7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Samantha
Silver Springs was a small resort town a little over two hours outside of Denver.
My family owned a cabin—a real stretch of the word—used for skiing during the winter and summer weekend getaways.
As a child, I’d been more times than I could count.
As I got older, I’d learned to come up with flimsy excuses for staying with the Wells.
Not that me going along or not made a difference.
Kelly choosing the town for her wedding hadn’t been a surprise. My parents had gotten engaged there during a college ski trip, and my older brother, Decker, had gotten married there five years ago. It was becoming a family tradition of sorts.
We were on the highway. Nate was driving, and I was giving him a rundown of everyone in my family.
“Decker’s wife is Georgia, right?” Nate glanced over at me, his hands loose on the steering wheel.
“Right. And Kelly’s marrying Josh.”
“Josh and Kelly, Josh and Kelly,” he repeated, his eyes narrowed on the road. “Got it.”
I still found it hard to believe Nate was coming with me this weekend. All week I’d waited for him to back out, but he hadn’t. And I was so relieved, I couldn’t even bring myself to feel awkward about the situation.
Because on the outside looking in, it definitely was.
Nate and I had never been alone together. Any conversations we’d had had always included Adrian. And now, we were about to spend three nights sharing the same hotel room while our days were loaded with prewedding activities with my family, who could have taken or left me.
He cleared his throat. “What are we saying about us?”
“Us?”
“You and me. Us. Am I coming with you as your friend, or…?”
“Oh.” I sat up straighter. “Why haven’t I thought about that? I told Kelly I was bringing my boyfriend, but of course that ended. She’s going to get a kick out of that.”
Everyone would. Despite not being close to any of my family, they were all too aware of my track record.
For a while, I’d thought they’d been hoping I’d marry someone respectable, and it would rub off on me.
Or, at the least, I’d settle down and grow out of my ridiculous hobby—as if managing a sex club was a hobby.
It certainly wasn’t a career.
But they’d mostly given up hope I’d shape into someone they’d be proud of.
“Did you tell her his name?”
“Hmmm.” I rubbed the side of my head, trying to recall my last conversation with my sister. “I don’t think so. If I did, I sincerely doubt she’d remember. All I put was a plus-one on my RSVP card.”
“All right.” He nodded. “Will it be easier if I’m your boyfriend for the weekend?”
“What?” I squeaked.
His brow dropped in an instant. “Never mind. That wasn’t my brightest idea.”
“Wait.” My hand shot out to his arm. “No, you just caught me off guard. I…you’d really do that?”
He shrugged. “If it would make things easier, I don’t see a problem. I can also be there as your friend, if you want. Either way is fine with me.”
“Really, Nate?”
His eyes slid over to me, and he nodded. “Really, Samantha.”
I leaned against the passenger door, considering it, even though my instinct leaped toward him, arms out, yelling, “Yes, yes, yes!” Having Nate with me as a friend was more than I could ask for.
Posing as my boyfriend? That was beyond generous.
And maybe a little crazy—which was probably why I liked the idea so much.
Plus, I had no doubt my parents would be pleased as punch I’d landed a man like Nate Wells.
Successful. Handsome. A fine, upstanding citizen of Denver.
I was sure he had his faults, but I didn’t think they’d be able to find them during a three-day weekend.
Give them a little longer, they’d pick him apart as thoroughly as they always managed to do me, but I wouldn’t allow that.
I hated putting Nate even more into the line of fire, but when it came down to it, I couldn’t turn him down.
“This is a crazy thing to do, isn’t it?”
“Not so crazy,” he said, steady as always. “We’ll be there together anyway. Why not let them believe it’s something more if that makes things easier for you?”
I pinched my bottom lip between my fingers and stared at his profile. Nate looked like an older, more refined version of Adrian, whose face I knew better than my own. But he didn’t scowl at the world like Adrian did. He faced it head-on, like nothing scared him.
And maybe nothing did.
He really was handsome. Dashing, Adrian had called him. He had that cartoon prince hair, windswept and thick, a tendril sometimes falling over his forehead. Strands of silver peppered his sideburns, but the rest was the darkest brown.
If I were choosing a fake boyfriend by looks alone, Nate would have been the top of the pack. He was an inch or two taller than me, and I got the sense he wouldn’t mind me wearing heels, even if it put me slightly above him.
His hands were nice. Long, elegant fingers, thick veins running over the tops. Even his forearms were attractive.
“You’re looking at me,” he remarked.
“I was thinking what a handsome fake boyfriend you’ll make.”
That got me another sliding glance, then a slow grin that made my stomach somersault. Nate wasn’t a big smiler, but when he let one loose, it was always a doozy.
“Is that all I am to you? A pretty face?” he chided.
“You also have really nice forearms.”
His laugh was light and free, and he tipped his head back so all of it could escape.
“Well…all right. Glad to know I have the specifications that qualify me for the job.”
I touched his arm again, taking note of the sinews beneath my palm.
“Thank you, Nate. I mean it.”
His smile was still in place as he turned to look at me for a fleeting moment. “As long as you make me nachos when we get back, we’ll be even.”
“You have a deal.”
This plan was already a disaster, and we were only at check-in.
Months ago, I’d booked a romantic suite with mountain views with Will in mind. When that fell apart and Nate had agreed to come, I’d called and switched to a basic room with two queen beds.
The hotel had no record of that.
I stared at the man on the other side of the counter, clack, clack, clacking on his keyboard while shaking his head grimly.
Normally, I wasn’t the type to make a scene—especially not with service workers.
