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“You looked too peaceful. I wanted you to have the rest your body needed.”
“What I needed was to get back to work, just as much as you did.”
“Well, as it turns out, I happen to be really close to your boss and he didn’t mind you having an extra-long lunch break.” He smirks.
“As it turns out, my boss is an ass. AndImind. My job is important. It might not be important to you but it is to me.”
“Your career is extremely important to me, Bentley. Don’t ever think I don’t value you and what you bring to the firm,” he says as he pulls away from my house. “Is that why you went to your mother’s last night, instead of coming home?”
Home.He continues to refer to his apartment as home. It’s his home; it’s not mine. I know it’s his way of trying to get me to agree to move in with him.
“I wenthome, Nathan. I live with my mother,” I tell him.
“You keep your things there. You live with me.” He reaches across the middle console to link our fingers together before resting our joined hands on his thigh.
“You can’t just say that I live with you and make it fact,” I tell him.
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not how things work.”
“What do I need to do to get you to move in with me?”
“Buy a new house.” I laugh. “I’m not an idiot, Nathan. The ghosts of all your girlfriends past live in that apartment of yours. It’s a bachelor pad. I’m not living in a bachelor pad.”
“First of all, I’ve never had girlfriends in my apartmentbefore you. Secondly, what kind of house are we talking about?”
“I was joking. You’re not buying a new house just to get me to move in with you.” I ignore the part about girlfriends. I know he might not have had any long-term relationships, but he most certainly had women in that apartment. “Where are we going?” I ask when I notice he’s taken a different turnoff from the one that would lead us into the city.
“Breakfast.” He smiles at me. Ten minutes later, we pull up at a little nature reserve. There are no other cars here. Nathan hops out of the car and walks around to my side, opening the door. “Come on, I’m starving,” he says while holding out a hand to me.
“What are we eating? Leaves?” I ask, looking around. It’s a park. There are no cafés or shops in sight.
“Well, I’ll be eating you. You’ll be eating this.” He reaches into the back of the car and retrieves a basket.
“You packed a picnic?”
“I did.” He laces my fingers in his, leads me into the park, and settles us into a secluded little spot, where I watch as he lays out a blanket before placing the basket in the middle. “Sit,” he instructs.
Shivers run through my body at the commanding tone of his voice, I don’t know what it is, but when Nathan Miller gives me an order, all I want to do is follow it. I sit next to him on the blanket. His long legs are stretched out. As I rake my eyes over him, it occurs to me how ridiculous we must look. We’re both sitting in the park, at seven in the morning, wearing business attire. Nathan starts emptying the picnic basket, pulling out a variety of freshly cut fruits, pastries, and champagne, followed by a container of orange juice. I watch as he pops the cork on the champagne and pours two glasses, filling them to the halfway point before topping them off with the juice.
Handing me one, he holds up the other. “To finding gems in unexpected places.” He taps his glass against mine.
I bring the delicious, bubbly concoction to my mouth. “How did you find the time to do all this?” I ask. “It looks so good.” I pick up a chocolate croissant and bite into it.
“I may have called the bakery and had them put it together for me.” He shrugs.
“Well, I love this. Thank you,” I smile.
“I love you,” he says while leaning forward to capture my lips.
“Mmm, I love you too. But, next time, wake me up,” I tell him with a glare.
“I promise I will never leave for work without waking you again,” he says.
“Good.”
“Now eat up. We have an hour and a half before we need to head to the office. And I have plans for you that don’t include food.”
