This chapter contains a moderately adult scene, but it's nothing terribly explicit.
Nancy couldn't help it. She slumped against Ned in the elevator, and he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her against him. Nancy's feet were aching, too. She glared down at her heels, but couldn't even spare the energy for a disgusted sigh.
Vincent Cantoni had called immediately for a lawyer, and refused to answer any questions until his representation arrived. In the meantime, Nancy and Humphrey had both given their statements to the police officers. Ned had called them as soon as he had seen Cantoni's car outside the warehouse. He had searched for Nancy, but when he realized that Vincent was effectively standing guard over them both, he hadn't wanted to go in without backup.
Nancy had told him she was glad for his caution, even if he was berating himself for not coming after Cantoni earlier. If Cantoni had caught Ned and managed to disable or shoot him before he'd had a chance to call for the police, all three of them would likely be dead by now.
Nancy was familiar, all too familiar, with giving statements. The first responders took one. Then the detectives investigating Kate Gordon's murder were called in. Nancy identified herself by her true name, and although she didn't volunteer her father's involvement, she was sure they would figure it out quickly enough. Humphrey's account meant that kidnapping would be added to the long list of charges the police were preparing for Cantoni.
The cut on Nancy's cheek from Cantoni's pistol whipping had been bandaged, and she had been given some extra-strength pain reliever, although she had told both Ned and the EMTs that she had gone through much worse before. Ned had almost insisted that she go by the hospital, but Nancy had been equally insistent that she was fine. All she needed was a little food and a good night's sleep and she would be fine. He had compromised by insisting that she join him for dinner, though.
Her heels, though, were already on her last nerve. She promised herself that it would be a long time before she impersonated a business professional again. On the way to Ned's place, in his hired car, Nancy had asked if she could make a short stop. Ned had already called Louis and asked for their dinner to be prepared, and Nancy hadn't had the energy to fight him on that, too.
As soon as Ned unlocked his apartment door, Nancy headed to Ned's bedroom again to change, and was startled when he followed her inside. "Sorry," he said, when she turned to him wide-eyed. "I'll change in the other bedroom; I just need to get some clothes."
She wearily stepped out of her pumps as he gathered a t-shirt and shorts. His immaculate clothes were quite possibly ruined, and Nancy shook her head to herself as she sat down at the foot of his bed. He closed the door behind him with a smile, and Nancy very nearly let herself just fall backwards and sprawl out on his bed. It was enormous, and the comforter was pillowy-soft. She just wanted to wrap herself up in it and take a nap.
She always felt such a massive letdown once the cases were over. Her father had actually called her a few hours earlier, saying that he would be on the first flight Monday afternoon, and she had told him that there was no need. The culprit was in custody. and she would be heading home soon enough.
Wearily Nancy unzipped and unfastened her dust and grime-streaked skirt, shimmying her hips to send it sliding to the floor, and stepped out of it. Her blouse went next. The seam under the arm had ripped, most likely when she had been struggling while Vincent had been choking her. Nancy swallowed when she touched her bruised throat. No matter what excuses Vincent tried to make, those bruises were livid proof of his attack on her.
Then Nancy dumped out the contents of the plastic bag she had brought in with her on Ned's bed. She tore the tags off the spaghetti-strap tank top, a miniature New York skyline printed on the front, and the black French terry shorts she had bought at the discount store on the way to Ned's apartment, and quickly put them on. Her bare feet ached with every step she took to Ned's private bathroom, and she tied her hair into a messy ponytail and used a bit of his facewash to help her scrub her ruined makeup off, massaging her fingertips carefully around the bandage. When she rinsed her face and checked her reflection in the mirror, she looked tired, but much cleaner. Hesitantly she touched her jaw, then winced. It was going to bruise like hell, she could already tell.
She folded her torn, soiled blouse and skirt and put them in the bag along with the heels, which she hated enough now to set on fire, and walked out of Ned's room carrying the bag and a pair of flip-flops she had bought. The plush carpet felt amazing against her bare toes, though, so she left the flip-flops near the door and walked over to the pub table.
