Chapter 12
twelve
NATHALIE
Nathalie’s stomach roiled. She hated that indigestion was her constant companion now, especially when she didn’t constantly eat something. Which was extremely difficult when she was at work. Home was a bit of a different story. She stepped into the kitchen and slowed her pace, spying Greer once again at the table studying.
“Midterms coming up?”
“In about a month,” Greer said, not looking up at her. “No date tonight?”
Nathalie stopped cold as soon as she reached the refrigerator. She peered around the door to Greer and eyed her. “No.”
Greer frowned. “You’d booked my evening to watch Alaric.”
“Oh.” Nathalie frowned. She’d forgotten to cancel that. She’d meant to, but time had gotten away from her. She’d only managed to cancel her date for that night before she’d had to lie down and take a small nap when she’d gotten home. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. There’s still a charge though.”
Nathalie frowned, but she said nothing as she surveyed the fridge and what was in there. Nothing looked appetizing. Another curse of the pregnancy that she still hadn’t managed to figure out entirely. The symptoms were a good sign though, because it meant she was still pregnant. But the niggling thought in the back of her mind—that this one wasn’t going to last, just like the others—wouldn’t shut up.
Nathalie finally snagged the small tray of cheese she’d bought earlier in the week and some almonds from the pantry. She immediately sat down at the kitchen table next to Greer and opened both containers.
“I’ll pay you for the evening. Next time, I’ll remember to cancel ahead of time.”
Greer frowned at her and shook her head slowly. “It’s not like you to forget.”
“No, it’s not.” Nathalie frowned into the food and took a small bite. Her stomach churned in response. Please say she hadn’t waited too long before eating and this wouldn’t result in her running to the bathroom to throw everything up. “But yes, I canceled my date tonight.”
Nathalie stared at the food in front of her. She was going to have to work really hard to get it down her throat, because she was recoiling at even the thought of eating it. She’d canceled her date not because of how she was feeling but because her date was becoming decidedly too emotional for her. She never wanted the emotional side of relationships. She wanted sex, and that was it.
Speaking of sex… Nathalie looked up at Greer again and studied her. Greer’s gaze locked on her, and instead of shying away like Nathalie expected, Greer continued to stare back at her. It was unnerving. Nathalie wasn’t used to someone pushing her as much as Greer did on that front.
Nathalie parted her lips and dipped her tongue out, sliding it along her lips just enough to catch Greer’s attention. Sure enough, Greer dropped her gaze to Nathalie’s mouth before flicking her eyes back to meet Nathalie’s. She still had it. That was good. Not all of her sex appeal had gone out the window with her pregnancy.
“You didn’t come home the other night.”
Greer’s cheeks instantly turned pink. “Yeah, I uh… was out.”
“Clearly.” Nathalie raised an eyebrow and popped an almond into her mouth. Talking to Greer in this way was a good distraction from the reactions her stomach was giving her to the food. “But out all night is unlike you.”
“Is it?” Greer cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “Because I’m not sure you actually know what’s like me and what’s not like me.”
Oh, feisty tonight, are we? Nathalie could play this game. In fact, she quite liked it, and she had been hoping for a bit of it. “Since you’ve been here, you haven’t gone out and spent the night anywhere else.”
“Hmm…” Greer’s lips curled upward as she leaned back into the chair and pulled her foot up onto the seat. She was getting comfortable for this, Nathalie could tell, which meant it was going to be a battle of the wits to the end. “And you, Nathalie, have a date night every two weeks. Though you don’t always bring your boyfriend home to fuck him loudly in the house.”
Nathalie’s cheeks heated, but she managed to catch herself and stifle the blush that was threatening. She would never be embarrassed by sex. “He’s not my boyfriend,” Nathalie answered.
“Fuck buddy? I’d say one-night-stand, but I’ve seen him multiple nights.”
“Are you jealous?”
“No.” Greer shook her head slowly, that beautiful smile still gracing her lips. “I’m not jealous. Because I hear everything he does to you and everything you do to him.”
