“Brag. Brag. Brag,” Kendra chanted. Trying to tease while fighting laughter had always been a challenge around the woman next to her.

  “Thank you for talking to me. I feel much better now.”

  “You’re welcome.” Kendra patted her still mostly naïve friend’s cheek. She might be giving up the brother, but she was never giving up the sister. “Now go see your handsome geek before they drug him with painkillers to get him to stop complaining. For a man who never talks much at all, he hasn’t shut up since he became conscious. But don’t lose it when you see him. His neck brace looks like they’re framing him for a building or something. I hear he’s getting a more mobile-friendly cervical collar tomorrow.”

  Megan sighed. “Will you come with me? Just until I get past my apology for making him worry. If I make him mad enough, you’ll get to hear how bossy he gets with me. Sometimes I tease him just to get that reaction.”

  Kendra nodded and fought not to laugh over Megan’s pride about it. “What’s a man like Nicolas do? Use a bunch of big words to make you feel bad? Honey, I doubt the man is going to even notice I’m the room once he gets to see you.”

  Chapter 10

  Nicolas laid back against the pillows because he had no choice. The weight of the device holding his collar bone steady gave him a headache if he moved too much.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  He glanced at his subdued mother and felt a pang of sympathy, even though he knew she’d brought most of it on herself. Plus, it might have been much worse, if not for Megan.

  Sighing in resignation, Nicolas held out a hand. He waited until she put her hand in his before he spoke.

  “I’m doing fine, except for worrying about Megan. I’m sorry Ross didn’t turn out to be the good guy you thought he was.”

  “Thank God I was smart enough to get a prenup.”

  Nicolas watched his mother’s shoulder rise and fall as he heard the door opening. He felt his mother slip her hand from his, rise from the chair, and walk to the woman who came through it at long last.

  When she saw him, Megan halted a few feet inside the room. He heard more than saw Kendra ooompf, as she bounced off the back of the woman he adored. Megan’s single-minded focus made him grin. That was his girl—focused only on the biggest target in front of her.

  But his throat got tight when his mother spoke to her.

  “Thank you for saving my son’s life.”

  Wrenching her gaze away from Nicolas, Megan swallowed and nodded to his mother. “I know you don’t really like me, but I hope you can get used to me. I’m in love with him,” she announced.

  Then she winced. Damn it. She hadn’t even said the l-word to Nicolas yet. Why had she said such a bald thing to the already stunned-looking woman in front of her? Why couldn’t she have simply said “you’re welcome” instead?

  Megan felt a hand rub along her spine and heard Kendra laughing behind her. Being tactfully polite was something she was definitely going to have to work on.

  She watched Nicolas’s mother roll her eyes and look over her shoulder at Nicolas in the bed. He looked so awful and uncomfortable. But at least he was smiling and not glaring. She was going to focus on that.

  “Well, Nico. I guess time will tell if you are choosing a better life partner than I did with my last one. Next time I find someone interesting, I’m going to ask your friend David to investigate him thoroughly. You’re obviously going to be in good hands with Ms. Marine here. Call me if you need anything. I have to go kick your former stepbrothers out of my house.”

  Megan stared at the man in the bed while his mother walked around her and out the door. Kendra’s perfume disappeared at the same time, which didn’t surprise her. Her friend hadn’t wanted to risk running into her brother again. She sighed over her brother’s loss, but walked forward to the biggest, best gain she’d ever made in her life.

  “I don’t think your mother likes me very much. I’m a little bit too blunt for her.”

  “It’s okay. She’s not the one who’s sleeping with you, so she doesn’t get a vote. Where the hell have you been, Megan? Come here. We’re both still alive and I need a hug. Now.”

  Megan snorted, sighed, and walked across the room. She liked it when Nicolas got bossy with her because it gave her permission to be herself when she answered back. “I’m afraid to hug you. You might break more.”

  Nicolas glared. “Very funny. Climb up here with me and I’ll show you broke. Be prepared to do all the work though. I’m not staying in this head gear another day.”