Ned had asked Louis to prepare something nourishing and simple, and Nancy could smell chicken broth simmering. Ned interrupted himself mid-sentence as Nancy approached; Louis was standing near the kitchen entrance, arms folded, listening to Ned as he narrated what had happened to them that day. "Feeling better?" Ned asked Nancy, standing up. He came over to pull out the other chair for her.
Nancy smiled at him. Ned was always sure to hold doors, open car doors, and pull out chairs for her; she couldn't remember any other boyfriend she had ever had who had bothered.
He's not my boyfriend, Nancy reminded herself as she took a seat. Definitely not my boyfriend.
"My feet definitely are feeling better," she told him. "Or they will, anyway. So are you telling Louis all about our afternoon?"
Ned nodded, then directed a quick glance back at Louis. "And before I forget, that lunch you gave us earlier—oh, you should've seen the smile that was on her face with the first bite."
Nancy chuckled. "It was fantastic," she told Louis, turning to look at him. "Your food is incredible, Louis. I can't possibly compliment it enough."
"My not-so-secret weapon," Ned said with a smile. "You wouldn't even be here right now if he wasn't cooking, would you."
"I don't know," Nancy teased him right back. "I think you promised me that you had talents in other areas."
Louis cleared his throat slightly, and Nancy blushed. "I'll be back in just a moment, if the two of you are ready for dinner?"
Nancy and Ned looked at each other and nodded. "Don't think you're getting away from hearing the rest of the story so easily, though," Ned told Louis.
Louis returned with their glasses and flatware. "It sounds incredibly interesting," he admitted. "White wine, sir?"
Nancy and Ned exchanged another glance, and Nancy was the first to speak. "I'd love some ginger ale," she admitted. "I'm so exhausted right now that I think a glass of wine would have me falling asleep on my plate."
"And we can't have that," Ned said, with mock seriousness. "Ginger ale would be fine."
Louis nodded. "I've prepared chicken noodle soup with country vegetables for the first course, and slow-roasted beef with a horseradish cream and focaccia for the second. Is there anything in particular you would prefer for dessert?"
Nancy shook her head. "Oh, Louis, really, don't go to any trouble..."
Ned touched Nancy's hand. "Louis lives for desserts," he told her, his dark eyes sparkling. "And the rest of it, but his desserts are amazing. Maybe an ice cream?"
"And a raspberry-glazed sponge cake? The raspberries looked particularly good today." Louis glanced between them.
Nancy couldn't help herself. When she licked her lips a little at the thought, Ned chuckled. "Miss Drew has cast her vote, and I'll second it. Thank you so much, Louis."
Louis gave them both a nod and a smile, and returned with the soup for their first course.
Once they were finished with their main courses, Louis put the cake in the oven and the ice cream in the machine, and came out to talk to them while he was waiting. Ned had asked Nancy if she wanted to sit on the couch while they waited, and he wore a grey t-shirt and black shorts; it was the least formal she had ever seen him. She had seated herself a few inches away from him, but when Louis came to sit down on the couch and listen to their account of the end of Nancy's case, Ned slipped his arm around Nancy's shoulders and she ended up leaning against him. He felt so warm and muscular and just safe, and she rested her head against his shoulder, trying as hard as she could not to just fall asleep.
"The worst part, though, was knowing that while the police were assembling outside, that asshole was inside—and he smacked Nancy with the gun." Ned shook his head. "I hate that so much."
Louis's gaze went to Nancy. "Are you all right?" he asked, horrified.
Nancy nodded, pushing a lock of hair off her face. "I'm okay. It wasn't that bad, really. I can't even count the number of times I've been knocked out with chloroform, hit over the head, punched, choked..."
Ned squeezed her shoulder gently. "You say it like you're almost proud of it," he commented.
"It's not that," she said slowly. "Or... well, maybe a little. I feel like people underestimate me, and think that all they have to do is try to scare me and I'll just run away. But it only makes me more determined. Like one punch is enough to make me cry. Did you see that bloody gash on Cantoni's leg? I did that with my heel when he was choking me. That's why he was trying to get me to take my shoes off. And if he had untied me, and tried to use me as a human shield, I would have done everything possible to get that gun away from him and keep him covered until the cops breached."
