Read Someone Like You for Free Online Page A

line.”
    “Why on earth is that southern accent so strong tonight?”
    “Jared joked it came out when I was trying to impress the ladies.”
    “Well, it’s just me here.”
    More silence. “Maybe that’s what I’m doing, Brie.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Maybe I’m tryin’ to impress you .”  He reached across to cover her delicate hand where it rested on the chair arm. When she said nothing—and didn’t pull away—he asked, “Would that be so bad?”
    Now the pause was stifling. Finally, she said, “I don’t know, Nick.”
    “You feel it too, don’t you?”
    “The change in…us? Yes, I do. But I don’t understand it. We don’t even like each other.”
    “You don’t like me even a smidgen?”
    “Dear Lord, stop with the down home talk.”
    “Okay, let’s do it this way. Tell me one thing you like about me.”
    A huff. “I like how concerned you are about Matt.”
    “Hmm.”
    She said, “Your turn,” and it made him smile into the semi-darkness.
    “I like how you’re so excited about the Dynamics of Citizenship projects.” He cleared his throat. “Keep goin’.”
    “I think you’re sensitive but you don’t show that side too much.”
    “A big jock like me? Hardly. Here’s another for you. I think you’re beautiful.”
    “No fair. That doesn’t count.”
    “Hey, I’m a guy.” He shrugged. “But, okay, I like the kind of mother you are. Cella’s a terrific kid. I see you doing a lot with her.”
    “Do you ever want kids, Nick?”
    He swallowed hard. Said nothing.
    “Nick?”
    Nothing.
    “Did I hit a nerve?”
    “You might say that.”
    She waited before she asked, “Why did Mary Kay leave you? Jared never told me.”
    “I asked him not to.”  He didn’t explain right away. Finally, he found the courage to answer. “She didn’t leave me, Brie. I kicked her out.”
    “What happened?”
    He wondered if he could tell this story again. He only shared it twice, with his mother and Jared. “She was pregnant with my babies. Two of them. And she had an abortion.”
    “Oh, my God, Nick. I’m so sorry. Can you tell me why?”
    “I guess. It was a long time ago.” Still, he rose and went to stand by the railing to ward off some of the sadness that lingered even after all these years. The lake whooshed and he wished it could engulf him, wash away his pain. Facing Brie, he braced his hands on the wood behind him. “Mary Kay had an amniocentesis because her brother had a birth defect. She wasn’t sure she even wanted kids. One of the babies…one had Down’s syndrome.”
    “Only one? What are the chances of that?”
    “Actually, it’s more rare for both twins to have the extra gene. The other, the girl, was fine. Mary Kay aborted her, too.”
    “Oh, Nick.”
    “I wanted them both so bad, Brie. People live happy lives with Down’s kids. But because of her brother, Mary Kay refused to go through her adult life the way she grew up.”
    “I’m so sorry, Nick.”
    Staring down, he shook his head. He wasn’t watching her but he felt her come toward him. When she reached the railing, he looked up and in the moonlight saw the tears on her face. He wiped them away. “Don’t cry for me. As I said, it was long ago.”
    “And still raw. I can tell.”
    They stared at each other. The moment stretched out, as if something important was going to happen.
    Then she stepped into his arms.
    o0o
    He took, plain and simple. But he was the kind of man that would. He claimed her mouth. And a purely primitive, purely female response blossomed inside of Brie. Widening his stance, he slid his hands to the small of her back and drew her to him until she was pressed against his groin. Oh, God, that felt good, too, after so long. Her body softened and made the slow lazy slide into desire that she hadn’t realized she’d missed so much.
    He groaned when he felt her surrender, her total acquiescence to him.
    As if he’d been given permission, he kicked their contact up a notch. His