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“Tell me.” It wasn’t a request—and Nate’s reply was a fifteen-kiloton nuclear bombshell.
He told her about his family’s rash of bad luck two years ago—multiple home repairs needed, car breakdowns, a workplace injury that put Michael out of commission for two months—that sent them into particularly dire financial straits. Nate’s income hadn’t been enough to cover all their expenses, and he’d been desperate. So when a now ex-friend of his that he’d met through acting dropped hints about a side gig that would pay enough to take care of Nate’s short-term money problems, he’d jumped at the opportunity.
Said side gig was escorting and providing Beverly Hills’ rich, bored, and sexually unsatisfied with whatever they needed—dates to fancy events for those who were unattached, company and a listening ear for those who were lonely, physical pleasures for those whose husbands either neglected them or couldn’t get it up without a healthy dose of Viagra.
Turned out Linda, Teague’s newish stepmother, fell into the former category. She’d been dating Steven, Teague’s father, but he’d been so caught up with work that she’d felt lonely and overlooked. So she’d sought other male company—specifically Nate, who got the shock of his life when he saw her at Roger’s dinner party. She asked him to keep their past indiscretion a secret; Roger overheard and subsequently brought Nate into his office, where he’d made his five-figure offer.
Kris realized that given the timeline and the fact that the contract had already been drawn, Roger must have decided he wanted Nate out of Kris’s life before he learned about Nate’s past as an escort.
“I never had actual intercourse with Linda or any of my other clients,” Nate said, his cheeks brick red. “But…we did other stuff. I tried to avoid potential clients who were married, but obviously, I didn’t have a way of verifying their relationship status. It wasn’t through an agency, either. It was more of an independent thing, set up by my friend—ex-friend—and a couple of acquaintances of his. Anyway, that’s the full story. I want you to know before you judge your father too harshly for what he did. Hell, I wouldn’t want a daughter of mine dating someone like me, either. There’s nothing wrong with sex work, but when it’s your kid…” Nate cleared his throat. “You were right. I had a shit ton of insecurities about who I am, what I did, whether I deserve you. I still do. That’s why I let your dad get to me, and why I ended things between us. But someone…someone gave me the kick in the ass I needed and reminded me that things like money and distance and past mistakes are nothing compared to love. So yeah. Here I am, rambling like an idiot for the past ten minutes without getting to the point, which is that I love you. Hold-a-boombox-over-my-head, write-you-a-letter-every-day-for-years love you, and I’m sorry I’ve been too much of a coward to own up to it until now. I want to be with you in any way I can, and if that means living in different cities, or turning down fifty grand, or working through my fear of flying so I can see you more often, I’ll do it. I’d do anything for you.”
Kris stared at Nate, her mind racing a million miles a minute as it tried to keep up with all the new information thrown at her while her heart danced like a maniac at Nate’s confession.
Say something. Anything.
Nothing came out.
“Unless it’s too late,” Nate said, his voice cracking. “Which I understand. I really fucked things up. Or if the escort thing is too much, I understand that, too. But I wanted you to know before you left. See if maybe…” He trailed off.
Kris’s silence hung heavy in the air, muffling the other sounds from the marina. She wanted to move and speak, but something held in her place, trapping her emotions in a glass bottle until they screamed for release.
The flare of hope in Nate’s eyes dimmed the longer she stayed quiet until it snuffed out completely.
“Anyway, yeah.” He took an awkward step back and avoided her eyes. “That’s what I wanted to say. But I won’t, uh, bother you any longer.”
A pause. Then his shoulders slumped, and he walked away, his tall, powerful frame cutting a dejected figure against the bustling marina.
Maybe it was the sight of Nate leaving that triggered the release valve on Kris’s emotions, or maybe her brain had finally caught up with her heart. Whatever it was, she broke free of the strange paralysis that had gripped her from the moment Nate started speaking and ran after him. It was the first time she’d run in years. She was more of a yoga and Pilates person; all the perspiration that came from pounding the pavement beneath a scorching sun? No, thanks.
But now, she didn’t think twice of putting her Manolo Blahniks through their paces until she passed Nate and spun around, blocking him from walking any further.
A frown marred his forehead. “What—”
He didn’t get a chance to ask the rest of his question before Kris grabbed him and kissed him. If she had any doubts about whether this was the right thing to do, given everything that had happened over the past two weeks, the kiss confirmed it: it abso-freaking-lutely was.
Their mouths moved against each other, softly at first, and then with a heated passion that stole the breath from her lungs. Kris greedily drank him in, her blood pumping at the taste and feel of him—richer than any wine, headier than any drug.
It seemed love imbued embraces with a special magic because she would’ve floated right off the ground if Nate’s strong arms hadn’t anchored her to the earth.
When they finally broke apart, she couldn’t help but laugh at the dazed shock on his face.
“I should’ve made you work harder for it after that bull you pulled the night of the MentHer gala and this morning,” she said. “But you’re right. We’ve already wasted so much time, and I don’t want to waste any more playing games. Your past as an escort doesn’t affect my feelings for youin the slightest.No, scratch that. It makes me love you more, because you care about your family so much, and you are so strong, and brave, and resilient. You did what you had to do, and you should not feel ashamed about it. Ever.” Emotion clogged Kris’s throat, and her chest pinched when she thought about everything Nate had gone through—his mother’s death, his father’s battle with alcoholism, the things he’d had to do to keep his family afloat. It made Kris’s problems seem trivial in comparison, and she felt like a spoiled, whiny brat for complaining about her father’s love life and her money “problems.”
So what if Gloria was a gold digger? She wasn’t the first and she wouldn’t be the last. Kris had done what she could to make her father see the light, but he was a grown man. It was his life, and he had to learn his own lessons. If he and Gloria stayed married until they were both gray of hair? Great. If Gloria left him after a few years and took half of everything he owned? It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Fifty percent of the Carrera fortune was still a lot, and Roger would bounce back. He hadn’t climbed his way to the top of the cutthroat corporate world because he couldn’t handle adversity, and Gloria was nothing compared to hostile takeover attempts and crooked business partners.
Kris was done trying to meddle in her father’s life and battling with the Stepmonster, who so didn’t deserve her energy. Let them do what they wanted.
As for her financial situation, she’d figure that out later.
Right now, all that mattered was her and Nate.
Nate exhaled a gust of relief at her words. “You’re amazing,” he said hoarsely, cupping her face with his hands. “I can’t believe I was lucky enough to find you.”
“It’s the other way around.” They were veering dangerously close to cheesy rom-com territory, but who cared? Nate was her harbor in the storm, her anchor in all the insanity, and she wanted him to know, in no uncertain terms, what he meant to her. “I love you.”
Damn it, she was going to cry. In public, no less.
“I love you, too. So freakin’ much.” Nate brushed a strand of hair out of her eye before he kissed her. Slow, sweet, tender.