I knew this wasn’t his fault, and he was trying to fix it, but I couldn’t help the rising mortification igniting in my chest. I had to dig my fingers into the counter to stop the frustrated yelp from escaping.
The thing was, Nate was standing ten feet away with my father. The moment we’d arrived, he’d swooped upon us like he’d been hovering in the lobby for this purpose.
Maybe he had been. I could imagine my mother assigning him the job of intercepting guests as they arrived.
I hadn’t known they were staying in the hotel too. How could I have guessed they would have given my sister and Josh the house for the weekend?
Nate seemed just fine having a polite conversation with my father about investments, but I wasn’t fine. I was freaking out and desperately trying to keep it under wraps.
Carlos, the receptionist, stopped clacking. “I’m sorry, Ms. Blackwell. There’s really nothing else available. I checked and double-checked.”
I shook my head. “I suppose we’ll simply have to manage. Thank you for going the extra mile.”
That earned me a smile. “Of course.” Then he started clacking again. “To make up for the inconvenience, we’re going to comp two activity packages for you and your friend. The details will be emailed to you within the hour.”
My ears were ringing. I barely heard a word he was saying, and they certainly didn’t register.
I wouldn’t have blamed Nate if he wanted to turn around and drive back to Denver.
He hadn’t signed up to share a bed with me.
And it wasn’t like I was easy to sleep with.
I threw my arms and legs around with reckless abandon, and I was known to go koala in the middle of the night.
There was no chance I wouldn’t wake up wrapped around him, my pride smashed to smithereens.
I’d just have to sleep on the ground. That was all there was to it.
Key cards in hand, I went over to Nate and my dad. My dad continued speaking as if I hadn’t just joined, while Nate placed his hand on the small of my back, drawing me into their circle.
When my dad paused, Nate turned to me. “Everything okay with the room?”
“Yes.” I pressed my lips together in a tight line. “There was some confusion, but we worked it out.”
My dad acknowledged my presence for the first time, shaking his finger at me.
“Now that you say that, I recall your mother telling me there was a mix-up with your room and you got switched to a double. Luckily, she’d been able to change it back to a deluxe king.
Remember to thank her when you see her.”
My heart stopped, but I still managed to smile. “Of course. What a bummer that would have been if we’d been in the wrong room.”
Nate pressed on my back. “It was nice seeing you, Peter. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunity to speak more, but I’m going to take Samantha up to our room now.”
Clasping my hand in his, Nate guided me away from my dad to the elevator. A few other guests joined, so I couldn’t explain what was happening.
As the elevator rose, so did my heart rate. Nate slowly stroked my hand with his thumb, warm and gentle, giving me the slightest sense of calm. By the time we’d reached our floor, I’d bitten my bottom lip to a pulp.
At our door, Nate took the key card from my hand and unlocked it. He held the door for me, and I trudged inside, my stomach a wreck. Guilt swamped me, dampening my armpits and giving my eye a weird twitch.
“There’s only one bed,” I blurted out.
He stood in the center of the room, scanning. Since he hadn’t let go of me, I was right beside him, looking only at him.
He didn’t look angry. If anything, his face was as neutral as always. And his thumb—that sweet, baby angel thumb—was still steadily stroking along my skin.
“It’s a big bed,” he said calmly. “I think we’ll survive.”
“I doubt it. You don’t sleep well, and I sleep like a maniac.”
He sputtered a laugh. “What does that mean?”
I put myself in front of him. “It means you’ll be lucky if you don’t wind up with my elbow in your mouth.”
“Hmmm.” He glanced at the bed again. “Like you said, I don’t sleep. If your elbow comes near my mouth, I’ll be able to block it.” He gave my hand a final squeeze before letting go. “We’ll survive, Samantha. I’m not worried.”
“But, Nate”—I pushed on his chest— “not only do I flail, I cling. I might snuggle you.”
His eyes widened, and he raised his hands. “Oh no. That’s the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard. I think I better get going.”
He turned toward the door, but before he could take a step, I grabbed his sleeve and tugged him back around. To my surprise, he was laughing.
At me, but still.
A win was a win.
He cupped my shoulders, the warmth of his broad hands seeping through my thin T-shirt. “Relax, Samantha. I don’t care about the bed. It’s three nights. If I accidentally get snuggled or elbowed, I’ll live. It’s not anything to get worked up over. Truly.”
I blew out a heavy breath, letting my chin fall to my chest. Something about Nate’s voice unwound the knot in my gut and eased the tension I hadn’t known I’d been holding in my shoulders. It was almost instant. There and gone with the rhythm of his reassurance.
He’d told me to relax…and I did.
“I know. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have,” I admitted. “It’s just…being here, near them, I revert to this insecure person I barely recognize.”
“I don’t think I got it until I met your dad,” he said gently.
“He was thrilled to meet you.”
When I’d introduced them, and he’d recognized Nate’s name, his eyes had lit in a way they never had toward me. Once he was speaking to Nate Wells of the esteemed Wells family, I might as well have not been there.
It hurt in the same way as getting pricked by a pin. Sharp and immediate but not fatal. The thing was, though, after the thousandth or hundred-thousandth prick, there was no telling where one began and the next one ended.
“He doesn’t know me,” Nate said. “It means nothing at all. You get that, right?”
“Sure.” I took in a deep breath and set it all aside, plastering on a grin. “Now that we’ve gotten through the first disaster of the weekend, do you want to check out the rest of the resort?”
He looked me over for a long moment. If he wasn’t convinced by my smile, he didn’t let on.
“Lead the way. I’m all yours.”