Page 46 of Secrets in Love
“Oh my God.” I couldn’t help but smile as I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the street.
Fifteen minutes into our first store, I realized I’d made several mistakes. The first was the store I took Nate to, Rag and Bone on Mercer. It was one of Finn’s favorite brands, and I thought the fact that my idiot brother wore their clothes would add enough of an ick factor to render them unappealing on Nate. I was wrong.
My second mistake was sitting outside the changing room while he tried things on. The hot blonde sales assistant, the second woman that morning I had wanted to physically hurt for checking out Nate, had just dumped the pile of clothes and slid the curtain across. But she didn’t close it all the way, and Nate didn’t either. I could have told him, but for some reason, I forgot to.
Honestly, I hadn’t set out to watch him undress. It just kind of happened. There I was, innocently biting my nails, staring at my feet, and wondering where to take him next, when a voice inside told me to look up. I did and was met with the vision of Nate pulling his tee over his head. As always, he wore a white undershirt, and I continued to ogle helplessly as, in slow motion, that, too, was discarded. All that remained were jeans that sat dangerously low on his hips despite the presence of a belt that seemed to be doing absolutely nothing. God bless it.
Sans shirt, he ran his hands through his hair, roughing it up all sexy-like and looking at the shirts I’d selected while allowing him zero input. A wry smile spread to his lips when he picked up the first, a gray Henley with the word DOOFUS written across the chest. He chuckled, his hand scratching at his belly before he slipped it over his head. I mourned the loss of his skin as the soft cotton hid it from view, but even clothed, he was irresistible. After a quick look and approving nod in the mirror, he ripped it off and moved on to the next. This pattern continued for maybe five or six shirts. A teeny part of me was annoyed as he hadn’t come out to show me any of them like I’d instructed, but I was too ab-struck to mention it. Then everything changed. He removed his shirt, but the next item he picked up was a pair of pants.
He dropped them back onto the chair beside him, allowing his fingers to slip over his belt, unfastening and sliding the leather through the loops and then the buckle. They dropped lower on his hips, and I watched with mouth agape as his thumbs hooked inside the waist, and he began to pull them down. The swell of a very peachy-looking ass emerged.Is he wearing any underwear?I gasped, and his head shot up and sideways, instantly spotting me through my pervert gap.
Time stood still. We watched each other, our chests rising and falling in silent sequence. A smirk spread over his lips. He said nothing but winked, turned his back, faced the mirror, and continued to lower his pants.
My heart stopped. He saw me… He knew I was watching… He was still undressing… He liked that I was watching… Oh, he wore cruelly low boxers. I had just seen him in his swimwear but seeing him there with that thin scrap of material—the only thing protecting him from complete exposure—was so hot and, oh my god, un-fucking believable. The man was cut like stone. Hard lines balanced perfectlyand were softened by bulging muscle, golden flesh, and a light sprinkling of sandy hair. I licked my lips as he stepped out of his jeans one leg at a time, neatly folded them, and laid them on a chair. His thick, muscular thighs, quads, and calves—the ones I only then realized I thought of so often at the most random times of the day—clenched and tightened as he stepped into the army-green chinos and slid them up over his butt. After another glance in the mirror, he slipped the tee back over his head. His eyes never left mine as he let it fall from his fingers and settle on the top of the pile. It was only then that I noticed the small daisy tattoo positioned right over his heart.When did he get that tattoo? And why a daisy?The foolish, romantic quadrant of my mind instantly sprang to a laughable conclusion…It’s for you, Aoife. He knows daisies are your favorite and has it over his heart for you. He loves you.
“What do you think, Gidge? You like what you see?” I jumped off my seat as he pushed aside the curtain and stood before me.
“I didn’t look—see.”WHAT?
His eyes were full of laughter, but he held it together. “Do you think I need to try on more pants?”
“Yes…well, I mean, these look nice….good…great, if…if you wanted to maybe just get another color. I think they have a few.”
He nodded, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. “Whatever you say, boss.” He then strode back into the changeroom, waving slowly as he disappeared from view. “Show’s over, lady.”
I was lost for words, so wet I feared dehydration, and caught between ignorance and acknowledgment. Do I pretend that didn’t happen, or do I roll with it?
“When did you get the tattoo?” And down the hill I rolled.
“Thought you didn’t look—see?”
Shit.
“I didn’t. I saw it at the pool.”
”Nice save, Gidge.” He chuckled and stuck his head back through the curtain. “I got it maybe a day or two after you left. You like it?”
“Your man boobs were blinding me, so I didn’t get a good look. I just saw a green blob.”
“Is this your way of asking me to come out shirtless again?”
Damn the bastard if I didn’t laugh.
“No, Nathaniel,” I said, raising a brow. “This may come as a shock, but believe it or not, not every thought or suggestion I make relating to you is related to seeing your body.”
“Hmm, I say…not.”
“What? Not what?”
“Not. You said…believe it or not, not every thought or suggestion I make relating to you is related to seeing your body, and I don’t believe it. So, I said…”
“Yeah, yeah, I get the point.” I rolled my eyes with all my might and waved him off. “Just hurry the hell up.”
The shopping tour rolled onto three more shops before we had a break for lunch at Rubirosa on Mulberry St. “Please tell me you haven’t gone vegan since you’ve been here. I need meat, and I need it now.”
“Vegan? Me? As if.” I passed the menu to Nate.
“Don’t you want to have a look first?” he asked.
