Page 26 of A Lot Like Forever
“You’re overreacting,” she said, wriggling in her seat to face him. “Now tell me how your granddad was today?”
Nate gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “He seemed good, considering what he’s going through. But then he’s always been good at making us boys think there’s nothing wrong with him.”
“And did he say anything else about the reading of his will?”
He grunted, wishing he hadn’t divulged something to Faith before telling his brothers. Keeping things to himself wasn’t usually a problem for him, but in this particular instance he’d almost needed someone else to talk it through with. Usually he could have turned to Sam, but he wasn’t going out of his way to seek his friend out right now.
“He keeps telling me not to worry, that nothing will come as a surprise to them, but I just don’t want to cause a rift. I told them a lot, but I didn’t tell them that he wanted a formal reading of it while he was still . . . here.” Nate pumped the accelerator a little harder. “My brothers mean more to me than anything. No amount of money or power in the world would be worth sacrificing our relationship.”
“It must be nice always knowing that they have your back and vice versa.”
Nate glanced across at her. “Yeah, it is. And now that they have wives, our circle has grown a little. Meaning I have even more people I love to protect.”
“You have a lot riding on your shoulders, Nate,” she said, her voice low. “You can give yourself a break sometimes and just be you. Around me, anyway.”
Her words made him laugh. “I’ve never had any trouble letting my hair down and partying, Faith, if that’s what you mean.”
She smiled, but she didn’t laugh back at him. “Fair point. But I think we both know that’s not what I meant.”
“So would you usually dress like that to head to Joe’s?”
“Enough with what I’m wearing, Nate!” She play-punched him in the arm as she laughed. “And we’re not going to Joe’s, so I’m hardly gonna be overdressed. I told some of my friends to join us, said it was a good excuse to put something nice on and go out, so it’s not just me in a nice dress you’ll have to worry about.”
He ground his teeth together, jaw like steel. “I don’t give a damn about your friends, darlin’, only you.”
“I’m a big girl, Nate,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, so you keep saying.” So why was it he alternated between wanting to strip her naked like the big grown-up girl she kept claiming to be and fighting the urge to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her from the world the rest of the time?
“So will we be dancing?” she asked coyly, as if she knew exactly how her teasing affected him.
“No, there’ll be no goddamn dancing,” he muttered. “At least you won’t seemedancing.”
“We’ll see.” Her voice was sweet as pie, and if he hadn’t had his hands on the steering wheel he would have grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her like she’d never been kissed before. He didn’t know what the hell had happened to her, but it was like she was on a mission to ruffle his feathers tonight, and she’d sure as hell succeeded.
* * *
Faith had no idea what the hell had gotten into her. She’d gone from being timid around Nate to being desperate to push all his buttons just to get a reaction from him. And every time she got a reaction from him it only spurred her on all the more. It was like she was playing a part, wanting to stand up to him, to prove that she wasn’t the little girl he seemed to see her as still, and to make matters worse, she was liking it.Loving it.And best of all, she hadn’t thought once about her douche-bag ex. With Nate, she knew she was protected, didn’t need to look over her shoulder.
“Do you come here much?” she asked as Nate parked the car.
“Sam and I used to come here all the time,” he said. “Not so often these days.”
“What do you think of his new girlfriend?”
“She seems nice,” Nate answered before turning off the ignition and unclipping his seat belt. “But then I’ve only met her a couple times, so I can’t really say.”
Faith watched as he got out of the car and seemed to stalk around to her side. She kept telling herself she wasn’t ready for anything to happen between them, but if they took it slow . . . She swallowed. She wasn’t sure if Nate did slow, but if he did . . Faith adjusted her dress, made sure she wasn’t showing more than she wanted to, and clasped her purse. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t dressed for Nate tonight, and she wanted him to notice. When he opened her door she stepped out, her heels clicking on the pavement as they walked side by side toward the bar.
Nate cleared his throat as they walked, glancing at her. She just smiled back at him, pleased she’d gone with her highest heels so that she wasn’t at a complete disadvantage to his sixfoot-four frame. He still made her feel tiny, in a Thor to Natalie Portman kind of way, and it wasn’t so much that she didn’t like it; she just wanted to be able to look him in the eye instead of having to crane her neck.
“You do look beautiful tonight, Faith,” Nate said, his brown eyes warm when they connected with hers.
She breathed deep, lost every inch of the self-confidence she’d been so full of earlier. “Thank you.”
“Now let’s get inside and deal with your brother.”
Faith watched as Nate nodded at the doorman, following close behind him. The place was already busy, full of people trying to talk over the music, which at least meant no one heard her gasp when Nate reached for her hand, his warm palm jammed against hers, fingers strong and firm as he led the way.