Nancy had her gaze locked to Ned's at the end of it, and he searched her eyes. A small part of her was waiting for him to just snicker or dismiss what she had said, but she had meant every word. She had disarmed culprits before, and she was sure she could have turned the tables on Cantoni, given the opportunity.
Ned nodded slowly, reaching up and brushing the backs of his fingers gently against her cheek. "I'm just glad it didn't come to that," he said softly. "But I know you could have. And that Humphrey was incredibly lucky to have you looking for him."
Nancy looked down. "I hate that I didn't realize he was gone last night," she said softly.
A timer went off in the kitchen, and Louis rose. "I'll definitely stay up to hear the rest of it, believe me," he told them with a smile, then vanished.
She stayed cuddled up against Ned until Louis returned with their desserts, and although he hadn't eaten dinner with them, when Nancy asked if he wanted to eat too, he shrugged and returned with his own serving. Nancy closed her eyes with rapture on the first bite. He had made chocolate chip ice cream with a caramel swirl, and the combination of all the flavors was perfect.
Once they had finished their story, when the last bite of ice cream was scooped up and the last trace of raspberry sauce savored, Louis shook his head. "You know, I'm actually pretty jealous," he commented. "You tracked down a murderer and got him to confess. I can't even imagine it."
Ned smiled. Nancy could see the marks that would be bruises later from his fight with Vincent. She could remember other guys trying to defend themselves during fights, when they were trying to help her on cases, and failing spectacularly. Those guys were inevitably the ones who swore that detective work was too dangerous, that she needed to leave it to the professionals. Because they weren't equal to the challenge, they couldn't believe she possibly could be.
But Ned hadn't backed down.
"It really was something," Ned was saying. "And I don't think I would have fought nearly so hard if Nancy hadn't been in danger."
Nancy couldn't help the warm flush that started in her chest and spread upward. She remembered again the look of tender concern on his face once Cantoni was no longer a threat to her, when he was asking if she was all right, like she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. It had made her feel self-conscious, but euphoric, too.
Louis shook his head. "You really are a rare woman," he told Nancy with a smile.
"Oh, but if you put me in front of an ice-cream machine I would be way over my head," she told him with a grin. "You can work miracles in a kitchen, Louis."
He shrugged, but she could tell he was pleased. "It can be exciting," he admitted. Then he seemed to realize the familiarity with which he was treating her, and how tired she and Ned had to be. "I'll wish you both a good night, unless there's anything else?"
Ned shook his head. "Thank you so much for making it on short notice," he told Louis. "It was spectacular."
"It really was," Nancy chimed in, with a smile. "Just what I needed."
Once they were alone, Nancy felt that same thrumming awareness she always did. She sat forward, stretching a little. "I should be getting back," she said softly. "Ned, thank you so much for dinner—and for everything you did today. I wouldn't have found Humphrey nearly as quickly without your help. I really owe you."
When she slowly rose to her feet, Ned rose too. "You look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet," he said softly, and slipped his arm around her waist, clasping her gently. "Why don't you just stay here tonight?"
Nancy felt that damned flush rise in her cheeks again, and she glanced up at him. "Ned," she said softly, starting to shake her head. "I..."
"I can take the couch," he told her. "I'd just feel better if you were here tonight."
She was too exhausted to think straight, and the prospect of sleeping in his large, luxurious bed was incredibly tempting. She didn't want to say goodnight just yet, either. "I... Okay," she said reluctantly. "But I don't want to kick you out of your bed. I think it's big enough for the both of us. To sleep," she added.
Ned was smiling, but he nodded in agreement. "Deal," he told her.
"You don't happen to have a spare toothbrush, do you?"
After they had both brushed their teeth and washed their faces, Ned turned the lights in his bedroom off. Nancy stood on the other side of the bed, debating for a moment, and she bit her lip as she reached behind her back and unfastened her bra. She slipped it off without taking her tank top off, then dropped it beside the bed before she slipped between the sheets.
"You okay?" Ned murmured. "I have more blankets."
"I'm fine," she assured him. His bed was so large that it sounded like he was so far away from her. That, or she was just so exhausted. The room felt like it was spinning gently around her, like she was falling.
