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His noticeable cough sounds inexplicably like a concealed laugh. It takes me a minute to filter through potential reasons, and a frown graces my face.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
“I plead the fifth.” His voice rasps in my ear, setting off another round of tingles. Stop that, Kiersten! Friends don’t give friends secret tingles.
A wash of emotion comes over me. “Why would you do that?”
The struggle in my tone triggers Nathan to soften his voice to match. “It’s not a big deal. I simply made a suggestion.”
“I mean,” I croak and suck in a shuddering breath, “I would have gone out eventually, you know? It just would have been last minute, and I would have been freezing cold and wearing something that absolutely did not fit in order to run to the store.” A trail of tears breaks free and course down my cheeks. Somewhere through the uncontrollable blubbering, I hear a door slam and rustling like Nathan’s on the move.
“Babe, it’s okay,” he calls.
I ignore him. “Instead, I let my best friend take me out for a fun little shopping trip and a great dinner, and I bought this sweet new jacket that’s super warm, and I have tons of room to grow over the next few weeks. And while I thought it was sweet of her to take me out…”
My front door swings open, startling me around. Nathan strides through, a knight about to slay the dragon and save his damsel, cell held to his ear and concern mars his brow. At the sight of him, I drop my phone to my side, forgotten.
“It was all you.”
“Babe.”
I inhale sharply through my nose to stem my tears. “Why? Why would you do that and not tell me?”
Guessing his thoughts is next to impossible. Is he mulling over the truth? Is it simply he noticed I was outgrowing my other one and doesn’t want to make me feel stupid for crying over it?
Well, poo-poo on him because I can’t help being emotional while I’m pregnant. Hormones come with the entire package, thank you very much.
I fold my arms over my chest and feign patience. My watery blue eyes lock with his soulful brown ones.
Massive strides with his brown booted feet eliminate the distance between us. His proximity forces me to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact, and he slants his down to do the same. A warm palm curls beneath my chin, and his thumb sweeps across it just millimeters below my lower lip. The urge grips me tight to taste it with my tongue.
“Friends take care of friends.”
Whoosh.
Like being doused in cold water, I blink a few times and seem to return from a dream. Dreams don’t cause pain, and there’s a small ache in my chest. I rub my fist over the spot.
“Right. I appreciate that.”
His grip on my chin tightens fractionally.
“Because we’re friends, right? Just friends?” Brown eyes flit back and forth between mine as the little crease appears between his brows.
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, hoping I don’t look too creepy while I do it, and nod. It’s impossible to miss the way his gaze flicks to my mouth.
“Good.”
Using his sustained hold, he tilts my face down and presses a lingering kiss on my forehead.
Those tingles erupt again from the spot his lips contact and cascade down my body like a warm waterfall.
“I’m glad you have the gear because you’d be miserable tonight without it. Ready?”
No, I’m most definitely not ready. I need another hour or two to settle the growing feelings in my stomach and process what is happening. Unfortunately, there’s no time for that, and it’s probably just indigestion. I paste on a smile and end the stall.
“Ready.”
Darkness settles over a snowy Arrow Creek. The headlights of Nathan’s truck illuminate the treelined road before us, and the quiet hum of the engine occupies our silence as we wind through a dense forest about ten miles outside of our little town. We’re lucky someone came out this way to clear away the snow after our Christmas blizzard because I’d be useless if the truck got stuck.