Nathalie hummed. She bit her lip and lowered her lashes, waiting to see what Greer would look at and do next. Nathalie knew there was a physical attraction between them. She’d never thought there wasn’t, but the other week, when she’d caught Greer so openly looking at her, she had decided there might be more than simple physical attraction. “Do you want to see what he does to me?”
“No.” Greer took the pen on the table and started playing with it between her fingers, flipping it from one end to the next.
Nathalie’s gaze was glued to Greer’s fingers, imagining her playing that pattern along—nope. Nathalie stopped. Greer was attracted to her and that was it. She wouldn’t let herself fall into that trap. She needed Alaric to have as much consistency in care as possible, and she wouldn’t bring herself to break the sacred covenant of boss and employee. Absolutely not.
“I don’t like men, and I’m really not a fan of looking at one naked.”
Wait, what? What had they been talking about? Nathalie licked her lips and popped another piece of cheese between them, but she didn’t taste it as she bit down. Were they both flirting now or was it just Nathalie? She couldn’t remember, and fuck, her stomach was roiling again.
Why couldn’t she keep track of anything anymore? Nathalie said nothing as she continued to eat the almonds and cheese. She really probably should have grabbed a glass of water while she was at it, but she hadn’t thought about it at the time and all she’d wanted to do was sit back down.
“Nathalie?” Greer’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“Have you spent much time with Lachlan and Ivy lately?” Greer seemed to tense a little, as if this was going to be a bigger conversation than Nathalie was prepared for.
“No, can’t say I have.” When she hadn’t been at work, Nathalie had been at home, trying to keep herself upright and pretend that nothing was wrong with her. The other weekend had been exactly what she needed, but she needed it every day lately. Pregnancy in her late forties hadn’t been what she’d planned, and it was dragging her down way more than her pregnancy with Alaric had.
“I think they’re struggling.” Greer stood up and walked to the fridge. “Want some water?”
“Yes, please.” Nathalie stayed planted on the kitchen chair and popped another almond into her mouth. How many had she eaten? She really needed to get a few more into her stomach to curb the insane nausea that was building up and taking over her body right now.
“Here you are.” Greer slid the glass of ice water in front of Nathalie and touched her shoulder lightly before stepping away.
Why had that touch felt so good compared to any other touch recently? It hadn’t meant to incite, it hadn’t meant to hold her back, it hadn’t been anything other than a simple touch of connection. Humming, Nathalie snagged the water and took a small sip.
“Struggling how?” Nathalie set the glass down and settled to look at Greer. “Because Ivy’s been struggling since she married Penny.”
“I’m sure.” Greer’s cheeks pinked again.
Was Greer attracted to Ivy? Is that what all of this was about? Nathalie was going to have to pay much closer attention in order to figure that one out, because now she was dead curious as to what was going on and where Greer had been the other night. The house had felt so empty without her, and she’d come home in the same clothes that she’d left in.
“I think she’s struggling more than she has in the past with it. She’s exhausted.” Greer spun her glass in between her fingers, staring down at the water as it sloshed.
Nathalie pursed her lips, watching Greer’s fingers delicately move the glass. “I can see that.”
“And Lachlan… I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with her, but she’s pulled back lately.”
“Pulled back?” Nathalie raised her gaze, meeting Greer’s eyes. She hadn’t noticed at all. Work was getting more tense, and the lawyers weren’t exactly helping anything, but Lachlan always carried the weight of the world on her shoulders with her head held high and a smile on her lips.
“She’s not as…friendly…as she was, which is saying something. Lachlan is always friendly. And she’s short with the twins, which is also out of her norm.”
Nathalie hummed before taking another bite of cheese. Her stomach was feeling better already. She really had just needed to get something in her that would help her steady herself. “Lachlan’s under a lot of stress.”
“So are you,” Greer countered. “And yet you’re still having date nights—tonight aside—and seem fairly normal to me.”
“Maybe I just handle stress better than they do.”
“Why do you think that is?”