"Ned?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm so glad you weren't involved," she said softly. "That you had nothing to do with it."
He made a soft, almost amused humming sound. "Me too," he whispered.
Nancy bundled a little deeper under the covers, drawing in the scent she had come to associate with him. She wanted to stay awake, wanted to savor the novelty of being alone in his bed with him, but all too soon, a wave of exhaustion swept her away.
She woke to a split second of disorientation, feeling sluggish and even more exhausted than she had. She heard the sound of fabric moving on the other side of the bed. Ned was pulling the covers over himself. She heard the faint gurgling of water in the bathroom pipes.
She fought it for a moment, but the more she tried to ignore it, the more desperately she felt the need to go. She let out a quiet sigh and slid out of his bed, finding her way very gingerly in the dark and mostly by unsure memory, until she found the bathroom door. The tile was cool under her bare feet.
As she slipped back into his bed a few minutes later, she found herself wondering if he was still awake. She had been trying very hard to forget what she had seen in his room during her previous visit, what was almost certainly still in the drawer on his side of the bed, but remembering that made her realize that Bess would absolutely kill her if Nancy told her she had spent a chaste night in Ned's bed.
But, she told herself as she nestled into the pillow again, he would be leaving on his business trip soon, and she would be returning home in the next day or two. Maybe Bess would jump at the chance to have a one-night stand, but what Nancy told her was still true. She didn't want to settle for that. Not even with someone as breathtakingly handsome as Ned Nickerson.
"Nan?"
Nancy hated the familiarity of the nickname on Humphrey's lips; he almost seemed to treat it as his right to address her that way. When Ned said it, though, Nancy found that she loved the intimacy of his voice in the dark, saying her name the way he did.
"Mmm?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's... it's okay," she murmured, sweeping her loose hair off her cheek. "What is it?"
Ned swallowed. "I've had some scary moments in my life," he said quietly, "but nothing has scared me quite so much as seeing Cantoni holding that gun on you."
Nancy blinked in his direction in the darkness. His bedroom was pitch black, thanks to the heavy curtains over the windows, and she could only see the abstract swirl of seething colors, not the faint shape of him outlined in darker shadow. "I'm sorry," she told him.
He made a soft sound. "I'm just so glad you're safe right now."
"Mmm." She nestled a little deeper under the soft comforter. "I always hate the time right after a case is over," she admitted quietly.
"You do?"
"Yeah. They're not always like this one, and sometimes it's just a matter of turning over the responsible party's name to the police..." She chuckled. "When she didn't know me as well, Bess—she's one of my best friends—used to think I was just an adrenaline junkie. Kind of like her cousin George, who is one of my other best friends."
"George?"
"Down, boy," Nancy said with a chuckle. "George is a woman. A tomboy who loves sports and hates shopping, but a woman."
"Oh," Ned said, and Nancy had to laugh at the relief in his voice.
"Anyway. It's not that I like being in danger. The real thrill of it is solving the case, when all the pieces come together and I figure out the solution. I've been involved in cases where I was finding a long-lost treasure or some other misplaced item of sentimental importance, and I feel that same thrill, even if no one's holding a gun to my head and demanding I dig those last few inches to find the buried chest, or whatever it is. I... I kind of live for it, really. And then, when the case is over..." She shrugged. "I just can't wait for a new one to come along."
"So you'll just be bored and frustrated until that happens."
"I..." Nancy tried to hedge. "It's not quite like that... I mean, I have school, and I love spending time with my friends and family..."
Ned chuckled. "It's okay," he told her. "I think I understand. When I first figured out that I had a knack for seeing patterns and figuring out how to make good investments, it wasn't like an addiction, but I did feel a thrill whenever I took a little gamble and it paid off. When I'm able to look at the market, at demand and popularity and a hundred other factors, and almost see exactly how the trend is going to go—it's pretty exhilarating. Not really an addiction, but my life would be a lot less interesting without it."
"It is like that," she agreed. "Like solving a puzzle, putting everything I've learned to good use. It's like a total workout. I just feel kind of lazy and sluggish when I haven't had one for a while. Sometimes I have to resort to logic puzzles and word games and crossword puzzles just to keep my mind in shape."
