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Nat got up before the sun and was quickly in the bathroom, making it obvious she wanted to start her morning alone.
It could’ve just been a coincidence, though. I knew she often had breakfast meetings with clients when she went on business trips.
Maybe I was reading into things too much.
Goddammit. I was fucked if I didn’t deal with this head-on. I needed to figure shit out and hopefully get Nat to open up to me. I mean, getting people to spill their guts before they realized what they were doing was a specialty of mine in business, so why hadn’t I deployed that tactic? I wasn’t the type to play along with the silent treatment, wondering what was going on in someone’s mind.
I wasn’t a mind reader and had zero desire to be one.
I grabbed my phone from the table and shot off a few messages to my assistant and Jim, ensuring they were prepared for me to work from home. I didn’t have any urgent meetings this morning, and if anything came up, I could be at the office in a flash.
“Aren’t you getting up?”
I glanced up from where I sat, reclined against my pillows, as Nat came back into the room. She was dressed to the nines in a charcoal tweed dress that hugged every generous curve and graced all of her delicate bone structure with peeks of black lace. Her long hair was swept to the side in a waterfall of thick, honey curls, and she already looked ready for the day ahead.
It was taking everything in me not to jump out of bed and pull her close so I could let her know just how much I wanted her, but I sensed she knew. Instead, I propped my arm behind my head and watched as she continued about her morning, grabbing her stylish black heels from where they sat under the ottoman and sitting to put them on.
I had some good associations with those shoes, mainly after she’d worn them the other night. She hadn’t even taken them off when I’d taken her to bed our first week here, and they wound up around my ears while I took my time fucking her.
Altogether, it had been one of my favorite nights with her. But, then again, how could I pull one night out and set it above all the rest when they were equally enjoyable?
“I’m going to work from home today,” I said, smiling at her. “I don’t have any urgent need to go into the office. But if I do, it’s right around the corner.”
She gave me a hard stare. “Shane’s a big boy, you know. He doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“I never said he did,” I replied, doing my best to keep my voice mellow and unbothered by her tone.
“And he’s not some thief you need to keep an eye on. You don’t have to sit around here, watching your things. How can you expect him to feel at home if you’re going to take these random days off to work from home?”
“I don’t expect him to feel like he’s at home so much as I would like to be at home instead of at my office. Besides, it’s a bit hard to feel at home when you’re across the world.”
“You know what I’m talking about. Don’t be an asshole,” she said dryly.
I was unpleasantly surprised at her insinuation that I should leave my house during the day so her brother would feel more comfortable. Was I expected to tiptoe around the kid? I didn’t know if her response came from protectiveness or just flat-out enabling, but either way, it wasn’t normal.
I stared her down. “While I’m being an asshole, I’d like to mention that I never said anything about him being a thief. Perhaps there is something you would like to share with me?”
We stared hard at each other, each of us waiting for the other to break.
“Well,” she said, looking down as she rearranged her shoe, “he has my number. So, if he needs anything, he can text me, and I’ll come home. You don’t need to stay here for him.”
“He also knows you have a busy work schedule in your own right and that you’re here to secure the sale of an enormous property that will deliver a remarkable commission. I trust he understands you may be unable to run home and take care of him on a whim.”
“I’m running late, and I’m done with this conversation.” She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, heading for the door. “Do let me know if he brings about any destruction in the house, will you? I’d hate for my brother to cause you any unpleasant anxiety.”
“Good God. Nat,” I said, reaching up and running my hand through my hair. “Come on. Stay. Let’s have breakfast or tea, at least, and talk this out.”
That’s what couples do, right?
“No. I’m running late,” she said.
“Christ. It’s not even seven in the morning,” I said. “What are you late for? The fucking sunrise?”
“I’m late,” she said and walked out without another word or look back.
I fell back onto the pillows and stared at the ceiling, unsure how to make any of this better.
I didn’t see much of Shane after he and I ate a silent breakfast. I didn’t let that weigh too heavy on me, though. He’d had his ass handed to him in that beat down, and he was jet-lagged, so I didn’t think anything of it.
