Page 61 of Away With You
“No, about you. About how everything that happened was your fault. And…”
“And?”
“And about how I’m getting her sloppy seconds.”
Nathan’s nostrils flare, and he looks over his shoulder, like he’s torn between staying with me and marching back to her.
I tug on his arm to keep him in place. “But that’s not the worst of it.”
His brows fly up. “It’s not?”
Restless and unable to see his face when I confess this next part, I pace away from him. “No. You see, I got mad. Like big mad when she insulted you. And I told her how I was the one who met you first. That she got my sloppy seconds.”
His eyes lock with mine, intense and unwavering. “You said that?”
I nod, gathering my hair over my shoulder to give my hands something to do. “And then I said…”
In two steps, he’s back in my space again, bathing me with his warmth and his scent and his nearness. “Yes?”
My eyes flicker to his and away again. “After I said that stuff, I told her…”
He inches closer. “Yes?”
I draw in a deep breath and release it, and all the words in a rushed whisper. “I told her you’ve always been mine.”
CHAPTER 16
NATHAN
Always been mine.
Katie’s soft words hit me like a punch to the sternum, and I almost buckle under the weight of them.
“I know!” she wails, her hands clutching the lapels of my suit jacket. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid thing to say. I just got so mad; you know? It was like my blood was actually boiling in my veins. How dare she speak about you like that? After what she did, she should grovel at your feet, begging for your forgiveness.”
I put a finger on her soft lips to silence her. “Kitty Kat, you’ve got nothing to apologise for.”
Her brow furrows, and I move my finger from her lips to her brow to smooth it out, tracing back over her cheek to land on her heart-shaped freckle.
“I don’t?”
My gut clenches as I stare down at her, her face a work of art in the moonlight. “Of course not.”
She swallows. “But I lied to her. A lie that’s so easy to disprove. We have to spend an entire week with these people,and she’s going to let everyone know what I said and how delusional I am.”
My hands fall to her small waist, and I tug her closer to me. “Where’s the lie? I did have a crush on you back at school.”
Her mouth forms a perfect O, like I’d shocked her, and I can’t help it. I brush my lips over hers. Once, twice, three times.
“Um.” Her hands on my jacket tighten, and I swear she pulls me closer. “You did?”
What were we talking about?I’m distracted by her parted lips, her rose-red cheeks, her chest rising and falling.
“Of course.” I gather my wits to reassure her. “Everyone had a crush on you, Kitty Kat.”
She shakes her head and drops her hands from me.Shame.“Now you’re just spouting utter rubbish to make me feel better. And regardless, there’s a difference between a teenage crush and whatever it was that came out of my mouth back there.”
I sigh and turn her around to walk us into our bungalow. “Here, eat a biscuit.”