Ned chuckled. "So you always need to have something going on," he said. "I can understand that."
She smiled, her heart lifting a little. "Yeah," she said softly. "A lot of the people I've known... they just can't understand that."
"It can be hard, for other people to get," he agreed. "It's not about the money for me; it never has been. And it's not about the danger for you."
"Yeah," she said softly. She didn't know if it was her imagination, that his voice sounded closer than it had, but she could hear him, could hear the bed creaking very faintly as he shifted his weight.
"There's just one thing," he said softly. "I don't gamble with what I can't afford to lose, and when I thought, earlier today, that there was a chance I might lose you... well, that... that was unbearable."
Nancy swallowed. "I'm sorry," she repeated.
She could almost imagine that she felt the heat of his skin, and then he moved under the covers. She was on her side facing him, and tentatively he touched her hip. Her tank top had ridden up, leaving a strip of skin bare at her navel, and when Ned's thumb brushed her flesh, she shuddered. "Don't be sorry," he murmured. "Nancy..."
Nancy was finding it hard to stay calm. His hand was lingering on her hip, his thumb gently stroking her skin still, and every time he touched her, she felt a bolt of tingling awareness pass over her. She willed herself to just relax, but God, she wanted to hold him; she wanted to feel his arms around her.
It was too soon. It was all too soon. She hadn't known him long enough to feel this way about him, not by any stretch of the imagination, and yet a part of her almost felt like she had known him for a long time. She felt comfortable with him, safe with him, more than she had with any other man she had ever met.
But her heart felt like it was ready to beat out of her chest, at the thrill of being so close to him.
She took a breath and reached for him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as she melted against him. He had taken his shirt off, and she could feel the warmth of his bare skin against her as she nuzzled against him, her arm tight around him.
It was impossible, so impossible. She had watched Bess fall in love with so many guys, and had begun to wonder if she was even capable of that kind of intensity of emotion, if she would ever trust or respect a man enough to love him, if she would ever be able to trust anyone else enough to let them in. She had tried so many times, and over time it had become easier to accept that she was strong enough to be by herself, that she didn't need anyone else to complete her or make her whole.
And she didn't. She knew that now. She was happy with herself; she was happy with who she was.
But with a man like Ned, someone who could respect and understand her... if he felt the same way...
Nancy closed her eyes, a shudder going down her spine as she tipped her head up and felt his breath against her cheek.
She cupped his cheek, and let out a soft moan when his lips barely brushed hers, softly in the dark. She rolled onto her back without thought and he rolled with her, his body tight to hers, and she wrapped her arms around him, her hand sliding up to run through his hair as he kissed her hard, his tongue teasing hers.
Very softly she could hear that panicked voice inside her, warning her that she was making a mistake, but God, she never wanted to let him go, she never wanted him to stop. His knee slipped between her legs and she parted them, and Ned groaned as he tilted his head and kissed her again, his hips snug against hers.
God, oh God, oh God...
He kept kissing her, and she returned it just as fiercely, until her head was spinning, and everywhere his bare flesh touched hers, she felt a shock of arousal so strong it was almost painful. He brought his hand down and cupped her waist, and she flushed as his tongue dipped into her mouth again, his palm inching up her side.
And his hips rocked once against hers.
She broke the kiss with a faint whimper, drawing in a trembling breath, and Ned pushed her tank top up until it was gathered under her breasts. She could feel him—
Bess, Bess had told her about this, what it meant. He wanted her.
He slipped his palm under her shirt and caressed her, and she shuddered at how good it felt, letting out a soft cry. She had never, never been like this with anyone else; there had been limited fumblings over clothes, passionate embraces, but nothing like this. No man had ever touched her this way, and she was shocked at how much she wanted it, was almost afraid of the desire it woke in her. "Ned," she whispered, begging. "Oh, Ned—"
His hips moved, deliberately slowly, against hers again, and Nancy felt so intensely aware of him. "Mmm," he moaned, tipping his head down to hers again, and the kiss he gave her was so incredibly wicked as he caressed her again. She moaned against his kiss, drawing her knees up, and she shuddered again as he gently stroked her.
