Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(108)

“I want to tell you something. Think back a few months. A long while back, the first night you surprised me by walking into Jack’s. When all the boys got together to hunt and I had no idea you were here, in Virgin River, and you surprised me. Remember?”

“I do.” She smiled.

“That very night, overcome just by seeing you, I might’ve had one too many.”

“I think you told me that, Paul,” she said.

“I got tanked. And I made this drunken confession to Jack, about how I’d seen you first but Matt got to you ahead of me. No one else heard me, thank God. But Jack knew what was going on. Later, then, after Matt was killed and the baby was born and a certain pediatrician was chasing you, Jack called me one night and told me not to be an idiot. He said if I wanted you I’d better get down here and find a way to say so.”

“He did? I never knew that.”

“And I came as fast as I could. Because if I hadn’t, I was going to lose you. And I loved you. God, I loved you.” He took a breath. “Before I ever held you or kissed you, I was so in love with you, sometimes it was awful. I try to imagine what it might have felt like if we’d been a couple, for even one night, and you didn’t want me anymore.”

“You don’t have to ever imagine that, sweetheart,” she said.

“I have what every man wants—a woman he’d die for. A woman who owns him, every piece of him. I really never thought I’d be this lucky….”

“Stop,” she said. “Don’t go crazy on me.” She put her hand along his cheek. “Just pick up your dirty underwear like a good boy and I’ll reward you in many remarkable ways.”

But Paul wasn’t laughing. “Did you see my friend Joe? The guy is in pain. He’s dying. He had one night with a woman who obviously fulfilled every wish buried in his subconscious. She put a hex on him, then rejected him. Did you see him?”

She took a deep breath. “Paul, his timing was bad. We can’t help that….”

“So was hers. I’ve known the man for fifteen years. He might be smooth, but he’s not disreputable. He wouldn’t take a woman to bed if she didn’t want to go. If Nikki had expressed the least hesitation, he wouldn’t have touched her. I know him. I know him as well as I knew Matt.”

“So? She made a mistake. What are you getting at?”

“She shouldn’t make a bigger one,” he said. “They just don’t come any better than Joe. There must have been some reason she said yes that night.”

“I’ve sent the little notes from him. She hasn’t changed her mind. You want me to talk to her?”

“No, honey. I’m going to talk to her.”

“I don’t know if you should do that,” she said nervously.

“But I’m going to. I’ve been thinking about it all day and I’m calling her. Right now. You want to listen in or go put your head under the pillow?”

She sucked in a breath. “I’ll listen,” she said. “But please, don’t let on I’m here. I feel really strange about this.”

“I want you to trust me,” he said, picking up the phone. He dialed the number. “I have to do this.”

Nikki could no doubt see the number on the caller ID because she picked up. She answered, “Hi, sweetie.”

“It’s not sweetie,” Paul said. “It’s Paul.”

“Oh. Hi.”

“I have to talk to you. About Joe.”

“I thought we settled that,” she said.

“Yeah, I guess it’s pretty much settled for you,” Paul said. “Not quite settled for me. Just for my peace of mind, Nikki, I have to ask you something. See, I’ve known Joe a long time now and I’ve trusted him with my life. Literally. I went to war with the guy. I’ve seen him with women, and this guy—he’s always been a classy guy. I’ve never known him to treat a woman badly….”

“He didn’t treat me badly, Paul,” she said softly.

Paul let out a breath. “Well, thank God. That’s a relief. I was afraid, I don’t know… Afraid I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. I mean, you were really upset—and then I found Joe to be just as upset to hear you left here in tears. He wouldn’t tell me what went on between you two, but he insisted he hadn’t done anything to hurt you.”

“It’s okay, Paul. You can let this go.”

“Good. Because I just couldn’t stand to think he’d treat a woman wrong. He’s not that kind of guy. You’ll be glad to know, finally he seems to be putting this whole thing behind him. It was killing him for a while there, but I think he’s getting better.”

“Better?”

“Yeah, a little bit. Trying to get over it. Over you. He was up here this weekend. There were architectural plans he had to bring me—I’m going to build three of his houses. Vanni told me he was writing notes, leaving messages. I guess he had it pretty bad, but it’s not like Joe to bother a woman who doesn’t want to be bothered. You’ll probably be shed of him pretty soon. Maybe you already are.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “Good. Then.”

“I don’t exactly know what has him so jammed up. I’m sure he gets the message by now. That you don’t want anything to do with him. Ever. Again.”