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“Ah, thanks,” I say, smoothing my hand over the forest green dress I’m wearing, I suck my stomach in a little harder as I meet his eyes. “You look really handsome too.” Not that he needs to put much effort in. He’s naturally stunning—broad shoulders, muscular frame, and square jaw. When Liz said he was a cross between Jax Teller and Chris Hemsworth, she wasn’t half wrong. When I first met him in the coffee shop, he was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. Just the sight of him almost got me pregnant. Today he’s wearing charcoal slacks, a button-up shirt, and a pale blue tie. His shoulder-length hair is pulled back at the nape of his neck, and the stubbled jaw he was sporting a few days ago is now shaved clean. He smells like the woods with a dash of spice and orange. And everything about him is so perfect that this time I think I’m pregnant with twins. Someone needs to make protective glasses for these kinds of situations because my ovaries ache from looking at him.
“Liam Tribbiani. At your service.” He gives me a slight bow.
“Getting into character already, huh?” I flash him a grin as I drop my keys and phone in my purse then reach for the bakery box.
He moves it out of my reach. “Liam does all the heavy lifting,” he says, giving me a wink.
“Does Liam always talk in third person too?” I ask, heading for the elevator and hitting the call button.
“He can if you want him to,” Nate says, hanging back as the doors open and I step inside. He follows me in and hits the button for the lobby. It’s all so fluid and natural that I honestly forget for a moment that this is all just an act. Liz did say he’s a good actor, and after our conversation just now, I’m wondering what else he’s good at too…
“I don’t,” I say, sneaking a glance at this hunk of a man and finding him smiling my way. “Something amusing?”
He inhales before he shakes his head. “I’m just surprised is all.”
“About?”
“Why a woman as beautiful as you would need a guy like me.” His eyes dance and my face heats. The comment is confronting and flattering all at the same time, and I’m having trouble figuring out if he’s serious or if it’s just part of the act.
“Maybe tone down the flirting a bit,” I say, erring on the side of caution so I don’t get too carried away here. Being so close to a man as beautiful and charming as Nate is nerve-wracking enough without complicating things by convincing myself his kindness is actual interest. I need to remember that this is a boss/employee situation in order to keep my head clear. We’re both playing a part. Nothing more. “We’ve been dating six months already, so you really don’t need to use any lines on me. To Liam, I’m a sure thing, and he’d probably be getting bored with me by now.”
Nate’s brow knits before he inhales and opens his mouth, about to say something. But the dinging of the elevator arriving on the ground floor cuts him off. “After you,” he says instead, gesturing for me to go ahead of him.
We walk to his car in silence, but when he opens the sedan’s passenger door to let me in, he pauses before he closes it.
“You’re wrong,” he says, resting an elbow on the top of the navy-blue door.
“About?”
His eyes lock on mine as he waits a beat before he answers. “Liam,” he says finally. “He wouldn’t be bored.” And with that, he closes the door and heads around to the driver’s side. Leaving me trying to work out what the hell he meant by that. I mean, a guy like him couldn’t possibly likeme. Surely he’s just being nice and all these compliments mean nothing. This is just part of the service…Right?
NATE
“Why a dentist?” I’ve loosened my tie slightly, trying to be a little more comfortable in this monkey suit for the journey. Normally, I’m a sweats and T-shirt kind of guy. I only bought my first suit because my grandfather insisted that every man needs at least one good suit in their wardrobe. Since then, there have been times when life or the job has required it. So as much as I hate wearing them, I have a couple for special occasions... Like pretending to be someone’s long-term boyfriend, for example.
“Oh, gosh. You’re going to think I’m really silly when I tell you,” Delaney says, glancing at me. She’s kept her eyes firmly out the window throughout most of the first hour of our journey. I don’t know if she’s too nervous to look at me, or if she just doesn’t like what she sees. I’ve been told in the past that I’m a decent looking guy, but I also know that you can’t please everyone. Spending a large portion of your life being told you don’t have the right look for a part will hammer that one home pretty fast, so I don’t pretend to think I’m anything particularly special.
“Try me,” I say, flashing her a smile when our eyes meet for the briefest of moments.
“Well, this all started after the last time my mother set me up on a date. The man had zero personality and I kind of think he was a little bit cross-eyed. At least, one of his eyes seemed to turn toward his nose more often than it was looking at me. Maybe that’s a lazy eye or something? Or maybe he found me eye-rollingly painful to be around. I don’t know. But, I felt that I had done my daughterly duty, entertaining the idea of these men for the sake of my well-meaning mother and aunt. So when Mom called and mentioned she metanother‘nice young man’, I told her that I was already seeing someone. Which is where the lie begins.”
“Let me guess, you were sitting at the dentist during this phone call?” I ask.
“The subway actually. I told her I was seeing someone. And she asked who. I wasn’t really prepared for the lie, so I was looking around at all the little advertisements they have up on the walls, and there was a movie poster with Liam Neeson in it. So that’s where I got Liam from. Then the person sitting next to me was wearing one of those shirts that say, ‘it’s a moo point.’ You know that line from Friends when Joey says it’s a moo point because a cow’s opinion doesn’t actually matter?”
“It’s all moo,” I say, smiling because I’m thoroughly entertained by how her mind has pieced this all together.
“Right. Well, I looked at her shirt and I thought ‘Joey Tribianni’. Which is how Liam got his last name. Then of course, there was an ad about teeth whitening above the seat across from me, so that’s how he became a dentist. It’s not the most inventive of stories, but I didn’t really think I was ever going to have to produce the man. I hoped I’d be able to make up an excuse for Thanksgiving then say we broke up before Christmas then be very sad over New Years, and just beleft alonethese holidays. But then my aunt—who thinks she isn’t going to live to see another holiday—went and bought all these tickets for a family cruise and well, you know the rest.”
I take my eyes off the road for a second to glance her way. “For what it’s worth, I get it,” I say.
“You do?”
“Hell, yeah.” The leather on the steering wheel creaks as I grip it a little too hard, trying to find the right words here. “I’m not trying to talk shit about your family, I’m really not. But they should probably learn to back off and let you live your life the way you want, find someone to love in your own time and on your own terms. No matter how badly they want to see you happy, throwing all these guys at you was never going to end well. I’m surprised you’ve put up with it this long. You’re obviously a very caring daughter and niece. Most women I know would have told them to shove off already.”
“I love my aunt. She’s like my second mom and my idol all wrapped into one eccentric package. But her biggest regret in life is chasing her career for so long that she missed her chance to settle down and have children. I mean, she had her extended family around her, but she really pined for kids of her own. And since she sees a lot of herself in me, she’s transferred her fears, I guess. I don’t have it in me to be cruel and tell her to stop, you know?”
“Do you want what she wants for you?” I ask, my voice coming out softer than expected.