  Eyebrows up at his dare, she refused to swap insults and plopped herself into the chair by his bed. A nurse entered the room quietly, busily checked his vitals, and then just as quietly left them alone again. The woman never said a word.

  “The nurses think I’m awful and aren’t speaking to me—thanks to you. I kept threatening to get up and start searching on my own. Why did you save my ass and then just leave me alone to face all the crap without you?”

  Megan sighed. She scooted forward and laid her head on his leg. It was a very nice leg. Despite his complaining, Nicolas’s hand came instantly to stroke her hair. He did that frequently now and she liked it a lot.

  “I stayed away because I had a little bit of a meltdown when I realized you could have died. David sent Kendra to talk some sense into me and it worked. I’m sorry I worried you. I wasn’t trying to do that. I just had a bad emotional reaction to what almost happened.”

  “Well, you weren’t the only one. My last thought was to wonder if the guy was going to shoot you too. I thought I was going to die with the image of you shooting your gun burned into my brain,” Nicolas whispered.

  Megan reached across both his legs and hugged herself more into his lap. “I don’t want to lose you, Nicolas. I know people die all the time—I’ve seen it personally—but this was the first time I didn’t think I could go on if it happened. I think I must already love you more than people do after so short a period of time. The thought of anything happening to you makes me stop being able to function.”

  Nicolas swallowed hard and stroked her hair more. “I have no intentions of dying any time soon. For the first time in my life, I have an incredible reason to live. Look at me, I have the hottest girlfriend any geek ever dreamed of having. More than that, I have the girl I’ve always dreamed about, and she is about as great as I think a woman ever gets. I’m even hoping she might marry me one day.”

  Megan rubbed her face against the sheet fighting not to cry on him. She still wasn’t a hundred percent back to herself, but she also knew that she was going to marry him. It felt as right to her as being in the Marines had felt.

  “I happen to know she’d marry you anytime you wanted. Just set a date.”

  Nicolas’s hand froze mid-stroke on her head. “You would? Just like that you’d marry me? Even though we’ve only been an official couple for a few days? I’d understand if you thought it was happening too fast.”

  Her chuckle against his lap made him laugh too—and think of all they would do to each other in the years to come.

  “I can’t believe talking you into marrying me was so damn easy. What’s the catch? You’re not going to take any of this back later, are you?”

  Megan snorted at his shock. Kendra was right. They were going to have some interesting times together. “I guess you caught me in the right mood today, Dr. North. Do I have to wear an engagement ring, and pick out flowers and stuff?”

  His hand trembled as it stroked her hair again. “Well, wedding stuff like flowers and long dresses is pretty traditional. I do have a family ring I’d like to give you. Don’t you want to wear one?”

  Her shoulders shrugging seemed sad to him.

  “What’s wrong, Megan? You just made me the happiest man in the world. You’re not allowed to be sad after randomly accepting my marriage proposal and shocking me senseless. Think about all the advantages of us being together. You’ll get to be on top when we have sex at least half the time because I believe in having an equal partner in everything. Plus, you’re really, really good at riding cowgirl. I love that you’re so athletic. In fact, I think we need to buy a book about all the possible positions. I may not have had much practice at the real thing, but I’m a whiz at research.”

  “Now I see why you’ve made so much money in your father’s business. You sound so reasonable and convincing when you argue your case.”

  Megan laughed, let go, and stood. Then she very carefully climbed onto the side of the bed until she could lay her head against his beating heart. It sounded so good to her. She let it remind her of how lucky she was.

  “There’s something you need to know, Nicolas. I’m still a little. . .messed up in the head. . .about getting shot when I was in the Marines. I may have to do some more therapy until I get completely straight about it. But I know talking about it messes with you too, so I think I’ve been avoiding therapy because I know going in, it’s going to be hard. Could we wait until after I finish and then talk about getting married? I know we’ve both been waiting a long time for each other. I don’t really want to wait longer, but I think it’s best to make really sure this is going to work out.”