"Ned," she whimpered, when they broke the kiss. "I—we can't—"
"I have condoms," he told her, and his voice was a little breathless. "It's okay—"
She fought the ludicrous impulse to respond immediately with I know. She shook her head, both grateful and disappointed that she couldn't see his face. "I need to slow down," she whispered, just as breathless as he was.
"Oh," he murmured, slipping his hand out from under her shirt, and they were both panting when he rolled onto his side, off her. "I'm sorry."
"Mmm. No, I'm sorry," Nancy said, closing her eyes, relaxing as she brushed her hair out of her face.
Ned let out his breath in a long sigh. "Shit," he whispered. "Shit. I'm sorry. You told me you just wanted to sleep... I just..."
Nancy tugged her shirt back down. Her shorts had bunched up between her legs, and she could still feel a faint pulse of awareness there, especially when she turned to face him again. "It's okay," she told him. "It was just a little too fast."
"So if we take it slower...?"
She shuddered as she imagined what it would mean to take him up on his offer. While her father had told her what sex was, while Bess's breathless recital of Cosmo articles and tips about what to do when she found herself in bed with a guy were all rattling around in her head, the actual act of lovemaking and what it would entail still felt a little mysterious to her, and until tonight, until she had met Ned, she wouldn't have said she was overly curious to solve it. Now, though...
Nancy swallowed hard. She knew she didn't want a one-night stand. That didn't mean it wasn't tempting.
"Um... maybe if we just stick to making out," she told him.
Ned let out a low, quiet chuckle in the dark. "You would test the patience of a saint," he murmured. "Has anyone ever told you that, Miss Drew?"
Even so, he reached for her and drew her into his arms again, and she had to smile. "They have," she confirmed. "Mr. Nickerson. I guess I'll just count myself lucky to have found one."
She could feel him smiling against her lips as he kissed her again.
Nancy woke the next morning and stretched, a smile on her face. The curtains over one window were parted enough to let the morning sunlight in, but she closed her eyes against it, reaching high over her head, wiggling her toes. Her throat and jaw still ached a little, and her feet still felt a little sore, but she wasn't complaining.
Ned's side of the bed was empty, the covers pulled up to his pillow. She could smell something delicious and sweet in the air.
When she sat up, sweeping her hair out of her face, she couldn't help smiling again at the memory of the night before. They had made out, their arms wrapped around each other, until they had begun to drift off. Then she had cuddled against his chest and fallen asleep that way, wrapped in the safety of his arms.
When she glanced over at his pillow again, she saw a note there and picked it up.
You looked so peaceful I could hardly bear to wake you, even though I was dying to steal one last kiss. I have an early flight, so I'll be gone when you read this, but please call me if you need me. I'll be back tomorrow, and I can't wait to see you then.
-N
Nancy looked down, then swept up her bra and put it back on.
Louis was sitting at the pub table, engrossed in something on his tablet computer, but he looked up when Nancy slowly opened the bedroom door. "Good morning," he said with a smile. "I have cinnamon rolls with a buttermilk cream cheese glaze ready. Coffee, or orange juice?"
"Mmm. Coffee," Nancy requested, shaking her head. "And, thank you. Are they left over from Mr. Nickerson's breakfast?"
"Oh, no," Louis told her, before he went to the kitchen to retrieve her breakfast. "He requested them for you."
Nancy blushed a little, ducking her head as she smiled. He really was so incredibly thoughtful, she thought again.
Louis made absolutely no comment about her having spent the night in his employer's bed, and Nancy caught herself wondering if this was a usual occurrence for him, if he often found himself making breakfast for Ned's girlfriends or partners. But Louis seemed genuinely interested when he asked her a few questions about the case, and he expressed his admiration yet again when she told him more about what had happened.
By midmorning, she was back at her hotel, and wondering what to do. While she had been with Ned the night before, she'd had no doubt. She needed to stay with him. She needed to be with him.
But she wasn't going to be in New York forever, and she wondered if it might be easier for them both if she left before he returned from his trip.
