Page 88 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“I love you too.”
Being a single child, and with my mother gone, I appreciated Nathan having a big family. I was glad that they were all so close because I knew how taxing Thomas’s issues at home were for our relationship. He suffered because of it, and in a way, that was what triggered his insecurities.
Nathan’s phone buzzed, and he took the call in front of me.
“Zara! …Packing,dear.How’s everything?…Yes, she’s right here with me.”
Nathan shot a big smile my way and mouthed, “It’s Zara,” and carried on with the call. Yeah, I could tell it was her. It was endearing to see him so excited to talk to her.
“Right…What do you mean?Have you talked to Mum about it?…Christ!Not again with this nonsense…Can’t you do one of those Skype things instead?”
Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes for a second. He seemed annoyed.
“Exactly,Idon’tunderstand,and I don’t know if I ever will…I’ll be in London for just a few days,and I also haven’t seen you in a while…Yeah, yeah, yeah…Thanks for letting me know,and let’s hope your flight gets on time for dinner or Mum will be throwing a wobbly…Oh,yes…What?Do you need money?…Because you’re a starving actress,that’s why!”
Nathan laughed.
“Ah!I’m bloody joking…Innit…Right well,I best be off…Luv you too…Bye…Buh-bye…Right,cheers.”
My God, I needed to know all about that call. My wide eyes must’ve communicated that to Nathan because he laughed and told me all about it right away.
“Zara, she—wants to stay a few days in Stockholm. Apparently, William called her and asked her to stay for a few days.”What? He opened a drawer and took more clothes out. “They’re close, Zara and William, always have been,” Nathan said with a deep crease between his eyes.
So William called her?Asked her to stay?I knew Zara lived in Stockholm. She stayed there when her parents moved back to London. She was born there. Her entire life was in Sweden. Friends, everything.
“She’s always loved hanging out with the Sjöbergs. Sheadmiresthem—wants to be an actress too. But I”—he took a sharp breath through his nose—“I don’t get it.”
I couldn’t help but feel jealous. I wanted to know more about Zara’s relationship with William. About her. What she was like. Everything.
It was the first time I ever heard of them being so close. But I couldn’t ask. I was afraid to sound too obvious, but the curiosity was going to eat me away, one brain cell at a time.
Well, maybe I could sneak in a question. I couldn’t neglect my mental health like that. “But like, have they ever—dated or?”
“Oh, no.” Nathan smiled a nervous smile. “No, no, no. No, definitelynot. He wouldn’t be alive if he touched her. He knows she’s off-limits. They’re just … I don’t know—best friends? I don’t get why she’s so fixated with him, especially. I thought you might’ve known about this.” Nope. Nada. “But she’swell awarethat nothing can happen between them or else.”
Well … okay. Wow. Best friends? Weirdly, William never mentioned her, not even once.
Ughhh! More secrets kept popping up every time. I would never be done discovering William. At least they were both cautioned about not trying to move their relationship past the friend zone. But William never knew what the wordrulesandlimitsmeant. I was sure that was probably the reason that relationship might’ve been even more appealing to him. Who knows?
There was a knock on the door, and Nathan stood up to open it. I could hear him talking to Caleb in the distance. He walked back with a manila folder.
“Is everything okay?” I stood up from the bed. It always made me nervous whenever they came up to talk to me about anything. It made me feel like something terrible had happened.
“You need to sign these,” he said, looking at the paperwork inside the folder. I sighed with relief. My shoulders loosened up. “Do you want me to check it out for you? I do charge by the hour, but I’m sure we can think of something.”
I walked up to him and placed my arms around his neck. “How about this?” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him slowly. Deeply. “How much time does this buy for me?”
“Probably just a few minutes. I needat leasthalf an hour to read through the entire thing. Wouldn’t want there to be any loopholes.”
“Name your fee then,” I whispered to his lips.
“I knowexactlyhow you can pay me.” He guided me to his bed. “I usually require one-hundred percent upfront payment for my services.”
I fell asleep after making love with Nathan. I was still tired after William woke me up early in the morning. Even though I tried to shut my eyes after he left, I didn’t get much sleep afterward.
When I woke up from my power nap, I saw Nathan sitting on the edge of the bed, reading through the paperwork without a shirt on. That was onesexylawyer.
“Hey, you,” I said, stretching my arms over my head, my body still under the covers. “So, what’s that all about?”
