It wasn’t as bad as one of those I’m-sorry-if-you-feel-that-way kind of apologies, but it was close. Did everyone in my life think I had a weak, walk-all-over-me personality? That I couldn’t stand up for myself?
Tears stung my eyes. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“Say you’ll forgive me? I swear I don’t ever want to hurt you. You’re happy, and I’m happy for you.”
She said it with so much heartfelt honesty, I had to forgive her. She was one of my best friends.
“Thanks, Hope.” I pulled her in for a hug. “That means a lot.”
“Thanks for being so understanding.” Hope pulled back and smiled at me. “And I swear next time we have a pity party you are totally invited.”
“Who’s having a party?” Nathan asked as he walked toward us from the parking lot, his jeans and hands stained with grease.
I waved a hand. “It’s nothing. A girl thing.”
“Okay.” Nathan paused a few feet away from us and gave me a concerned frown. “Everything okay?”
The fact that even now, after our little scene in the parking lot, he was concerned about me and careful to keep up appearances meant so much to me.
He was all kinds of wonderful.
I closed the distance and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”
“Um, okay.” Nathan’s arms came around me as he hugged me back. Platonically.
That wasn’t good enough for me.
I pulled back slightly and tugged his head down to me. And I kissed him. With lips and tongue and all the love I was feeling for him. He didn’t miss a beat and kissed me back. It didn’t take very long for me to get lost in a haze of lust. I didn’t care where we were, or who was standing next to us. Nathan was there and that was all that mattered.
In the distance I heard Hope murmur, “Well okay then. G’night, guys.”
Minutes or hours later Nathan pulled back and looked down at me. “I take it we’re out then?”
“Yup.” I smiled back at him. “You ready to deal with the fallout?”
“You’re crazy. There’s not going to be any fallout.”
I sighed. “Dylan wasn’t very happy. And I said some things, so I kinda need a place to stay tonight.”
“You’ve always got a place to stay with me. Come on, let me make you dinner, and you can tell me all about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Still Maddie
Nathan grabbed a few steaks out of the fridge and set them on the counter. I pulled up a barstool and watched as he pulled out spices and grinders and got to work prepping dinner. Over the past few weeks, this was a common occurrence. Nathan had asked me my favorite meals, and one by one, he cooked them for me. Swoon.
“So what’s going on with Dylan?” Nathan asked as he set the steaks aside.
I sighed. I really didn’t want to talk about it. The nasty words Dylan said still singed my nerves. “He was worried that I was staying at my old apartment since I still haven’t been able to get out of my lease. I guess he noticed I haven’t been sleeping there very often. Then he guessed I had a new guy in my life and asked how my new guy felt about me staying at another guy’s apartment. So I slipped and said you knew there wasn’t anything going on between us. And that’s when the fireworks started. I don’t need to tell you that he’s not your biggest fan right now. He said some things that pissed me off, and I left before I said anything else that would fry our friendship more than he already had.”
Nathan had stayed quiet during my whole regurgitated history, his eyes soft and understanding. He grabbed the kitchen towel off the counter and gently wiped at the tear that escaped. “I’m sorry my brother is being such an asshole.”
I gurgled a sad laugh. “That’s exactly what I said when I bumped into Hope and Ryan out front.”
Nathan smiled back at me and shook his head. “And Ryan blew the secret and asked ‘what did Nathan do now?’”
“No, actually he asked ‘which brother?’” I sighed. “How long has Ryan known?”
“About a week before Aunt Wendy walked in on us last Sunday at dinner.”
“You knew about that?” I all but shrieked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nathan shrugged. “You seemed to have some issues about my family knowing, so I asked her to give us some time before we told everyone. She seemed to understand.”
“She didn’t give you a hard time about us being together?”
“I didn’t say that.” Nathan laughed. “It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Wendy said pretty much the same stuff you did about what the two of us together would mean for family gatherings and whatever. So you were right.”
I sighed. “Those are magic words. Guaranteed to make me happy.”
“Happy and horny?” Nathan asked with a mock leer.
I threw the kitchen towel at him.
He caught it with a laugh and tossed it over his shoulder like a bartender. “Anyway, you said something about your apartment before Dylan went and pissed on your already shitty day?”
“Yeah.” I groaned and dropped my head back, staring at the ceiling. “My landlord has been giving me the runaround. He won’t answer his phone, he’s refused two different certified letters. At this point I’m either going to have to hire a process server or a lawyer. Neither of which I can really afford.”
“No need.” Nathan crossed over and grabbed a stack of papers from a side table next to the door. He plopped them onto the counter in front of me with a
