whispered. Her breath suddenly fluttered shakily from her lips, and he felt it slide over his skin. “More than you know.”
She shifted slightly closer, her eyes wary. “Nick.” Her voice was a breathy murmur.
Though his stomach tightened at the sound of her voice, he knew this wasn’t how he wanted to do things. She wasn’t ready yet. Without warning, he leapt up and pulled her up with him. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Bryna’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion. “Wait, what?”
“Wanna go for a walk, Bryna?” Nick knew she was puzzled over his actions, but he liked the idea of keeping her off-balance. Unpredictable. He held out a hand and gave her a questioning look. “Well?”
She cast a glance at her clothing before shrugging. “Okay.” But she didn’t take his hand.
They walked in comfortable silence for several blocks. The city was blooming in late spring, and plenty of people were out and about, despite the threat of impending rain. Nick glanced up at the sky and hoped the rain held off until they were back inside. Though the atmosphere was gloomy, it was hard to feel the dreariness in New York. With everyone rushing around, it was as though the overcast sky didn’t exist.
“I miss smelling that just before rain smell,” Bryna said after a while.
Nick looked over at her. “What?”
“What, you haven’t noticed it? You can’t smell it in the city, but, outside the city, you can always smell this distinct scent that comes along before it rains. I always know when rain is coming because of it.” She shrugged. “The city smells overpower that one, I guess.”
He didn’t have any suitable response for that. “Uh, I guess I really didn’t notice. I’ll have to remember the next time I’m out of this place.”
They fell silent again, each enjoying the walk more than they’d expected. When they arrived back in front of Bryna’s building, Nick stopped outside.
“Well, this is my cue to let you go,” he told her with a smile. “I liked hanging out with you.”
Bryna nodded, her eyes skimming over his face as though she were searching for something. “Thanks for coming over, Nick. Seriously. I guess I needed it more than I thought.”
“Anytime, Bryna.” He tentatively put his arms around her and squeezed gently. “Call me if you need anything,” he murmured against her neck. He nearly smiled at feeling her pulse race but said nothing.
She stepped back, her arms automatically folding over her chest. “Yeah, okay. I will.”
Then, as she watched, Nick flashed her a grin before turning to hail a cab. The first raindrop hit the windshield as he watched her walk into her building.
“Just you wait, Bryna. There’s plenty more where that came from,” he whispered to himself with a smile.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ta-da! Next chapter! And, if you're at all curious about what happened before this story began, you can check out "Once Upon a Time" which is the story that this one is based off of.
Enjoy this next chapter and let me know what you think!
