Page 201 of Hidden Nature

She transferred some to his plate.

“Drea was ballet girl. I liked it okay. It’s athletic, physical, demanding, but—”

“Too much time indoors.”

She tapped her fork in the air. “Exactly. So tennis and piano? Any other lessons and hidden talents?”

“We had to learn suitable dances. I consider myself fortunate ballet wasn’t in the mix.”

“Athletic,” she reminded him. “Physical. But, that aside, what’s a suitable dance?”

“Waltz would top the list.”

She sat back, pointed at him. “You can waltz? You have to teach me. It always looks so pretty, especially in those movies where the women are in those sweeping gowns and the guys wear tuxes. Do you really have a tux?”

He had two, but just shrugged.

“I don’t have a sweeping gown, but I’d get one if I knew how to waltz.”

She angled her head. “What’s funny?”

“Not funny so much as interesting. You’re an interesting woman.”

“You teach me to waltz, and I’ll crochet you a throw. After I crochet mine, so it’ll be a few years. But it’s a good trade. Or I could do a scarf, which you’d definitely have by next fall. You can choose.”

“I’ll decide after I see how long it takes you to learn the waltz.”

“That makes sense.” She leaned toward him. “Tell me something else?”

“About what?”

“About you. We’ve known each other for months now, and I’m just finding out you play the piano and know how to waltz. You probably fox-trot, too, even though I don’t know exactly what that is. Favorite TV show, early 2000s.”

“Alias. We weren’t allowed to watch, but Sophia would record it and let us watch it when they weren’t around. Hot, kick-ass woman. Everything a young boy could want. I will forever have a crush on Jennifer Garner.”

“That shows excellent taste. I wasn’t a young boy, but I loved that show. And I’m sorry I keep blundering into what you had to do or couldn’t.”

“It’s hard not to, and it’s fine. And it gets less… important every day. I have what I want. I was happy enough in New York. I’m happier here.”

“What would you do on an average evening in New York?”

“This. Dinner out. Not now and again, but most of the time. Taking clients to dinner or a dinner meeting, a date or meeting up with Theo. In Annapolis?”

“A lot of takeout or toss something together. Maybe dinner with friends, or over at Joel’s if Sari took pity on us. Maybe a date. I was happy there, and I didn’t really expect it, but I’m happier here. I’ve got what I want, too.”

Because they both wanted it, they spent the night together within the soothing walls of her bedroom.

He left before her in the morning, and as she dressed for work, she dubbed her weekend—a truly off weekend—perfect. She’d put her mind and her efforts into her home, herself, and by doing so, her relationship with Nash.

She liked who he was, who he’d made himself into. The more she learned about him, the more she admired the man he’d made himself into.

If her feelings ran deeper than she’d intended, well, he was the kind of man she wanted to invest those feelings in.

And she was, beginning, middle, and end, responsible for her own feelings.

She’d come through a hard fall, a shaky start to the winter. And now with spring finally here, she had her footing, and someone she cared about who cared about her.

She had what she wanted, Sloan mused. And the weekend had only given her more.

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