Page 21 of Trouble in Love
Jasmine: Maybe I’m stupid.
Me: Jasmine, you are many things. Stupid is not one of them.
Me: I, on the other hand, am not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I do know this. You don’t know my name. Which means technically,wehave never met. Which means the one-night rule is not applicable.
As depressing as it was, that was possibly the smartest thought I’d ever had. While I congratulated myself, the ominous bubbles appeared, disappeared, and appeared again.
Maybe I celebrated too early.
Jasmine:I like your logic, Cowboy. Message me your room number when you get to the hotel. I’ll be there at midnight. Should I bring Katie? Would you like to watch us together this time?
My cock damn near broke off.
Me: Ya know what? I think … I know I would enjoy that very much. But no. I just want you. Only you.
After a short, agonizing delay another text appeared.
Jasmine: Okay, But I have an additional rule. No spending the night, so make sure you don’t shoot your shot before I arrive. My lucky number is six and that’s how many orgasms I want before I leave.
Bare-chested and dripping with sweat, I took three steps into the house, pulled Nate from his favorite armchair, my phone from my pocket, and dragged him into the walk-in pantry fit for a doomsday prepper. “Nate, buddy. If an Aussie girl says … up yourself much with a question mark at the end, is that a good or bad thing?”
A smile teased his lips but disappeared in a flash.
“Who said that to you?” Iris snapped, popping out from behind from uncle, causing him to jump out of his skin.
“Jesus, Iris. I didn’t even know you were here. Why are you here? It’s like seven-thirty.”
Slowly, she tore her gaze from my abs and faced Nate. “Morning, Uncle Nate. Mum sent me over to help Evie with the babies.” The way her blush intensified very much cast doubt on that. Nate seemed to think so, too.
“Sure. Right, then. Well, Evie is upstairs with the tribe. They might still be sleeping, so why don’t you quietly go check and leave me and Luca to chat.”
“I could do that,” She smiled, fluttering her lashes and facing me again. “Or I could stay right here and help Luca with his woman troubles. As a woman myself, it’s probably better for him to talk to me than to you.”
“Iris, it’s scary how true that is, but still.” Doing a really poor job at suppressing his smirk, Nate left it at that and pointed toward the exit.
“And I thought you were the cool one?”
“I am the cool one!” He whined, utterly devastated, as his niece rolled her eyes and sauntered away.
After laughing my ass off, I gave him a not-at-all-reassuring pat on the back. “The kid’s brutal. What is she, like eleven?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
The commotion coming from upstairs suggested that if the babies had been asleep, they certainly weren’t anymore. Nateresponded by grabbing me by the elbow and leading me outside to his cherished man shed. Walls lined with photos of his kids, his beloved football team, and Byron’s iconic waves made it clear that Evie had more than a little say in its tasteful decoration.
“I love the kids with all my heart, but sometimes there’s just a bit too much estrogen in this house.”
“Dude, that could be the understatement of the decade. You have four girls under four, a wife, a mother, a sister-in-law, and two nieces living in your back pocket. I get it.”
He didn’t look convinced, “You don’t think it’s wrong for me to think that? Or think that I’m a bad dad?”
The image of my dad rifling through the freshly smashed piggybanks of his children was habitually blinked away. “Generally, I don’t think that much about anything but nope. I’d be more worried if you didn’t feel and express that. You have a whole lot going on here, and despite her feistiness, I bet Evie feels the same way sometimes. Have you ever asked her?”
“Nah, she has a lot to deal with. You wouldn’t know it now, but she really struggled when we brought the new twins home. She couldn’t breastfeed, and I think she felt like a bit of a failure. All I have to do is show up, support her, and try not to be a dick. I don’t think I have the right to complain about anything.” His back was to me, but from his posture alone, I could see the worry weighing him down.
“You’re not complaining, and it’s not a competition. Both of you can falter at times, but it’s how you hold each other up that counts.”
Nate turned and narrowed eyes. “That sounds pretty deep for a guy who doesn’t think much.”
