27
BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
After round two, it wasn’t long until we had to land. I peered out the window of the jet as we were approaching our destination, the plane starting to descend. I rested my head on Nate’s shoulder, feeling relaxed at our spontaneous trip. My legs were crossed beneath me in the spacious chair as my eyes scanned over the clouds, waiting for something to pop up and give me an idea of where he was taking me.
In my mind I was hoping for Paris. It was on my list of places to travel and one of the most romantic places on earth. But as the clouds parted and our altitude dropped, I noticed the familiar town and the sea in the distance.
“Is that-?” I began to ask, eyes widened in surprise as I pushed myself off him and edged closer to the window to take a closer look, as Nate interrupted me.
“Where it all began.” He smiled as I turned to face him. He lifted his hand to caress my cheek and ran his fingers through my hair, watching my face light up, as the city below revealed more of itself. He had brought me back to Barcelona, where we had first met. It was crazy to think that we had started as total strangers right here and now we were returning as a couple. He took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips giving me a delicate kiss on my knuckles. The seat belt sign chimed, capturing our attention, before we sat back, fixed our belts, and braced ourselves for landing.
A hire car was waiting for us on the tarmac. The flight crew stepped out from the plane to grab our luggage, loading the car below, as we grabbed whatever we needed from inside the plane. Once we were ready, Nate drove us down the winding roads, without a map or instructions, where we approached a familiar building: the hotel. The exact hotel I stayed at when I got put here on that job all those months ago, it hadn’t changed.
Nate passed the car keys to the valet, surprising me when he spoke fluent Spanish to the staff. Something I didn’t know he could do. He took my hand leading me into the open reception to check us in. My eyes caught the room to the left of us as memories filling my mind. I wandered to the door to take a peek. The bar was still the same, quiet with soft jazz playing over the speakers, a flashback of where Nate and I were sitting at the bar.
“Follow me” Nate whispered, as he stood behind me, kissing the top of my head. Our luggage was being loaded on the bellboy trolly as he grabbed my hand and led me to the elevator to take us up to our room. I followed behind him, no questions asked, admiring the romantic side of Nate that had brought us back here. We walked the length of the hallway until he stopped outside of penthouse 003. It was the exact place I had stayed the night we met. I couldn't believe he booked the same one. He chuckled as I stared at the door, my fingers running over the metal numbers on the door as memories flooded back, not just for me but I guessed for him too. He held the white keycard between his fingers for me to take it and let us in. The cheerful bleep of the door lock, turning the light green, allowed me to push the door open to be greeted by the romantic set up awaiting for me.
We entered the bedroom, white petals lining the floor, with a handful scattered over the bed. Candles lit the room, giving us light to the darkness outside. He pulled open a bottle of champagne that was resting in an ice bucket and poured me a glass. He looked at the view outside and pulled me close to his side, as we watched the breathtaking city under the starry night. I danced out of his grip to the balcony, being met with a colder breeze, contrasting the hot summer day last time I was here. He followed behind me, placing a small hand on my back, taking in a breath and capturing the moment. The feeling. This was the most romantic thing Nate had done. He was really trying and I needed to give him credit, trust him and let him do his thing. Afterall, he was risking everything to be with me. His job, his relationship with his sister, just to be with me. He was fighting his own demons whilst taking those risks. I loved Nate, I had for a while but seeing him do all this made me feel like all the risks in the world were worth this.
“I know we aren’t supposed to discuss this, but I convinced Cato to go after the agency rather than you, and he accepted,” Nate announced.
“What?” I said looking in his eyes.
“I told you, I’m going to protect you Gi. I managed to convince him. He isn’t an easy guy to talk down to if I'm honest.” Nate chuckled while taking a sip and my heart sank. I knew that he wasn't. I had to endure his attitude in the lead up to the event that had landed us in this mess in the first place. I desperately wanted to tell Nate everything but I couldn’t. The secret was eating away at me. It wouldn’t be long before Nate would find out anyway, as soon our team presented the evidence in court.
“I also told my boss about us.” My eyes darted up to his, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Nate,” I whispered, not sure what to say.
“He told me to take a step back and let Jensen, my intern, handle Mr Cato but I can oversee it.”
