Does Mac know about her?
They’d been talking about Gemma.
“So…” I set Boo down on the couch, grab the plush duck toy out of my duffle bag, and set it beside him, grinning as I watch him curl up with it. “That was heavy. New York Cheesecake heavy. Fettuccine Alfredo heavy. Double chocolate milkshake heavy.”
Nate looks at me, eyebrows raised. “You hungry?”
“No, I ate, like, four cupcakes.” My brow knits. “Why?”
“Your analogies were all food related.”
“I couldn’t think of other heavy things.”
“Seriously?” His lips twitch as he stares at me. “Bowling ball. Elephant. Bag of bricks. Stonehenge. Orca whale.” He pauses. “I could go on…”
“That’s the wrong kind of heavy, smartass.” I roll my eyes and walk toward the bed. “I meant the kind of heavy that sits in the pit of your stomach and makes you feel sort of nauseous.”
“Cheesecake makes you nauseous?” he asks, amused. “That’s funny. I seem to remember you consuming several pieces at the WestTech Christmas party last year.” He grins. “And by several I mean four.”
“You know what’s odd?” I ask, spinning to face him with my hands planted on my hips. “You know what I do on Thanksgiving. You know where I take my lunch breaks. You know how I drink my coffee. You know my favorite type of seltzer.” I pause. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you’ve been keeping close tabs on me for years, Nathaniel.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “And if I have?”
I reach for the zipper on the side of my dress. “I’d be obligated to tell you it’s creepy and weird.”
His lips tug up on one side. “Really?”
“Yep.” I start to slowly work the zipper down my side. His eyes darken. “It’s not normal to stalk people. Just for the record.”
“Well, add this to your record: the things I feel for you aren’t normal, little bird.”
My heart leaps in my chest. “Is that so?”
He nods and takes a step toward me as the zipper reaches the end of its tread. “What are you doing?”
“Getting ready for bed,” I say innocently.
His eyes find mine. “Phoebe…”
I release the fabric and the dress slides halfway down my body, exposing my black strapless bra. “Yes?”
His stare is hot as it roams my skin. It follows my fingers as I push the dress further down my hips.
“We have to be at the airport in six hours,” he reminds me, taking another step closer.
“Plenty of time,” I breathe, as the dress pools around my ankles. I step out, so I’m standing in only my Kate Spade pumps and a lace bra and panty set. I see his chest moving up and down as he attempts to get his breathing under control.
I flick the clasp of my bra and it tumbles to the floor.
“Unless…” I trail off, lifting a hand to my mouth and faking a large yawn. “I guess if you’re too tired…”
I see a flash of his grin — dark and devilish — in the second before he launches into motion.
***
We wrap around each other like vines, entwining tighter with each passing moment. I kiss him with joy in my heart and realize all the anger I spent years harboring toward him is finally gone. All the feelings of inadequacy and hopeless unrequited love have fled on the wind. He’s forced them out. Chipped away at the walls of the tiny box I’d shoved him into — with dark-eyed looks and teasing comments and passion-fueled fights and breath-stealing kisses — until the tiny cage where I’d locked him away for almost a decade disappeared entirely.
His eyes never leave mine as I pull his shirt over his head, as he kicks off his jeans and stretches out over me, until we’re skin on skin with not a single barrier left between us. The veins cord tightly in his arms as he braces his body above mine. I kiss him again as my legs loop around his hips to pull him against me.
“Come closer,” I demand, arching up into him.
“Oh, I’ll come.” He grins against my mouth as his hands slide lower. “But not before you do.”