"That's easy." Nash took a sip of champagne before answering with a grin. "I'm bossy. Stubborn. Sometimes impatient. I can be a workaholic, especially with a new project. I hate bullshit and I'm rarely nice if I have to call people on it. I've also heard I'm a bed hog."
A slow smile curved my lips. I could attest to that after our one night together. He'd hogged the bed and the blankets. "I didn't mind."
My murmur sent the same slow smile to Nash's lips. "Good to know," he said in a low voice that sent shivers across my skin. "Now tell me what's wrong with you."
Oh, fun. But I'd asked for it. "I'm still married to your brother, for one."
Nash waved that away. "That's circumstance, not a character flaw."
"Okay, I married him in the first place."
"And you want me to blame you for that?" Nash asked, running his thumb over my knuckles.
"Iblame me for that," I admitted. "I should have–"
Nash tugged at my fingers to get my attention. "Parker, stop." At the hard tone of his voice, I looked up.
"Bossy," I whispered.
"Exactly. And I'm telling you to listen to me. You were a very sheltered twenty-one year old and Tyler has always been great at the snow-job."
I raised my eyebrows in question. Nash gave an impatient shake of his head.
"You know what I mean. He puts on a great front. How many tantrums did he throw before he proposed?"
"None." He'd been the perfect boyfriend: attentive, thoughtful, romantic.
"And between your engagement and the wedding?"
I thought back. He'd proposed on Christmas in my senior year of college. We were married that June, only a week after my graduation. "Only one. He asked me to skip an exam, and I refused. The next day he was back to normal."
"And you decided you'd overreacted."
I nodded. "I was stressed about school, and he was so contrite after. I didn't think he–" I shrugged. "I didn't think."
"One tantrum before the wedding? That was it?" Nash raised a dark eyebrow. I nodded again in answer. "Then how were you supposed to know?"
"I should have known." I could be stubborn, too. "I grew up with my father. He would have shot anyone who said he threw tantrums, but that's what they were. At his worst, Tyler still isn't as scary as my father could be. I should have known what was coming. I should have seen the signs."
"We'll have to agree to disagree," Nash said. "Now tell me some real faults. Other than disagreeing with me."
"You're in for a disappointment if you think you're going to get your way all the time." My head spun with the giddy exhilaration of sparring with Nash.
Nash lifted my hand and pulled it to his mouth, pressing his warm lips to the back of my fingers. "I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to disagreeing with you."
I was too breathless to argue. Trying to keep my head on straight, I laid it out. "Okay, fine. I'm naïve. I haven't done anything with my life. I'm trying to figure out my first job at twenty-seven. I'm stuck living with my family for the next five years. I'm–" I cut off abruptly at the amusement all over Nash's face.
"You sound terrible. Maybe I should leave." He shook his head in disappointment, the side of his mouth quirked in a smile. "And you forgot stubborn. We definitely have that in common."
"Don't make fun of me. You could do a lot better–"
"No, I couldn't." The laughter was gone from his face. I opened my mouth to argue. Nash squeezed my hand, shaking his head. "No, Parker. Don't. Neither of us is perfect. Agreed. But half the things you see as faults, aren't things I have a problem with. So what if you feel like you're just starting your life? So what if this is your first job? Do you like it?"
"Yes, actually. I love it." I didn't have to pretend on that one. But... "I'm not sure why I think I can do this."
Nash waved off my words again. "It looks like youaredoing it. When you run into a problem, you'll figure it out. You have good taste, and that's an essential starting point with a renovation. Do you have pics of your progress?" I nodded. "Will you show me?"
ChapterTwenty-One