Sex. Though Nathalie didn’t give voice to that thought. She had thought about it many times in the past, however. Sex was a great stress reliever, but in order to have sex like she did, the others would have to be comfortable with open relationships and no strings or emotions attached. Which reminded her, she really did need to end her current fling. The desire to know more about her was too much. She needed to keep her sex life separate from her home life.
“What do you suggest we do about Ivy and Lachlan?” Nathalie asked, avoiding Greer’s question. She really didn’t need to go down that road, not with Greer. It might lead to some very dangerous things between them, and Nathalie needed to keep those boundaries in place.
“I think you should have a night with them. A girl’s night.” Greer smiled and leaned back in her chair, her arms wrapped around her knee to hold herself up. “Kam and I used to do that whenever one of us was having a tough week.”
“And have you had to do that recently?” Nathalie, searching for an answer as to whether or not life for Greer with them had calmed down some, if routine had been established as much as possible.
“No, I haven’t been stressed lately.” Greer grinned and then winked.
A small thrill ran through Nathalie. Were they flirting again? Nathalie couldn’t quite tell because this all felt so natural and normal for Greer.
“Everything seems to have calmed down quite a bit. And it helps having gotten to know all three of you a bit better, so I know what your needs are.”
Were Greer’s cheeks even redder than before? Nathalie couldn’t quite tell in the dark light. They should be having this conversation in daylight and then perhaps Nathalie would be able to tell if Greer were embarrassed by something or not. But that didn’t look like embarrassment. Nathalie raised her chin up and eyed Greer over.
Arousal.
But who was it for? Because it certainly wasn’t for her, was it? Nathalie couldn’t fathom why. Greer was attracted to her, yes, but that had been all heat. And this wasn’t that. This was far calmer and more intuitive than the heat of the moment the other week.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Nathalie took another bite of cheese. “A girl’s night?”
Greer nodded. “I’ll watch the kids for you all. Free of charge. I think you all need it.”
Nathalie snorted lightly. “We’ll pay you for your services.” Now why did that sound so dirty? Nathalie raised her gaze and met Greer’s. “I won’t have you treated as lesser than simply because you work for us.”
“I uh… appreciate that.” Greer’s smile was slow to reach her lips and her eyes this time. “Not everyone feels that way.”
“Hmm, I’m sure they don’t.” Nathalie took another bite. “If you ever feel like we’re taking advantage of you, in any way, I expect you’ll tell us.”
“For sure.” Greer nodded firmly. “I promise.”
Nathalie nodded once in agreement and went back to picking her way through the cheese and almonds. “What do you suggest for a girl’s night ? I’m not sure we’ve ever done something like that.”
“I’m sure you have, but you probably haven’t made it any official type of thing.” Greer toyed with the pen again. “I suggest all the junk food you don’t normally eat, probably a few rounds of drinks at least, and bad television or movies that you can make fun of and laugh about later.”
Nathalie’s lips twitched upward. That did seem like something Greer would do. It didn’t seem like anything that Nathalie would do or plan for. She took a long sip from her water and set it down on the table. “What if we did an evening out? If we stay at home, then the kids will be nearby, and that’s all we’ll be able to think about.”
“That’s fair.”
Nathalie reached over and touched Greer’s hand, stilling her movements on the pen. The contact was electric, and Nathalie immediately moved her hand away. That had made her uncomfortable. Why had she even reached out to touch Greer to begin with? That was unlike her, and Greer had just been saying they were all acting unlike themselves except for her.
Little did she know.
“I’ll plan it.” Nathalie shifted from the chair and went to put the food away, minus the almonds. Those would come with her to her bedroom so she could snack later on in the night when she needed it. Saying nothing else, Nathalie sauntered out of the kitchen and toward Alaric’s room. She just wanted to check on him one more time before she went up to bed herself.
What would he be like as a big brother?
It was so easy for her to imagine it, especially with all the other kids running around between them. But would he be different if the sibling was his? Nathalie scolded herself. She shouldn’t be hoping for things that she didn’t know would actually happen.
It’d only make the heartache later that much worse.
She would know.
She’d been there half a dozen times already.