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“He was only joking. It’s just his big brother way.”
“Tommy behaves like a big brother,” I say, turning to find her struggling with her zip. “Tony behaves like a schoolyard bully.” She turns abruptly when she realizes my voice is directly behind her. “Let me help.”
Sucking in a breath, she turns her face forward and pulls her luscious hair over her right shoulder, her breathing obviously faster as I pull the zipper upward. “Is there anyone else in my family you hate?” she asks.
“Hate is a strong word. Dislike is more on point. I dislike Tony. And I also dislike your mother.” I lean in closer while I secure the hook and eye at the top of the zip.
“My mother?” She whirls around to face me. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I surprised her,” I say, meeting her deep blue eyes. The fabric of the dress makes them look sapphire.
“Surprised? When?”
“When we arrived. She said I wasn’t what she expected then you got all uncomfortable and decided no one was ever going to believe I chose a woman like you. That’s when we stood in the bathroom mirror.” I touch her shoulders and spin her around so we’re facing the long mirror in the closet. “And I told you you’reexactlythe kind of girl I’d go for.” Our eyes meet in the mirror and hold. It’s like I can see her remembering the moment, realization dawning as she understands that every time we were alone, I wasn’t playing a part. I wanted her all along.
“Nate,” she whispers, her hand reaching up to touch mine.
I pull away and clear my throat. “I’ll meet you at the bar when you’re ready.”
“Ah, sure,” she says, frowning slightly before I slip my feet into a pair of loafers then head on out, realizing that this sexual tension between us isn’t just going to go away or be ignored. No. It’s a living, breathing thing that seems to grow whenever we’re near. Being strictly professional is going to prove more difficult than I thought. I want her too much. In fact, I need her. Forever. And I won’t accept anything less.
DELANEY
Dinner goes as expected. Nate is on his best behavior playing Liam, and if one didn't know any better, they’d say Liam is a dream. Which is exactly what my sisters-in-law say when we're waiting at the bar for the after-dinner festivities to start. My parents are seated to the side with Aunty Joan, looking mortified while Aunty chats up a waiter in her gregarious way. I’m standing with Lucy and Tarryn while Nate is at the bar getting me a gin and tonic and himself a beer. While he’s occupied and we’re on our own, Lucy and Tarryn take the opportunity to gush about how amazing they think he is.
"How in the world did you land a man like that?" Lucy asks, her mouth agape as she drags her eyes over Nate’s back. I don't miss the fact that she lingers a little too long while looking at his ass.
"What do you mean, 'how did she land him'?” Tarryn asks, frowning as she sips on her wine spritzer. Tommy has gone back to their cabin with the kids since neither of them is comfortable leaving them in the care of the ship’s staff at night. Lucy and Tony don't have the same problem, but their kids are a little bit older and not as attached as Tarryn and Tommy’s are, so Tony is lined up at the bar with Nate.I’ll bet Nate hates—I mean,dislikes—that.
"I was just saying that you don't often find men who look like him wandering around willy-nilly," Lucy explains. "He could be a model, maybe even a fitness trainer. But a dentist…I've never seen a dentist that hot before."
"Neither have I," I say, smiling but keeping my answer short.
"So, he's not just a stripper who dresses as a dentist?" Lucy giggles.
"You're being insensitive, Luce," Tarryn says. "And you're dismissing how intelligent the man obviously is by only focusing on his looks."
"I'm just…reallyjealous." Lucy giggles before turning her attention to Tony who is returning with her wine.
"What are you girls gasbagging about?" Tony asks.
"Delaney was just telling us how she and Liam got together," Lucy says, winking at me as she takes a big gulp of red.
"I was?" I blink a few times as I try to recall all the details. I mean, I know the story—I did write it after all—but it feels very different writing it down and saying it out loud while trying to sound convincing.
"Yes! I want to hear this,” Tarryn says, tapping my arm gently. “You didn't tell us at Thanksgiving."
"Oh…that's because there isn't a huge amount to tell," I say. "We met at the supermarket, got talking and the rest is history." I flash them a smile and bounce my shoulders.
"It was a little more than that," Nate says as he slides into the conversation, handing me my drink before returning to his possessive hold about my waist. I have to say I do enjoy this part of ourbusinessrelationship. I know he made it very clear that we wouldn't cross that line from business to pleasure again. But I am still holding out some hope that he'll give me another chance. Those couple of incidences in our cabin felt so filled with tension that I wondered if he was about to kiss me.
“It was?” I ask, shooting a look of warning his way.Don’t elaborate on something we can’t prove!He just grins and nods as he takes a mouthful of his drink.
“Of course, it was her hair I noticed first,” he starts. “I was buying bananas, and as I looked up, I saw this flame-haired beauty pushing an empty shopping cart through the entry. I spent the next twenty minutes following along behind her and grabbing random items from the shelves to put in my basket so I didn’t look like the creeper I was actually being. It was like there was this sweetness in the air around her. Something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Vanilla, maybe. Oranges? Possibly just her. No matter what it was, I was drawn in. That much was clear. I had this uncanny need to know her, be with her. And eventually, after collecting at least twelve products I definitely didn't need, I worked up the courage to speak to her in the frozen food aisle. She was buying green peas, if I remember correctly. I walked up to her and asked if she was single. When she said she was, I asked her if she'd like to go out sometime. She responded by pressing those peas to her forehead like she was suffering from a head wound before she asked if I was serious. I’d never seen anything so adorable in all my life. She was so humble and unaware of her own beauty.” He turns to me and meets my eyes, his voice soft and intimate. “I think that's what made me fall in love with her.”
Clean up in aisle three! A woman is down!I’m seriously swooning here. Thank god Nate has his arm around me still because I can’t trust my knees not to buckle without support.
“Aww. That issolovely,” Tarryn says, smiling wide. “You definitely tell that story better, Liam. Del, you held out on usso muchthere.”
