“Was left to me by an aunt who remembered me in her will. I figured it was as good an excuse as any to come back to town.”
“It was but I wasn’t.” Nikki could have bitten her tongue in two the minute the words were out of her mouth. She knew without question what that night had meant to him. What she meant to him. Nothing. Not a damn thing. He’d used her to forget the pain, the same pain she’d been reeling from. Only difference was, she’d been drawn to him for months, probably years, and being in his arms had been an answer to all her dreams. Or so she’d thought.
He poured a can of cola into a glass and put it down in front of her. “Drink this. The sugar will help the dizziness and since I rarely touch the stuff, it’s probably flat and will settle your stomach.”
“How would you know?”
“My old man suffered from enough hangovers in his time.”
She wrapped her hands around the cold glass. “I wasn’t drunk.”
“Upset stomach. Close enough, now drink. Then we’ll talk.”
Her eyelashes fluttered down and she complied with his command. Almost immediately, the rolling in her stomach had begun to ease.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Now has this happened before?”
“Not like this. I work nights and with the stress of the last couple of months... I’m just tired.” Her stomach chose that moment to remind them both that she hadn’t eaten all day.
He grinned at the loud rumbling that echoed in the kitchen.
“And hungry,” she admitted.
“I already dumped the eggs.”
&n
bsp; “I couldn’t get those down anyway.” She doubted much of anything would sit well in her stomach, except... “Do you have any ice cream?” she asked hopefully, licking her lips at the thought of the cold treat easing its way down her parched throat.
“Yes.”
“And french fries?”
“You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. “Now that I’ve gotten my appetite back, I have this urge for french fries, too. Any in the freezer?”
He raised an eyebrow at her unusual request. “Sorry, but no.”
“Then it’s a good thing there’s an all-night fast food place near my apartment.” She graced him with a smile. “We can stop by... on my way home,” she said pointedly.
“You obviously can’t wait to get away from me. Fine, but from the looks of things you’ve been neglecting your health, and that’s got to stop.”
She glanced down at her too-thin body. Overwork and exhaustion had taken their toll. She shouldn’t care that he looked and found her lacking, but vanity won out. She more than cared... and didn’t appreciate the silent admission. “Thanks for the compliment,” she said wryly. “And here I thought I’ve never looked better.”
His eyes fell to her chest, then traced a heated path over the rest of her body and up again. Her breasts tightened and swelled beneath his visual caress. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
“Ice cream and french fries isn’t exactly a typical combination.”
She shrugged. “Works for me. Can we go?”
“In a minute.”
“I don’t have a minute. It’s almost four in the morning and I have to work tomorrow night. That means I need a decent meal and sleep... not necessarily in that order.”