4. Nick

CHAPTER 4

NICK

“ N ick! The tea’s on!” My mom’s voice drifted up the stairs. Sydney smoothed down her already-perfect gray cashmere sweater, tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“You ready?”

She nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Good.” I grabbed her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Sydney paused, glanced up at me through her thick lashes.

“So how long have we been dating now, according to your timeline?”

“Hmmm. Good question. At least since May. So almost eight months.”

“’kay. Just want to get my facts straight.”

“Relax, Syd. It’ll be fine,” I leaned over and whispered in her ear. She smelled sweet and floral, just like I remembered.

At the bottom of the stairs, Sydney took a deep breath, then straightened her shoulders.

“Show time.” She plastered a warm smile on her face, the same one she used in meetings, and together we walked into the kitchen.

“Nicholas!” My gran rushed over, crushing me to her. “And you brought Sydney with you! How marvelous.” Gran air kissed Sydney on both cheeks then ushered us over to the round kitchen table set for tea, complete with Christmas plates and matching tea cups. Gran patted the spot next to her. “Come, sit, tell me all about football.”

Gran always knew how to strike up a conversation with me. I pulled a chair out for Sydney, then settled into the seat next to Gran and launched into the story of me getting traded back to New England.

“They called me on a Thursday and next thing I knew, I was on the first flight out Friday, playing in a game on Sunday. The moving company packed up my apartment and they shipped everything to me the next week. All my stuff was set up when I got home from practice. It was like magic.”

“Well, we’re so glad you’re home. I could never keep the time zones straight out there. No Daylight Savings Time; so confusing.” Gran shook her head, took a sip of tea.

“Here you go, kids.” My mom set the tea kettle down, along with a tray of sliced fruit and cookies.

“This looks amazing, Mrs. Milton. Can I help with anything?” Sydney asked, rising.

“No, no. You kids had a long drive this morning. Sit back and relax.” My mom sat down in the seat next to Sydney, handed her the tea box with an assortment of teas. “The Christmas Cookie one is good. Lots of cinnamon and vanilla.”

Sydney plucked the recommended teabag, passed the box to me. I went with Earl Grey, then handed it back to my mom. We set about steeping our tea, adding fresh sugar cubes, honey, and milk.

“What do you have planned today, Nick?” my mom asked, her teaspoon tinging the side of the teacup as she stirred.

“I think I’ll take Sydney into town for lunch, show her the shops. Do you need anything?”

“No, we’re good. Your father will be home around six and your brother’s coming over, too. We’ll have cocktails, then dinner.”

“Great. I haven’t seen him since he came out to Arizona. He still dating the teacher?”

My mom shook her head. “No. And I liked her, too. You might be my only hope for grandchildren.” She stared at me, her eyes wide, and Gran sighed over her teacup.

Sydney shifted in her seat, the tips of her ears pink. I nudged her foot under the table, and her eyes widened.

“Well, thanks for the tea, Mom. We should get going so we have enough time to shop. C’mon, Syd.” I stood, grabbing Sydney’s hand. We gathered our plates and cups, placing them in the wide farmhouse sink.

“Just leave the dishes, hun. I’ll get to them soon.”

“Okay. Thanks, Mom.” I gave both women a quick hug and ushered Sydney out of the kitchen before she turned an even brighter shade of red.

Sydney fanned herself as soon as we were out of eyesight.

“You did fine,” I whispered, my lips brushing her ear. She shook her head and groaned, leaning against the banister.

“Ohmygod. I don’t know why I agreed to this, Milton.”

“Because you secretly love me,” I said, shooting her my most charming smile.

“Yeah. Something like that.”

“C’mon, let me show you Starlight Bay at the holidays. That’ll cheer you up.”

“Fine,” she said, climbing the stairs, one step ahead of me. “I need to grab my coat and purse.”

I stood at the bottom of the stairs and appreciated the view, taking in her perfectly round ass. I obviously still had a lot of warming up to do.

T he town square wasn’t crowded, being the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. We parked by Town Hall, then walked towards the giant Christmas tree and all the shops.

“That tree is huge,” Sydney said, tilting her head back to take it all in. “I think it’s bigger than the one at Faneuil Hall.”

I laughed. “Maybe. Starlight Bay goes all out for Christmas. They are not messing around with holiday cheer here.”

Sydney smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. “I like that about this town.”

“Me too.”

We crossed the street and made our way over to the tree. The scent of pine mingled with the salt air and I took a deep breath in, exhaled.

“Hey, Syd, I just want to say thank you.” I scrubbed the back of my neck, suddenly self-conscious. I never had trouble with girls; what was it about Sydney that threw me off my game?

“I, uh—I just wanted to say, um—it means a lot to me that you’d come back home with me.” I dropped my voice lower. “Even if we aren’t technically still together.”

Sydney blushed, then broke eye contact with me, staring straight ahead at the tree. My gut knotted a little tighter, wondering if I’d said the wrong thing.

“It’s fine, Nick. I didn’t mind coming with you; I just can’t risk losing my job. Now that we work together, it’s not like before. Plus, I don’t like lying to your parents.”

Then let’s not lie—be with me. The thought ricocheted through my brain, but I managed to rein in my enthusiasm.

I bit my lip and sighed. “Yeah, I know. But it’s only for one week. Then we can go back to how things were before. If that’s what you want.”

My words hung in the air, heavy between us for a few seconds, the only sound the distant crashing of the waves on the beach and the pounding of my heart I desperately hoped she couldn’t hear. Out of the corner of my eye, I searched her face for clues, trying to read her mind, but her face was neutral.

“Okay.” Sydney reached down, fiddling with the silver initial necklace she always wore.

Not exactly what I’d hoped to hear.

“You know my job is my life. Me just being here with you is a risk, but since you came up with a good cover…”

“I know, Syd. I get it.” I shoved a hand in my pocket, swallowed hard. This week was going to be tougher than I thought. What if I couldn’t convince Sydney to take another chance on us?

I didn’t even want to entertain that thought right now. Like Coach always said, take it one down at a time. And we were still in the first quarter, plenty of time left in the game.

“C’mon, let’s do some shopping.” I took her hand and led her down Main Street.