TWENTY-EIGHT
Nate
R ose sinks down next to me and hangs her head in her hands. “My mom just won’t stop. It seems like every week she’s trying to set me up with another one of her friend’s sons, let alone trying to get me back together with Malcolm—” she raises a set of shattered eyes to mine, “—There’s nothing going on with him. I promise. I’m so…” She sniffs. “I’m so sorry…”
“I know,” I whisper, running my hand up her back. And I do. I was an idiot to leave her hanging yesterday, but these last twenty-four hours gave me the clarity I needed.
“I was so stupid to get in the car with him,” she continues. “You have every right to be angry with me.”
I sigh and return my hands to my lap. “I know you’re not going back to him. I never really worried you’d be unfaithful, but I thought we agreed you’d call me before you found yourself in a situation like that with him again. He’s manipulative…” I pause and grimace at what I have to say next, “and so is your mother. And it's so hard for me to sit back and watch you struggle against the both of them.”
She sniffs and wipes her eyes as she sits up straight. “I’m done with all that. Right here, right now.” She points at the ground. “I’ve tried so hard to live in the world she’s created for me. But I hate it.” She clenches her fists. “I hate the constant conversations about status, and bank accounts, and doctorate degrees. I’ve never cared about any of that. I don’t want to be with someone just because they have connections . I know she thinks hers is the only way, but it’s not mine .” She looks toward a window that’s glowing with the warmth from the party inside. “I said some really tough things to her. She’s probably furious with me…”
I’m proud of her. Even if it creates a strained relationship with her mother, she deserves to choose her own path. “If what you told her was the truth, then it needed to be said.”
She peers at me with cautious eyes and begins to chew on her lip, but she doesn’t say anything.
“When we first met, I thought you were like them.” I nod toward the window and the people inside. “And after Blindly, when we started to give things a try, I was so afraid I’d be pulling you away from the world you love. The last thing I want is for you to feel stuck in a life you hate. But now I see you were dying for a way out, even if you didn’t realize it then.” I take her hand in mine. “Maybe my world is too far a leap, but,” I pause, “I want you in it.”
She drops her eyes and runs her thumb across my knuckles. “I feel something in your world… Maybe it’s the peace and quiet,” she purses her lips and lifts a shoulder, “or maybe it’s the forbidden aspect of it; defying my parents.”
“Do you think you want to defy your parents more than anything else?” I ask carefully.
She shakes her head, still not looking at me. “Maybe it was exciting at the start. But now I just feel…safe with you. And it’s the best feeling in the world.” She takes a long, deep breath. “My favorite days are the ones I get to spend with you.”
I smile softly. “Even if it means you’re going to be helping me and Rod run a catering event for two hundred people?”
She looks up at me quickly and wipes her eyes again. “He got the call? He’s gonna do it?”
“He’s thrilled,” I confirm. Rod called me this morning to tell me he’d landed the event, and that Rose had been the catalyst. “They’re going to pay him a lot . The proceeds, along with his loan, will help him stay afloat long enough to develop a real marketing strategy, plus it’ll introduce so many more new faces to his business.”
Rose lets out a relieved breath and pulls my jacket tighter around her shoulders. “I’m so glad…”
“Thank you, really, for doing that.” I beam at her. “No one asked you to.”
She shrugs. “I love Nelson’s, and Rod seems like a great guy. I can’t bear to see him go under. The place is so…warm and friendly. And I know it’s your favorite.”
I take hold of her hand. “It means the world to him, and to me.”
She takes a deep breath and her eyes find mine, full of sincerity. “I need to apologize. I shouldn’t have gotten in the car with Malcolm again. I knew it was dangerous, but I wasn’t thinking about how much it might scare you…because of what happened…with Amber.”
The loose curls that have escaped her hair clip blow gently in the cool evening breeze and I smile. My heart breaks and swells at the same time. I love this woman. I love her with every ounce of me, and she’s sitting here acknowledging my greatest fear—losing her. She’s apologizing for resurfacing the trauma even though I’ve never truly told her how deeply it still affects me. She gets it, and she gets me, and I’m never going to let her go.
I hook my finger under her chin and tilt her face up to mine. My chest tightens at the thought of losing her. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you,” I say as her blue eyes gaze softly into mine. “You’ve healed me in ways I wasn’t prepared for. You’re perfect. And…” I take a breath. “I love you.”
