Hunks Too Hot To Touch (20 page)

She had already exchanged Christmas gifts with Sapphire and Emerald yesterday because both of them decided at the last minute to attend their office Christmas parties, but she wasn’t in the celebrating mood this year. She was lonely and it was all of her fault.

Nash had cared about her and her indifference and inability to be able to move on from her stubborn pride pushed him away from her. Why couldn’t she just have forgiven him for keeping his family connection to J.T. a secret? What person in their right mind would want to admit being connected to him in the first place?

But Nash came to her with open arms asking for her to see past his mistake and she didn’t do it. Instead, she took two large steps backwards falling back into her old ways of living her life. How could she have allowed herself to be so stupid? Her wounded pride might have cost her something good that was starting to bloom between her and Nash.

Shauntie wondered why it was so hard for her to allow someone else to take control for a little while. She wasn’t giving up her independence at all, but rather gaining insight from another person.

All she had to do was open up even more and Nash would have done the rest to pull her the rest of the way out of her shell. The time Shauntie had spent with Nash was the only time she felt truly relaxed and carefree. He never put any pressure on her to be more than she was. Truthfully all he wanted her to do was see him and nothing else.

How could she have allowed herself to get so lost in her own head for so long permitting her life to pass by her like this?

With the absence of Nash in her world, Shauntie finally recognized the empty person she’d made herself into over the past couple of years. She’d found a way out with Nash and in a blink of an eye, it was over and Nash was gone.

For the past week now, Shauntie tried everything she could think of to find Nash and apologize to him for being so wrong about everything, but it seemed like he had disappeared off the face of the earth.

Nash’s work crew showed up the day after their fight informing her they would be the ones taking over for him. Yet, when she had asked about him, every one of his men acted like they were totally clueless to his whereabouts.

However, Shauntie knew better than to believe them. Nash was avoiding her on purpose and she was going to put an end to it sooner rather than later. He couldn’t tell her that he wanted to give her the world in one breath and then snatch it away from her without warning.

Shauntie wasn’t going to let Nash get away with trying to get rid of the fulfilling life he had shown her. She was going to hunt Nash down and then get back what they had growing between them.

Nash was hers! Shauntie made it a point to never give up anything that she considered hers. If he considered her his ultimate Christmas present then she had to do everything in her power to be with him on Christmas morning.

Moving over to the CD player, Shauntie turned it off. She could listen to Christmas music later on when she was sitting on her couch wrapped up in Nash’s arms. Right now, she had to drive back out to his house and make him open that damn door for her. He hadn’t left town with the work to her roof still going on. Nash was too much of a professional to do that to her.

Shauntie snatched her car keys off the table and then grabbed her purse out of the chair as she rushed for the door. Tonight was going to be her chance to see if her apology could be the thing that brought Nash back to her.

Opening the door, Shauntie stopped in her tracks when she found Nash standing on the other side with his hand raised to knock. “What are you doing here?”she asked, stepping back in shock.

“One of my men told me you’ve been looking for me,” he answered. “I wanted to make sure everything was going okay with the roof.”

“Do you want to come in?” Shauntie asked as her heart pounded away inside of her chest. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Nash glanced down at his watch then back at her. “I’m already running late for something. I really don’t have the time.”

Was Nash trying to hurry off to be with another woman? Shauntie shook the idea from her head. Nash wasn’t like that. He hadn’t found someone else new that quickly, she wouldn’t believe it.

“Nash, please. I only need a few moments to tell you this and then you can leave.” She was tired of running from what was right in front of her. Nash was perfect for her and she was going to get him back.

“I guess I can spare a few minutes,” he answered walking past her into the house.

Closing the door, Shauntie rested her back against it as her palms started to sweat. Momentary panic began to settle inside her at what she was about to do tonight. Nash wasn’t acting like he was all that happy to even be in her presence, but she wouldn’t let his body language stop her. She had to say this and he needed to her it as well.

“Okay, what do you have to tell me?” Nash asked, spinning around to face her.

“I love you.” Once the words were out of her mouth and out there in the open all of the fear Shauntie felt was gone. Walking up to Nash, she placed her hand in the middle of his chest and smiled up at him.

“I was so worried about finding out how different we were that I failed to notice our similarities until it was too late,” she admitted. “We both only want the same thing out of life which is someone to love us unconditionally.

“I could care less that J.T. is your cousin or that I allowed him to fool me the way he did. All I care about now is finding the words to make you understand and believe how much I truly love you. Do you think that I might be able to fix the problem I caused by being so judgmental?”

Nash removed her hand from his chest and Shauntie had never felt such searing pain in her entire life. She was going to lose the man she loved because she’d allowed her opinions about him to shove him away.

Cupping her chin in his hand, Nash tilted her head back until she was staring directly into his eyes. “Damn woman, what took you so long to come to your senses?” he demanded. “Do you know how miserable I’ve been without you? I can’t even sleep in my bed anymore because it’s filled with memories of the time we spent there together. I’ve been sleeping on my couch and my body is too big to be doing that. I love you too, Shauntie.”

Tears poured down Shauntie’s cheeks as she realized the special man she had found in Nash Wentworth. He didn’t come with the price tag she desired or drive the expensive car that turned heads when it raced down the street. Hell, he might not even have the other superficial things she thought she needed from a man to be happy. All that mattered to her now was he loved her more than anything in the world.

THE END

About the Author

The Queen of Tease: If you want to read interracial romance stories that leaves you panting for more and turning the pages faster than you can read them. Marie is for you.

After reading her first “dirty” book as a teenager, Marie knew she had to become a writer. She started writing a few years ago because she wanted to reach for her dream. She writes her characters so her fans will believe in the Happily Ever After. She loves collecting bear figurines and reading a HOT book when she gets the chance.

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