Page 50 of Nathan
“Are you impressed?”
“I might be, but can you do this?” I made my eyebrows dance in the same way that always made River laugh when we were little. Serena tried to imitate me and was so focused that she stuck her tongue out a little.
“Am I doing it?”
I wish I could have shown her in a mirror how cute she looked, but just then, the small plane took off, and we were distracted looking out the windows.
“You’re not afraid of flying, are you?” I asked her.
“No, are you?”
“If I say yes, will you hold my hand?” Before I could stop myself, I winked at her, and it dawned on me that from the very first time I met Serena in Spain, this had been the way between us.
I’d been so confused when I returned home and learned about her relationship with Storm shortly after because during the trip, Serena had flirted with me and not him. It had been easy to believe that I’d fooled myself thinking there was chemistry between Serena and me. Men around the globe dreamed of her, and so it was very likely that I’d seen what I wanted to see.
That’s why her interest in me on Saturday night had felt so satisfying. It meant that I hadn’t imagined the mutual attraction between us.
Serena didn’t take my hand, but she tilted her head and smiled at me. “Were you surprised that I agreed to come to Sweden with you?”
With laughter in my voice, I joked, “What do you mean you agreed to? From what I remember, you invited yourself to come.”
Nudging me with her elbow, Serena chuckled. “Is that what it was?”
With a warm smile, I assured her, “I’m happy you decided to join me.”
She narrowed her eyes but kept smiling. “Are you? Really?”
“Absolutely. There’s no TV, so bringing my own actor is kind of brilliant when you think about it.” I was enjoying the playful energy between us and leaned closer. “How is your singing voice?”
“Like an angel’s,” she said with humor dancing in her eyes. “How is yours?”
“Not like an angel’s.” I closed one eye and pretended to think about it like a critic would if he were finding words to describe a performance. “I think the best description of my singing voice is… hmm… Have you ever heard cats fighting?”
“You mean when they hiss at each other?”
“Yes, now imagine that as singing.”
“Maybe you could get away with it by compensating with your enormous confidence.”
With my most charming smile, I wiggled my eyebrows. “Confidence is sexy.”
Serena laughed and looked out the window with a shake of her head.
The trip to Sweden went much faster than my original plan of driving. Once we arrived at the small airport, a rental car stood ready. As Serena had predicted, her assistant had managed to find a friendly soul who had filled the car with groceries.
We used my phone to find our way to the cabin, and once we got there, Serena broke into a small squeal.
“This is perfect!”
“It looks like something out of a movie, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, remote and tranquil. It’s the beginning of every horror movie that involves a lake and a monster.” Serena laughed.
We had to park the car and walk out the isthmus to the rocky island that the cabin sat on. Around us was nothing but trees and water.
“How come there’s no other cabins down to the water?”
“Jacob’s family owns all the land here, including the lake.”