A thousand weights lift from my shoulders as I finally say those three words. My heart, which has been sealed so tightly for the last two years, finally comes crashing open.
Relief washes over Rose’s face and she raises her hand to place it over my heart with a smile. “I love you too.”
Without a beat, I slide my hand through her hair and pull her into me, pressing my lips firmly into hers. There’s no doubt in my mind that this was meant to be. The pain in my past has led me to this girl. She’s surprised me around each and every corner, and she’s exactly what I’ve needed. I think she’s always been part of my story, before I could even fathom the plot twist that would be written into my life. She’s the one . And it’s terrifying to be vulnerable like this again, but nothing could make me turn back now.
She breaks our kiss with a smirk. “You’re the sweetest grump I’ve ever met.”
I let out a laugh. “I’ll take that as a…compliment?”
“As intended.” She straightens the collar of my shirt.
I tuck her hair behind her ear and regard her with a new seriousness. “I really am sorry for leaving you hanging this weekend. That was an awful move on my part.”
With a frown, she focuses on the top button. “Yeah, that really hurt.”
I wince a little. I feel horrible.
“I’ve always taken you to be this guy who’s a pro at relationships,” she continues, “you know, because you’ve been through it…and had success. But it was so hard to watch you walk away yesterday. I never had the chance to fully explain, and…I felt helpless.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and lean in to kiss her forehead. “I’m so sorry. I’m not a pro at this by any means. Please don’t expect that,” I half-chuckle as I pull back. “We’re figuring this out together. We’ll both make mistakes, but I can promise you this won’t happen again.”
“Thank you.” She straightens my tie. “You look unbelievable, by the way. Where’d you get the tux?”
“Honestly?” I laugh. “It’s rented. I just picked the most expensive one and figured it would pass.”
Rose pulls my jacket from her shoulders and inspects the tag. “Peter Millar.” She nods approvingly. “Not bad.” Then she lifts her eyes to the window again and sighs. “I don’t want to go back in.”
I take her hand as my gaze slides down to her form-fitting black dress. I’m dying to slide my hands across those hips. “Well, I, for one, was hoping for a dance.”
She raises a brow. “ You dance?”
I exhale. “No.”
The giggle she releases is so sweet I can hardly stand it.
“But I’ll do it for you.” I smile.
The way she looks at me with those gentle, appreciative eyes, tells me everything I need to know. She nods and hands me my jacket as she stands. “Then let’s go dance.”
Inside, the chatter is loud, and a live band plays instrumental covers of popular songs at the other end of the hall. Surprisingly, it’s not a huge event. There are probably less than a hundred and fifty guests. I spot Rose’s brothers chatting at the bar and her parents socializing with the bride and groom at the head table. Rose pays them no attention, but quickly tugs me toward the dancefloor.
“Let’s enjoy the moment before my mom ruins it all again,” she says.
When I pull her into my arms, I look down into her eyes. “Don’t give her the satisfaction.”
She rests her head on my shoulder and we begin to sway to the music. As we slowly rotate, I’m offered a view of the entire room. It looks like any other wedding, except everyone is dressed like they’ve been styled by professionals. Many of them probably have been. Heck, even I was. I would have absolutely failed if I tried to pick out a tux myself. I walked into that rental shop with my hands held up in desperation. And thankfully, they were more than willing to rent me their most expensive option.
I run my fingers through Rose’s hair and rest my cheek against hers, savoring the feel of her soft body against mine. As the head table comes into view, I spot Cynthia still sharing a laugh with the bride. She takes a sip from her wine glass and surveys the room with her nose turned up. Then her eyes land on mine, carefully, calculating. I hold her gaze for a long moment. She looks a little surprised to see me, but I resolve not to look away first. She’s analyzing. Making judgements. I can see Rose in her eyes. I see the grit and determination I’ve come to love so much. Her mother uses hers in a different way, but that disposition is there at the core of both of them.
If being with Rose means I’m going to be at odds with her parents forever, then so be it. That’s not going to scare me away. No, I love her too much to let them get in the way.
When I trail my fingers through Rose’s hair again, Cynthia’s expression changes. It softens just enough for me to register before she turns away and resumes her socializing.
I smile.
Yeah, that’s right. She’s mine. And I’m going to show you I can make her happier than any of those trust fund boys you’ve tried to force on her.
As the song comes to a close, Rose pulls away and gazes up at me. “I think I should go talk to my mom.”
I brush my thumb across her cheek and nod. “Do you need me?”