After a quick shower, Nancy changed into a casual t-shirt and jeans and sent Humphrey a text message from her charging cell phone. He answered her a few minutes later, and she scrunched her drying hair a few times in her fists to encourage tighter waves before she put on her new flip-flops and crossed the hall.
The bruise she had seen on Humphrey's temple the day before looked a little worse, but at least that stricken look had faded. "Humphrey, I just wanted to apologize again," she told him. "I really am sorry you went through that."
Humphrey shrugged. "Hey, I helped catch the guy, though? And now I have a really awesome story to tell chicks."
Nancy shook her head, chuckling. "I guess so."
"Have you already booked your flight? I can see if there's a seat available on mine, it's leaving this afternoon...?"
Nancy shook her head. "I think I'm gonna call my aunt and see if she wants to have dinner," she said. "I might wait until later on tonight or tomorrow to leave."
"Whew. You have nerves of steel, I'll give you that. Want to have lunch before I go?"
Nancy found to some amusement that Humphrey was still just as annoying as he had ever been, but knowing that the case was over and she wouldn't be around him on a regular basis anymore did wonders for her irritation level. She bid him a cheerful goodbye in front of the hotel as his cab pulled away, then went back to her own room.
She opened the closet door and saw the dress Ned had given her still hanging inside, just as she had left it, and gazed at it, a thoughtful expression on her face.
She called her father and gave him the detailed rundown of the case she had promised the day before, and told him that most likely she would be catching a flight Tuesday morning or afternoon. Then she called her Aunt Eloise, who said she would be delighted to have an early dinner with her favorite niece.
Nancy didn't call Bess, though. She didn't trust herself to. She wanted to make her own decision about what to do, without Bess's influence. And during her dinner with her aunt, as she tried to get to sleep that night, as she ate breakfast on Tuesday morning, she puzzled over it, trying to work it out.
Ned texted her just after she had finished breakfast, asking if she wanted to meet for lunch or dinner, and whether she wanted another one of Louis's outstanding creations or something a little more conventional. She smiled when she read the message, and they agreed to meet at one o'clock at his penthouse for a late lunch.
Nancy smiled when she gave her name to the doorman and he showed her to the elevator, slotting his card in to send her to the penthouse, but as soon as she boarded the elevator, her smile dropped. She still wasn't sure what to do, and she hated that feeling. She carried a bag holding his borrowed t-shirt and shorts, which she had had washed. She had almost wanted to keep them, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to do it.
Over their lunch of lobster rolls with celery root slaw and sweet potato chips, followed by a light, utterly delicious lemon sorbet, Nancy asked about Ned's business trip and listened with unfeigned interest as he told her about it. He had been meeting with some of the people involved in the clean energy project, going over recent findings with them, and he was delighted by the progress they had made.
When the meal was over, Nancy stood and just gazed at him. "Can I give you a hug?" she asked softly.
"Of course you can," he told her with a smile, rising, and she shivered at the sensation of pure delighted warmth that rose in her when he held her. They lingered in the embrace for a long moment, feeling each other breathe, and she savored the contentment she felt in it.
Then he dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. "I missed you," he murmured, his voice almost gruff.
"Mmm. I missed you too," she replied, pulling back a little so she could gaze up into his eyes. "I'm going to miss you so much."
Ned tilted his head, his brow furrowing a little.
"You're an amazing person," she said. "And I'm so glad I met you. You helped me so much, and I'm incredibly grateful."
The warm smile that had been on Ned's face slowly faded, until it was almost gone. His dark eyes looked almost pleading. "Nan... Nancy, what are you saying?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm leaving today."
Ned's gaze dropped to the floor, and he ran his fingers through his hair. Then he brought his head back up and met her eyes again. "Will I see you again?"
His voice was quiet, and Nancy had been willing herself not to cry. She frowned deeply as she felt the first few tears begin to prick in her eyes. "Ned, we're too different," she said, telling herself to believe it even as she spoke the words to him. "Your life is here, and my life is in Chicago, in River Heights. Your work is here, and in August I'll be going back to school again. If things were different..."
Ned frowned, too. "I understand that the circumstances aren't perfect," he began. "But I also know, with total certainty, that the way I feel about you, that the way I've felt about you practically since the moment I met you—that doesn't happen every day. Believe me, I've been looking for it. And I've found it with you. I'm not going to let a few small details stand in my way, not if you—not if you feel this way too."
