“Then what is it?” I insist. “What are the places you usually go to? I know it’s probably not the Desert Rose-type either. You didn’t look like you were enjoying yourself there the other night.”
Nathan adjusts his grip on the oars and shrugs. “I’m not much the going-out type.” His brows shift together for a second, then he adds hastily. “What am I saying? I shouldn’t describe myself as an all-work-no-fun person. I do go to fundraisers, family dinner parties, and so on…”
An image of massive, tiered crystal chandeliers glittering in a soft light, and gold-edge china on white damask tablecloths fills my mind. I cringe as I recall Mamacita’s tacky decoration that consists of printed landscapes in plastic frames. Here, drifting on the lake, it’s easy to forget that Nathan and I come from universes that lie far apart. Why is that? Could it be that, despite our obvious differences, we have more in common than I assumed?
I smile. “That sounds exciting. You’ve a busy life then. I’m not that much of a party-girl. I might go out once every two months, always to the same crummy salsa place with my gals, but other than that, I prefer to stay in with my family.”
A bark from the shore draws our attention.
A Jack Russel has jumped in, and he’s paddling his way to us. When he gets to our boat, Nathan lifts him gently from the water. “There you go, buddy,” he murmurs, placing the dog between his legs. “Take a little break before you go back.”
He strokes the dog’s fur with a loving gesture.
I watch him, open-mouthed. “I didn’t figure you as an animal person.”
“Oh, I’m not. But I do love dogs. Especially cute ones like this here.”
Nathan doesn’t seem to mind that the dog got his shirt covered in giant moist spots, but the sight of the white fabric sticking to his chest like a second skin and highlighting his bulging pectorals makes me incredibly flustered. It’s like somebody had placed a giant magnifying glass above me and its concentrating the sunshine on the top of my head. At least this is the only reasonable way I can explain the eerie warmth I’m feeling.
To hide my reaction, I bend forward and pat the animal too. My fingers brush against Nathan’s as we both caress the Jack Russel’s head. For a moment I go back in time and relive the first time I laid eyes on Nathan from the stage. I honestly couldn’t have imagined that, in a few days, I’d be sitting in a boat with him, enjoying a blissful moment cuddling a dog together.
A whistle cuts through the air, and the animal stirs as if he’s ready to jump in the water again.
“Ah, they’re calling you, right?” Nathan whispers to the dog, then releases him into the waves with care. The animal paddles back to his owners, an elderly couple, waiting on the shore. We both follow him with our eyes till he reaches them.
“What a cute fellow.” Nathan chuckles. “He’s fast, too. Look, he’s already drying off.”
“Well, he surely is a better swimmer than I am,” I say.
Nathan’s eyes widen with alarm. “You can’t swim?” He bends forward and grips my knees with a protective gesture. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
I’m not sure what startles me more, the preoccupation I hear in his voice, or the tingles racing through my legs from his touch. “I didn’t want to spoil the boat trip for you. You seemed so happy about it.”
“Seriously?” Nathan releases me and takes the oars once more as the boat begins to drift with the stream. “And I thought it would be a chance to show you that I can be more than a pre-programmed, boring guy. We could’ve just stayed on the terrace, too, if you preferred. I never wanted to make you feel unsafe.”
“I don’t feel unsafe.” I smile. “You’re a good rower. Besides, you do know how to swim, right? You could save me.”
“Yes, I did a few swimming competitions when I was younger,” he says, but the worried glint doesn’t leave his eyes. “You should have told me straight away that paddling on the lake isn’t a good idea.”
“I didn’t want you to think I’m a freak. Everybody knows how to swim nowadays. Even my little sister, Espie.”
Nathan glares at me as if I’m an alien. “I could never think that you’re a freak. The way I think of you is the exact opposite of that…” He stops, then his eyes travel to the water, hover on the waves, then move back to meet my gaze. “But I understand where you’re coming from. You see, earlier I bragged about going to fundraisers and all. It’s true that I sometimes do. But it’s not something I enjoy. I said it to salvage my image. I thought you wouldn’t be interested in a man as serious as I am.” He finishes off his confession with a smile that deepens his dimples.
His words, together with the sight of his grin, turn my stomach upside down. I’m about to scold myself for my reaction when I remember Laia’s advice. I’m not one hundred percent sure yet that I’m comfortable taking it, but I could give it a try just this once. So instead of suppressing the giddy sensation, I let it brew a little.
The result is that my mind has the time to throw a myriad of questions at me. Could Nathan truly care this much about my opinion? If he does, what does it mean? If he doesn’t, why would he have said what he just did?
I shake my head to summon some order into my brain. “No, Nathan. Please. If there’s any way you could ruin my growing interest in you, it’s if you start lying