  Nicolas placed two fingers over her mouth and stroked her lips as he shushed her. “You can have all the time you need, but nothing is going to change the fact I want you in my life permanently. The therapist is no doubt going to piss you off and make you think of things you’d rather forget ever happened. When it gets like that, I want you to come throw your angry temper tantrums at my place. My furniture can take it and there’s a gym on the bottom floor to work off the mad. At least together, we can have feel-better sex after you calm down. Don’t you think we might as well put all that transformative energy to some good use?”

  “Kendra said I wasn’t allowed to cry or have pity parties about this anymore, so I’ll just say yes. And thank you for caring about me. Oh, and for your offer of feel-better sex. That’s my favorite.”

  Nicolas grinned at her honesty. “Have you told David about your plans? Will you stay on with him in his business?”

  Megan sighed as she straightened and met his concerned gaze. She was surprised by Nicolas’s assumptions, especially after learning first hand how dangerous security work could be. She knew in Nicolas she had found a type of moral support even her brother hadn’t found with Kendra.

  “Thanks for asking the questions that way. I promise I will always try not to worry you about what I do. Truthfully, I hadn’t really thought everything through yet. Tomorrow I might not feel as emotionally beat up as I do today. At least this time nobody died. I’m reminding myself to be grateful you’re alive.”

  “Oh Megan. . .you can’t keep thinking you’re invincible. You did everything you said you were going to do. And I know I can’t ask you to be something other than what you are. But you do need to learn to enjoy your successes more. If you beat back the bad guys, you need to celebrate, damn it.”

  “Kendra said nearly the same thing. But sometimes even a person’s best isn’t good enough.”

  Nicolas lifted a hand to her face. “That’s the thing you need to work on first. What you are is good enough for me. Make it good enough for yourself. I wouldn’t change a thing about you—not one thing.”

  Megan blinked back tears. He was always so damn sincere. “Really, Dr. North? I’d change some things about you if I could.”

  Nicolas didn’t know whether to glare or fight the stupid head restraint to kiss the smirk off her face. “Really? What exactly would you change about me?”

  Megan smiled at the irritation in his voice. He was so easy to tease—and way more fun than David. “Not a single thing. I was just kidding. But when I told Kendra you were perfect, she laughed her ass off. I always feel like she’s keeping some sort of secret from me.”

  Nicolas stared at her dancing eyes in wonder. She constantly took him from anger to elation in two seconds flat. No wonder he never got bored. There was no time. “You told your best friend I was perfect? Really?”

  Megan nodded. “Yeah. . .pretty much. You’re nearly always nice, have a hot body, and are very talented in bed.”

  “Are you just being nice because I’m hurt? Don’t be telling me all these great things and then taking them back tomorrow when we end up stuck in my apartment together for a couple of weeks. You could barely stand riding on the float next to me for three hours. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like living with you. I expect it’s going to be like being trapped with a prowling tiger.”

  Megan laughed at his complaining and leaned in for a kiss. “No. I’m not kidding. You are perfect. If it’s okay with you, I’m also going to tell David you’re my fiancée as soon as I see him. Do you think you can use your phone to take a picture of his shock? I still need to get even for the slutty Mrs. Santa outfit.”

  “I’m not keen on the idea of him finding out. Hearing about our engagement is going to escalate the big brother talk he keeps threatening. He gets all macho and crap. I have to dig deep to hold him off.”

  “My perfect geek is the perfect hero,” Megan said, patting his cheek gently. “Let me take care of my brother. So when do you want to get hitched? If you’re not worried about my therapy, we might as well set a date so people can start getting used to it.”

  Nicolas thought. “How about Valentine’s Day? I know a couple of months is not very long to plan a whole wedding, but I’m ready as soon as we can get it done.”

  “Are you kidding me? I could probably get it set up in a couple of weeks instead of months. Mom would help me just to laugh the whole time. If I gave Kendra permission to run wild, she could do it in a week. She’s way more organized than I am.”

