“Nate,” she choked out.
His warm hand covered her suddenly frozen one. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload all that on you. Evelyn is still a sore subject for me. But I promise you, I’m over that woman. I got over her the second I found out who she really was.” He squeezed her hand. “You’re the only one I want, Charlie. The only one I’ve ever wanted.”
Her heart ached. The words she’d wanted to say lodged in her throat then faded away as Nate leaned over to brush his lips over hers. A shiver tickled her spine. When he deepened the kiss, she melted against him, sighing as his tongue slid into her mouth. He kissed her until she was breathless, until the guilt coursing through her transformed into a burning rush of desire.
Nate was grinning when he finally released her. “So…the lake?”
“The lake,” she echoed softly.
“Wow, you’re actually making time for your best friend,” Lexie said sarcastically, accepting the glass of iced tea Nate handed her. “And here I thought you were one of those annoying jerks who subscribes to the hoes-before-bros philosophy.”
Nate had to laugh. Lexie was always at her wittiest when she was angry. It never failed to amuse him.
He joined her at the table in his backyard and sat down across from her. “I’m sorry,” he said, genuinely apologetic. “But Charlotte won’t be in town for much longer, and I want to spend as much time with her as I can.”
Her blue eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?” He bristled. “Because I haven’t seen her in fifteen years? Because I enjoy her company?”
“But…she dumped you!”
“Actually, I dumped her.”
There was a deafening silence. Lexie looked so flustered he started laughing again then grew pensive. “I’m sorry I never told you. I just wasn’t proud of the way I ended things.” He swallowed. “I hurt Charlotte pretty badly.”
The blonde seemed to be working it all over in her head. “You broke up with Charlotte.”
“Yes.”
“And now the two of you are back together.”
“Yes.”
“Why?” she asked again.
“Stop asking why.” Irritation crept up his chest. “Why can’t you just be happy for me?”
“I am. Well, I’m not,” she amended. “But that’s because I don’t trust any of this! It has Evelyn written all over it, Nate.”
“Charlotte is not like Evelyn,” he replied stiffly.
“And you don’t find it the least bit suspicious that she’s so willing to hop into bed with you again after you supposedly destroyed her?”
“I didn’t say I destroyed her. I said I hurt her.”
“Same thing.” Lexie shrugged. “And trust me, Nate, women don’t forget those kinds of things.”
His voice was quiet. “She hasn’t forgotten. But she’s willing to forgive.”
“So she says.”
The suspicion still running rampant on her face intensified his annoyance. He got that Lexie didn’t like Charlotte, but this was starting to piss him off. “Stop it, Lex,” he said in a low voice. “You might not like Charlotte, but at least show her some respect. She makes me happy.”
A lump lodged in his throat. Fuck, she really did make him happy. All these years, he’d carried on with his life, worked at the pub, dated women he didn’t feel anything for. But a piece of him had always been missing. He hadn’t felt whole, content. And then Charlotte walked back into his life and everything made sense again. He could tell Charlotte anything and everything. He could hold her in his arms and feel so completely at peace.
And as much as he cared about Lexie, he refused to let her taint this newfound happiness.
“I love her,” he said gruffly.
Lexie looked shocked. “What?”
“It’s true. I love her. I never stopped loving her.” His throat grew tight. “And I want her in my life.”
“God, Nate, you’re being so—”
“Stop,” he cut in again. Then he sighed. “Do you care about me, Lex?”
Her tone softened. “You know I do.”
“Then drop this. And you know, it wouldn’t kill you to make an effort to get to know Charlotte. The two of you are stuck in the past, focused on petty teenage crap that doesn’t matter anymore.”
“So what are you saying? If I don’t make an effort, you’re going to cut me out of your life?”
He ignored the bite to her voice. “I’ll always be your friend and you know it. But things would be a hell of a lot easier if you tried to accept Charlotte. Because like it or not, I’m not letting her go again. I want her in my life and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she stays there. I’m serious, Lex, this time it’s forever.”