“And you didn’t tell me this earlier?” I said not sure why he hadn’t brought this up, when he was so concerned about me telling Angelina.
“I called him on the plane, while I was in the bathroom. My job is safe, but I need to file a report to disclose my relationship to you, due to the upcoming trials with your company.” I relaxed, he did this for me.
“The promotion?” I asked, wondering if he was willing to give all of this up.
“I’m still in the running, it's not going to affect anything Gi. You’re not my client.”
Relief washed over me that this didn’t have to be hidden anymore, that at least one secret in our tangled web of lies was now disbursed. “Obviously the same rules apply to me as they do to you, I can’t be seen at work with you and I can’t discuss any part of the case with you.”
“That’s amazing Nate!” I praised. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling but I knew that Nate had taken a risk for us. I laid my head on his chest and breathed in the soft scent of Hugo boss, appreciating the man wrapped around me.
“Besides, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t protect the woman I love?” he said, alarm bells suddenly ringing in my head. Love…love…love, did he just say- holy shit. My body stiffened as if I was afraid to make any sudden movements in case I scared him off.
“What did you say?” I asked again, slowly turning to face him. His wide grin plastered across his face, his eyes shining bright in the darkness of the night. A lump formed in my throat as I wanted to hear those words he’d just said aloud. Again. With him looking in my eyes. I needed to make sure I’d heard it right before I allowed myself to express the same words I've been wanting to say for weeks now. He put his glass down on the balcony table before taking my glass from me and doing the same. He placed his hands on my waist and looked into my eyes, a warmth consumed him.
“I said, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t protect the woman I love?” he repeated, emphasising the word I knew I had heard correctly, not removing his gaze to ensure I had registered what he just said.
“I love you Gi.” I was speechless. “As much as I have been fighting it, I can't deny it. And I really wanted to tell you on the plane when you were riding me, but thought that wasn’t the right time. But this is and I fucking love you,” he confessed, my heart skipping a beat, the warmth spreading through my body. I knew that once I said the words, there was no going back, this was everything I wanted, everything I had dreamed of.
But I was also petrified that this would mean I also had a lot more to lose when we finally told Ivy. Anxiety rising in my chest, I closed my eyes and focussed on my breathing. I knew I was in love with him. I’d known since the day of the Christmas market and despite all our ups and downs, those feelings never changed. It was all or nothing at this point so I decided to take the leap, knowing I could get hurt in the process. But this was love, it hurt like hell sometimes. It's better to have loved and been loved than to never to get to experience it.
“I love you Nate,” I smiled. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if my response was the only thing he wanted to hear. This was not only a massive step for us as a couple, but for Nate to give himself completely to me. He couldn't stop smiling and he pulled me close to him. He took my hand and led me back into the suite.
“I have something else to tell you.” He had more confessions. I already felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. “The morning after our first time, I came back here. I wanted to get your name and number. I had done casual hookups over the years but I hadn’t been with anyone in a while before you. There was something about you and I was curious. It may have been lust and desire, as I had no clue who you were, I didn't know your name or number. That drove me crazy after I left here that night. The next morning, I stopped by this room to get it but you were gone. I lost all hope of seeing you again but when I saw you again at Ivy’s, I knew there had to be a reason. Like you were meant to be mine.”
Nate was really opening up and the confessions were pouring out of him, I couldn’t keep up. Despite the rollercoaster of our journey to be where we were now, I wouldn’t trade a single moment, even now that we were in uncharted territory. It scared me as I wasn’t sure how much Nate would handle.
“You do realise you have to meet my family,” I laughed. He had met the delightful Brie but now he had my parents to meet.
“You mean your lovely sister…” Nate raised an eyebrow at me and I chuckled.
“That’s the one. But you will love my parents,” I smiled, pretty excited, “and I’ve already met your family.” I teased playfully, which earned me being slung over his shoulder and thrown on to the bed. I was laughing so much I curled into a ball.
“We can handle it, together,” he laughed, lying beside me in the bed as I stretched myself out to make room for him. “But first, tomorrow I am taking you on our first official date. So, not dressing up isn’t an option.” I bit my lip, smiling and nodding in agreement. My dreams were finally coming true, I could have my cake and eat it.