Page 59 of Want You

“Never tell my brother I rented it.” Nathan laughed. “He bought one a few years ago and I was relentless.”

“Why?” she asked, finally taking her eyes off the trees.

Nathan shrugged. “Our grandmother drove one. We called his the grandma mobile mercilessly.”

“How long did he have it?”

He looked over quickly before turning his gaze back to the front. “He still has it. It’s his winter car.”

“Oh, his winter car, eh? Does he have one of those for every season?”

“Nah, he has a motorcycle and a bike for the warmer months. He doesn’t really get out much though.”

An odd silence descended on them and Nathan couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of how his mood had changed the second he told her about Scottie’s transportation choices. They’d been worried about the motorcycle and it was the bike that had nearly led to his death. Nathan would buy him a hundred Subaru fucking Outbacks if it meant he was cleared to drive again.

Nathan was about to say something about that when the cottage, scratch that, the mansion came into view.

“Cottage my butt." Octavia scoffed, leaning forward as her eyes trailed from the foundation up to the peaked roof. “Who has the money for taxes on a place like this? Because you know if this is the cottage their regular house is even bigger.”

“When you have ten professional clients all making over five mil a year, you get a decent cut,” Nathan told her, but he agreed. This was too much house for somewhere that didn’t see much action for most of the year. “I don’t want anything this big…do you?” he asked as he parked the car in front of the garage. Seriously, a garage?

“Oh, god,” Octavia said, leaning back against her seat, the sound of her seat belt unbuckling somehow louder than normal. “I would not. I’d be happier in a one room cabin than I would be in this place.”

Nathan shifted his attention fully to her. She was in a thick sweater, jeans, and winter boots. She hadn’t applied makeup, which left her freckles more prominent. Every version of Octavia would look good in this place, but he liked the fact she didn’t want any version of herself to call this place home for longer than a few days.

“What?” She smiled at him while he took her in.

He shook his head, unable to voice what he was feeling right now. He had spent the entire night drifting in and out of sleep, as if his mind needed confirmation that Octavia was still beside him. Proof it hadn’t been a dream that she had returned to him. He was tired but happy, and as long as she was with him, he wasn’t sure he cared much about the tired part.

“Thank you for coming,” he said instead of all the other things that bubbled away in his mind.

She didn’t answer, just nodded before pushing the door open and stepping out of the car.

Nathan followed suit, walking to the back to get their bags, relinquishing his hold on Octavia’s when she reached for it, albeit begrudgingly.

Octavia followed behind Nathan, literally in his footsteps as she carefully stepped into each impression he left in the snow on their way to the door. She huddled close while he took out his phone and looked up the code for the door. If he took a bit longer to unlock the door it was because he was distracted by the smell of her shampoo. Shampoo that sat next to his in the shower niche and would remain there for the rest of his life if he had anything to say about it.

“Holy shit,” Octavia whispered as they stepped over the threshold into the cottage.

Vaulted ceilings lined with wooden beams drew their attention to the floor to ceiling windows that lined the entire back of the place, opening out to a view of the frozen lake and the pines that lined the opposite side. Everything was crisp and clean but somehow held the kind of warmth you look for in a cottage, with natural elements covering just about every surface.

Octavia ditched her boots quickly and made her way across the open room, stopping at the windows and wrapping her arms around herself. This place is too big, Nathan thought when he realized just how far she was from him.

After getting his own boots off, he ignored their bags left at the door and crossed the room, counting as he went. Twenty-two damn strides to reach her, just as he thought, unacceptable. The minute she was within touching distance, Nathan slipped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on top of her head.

She hummed, the sound travelling through her back and spreading throughout his chest. Her contented hum was one of his favourite sounds in the world. He often wondered if she was aware of how often she did it. It was there when she snuggled into him. Present when he held her tightly against his body in the morning. It crossed the boundaries of sweet and sexy times—a feeling applied with a broad brush.

He could imagine them there every summer. Well, not there specifically. Somewhere smaller with the lake even closer. Perhaps a bit more rustic than a place with marble on the counters and Persian rugs in the family room.

Octavia turned slowly in his arms, resting her palms on his chest and looking up at him.

He waited for her to speak but she just looked, eyes trailing over his face, hands still, lips quirked the tiniest amount. Nathan was taken aback once again that he got to look at her like this. Hold her in any capacity at all, and he knew he’d do just about anything to ensure he got to do this for the rest of his damn life.

CHAPTER 30

OCTAVIA

There was a difference in Nathan that Octavia couldn’t quite pinpoint. But by the time they were getting ready for bed, she was certain she had figured it out. Nathan was holding back. His touches were more tentative than usual as he kissed her. The only thing that had changed between the last time they were intimate and now was the case.