Page 75 of A Lot Like Forever
She was confused. “Right now?”
“No, on Friday. I need you to take the day off, and I’ll come and get you first thing.”
She frowned the moment he mentioned her taking time off. “Nate, I can’t. This job means too much to me.”
His smile was too smug, his gaze too intense. “I’m sure your boss won’t mind you spending the day with your biggest client.”
“Biggest client?” she asked, confused.
“I’m intending coming in and making a significant purchase tomorrow. I don’t care what so long as my art consultant can assure me that it’s a good investment. Then I plan on telling your boss that I’d like to spend the day showing you my private collection and discussing future”--he grinned--“acquisitions.”
Heat traveled through Faith’s body, the blush hitting her cheeks before she could try to stop it. “Nate, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s a damn fine idea,” he as good as growled. “I have a funeral to deal with and my granddad to lay to rest, and aside from running King Enterprises I only care about one thing.”
Her hand was shaking as she retrieved it, not wanting Nate to keep hold of her. “Nate, no. It’s not the right thing to do.”
“Neither was you leaving me.”
“Touché.”
They both stayed silent, paused.
“There are so many reasons why we shouldn’t be together, Nate,” she murmured. “Which means that we’re better not tempting fate.”
“I’m not like any other man you’ve known before, Faith.”
She paused, body dead still. “Is that a threat?”
He was stone-faced for a moment before leaning in close to her, the scent of his cologne filling her nostrils, his body blocking out everything else.
“No,” he said, stroking a hand down her arm, slowly. “But I’m going to prove to you exactly why we should be together, and when I’m finished . . .”
She gulped. Waiting. “What?”
“Let’s just say that I’m not good at taking no for an answer, and I don’teverintend letting you walk out of my life that easily ever again.”
Faith had hardly moved an inch since she’d sat down. From where they were sitting, a few rows back from the front, she could see the back of Nate’s dark hair. Her fingers were betraying her by fidgeting, remembering what it was like to be lazy and content in bed with him, how it felt to run her fingertips through his thick hair.
The minister stopped talking then, leading them all in prayer, which at least forced her to dip her head for a moment and concentrate on what he was saying. And then he was announcing Clay’s eldest grandson to say a few words. Faith gulped. Instead of remembering the man she was here to pay respects to, she couldn’t stop thinking about the times she’d had on the property with Nate. Times they’d done their best to keep secret, which had made it all the more fun.
She straightened, noticed the way her brother shifted when Nate strode to the microphone and smiled at everyone seated before him. Sam loved Nate, they’d been best friends since Little League days, but she knew her brother was still uncomfortable with what he thought had happened between her and Nate. Whathadhappened between them.
“Clay King was a man like no other,” Nate began, his deep, commanding voice so like his grandfather’s. “I’m proud to call him my granddad, or dad really, as he brought us up with Grams as if they were our true parents after my mom died.”
Faith noticed that he hadn’t mentioned his father, and she doubted he would. Nate wasn’t exactly the forgiving type, and he’d made it clear that he had no love for the man who’d abandoned them.
“My granddad taught the three of us a lot of things, too many things to share today, but the one that always stands out is that we had to find what we were passionate about.” Nate’s voice turned husky, cracking slightly until he cleared his throat. “I think you all know that I was gunning to follow in his footsteps since I was a kid, and we’ve all found our own way, but he also told us that once we found out what we wanted, never to take no for an answer.” Nate’s eyes suddenly found hers, his gaze strong and unwavering, leaving her struggling to breathe. “I’m fortunate to have told Granddad how much I loved him, and I fought to prove myself to him every damn day while he was alive, and Granddad, if you can hear me up there, nothing’s gonna change. Chase and Ryder made him beyond proud when they met their gorgeous wives and finally brought some permanent female company to the ranch, and I’m only sorry that the old fella didn’t get to meet my future wife, too.”
Wife?If she’d been breathless before then she was completely out of air now. Nate had always said that he’d never marry, that he had zero interest in settling down, and now he was talking to an entire crowd of people—friends, acquaintances, business contacts, and his family—about Clay missing out on meeting his future wife?
“I’d like to thank you all for coming, and invite you to stay on and celebrate Clay’s life with us. We will be attending a private burial immediately after the service concludes, and then Granddad’s favorite whiskey will be flowing like water until dark.”
Faith gulped, watching Nate cross back to his seat, so confident in everything he did. Even emotional over losing his grandfather, he’d still managed to address a couple hundred people and talk to them as if he knew every single one of them personally. But personally, she was still stuck on the “wife” comment.
They’d already heard from Chase about Clay’s life, how he inherited King Ranch and turned an already successful business into an empire like no other in Texas, and after a few more words from the minister, along with a final prayer, the service was concluded.
The three brothers walked past them slowly, with a few other men, carrying Clay’s coffin down the center of the chairs. Nate’s jaw looked like it was carved from stone, tears glistening in his eyes as he passed her. No one made a sound as the men escorted one of the greatest men in Texas into the long black car, the crowd folding in behind them as they all walked back out into the bright southern sunshine.
