He was right, and felt a sense of peace when he saw her sitting on the little sofa with her back to him, gazing out at the ocean.
“Admiring the view?” he asked, sitting down next to her.
She nodded and looked at him. “I take it Dean has been to see you?”
“Yes, he has.” Nick looked at her, wanting to touch her, but he didn’t dare. “I’ll find a way to pay you back. I’ll make payments. Whatever you want.”
She shook her head. “No. It wasn’t a loan.” The slightest hint of pink stained her cheeks and she turn back to look at the ocean again. “I did it for the kids.”
“Are you still leaving?” He wished she wouldn’t, but he didn’t have the guts to say so.
She nodded. “I think it’s for the best.”
She was probably right. They were from different worlds. Nick wouldn’t know how to begin to fit into hers. Still, he couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing or hearing from her again. “You’ll keep in touch, won’t you?” he asked. “Let me know where to send your checks.”
She looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“That’s the great thing about being a silent partner.” He chuckled. “You don’t have to do anything, but you still get paid.”
“Oh, the Hang Ten.” Lecie’s smiled, then shook her head. “I signed my interest in the restaurant over to the foundation as well. Now it’ll have a steady income to operate on.”
“I don’t know what to say.” And he truly didn’t. Dean was right in his assessment of Lecie. She was an angel. She’d swooped in and saved him, just when he’d thought the devil had done him in for sure. But the angel had done her job, and now she was leaving. Probably going on to do good for some other poor schmuck.
“You don’t have to say anything.” She smiled, looking every bit the angel he now realized she was.
One thing was for sure, no other woman would ever be able to do what Ginny had done to him, because Nick would always be in love with this one. The woman sitting next to him now.
“Lecie…” He sucked in a breath and looked at her. “I hope that you get everything in life that you want…because you deserve happiness more than anybody else I know.”
She looked at him, and for the first time he saw the sadness in her eyes. She smiled, a forced one, he thought, and said, “Listen…I’m leaving tomorrow but you can stay here at the house for as long as you want.”
“I do appreciate that.” He nodded. “I’m making plans to have the loft above Hang Ten renovated, so I can live there.” He couldn’t help noticing her looking at him a little oddly, and wondered if she was only saying that about staying at the house to be nice. Maybe what she really wanted was for him to be out of her house. ASAP. “It shouldn’t take more than a week,” he said, hoping to appease her. “As soon as it’s done, I’ll be out of your house.”
“There’s no hurry.” She shook her head and turned her focus back to the ocean.
Nick looked her over and let his gaze linger on her a little longer. He wanted to remember everything about this moment, to commit every inch of her to memory. He never wanted to forget the way she looked right now—stunningly beautiful, yet somehow sad. The way she smelled of roses just after a summer rain. And most of all, the way he felt sitting here next to her.
Deidra didn’t feel exactly good about lying to Lecie—her best friend since first grade. But damn, the girl was determined to leave the States without telling Nick the real reason she was going.
And Nick might not care, one way or another, but at least Deidra was going to know that she’d done everything possible to keep Lecie and Nick from parting on these terms. If there’s one thing she’d learned from her grandmother’s death, it was that life was short and you couldn’t leave things to fate.
She pulled open Hang Ten’s door, and a cool breeze wafted past her, carrying with it the scent of hamburgers and barbeque.
“Hey, Deidra…” Diane waved and hurried past.
“Is Nick here?” she called after the waitress.
“Yeah,” she said over her shoulder. “He’s in his office. Go on in.”
Deidra nodded and proceeded onward. Her heart pounded against her chest, reminding her she was going behind Lecie’s back. But that was beside the point.
Deidra shook off her fear and knocked on the office door. “Nick…?”
Within seconds the door opened and Nick was standing feet away, smiling. “Hey, Deidra.” Almost instantly, his brow furrowed and his smile faded. “I thought you and Lecie were leaving today?”
“We are.” She nodded. “But I wanted to talk to you before we go.”
Nick stepped back and waved her in. Once she was inside, he closed the door and motioned toward the couch on the left wall. She sat, then he sat. They remained silent for several seconds, then Deidra sucked in a breath and asked, “Are you back together with Ginny?”
“What?” Nick blurted out with genuine surprise. At least it looked genuine. Maybe Nick was in the wrong business. Perhaps he should consider acting.
“She saw you two kissing, some weeks back.” Deidra said, a little cooler than she would’ve liked. But no matter, it was done and now Nick knew that feigning innocence was not going to work with her.
“She?” he asked, still innocently.
“Lecie.” Deidra’s tone held the bite.
“Oh, no…” Nick hung his head. So he was kissing Ginny. Deidra realized she’d been holding onto a sliver of hope that it’d somehow turn out to be a misunderstanding. “She saw that?” Nick asked, as if the outcome would somehow change.
Deidra nodded emphatically. “You know…it’s probably none of my business, but how can you go back to her after what she did to you?”
“I’m not back with her.” Nick shook his head.
“Well, you were kissing her.”
“Technically, she kissed me.” A vile nature had taken over Nick’s voice now. It was as if the topic of Ginny had put a bad taste in his mouth. “And right after that I escorted her out of the restaurant. And I didn’t see Lecie here, anywhere, mind you.”
“Well…” Deidra couldn’t let go of her I told you so mind-set. “She saw you.”
Nick was silent for several seconds. Then his eyes widened. “Is that why she’s leaving?”