Page 19 of Unwritten Rules

“God, no.”

If only you knew how gross that would be.

“I need your help in a different way, Nathaniel.”

His eyes take on a slightly accusatory look when he narrows them minutely. “I may not have seen you since…Devon, but I know that look, Mila.”

I tug my bottom lip between my teeth in an effort to keep the smile off of my face as he continues.

“That’s the look you get when you’re laying a trap. I’ve seen Henry waltz right into them enough times to know precisely how you work.”

Allowing myself a small smile, I step back out of his embrace, meeting his eyes as I hold my hands up in a peaceful gesture – hoping he won’t lose his shit when he hears my request.

“Okay, so, you might not like it—”

“So far, I don’t like any of this, but I can’t seem to say no to your big, golden eyes when they beg me so prettily.”

My stomach takes a swan dive, and my core tingles at his off-the-cuff remark. A wholly innocuous comment that immediately sets my thoughts aflame with images of us together…before I mentally slap myself.

He doesn’t see you that way, you idiot. Feelings like that got you in this mess in the first place.

“I need to escape London for a while. I-I need you to hide me.”

He quirks his head to one side in apparent confusion. “Hide you?”

Nodding enthusiastically, I ramble on. “Yes. You see, only a handful of people know that you’ve kept your family estate in Surrey. It’s close to Walden-Forbes, right? So you’d have an easy commute to work.”

His face begins to crumble as comprehension dawns on his chiselled features. Still, I muddle on, needing to get the whole thing out before he rebuffs me.

“I know you haven’t been back since – well, Zara—”

He openly flinches when I mention his ex-fiancée. The same ex-fiancée who cheated on him with his own father. The same ex-fiancée who went on to become his stepmother.

My resolve wavers in the face of his apparent pain, and I turn to face the city, unable to continue my plea whilst witnessing this beautiful man’s hurt.

“I’m begging you, Nathaniel. Please hide me there. You don’t even need to stay with me. Just allow me to stay there for a couple of weeks. Three months? Six tops. I need to disappear. I need to hit pause. I need to quit making such heinous fucking mistakes. I need…I need—”

My inane chatter stumbles to a gracious halt when he steps into my vision. My blurred line of vision – because the tears that threaten to fall are trembling on my bottom lashes, obscuring almost everything around us.

He bends at the knees, bringing himself right down to my height, to place his warm palm on my cheek. Then, drawing his thumb back and forth across my cheekbone, he nods softly before sliding his hand around my neck and tugging me close once more.

With my ear against the steady thrum of his heart, I can feel and hear his next familiar, oh-so-missed words as they encourage my barely restrained tears to fall freely down my cheeks.

“Your wish, Mila.”

CHAPTER 7

MILA

We spend several hours figuring out what we’re going to do, with me sprawled on the sofa and Nate prowling through the area, as he is accustomed to doing when he’s making plans.

“You don’t have to tell anyone else where you are, but my one request is that you at least tell Henry. I-I can’t lie to him. We don’t operate that way, Mila.”

I furrow my brow, knowing he’s right, and then nod slowly. “I can do that. But just Henry, mind you.”

He nods once curtly, resuming his slow pacing of my living area.

“I started university, you know.”