Nancy reached up and impatiently dashed the tears from her lower lashes before they could streak down her face. "How?" she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "How do you feel about me?"
Ned let out a long sigh, and for the second time she saw that look of vulnerability on his face, just as she had when he had asked if she was all right in the warehouse. "Like being with you could be the single most important relationship in my life," he said, his voice low. "Like I could never have enough time with you, I could never be with you long enough. I love everything about you. And it's..." He shook his head, releasing a low, mirthless chuckle. "You, this... the way I feel about you, I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I... I think I'm falling for you, Nancy."
Nancy blinked at him, her eyes wide and swimming, sending another pair of tears down her cheeks.
"And even if you don't feel this way, even if you never do, I don't think I ever will stop. And it scares the hell out of me."
Nancy wiped her eyes again, taking a trembling breath. "But, Ned..."
He shook his head, reaching for her hand. "Just be honest with me," he said, his dark eyes searching hers. "If you don't feel that way, if that's why you—were reluctant, that night..."
Nancy shook her head. "Oh, Ned, no, no, that wasn't it at all," she reassured him. "That wasn't why I wanted to slow down. I—I never want to be away from you, either. I never want to stop talking to you. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life talking to you and we would never find an end."
Ned squeezed her hand, taking a step closer to her. "Then, if we feel the same way..."
She frowned again, another pair of tears slipping down her cheeks. "But it can't work," she told him, her voice incredibly sad. "Not now. Maybe in a few years, when I'm out of school..."
Ned shook his head. "I don't want to wait that long to be with you."
"And my life right now—as much as I'd love to, I can't just fly out here every weekend to be with you. I can't."
He brought his hand up and stroked her cheek. "But you want us to be together," he whispered, gazing into her eyes. "Right?"
Nancy closed her eyes, letting out her breath in a shivering sigh. She did. But she had tried so hard to see how it could possibly work—and it couldn't.
But her heart didn't care.
"Yes," she whispered, and when Ned kissed her she slipped her arms around his neck, holding him tight as she returned it. He picked her up, and when he sat down with her on the couch she tilted her head the other way, tasting the salt of her tears as she kissed him again.
They parted and Ned reached up to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Well, Miss Drew," he said softly, "I am not used to taking no for an answer. And I won't take it for one now. We will figure this out."
She searched his eyes, and the confidence and utter certainty she saw there made her smile. "So you think you're falling in love with me, too?"
He brushed a soft kiss against her lips. "I have spent," he whispered, "the last six days, trying not to," punctuating each phrase with another soft kiss. "I have gone through every argument and every negative, and I can't escape it. I want you in my life. And now that I've seen you in it, I think I need you there; I think it will always feel a little more hollow without you."
She kissed him one last time, then moved to rest her head on his shoulder. "I know what you mean," she whispered.
They stayed together until it was time for her to leave for her flight, and Ned called for his car to take them both to the airport. On the way she handed him the bag and thanked him for loaning her his clothes, but he shook his head.
"Keep them," he told her. "I like to imagine you in them."
She shook her head at him, but stuffed them into her carry-on bag anyway.
He stayed with her at the check-in line, but he wasn't allowed to accompany her through security. Their steps slowed as they approached the checkpoint he couldn't pass.
He squeezed her hand, and she turned, tipping her head to look up at him. He smiled at her, then reached down and picked her up, holding her so their faces were level. A shiver went down her spine as they gazed into each other's eyes.
"I love you, okay?" he whispered, and Nancy felt her eyes prick with tears again. "Just... wait for me. I'll figure this out, or you will. You are pretty damn smart."
"And so are you," she told him with a smile. "I... I love you, too. And I have never, never in my life, felt about anyone else the way I feel about you."
His smile turned into a grin. "Good."
"Good?"
He kissed her. "Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, Nancy," he said softly. "And if I've learned one thing in my life, it's that I can't pass those up, that I will always regret it."
She kissed him back. "Then I'll wait," she whispered against his lips. "Because as impatient as I am... you're worth it."