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Turning back toward the screen, I snuggled back into the crook of Nathan’s arm, my gaze pointed toward the screen. “Speaking of headstrong women,” I said, clearing my throat. “About Brooklyn.”
“What about her?”
“Well, she’s similar to Mack in the sense that she’s her own person, and she hardly ever backs down,” I explained. “And the thing that she’s worried about is…”
“Our marriage,” he finished. He sighed. “Shit.”
“Yeah, it’s not great.” I fiddled with the stem of the wineglass. “She’s worried that I’m rushing into this too fast, without really knowing you. And truthfully, she’s right; we haven’t known each other that long, so she has reason to be worried. But it’s going to make pulling this off a lot harder.”Especially given the guilt I feel for deceiving her, I added in my head.
“Mack has her concerns, as well,” Nathan admitted. “When she congratulated me at her party, she basically told me that now that you’re family, I better not hurt you. I believe she saidhurt her and I’ll hurt you.”
Though I warmed at the thought of Mack looking out for me, my heart beat faster at the thought of causing a rift between Nathan and his siblings. “That’s not good. We’ll have to be extra careful to place equal blame when we divorce.”
“Maybe. But hey,” he said, gently squeezing my arm. “Tonight was good, right? We’re spending time together, getting to know each other. It’ll make us more believable as a couple.”
And there it is.I grimaced. Of course this date wasn’t just to get to know each other better, or to solely make up for the proposal. It was also for the optics. A quiet resentment soured my stomach.
Instead of saying that, I nodded. “True,” I said.
I took another sip of my wine, then stood up and stretched. “I should probably get to bed so I don’t oversleep tomorrow,” I said. “If you give me some sheets, I can make up my bed here.”
He looked at me as if I had suggested I sleep outside in the snow. “You’re not sleeping on the couch,” he insisted.
“Why not?”
“Because I have two guest rooms,” he said. “If anything, you can have my room and I’ll sleep in one of the other rooms.”
He shook his head. “Can’t believe you suggested sleeping on the couch,” he muttered. “Girl, you must be crazy.”
I giggled. “Sorry to ruffle your feathers, Mr. Hemingway.”
“As well you should be. The nerve of you!” He tilted his face up and away from me, crossing his arms in a hysterical show of pompousness.
I rolled my eyes, still laughing. “Okay, okay, show me these rooms,” I said.
He took my hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and inwardly, I swooned. “Come on, you,” he said. “Let’s get you to bed.”
ChapterNineteen
CIARA
As I sank deeper into the bed that night, I forgot to ask Nathan to wake me in the morning. In fact, I slept so soundly, I didn’t hear Nathan calling me until he was shaking me awake.
“What time are we supposed to meet Brooklyn at the airport?” Nathan asked, frowning as I joined the land of the waking.
I yawned and stretched, feeling more relaxed than I had in weeks. “Noon, why?”
Nathan grimaced. “I’m so sorry, pretty girl,” he said. “I should’ve checked with you last night…”
“What time is it?” I demanded, heart pounding.
“Noon,” he said.
I sprung out of bed, fully awake. “I have to get dressed, like now,” I said. “Where are my clothes?”
Nathan pointed to the top of his chest of drawers, where a neatly folded stack of clothes lay. “All ready for you.”
“Great.” I hurried to the dresser, unfolding my pants and shaking them out. I was so worried about being late that I didn’t even care that I was undressing in front of Nathan. “Brooklyn is a stickler for time. She’s gotten used to me being a little late to things, but this is your first time meeting her, and I don’t want her to think—”
