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I, on the other hand, feel like my turn will never come up.
Sigh.
Though it does warm my heart knowing my entire family has welcomed him into the fold with open arms. I knew they wouldn’t believe what the press had said about him. You need just to spend a minute in his presence to know there isn’t a mean bone in his body.
He could never savagely beat up a person just because he took satisfaction in it.
His heart is too good for that.
“Looks like your father is besotted with your new friend,”Shelby signs at me.
“Tell me about it,”I sign back with a giggle.
“Hopefully, he’s not the only one,”she signs, making my cheeks pinken profusely.
Unfortunately, my best friend has a knack for picking up on everything around her, so she sees our conversation and decides to push me into the deep end, whether or not I’m ready to swim.
“Why don’t you show Nate to his room, Lottie?” Piper suggests loud enough for Nate to hear while pretending to blow on her mug of hot cocoa. “I’m sure he wants to freshen up beforedinner. And if you have a chance, I bet he would get a kick out of seeing your childhood bedroom, too.”
I narrow my eyes at my not-so-subtle best friend, leaving a clear warning in my glare.
I know which team she’s rooting for—the home team.
Piper bleeds green and white, so I’m not surprised she’s rooting for Nate and hoping I kick Coop to the curb sooner rather than later.
And though I would love nothing more than a moment alone with Nate, showing him to my bedroom was not what I had in mind.
Not yet, anyway.
The whole idea sounds too tempting, but until I’ve cleaned house, I should stay away from such temptation instead of willingly throwing myself at it.
“I’m sure Nate would rather stay out here than see that.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind grabbing a quick shower before dinner. And now that Piper has mentioned it, I’m also kind of curious to see the rest of the house. Maybe your room, too.”
“See? He’s curious.” Piper suggestively wiggles her blonde brows at me.
Argh.
I’m going to kill her.
“Okay. Let me show you up then.”
I plant a smile and wait at the foot of the stairs while Nate grabs his overnight bag from the entrance hall. I’m kind of glad my family is making a ruckus in the living room since it perfectly camouflages my loud, drumming heartbeat.
“After you,” Nate says before nervously stuffing his hands in his pockets.
I guess I’m not the only one who’s nervous, though I’m not sure if it’s for the same reason.
A girl can hope.
“I didn’t know you grew up here. I thought you were more of a city girl,” Nate muses as we walk up the flight of stairs to the second floor.
“I didn’t. I grew up in Seaport, a few houses next to Piper’s house. This was my Nana’s home, and every holiday or long weekend, the entire family spent it down here with her. She died a few years back, but we kept the tradition of always spending the holidays here. It keeps her memory alive, I guess.”
“Is this her?” Nate asks, pointing to a picture at the end of the hallway.
“That’s her, alright. You have a keen eye,” I praise, staring at a photograph of my Nana standing beside Rita Hayworth back in her heyday.