  Nicolas smiled. “Okay. The date is set. Can I ask David to be my best man?”

  “Well, you can ask, but you’re way better than him. Why do they call it ‘best man’ anyway? The groom is the best man—or at least he should be. I guess I’ll ask Kendra to be my maid of honor, unless it’s going to bother her standing next to my stupid brother who refuses to marry her. He’s such a dweeb. But there’s really no other women in my life.”

  Nicolas chuckled. “You know they still love each other, right?”

  Megan smiled and nodded. “Yes. I know. But I don’t think they know anymore. Do you think people can forget how much they love each other?”

  Nicolas grabbed her shirt and pulled her back into his arms to hug. “We’re going to set such a good example for them, David and Kendra will want what we have. Then they’ll have to make up to get it for themselves.”

  “The two of them getting back together would be the best Christmas present ever—well except for us sleeping together under a Christmas tree. I think that would be great,” Megan said, leaning in for a kiss to seal their bargain.

  “I knew there was an optimist hidden under all your cynicism. Look—don’t get too crazy optimistic about their reconciliation. This is your brother we’re talking about after all. David’s not as hard-headed as you, but he’s no pushover either. We may have to demonstrate romantic bliss for a month or two before he even catches on about what’s happening.”

  Knowing Nicolas had to be hurting, Megan slid down into the chair beside the bed and put her head back in his lap again. She just wasn’t ready to stop touching him yet.

  “Let’s change the subject. I don’t want to think about my dumb brother right now.

  Nicolas snorted. “Okay. Can I ask another question? A slightly improper one, since there’s no one here to hear it?”

  “Sure. Spit it out, St. Nick. You don’t have to filter yourself with me.”

  “Okay. Great. Do you still have the slutty Mrs. Santa outfit?”

  Her head popped up so she could glare. “Let me guess. You liked seeing me in skank wear, didn’t you?”

  “Skank wear? No—not at all. But sexy outfits? Yes. If you want, you can wear the holster and gun again too. Makes it exciting. All I ask is you make sure there’s no bullets in the gun. We’ll call our Christmas costume party ‘Saving Santa’ therapy, and work on erasing the bad memories attached to the outfit now.”

  Nicolas laughed as she hissed over his suggestion. At least she wasn’t brooding anymore.

  “What? Does that bother you, Megan? You said not to filter. Look, I’m sorry. With your head in my lap, sex with you naturally popped into my head. You know I’m mostly teasing, right? I’ve not had a lot of practice teasing women, but I thought it was pretty obvious. I’d never make you wear something you hated, even if you did look drop dead sexy in it.”

  Rolling her eyes, Megan sighed and stood. “Instead of St. Nick, your new nickname is going to be Bad Santa. You need to get your mind off sex. . .”

  “Not happening anytime soon,” Nicolas declared.

  “. . and I think I need to go find my family before I give in to the temptation to break something else on you.”

  Nicolas grinned. “Please don’t. My girlfriend thinks I’m perfect just like I am.”

  Megan leaned in and kissed him hard enough to cause pain when he moved his head to better fit his mouth to hers. His wince made her feel guilty, but she still laughed.

  “Behave until I get back, Mr. Perfect. No flirting with the nurses to make up for being a shit. I still haven’t gotten over Tiffani with ‘i’ yet. Just let them check things and keep yourself covered, especially from the waist down.”

  “I love you, Megan,” Nicolas said sincerely, grinning when his words halted her typical stomping exit. Her long-suffering sigh signaled upcoming retribution and was the best medicine he’d gotten since he was shot.

  “I love you too, Nicolas. Get some rest and I’ll think about wearing the skanky dress for you. Whatever I decide about anything else, I promise I’ll be here next time you wake up.”

  Nicolas grinned at her promise as he leaned his head back to sleep. He could finally rest because he absolutely knew Megan would keep her word.

 

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