Page 26 of About That Rule

She had no idea how to handle the complexity of their discussion. It was a serious, which she was able to do, but the only way to make Nate get out of a rut was laughter. “So far this morning, we’ve discussed my lack of cooking skills and how I don’t like flowers. Oh, and I woke up with my mouth way too close to your banana. It almost poked my eye out. I would say, my morning has been a bit more stressful than what you’re talking about.”

His laughter exploded across the table. “Sammy, you always make me feel better.”

“I aim to please,” she told him with some sass as she cleared their plates from the table. Since her mission to make Nate smile was complete, she had to get ready for work.

He followed her into her bedroom. She stepped into her closet to change so he didn’t see her undress and heard Nate flop onto her bed.

“I feel like we need to talk about my banana and your mouth a bit more.” His deep voice taunted her from the other side of the closet.

It made her fumble a bit, but it wasn’t like he could witness her fidgeting over his words. She quickly pulled a pale-yellow dress on before opening the door.

As she’d thought, he was laying on his stomach on her bed, playing on his phone.

“If I wanted to talk about your banana and my mouth, you would have had a better morning than just bagels,” she told him while stepping in the bathroom connected to her bedroom. She scrubbed her face, brushed her teeth, and styled her hair into a low ballerina bun.

He grinned like the Cheshire cat when she came back into her bedroom. “Are blow jobs now a topic of discussion?”

“Zip it,” she reprimanded him. “What are your plans the rest of the week?”

“I’m working during the day all week and plan to do lunch with my mom, but no plans outside of that,” he informed her. “I figured I would just be spending time with my lovely wife.”

She slipped on her nude flats and leaned over Nate, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Yes, we have marital duties this week. Let’s just plan to do dinner every night, unless you have something else come up. Just text and let me know. I have to go, so just lock up when you leave.”

He nodded and went back to his phone. Samantha hustled out of her bedroom before she got all daydreamy staring at Nate. It was funny. He’d initially wanted to talk about how he needed a change, and it only made her want one too.

A change that involved the two of them together.

When Samantha got to work, her day was moremeeting driven than expected, which was fine with her. It kept her busy. She got a text from Charlotte inviting her to happy hour and gladly accepted. Not only because she loved wine and her friend, but it was a chance to get some breathing room from her husband.

She giggled for a second. She’d never thought that was something she would say. Let alone with Nate being her husband.

Ever since they’d gotten hitched, things had changed. Everything was different. Whenever she looked at him, she wanted to rip his clothes off. He had turned into the sexiest man she had ever seen, like she was now able to acknowledge all thoughts she’d pushed away about him.

This morning, she’d watched him sleep for a minute, adoring how he had a mischievous look about him even when he wasn’t awake. She loved his shaggy hair and wanted to run her hands through it.

And that banana in his pants…it only egged her on more to see him sans clothes.

All this was just physical. Nate was a fantasy she could dream about but not actually touch. Especially after their kiss in New York. She wasn’t an idiot. If they did go past second base, it would ruin all the intangible between them. From knowing their best accomplishments and biggest fears, to being the person they each relied on and kept all their secrets. Without any doubt, she’d lose her best friend if they ever crossed the line. It would ruin everything.

But it was getting harder and harder to remember that.

WHEN SAMANTHA LEFT,Nate hung around her apartment for another hour. It wasn’t like he was creeping around or anything, but she had the most comfortable bed. The only reason he got up, other than needing to get some work done, was because her soft mattress made him think of everything he could do to her on it.

They were walking a thin line from scrapping the rules and finally fucking each other’s brains out. Or at least he was. From their kiss to him jerking off to visions of her more times than he’d like to admit, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He’d had to lay on his stomach when she’d been changing, for fuck’s sake. He’d gotten so damn hard knowing she was taking off her clothes on the other side of the closet door.

He hadn’t had to deal with a random hard-on since he was in high school.

Now, it was whenever Samantha got too close to him.

Which was a nightmare.

Nate was back at his hotel around ten and got to work. He responded to emails, made appointments to walk through homes in the area, then he updated his schedule in New York to make up for anything he was missing while in California. Once he hung up with a realtor, he noticed it was almost five. Outside of lunch with his mom, he hadn’t moved from the desk in his hotel room.

His phone beeped. It was a text from Rafe.

Heard you’re home. Meet us in thirty at The Patio.

Rafe was direct and right to the point, which he appreciated. Happy hour sounded like fun, and since he didn’t have concrete plans with Samantha, it wasn’t like he couldn’t see her afterward and they could grab dinner then.

Besides, after he’d left her apartment, a little space was needed. It was too easy being married to her.

It was stressful being mistakenly married to your best friend.

He was well-aware he sounded like a crybaby. He was married to a smoking hot woman who was one of the smartest people he knew and had a killer sense of humor. But all the tension between them was like a live wire. It was hard to breathe like a normal person around her.

Topping that off with the fact that he had started jerking off to her, it all seemed like some fucked up world he was living in. A night with some friends would be a much-needed distraction.

He texted Rafe back, confirming he would be there. Then he saved his work, shut off his computer, and quickly changed.

By the time he got into the rental car, he was wondering if Samantha would be there too. It wasn’t like they didn’t share the same friends. He was glad he’d showered and changed, not that he had to impress her.

Not at all.