Nixon (Raleigh Raptors 1)

Huh. Tuesday mornings had become sacred to us. They were the only time we were both guaranteed to be home since it was my day off, and she didn’t have her internship until after lunch.

What if—

Stop.

I shut my brain down and counted to three instead of jumping to the worst-case scenario. If something had happened with the baby, she would have come and gotten me. She was probably in the shower.

Now that was a thought that brought a smile to my face.

I took the stairs two at a time, and opened our bedroom door, ready to sneak my way into the shower, but the shower wasn’t running.

Liberty stood in the middle of our bedroom with her phone up to her ear, nodding. When she saw me come in, a giant grin spread across her face, and her eyes lit up. “That’s absolutely not a problem.”

Whatever it was, it had to be good news. Hopefully telling her Mom had already booked her flight for the day after New Years wasn’t going to ruin whatever she had going on. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the doorframe as she finished the last few seconds of her phone call. Our Halloween costumes hung in the doorway of the closet, ready for tonight’s Raptor party.

“I’m…I’m just honored and so excited! Thank you! I won’t let you down!” She hung up and held her phone to her chest for a heartbeat. The excitement coming off her was so intense it was almost palpable. “This is the best day ever!” She ran across the room, still sporting her pajamas, and flew into my arms.

I caught her and smiled into the kiss she planted on my lips. She was a shot of liquid sunshine, completely and utterly infectious in her joy. “Good news, I take it?”

She nodded. “I got the internship!”

“That’s great!” A second later, confusion set in. “I thought you already got the internship you wanted?” Shit, was I that bad at paying attention?

“I did!” She looped her arms around my neck. “Same company, dream location!”

I schooled my features. “You got the one you initially wanted? The one that’s out of town?” Be happy for her, jackass. So what if you have to commute a little.

She snort-laughed. “A little out of town. Ha!” She kissed me soundly, then pulled out of my arms. “I have to get packed. They expect me there in two days. The guy they’d initially picked for the internship broke his leg last night, so I get his spot!”

“You have to pack?”

She tilted her head. “You wouldn’t want me walking around naked, would you?”

“Fuck no,” I responded automatically.

She skipped past me, heading for the guest room—the one she had yet to move her stuff out of. “Nix, I’m so happy! I can’t wait to see my mother! I can’t believe they selected me to intern!”

My stomach flipped as I followed her down the hall, trying to put two and two together. “Wait…didn’t you tell me that your Mom couldn’t come for Christmas because she’s working in Brazil?” I got that feeling—the one where you misread the defense and knew you were about to get knocked on your ass.

Liberty yanked her travel-worn, framed backpack out of the closet, tossing it onto the queen-sized bed. “Well, yeah!” She threw a smile at me and walked back into the closet.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Did she mean…no way.

She came out with an armful of clothes—mostly the maternity ones she’d just bought, and piled them onto the bed next to the pack. “I knew I should have purged when I moved in. Shit!” She scratched her forehead. “I can’t remember where I put my passport.”

“It’s in the fire safe in the office,” I answered on autopilot. The same office she refused to set up to study in because it would feel like she was encroaching on my space. My stomach tangled into a knot, but I managed to stay standing in the doorway.

“Right!” She picked up a shirt, then folded and rolled it into the tiniest ball possible.

“Liberty,” I said as calmly as I could manage.

“Nixon?” She shoved the shirt all the way to the bottom of the backpack.

“Please tell me I’m wrong—that I’m jumping to the worst-case scenario, but it seems to me like you’re going to Brazil.” There, that came out calm and rational, right?

She blinked, then burst into a laugh that I didn’t share as she picked up a set of shorts. “Well, yeah! Where else did you think I was going?”

“Charlotte?” I guessed. “Or somewhere like that?” Somewhere in the state, at least, not another fucking continent.

Her jaw gaped. “What? Why would you ever think I was going to Charlotte?”

“Why would I ever think you were going to Brazil?” I fired back, my voice rising slightly. God, had she hidden this from me on purpose? The whole time? It went against everything I thought I knew about her.