She shakes her head, then she smiles. “I mean, I need you in a lot of ways, but this is something I should do on my own.”
I kiss her swiftly and then let her go. “I’ll be at the bar. I saw your brothers there, and I don’t think they totally hate me.”
“No, they like you. Especially George. He actually talked me off the cliff yesterday after…what happened.”
I frown, because I hate to think she was on the edge of any cliff, proverbial or not. “I’ll be sure to thank him.” I nudge her as I turn to the bar. But just as I do, Cynthia appears in front of us.
Rose and I go rigid, but Cynthia takes a deep breath and extends her hand to me with a small smile. “Nate, can we start over?”
It’s genuine, I can tell, because the gaze that holds mine is solid and unwavering. I glance at a very shocked Rose, and then back at her mother. “Absolutely.” I grasp her hand firmly.
Cynthia nods and leans into her daughter. “Rose was telling me just how happy you’ve made her these past few months, and I’m…” She takes another breath. “I’m so glad she’s found you.”
Rose is gaping beside me as if her mother just grew antlers, but I reply quickly to Cynthia. “I’m glad I found her too.” Then I slide my arm around Rose’s waist and pull her closer.
Cynthia pats my arm and sighs happily—or at least that’s what it sounds like. “Ah, young love.” She adjusts her bracelets on her wrist and shakes her head. “There’s nothing quite like it.”
Behind her, I notice George slowly making his way toward us. His brows are pulled together a little, but I can’t tell if he’s looking at me or his mother.
“Will you be staying the night?” Cynthia lifts her eyes to mine again. “The men have all been invited to go skeet shooting in the morning. I’m sure they’d love to have you.”
I find myself smiling, because not only is she making an effort to include me, but it’s actually an activity I’ll be confident in. My father took me hunting all the time when I was young.
George arrives next to Cynthia and extends his hand to me. “Nate. Glad you made it.”
Cynthia speaks as I shake his hand. “I was just inviting him to go shooting with you all in the morning.”
“I’d love to join. Thank you.” I smile at her.
“And I expect to see you at dinner again soon, Nate,” she says as she turns from us. “Des has been begging to show you his Ferrari.”
“I look forward to it,” I reply with a smile as she leaves the three of us alone. Then I turn to George and take a deep breath. “Rose said you consoled her yesterday, and I want to thank you for that. I should have been there.”
George nods, and he looks serious. I think maybe he’s going to start lecturing me about how I should treat his little sister, but then he smiles. “We’re picking teams for tomorrow morning. You seem like the kind of guy who knows how to handle a shotgun. How about it?”
I chuckle. “It’s been a few years for me, but yeah, let’s do it. Do you hunt?”
Rose lets out a small laugh but covers her mouth, and George turns to her, incredulous. “What? You don’t think I know how to shoot a gun?”
She shrugs. “Only because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you spend your free time on anything but getting ahead at work.”
He raises a brow. “I have quite a few extra-curricular interests, actually.” Then he turns to me. “I don’t hunt, but I’ve tried my hand at skeet shooting a few times.” He grins. “I’m alright at it.”
Rose gapes at him. “Not with Dad?”
He shakes his head and laughs. “No. With a few guys back in college. One of them had a family range, so we did that, then went to a Packers game.”
“Ah, nice!” I chime in at the mention of my favorite team. “You think they’re going to have a shot at playoffs this year?”
“As long as they can contend with the Vikings.” He arches a brow. “If they play like they did last year, we might not have a chance.”
I cross my arms and lean in slightly. “It’s rare I see another Packers fan living right in the heart of enemy territory.”
He rolls his eyes a little. “Yeah, I get plenty of flak for it. Especially from Henry. But I’m sure you do too.” Then he peers curiously at me like a thought just came to him. “Hey, I’ve got tickets to a few home games in Green Bay this year. I’d love to invite you to one of them.”
“That would be incredible,” I reply, surprised by his generosity. I wouldn’t have expected something so thoughtful from any member of the family. “It’s been years since I’ve been.”
“I’ll email you the dates,” George confirms with a smile.
When I look down at Rose, she’s beaming at the two of us. Maybe we’re finally turning a corner with her family. If there’s one weight I wish I could lift from her shoulders, it’s that one.
No relationship is ever perfectly smooth, but I feel like we’ve overcome two gigantic hurdles tonight, and that makes me more hopeful for the future than I’ve ever been.