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Finally, Nate couldn’t take it anymore.
“Excuse me,” he said as the staff cleared their plates off the table. “I’ll be right back.” He placed what he hoped was a reassuring hand on Kris’s arm before he pushed back his chair and beelined for the nearest bathroom.
Once he was inside the gold-and-cream marble space, he locked the door behind him and dry heaved into the toilet bowl. Nothing came out, though the nausea remained.
Eventually, he gave up trying to coax his dinner back out through his throat and sank onto the floor, resting his head against the cabinet doors beneath the sink as he fought to calm his breathing.
Nate wondered if Linda had been married when she came to him that summer. She was too young to be Teague’s biological mom, and second, third, even fourth wives were common in this town. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things. He was still ashamed of what he did—what he had to do—and he was determined to take the secret to the grave with him.
But what if Kris found out? Would she ever look at him the same? Probably not. Nate doubted Linda would say anything, but he’d ghosted her—stopped answering her calls and messages, changed his number—when he couldn’t do it anymore, and that had to have stung.
“Get your shit together.” His voice sounded tiny and hollow in the grand bathroom.
It was going to be fine. He was freaking out over nothing. The blast from the past was unwelcome, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
It’ll be fine,he repeated to himself, like saying it multiple times would make it come true.
After a few more minutes, Nate pushed himself off the ground and attempted to fix his rumpled appearance before he returned to the dining room. They were probably wondering where the hell he was. Well, Kris was, at least. The other guests probably didn’t care.
Tonight would’ve been an amazing networking opportunity, but between Kris’s father and Linda’s unexpected appearance, Nate was not up to the task of hobnobbing with people who would’ve left him stuttering and star-struck on a good day.
He smoothed a hand over his hair. Straightened his shirt and tie. Splashed his face with water and dried off with one of the soft-as-a-cloud towels hanging on the gold-plated rack.
He still looked pale as fuck, but there was only so much he could do.
He took a deep breath, opened the door—and ran straight into Linda.
You gotta be kidding me.
Nate wanted to lock himself in the bathroom again and never come out, but it was too late. Linda was already talking.
“Hi.” Her hand fluttered up to her stomach, throat, and hair, like she couldn’t decide where to put it. “It’s…a surprise to see you here.”
“Likewise.” He flashed a tight smile. “Listen, I have to get back—”
“Don’t say anything,” she rushed out. “Okay? Even if Kris had hired you for tonight, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention our…past acquaintance. Steven and I didn’t get married until last year, but we were dating and going through a rough patch when I reached out to you. I know he’s good friends with the Carreras, and he can’t find out what I did.”
Nate recoiled.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Linda continued, unaware of his reaction. “You were the best sex I ever had, and I was pretty upset when you stopped answering my calls, but, you know. Steven is the type of husband I’d always wanted—”
Because he’s rich,Nate added silently.
“—and I don’t want to mess things up between us.”
Silence.
This was a hell of a reunion. Right up there with getting his balls ripped off by pliers and watching Mariah Carey’s infamousGlitteron repeat 24/7.
Linda stared at him, her pretty face lined with tension. “Nate? Promise me you won’t tell. I’ll even pay you—”
“No,” Nate interrupted, grinding his molars so hard they ached. It was better than slamming his fist into the wall, which was what he wanted to do.
He didn’t bother correcting Linda’s assumption that Kris had hired him for the night, because why would someone like her be dating someone like him, right? Never mind the fact that a woman like Kris didn’t need to hire an escort. “I won’t say anything.”
“Great.” Relief washed over Linda’s features. “Listen, I have a few friends who would love—”
“No, thanks. I’m not in the business anymore. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to return to my date.”
