Chapter Three
Nate
From the corners of his eyes, Nate watched Lottie walk away from the table, ignoring the desire to go after her.
It was getting harder and harder to overlook the wanting, the burning in his veins when he thought about giving into the one thing he knew for certain would destroy all of his plans for the future.
He’d never felt that way with anyone else, ensured it by only ever hooking up with someone and even then, making sure they were always the exact opposite of what he really wanted.
Tall, slender blondes and petite redheads were who Nate preferred to go to for sexual release, that way there would be no confusing them with the woman he’d been wanting to bed again since high school.
That night haunted Nate like a ghost, never leaving him alone for long enough to exorcise Lottie from his mind, or his heart.
The feel of her soft skin underneath his fingertips was still so fresh in his mind that his hands twitched anytime she was near, aching from how badly he wanted to feel it again.
It wasn’t just her body he wanted, but all of her, her inherent goodness and yes, even her inherent need to listen to anyone and everyone.
It had always held things up in high school, but at the end of the day, they always accomplished what they needed to and everyone seemed happier from their interactions with her.
She was incredible, they had been incredible together, but as soon as Nate felt that the paralyzing fear soon followed.
Fear of not accomplishing anything nearly as worthy of his family name as his brothers had already, not living up to his most defining character trait.
His parents, brothers, school teachers, and just about everyone in town would always comment on his determination, his temerity, and the thought of failing in the eyes of everyone he admired for most of his life made him physically ill.
The worry over that outweighed all else, but Lottie was always there in his head along with everything else.
Unable to figure out a way to banish Lottie from his very being, Nate wiped a hand down his face and took another slow sip of his drink, hoping that the fruity flavored alcohol could dull his senses enough to not feel the impulse to go to her.
Coming to Branch and Brew was always an exercise in will power, but he couldn’t keep himself from frequenting the bar.
Supporting his brother Felix was only part of it, the other existing behind the bar, talking and laughing with everyone just as she always did.
A shoulder bumped into his, nearly knocking him from his stool. “She was flirting with you,” Aiden remarked. His near black hair flopped into his eyes, but it didn’t stay there long as his fiancée Nicole reached over and brushed it off his face as she smiled up at him lovingly.
Nate scoffed as a pang of envy for what his brother had punched its way into his heart. Trying to cover the emotion, he glanced over at his eldest brother scornfully. “She wasn’t, and even if she was, it wouldn’t count because Charlotte flirts with everyone.”
Aiden smirked and shook his head. “She’s never flirted with me.” He nodded to the rest of the table who all readily agreed, their heads bobbing in unison to an almost comical degree.
“Whatever,” Nate said, taking another drink. Why wasn’t the alcohol working yet? He could still feel Lottie’s presence even from fifty feet away, still smell the cinnamon and apples mixed with her own unique scent despite being surrounded by a bar full of people.
The matter seemed to drop for a while as the group started participating in a round of trivia.
As it was just after Halloween, most of the questions were based on that and as big of a history buff as Nate was, he knew very little about the pagan traditions that the holiday was based on or anything having to do with it really.
After the fourth round, in which the entire table failed to come up with an answer to the question of “Who sang the song, Monster Mash?” Nate finally started to feel a slight buzz in his veins from the cider he’d been consuming all evening.
Willa nudged him with her elbow. His administrative assistant, sister-in-law, and Lottie’s best friend, was the only person at Town Hall who seemed on board with his revitalization project, something he appreciated greatly even though her helping him came to very little.
Willa was newer to the town and despite her ties to his family, didn’t have any deep connections beyond that.
“Hey, isn’t that Councilman Gutierrez?” She nodded towards the bar.
Nate felt his hackles rise up automatically.
Gutierrez was the person who’d run against him for mayor two years ago, and despite having five years more experience and age than Nate, he’d lost and taken a seat on city council instead.
The man had never failed to bring up Nate’s younger age as a detriment anytime he was asked about his opposing candidate, but apparently the people of Applewood felt differently.
At least they had. Now it seemed as though no one wanted anything to do with his campaign promises.
Turning slightly, Nate flicked his gaze to the bar, spotting the man wearing a red and white striped shirt and hat while standing in front of Lottie as she mixed drinks.
He must be with the group of people dressed as a bunch of Where’s Waldos, and while Nate was still in his work clothes and looked more put together, he couldn’t help lamenting that even in his lame costume, the man looked well-suited to the equally festive Lottie.
Gutierrez was a few years older than her, but was attractive enough with his light brown skin and inky black hair.
Nate had known that they were friendly since it seemed that Gutierrez was always the one to give Lottie the inside scoop on town business for her newsletter, but Nate couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more between them, something romantic.
When Lottie tipped her head back and laughed at something the man had said, the answer to the question no longer mattered.
All that mattered was that Nate broke up whatever was going on between them before it even started.
Knocking his stool over in his haste to end their interaction, Nate stalked up to the bar, drinking in the sight of Lottie as she did a spin in her pink and red baseball uniform.
She was and always had been the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, made even more so by her sense of style.
For some, the 1940s look wouldn’t suit, but it fit her so perfectly that Nate sometimes found himself daydreaming of the two of them as lovers back in that time, separated by war instead of by his own uncertainty and stubborn refusal to let himself love her the way she deserved.
He arrived at the bar at what would now be the end of their conversation, with Gutierrez smiling at Lottie as he took a sip of his drink. “Aren’t you going to ask me what’s going on in Town Hall?”
Before Lottie could answer the man’s question, Nate slapped his hand down on the bar, the loud smack drawing both of their attentions over to him. “No,” he replied, his voice as harsh as he could make it. “She won’t be.”
Lottie bit her lip, her white teeth digging into the red the same way it had that night all those years ago. Nate felt himself stirring at the thought of being with her again, but the councilman spoke, obliterating any lust he felt in that moment.
“Evening, Mayor.” Gutierrez’s eyes flicked between the two of them before he raised his glass in a toast. “Talk you to later, Lottie.”
Nate scoffed. “No, you won’t.” Gutierrez was gone by the time he’d spoken the words, but he’d needed to say it anyway.
Nate had grit his teeth as he’d watched Lottie date any number of people over the years, but he would be damned if he sat back and watched her with the man who’d tried to take the mayoral election from him. “A minute of your time, Charlotte?”
Lottie smiled brightly despite the obvious upset in his low voice.
“Anything for you, Mister Mayor.” She tossed her tea towel onto the bar before nodding at the other bartenders.
Nate saw Felix flick his gaze over to them with concern, but it clearly wasn’t for him.
Waving his brother off, he followed Lottie into the back room that currently served as storage while his brother expanded his business into the space next to it.
Lottie pushed open the door to the back room, looking over her shoulder at him with trepidation. “What can I do for you, Mayor Kemp?”
Nate crossed his arms over his chest, hating the way that she used his title. Banishing the desire to hear his name on her lips again, he steeled himself as he gazed upon her beautiful face. “I thought we agreed that you would stay away from my people.”
Lottie snorted lightly, something that both irritated and endeared her to him. “The councilman isn’t your people, he’s his own person. Besides, you specifically told me to stop badgering people,” she reiterated. “I was just having a polite conversation with Anthony.”
Nate scoffed even as hearing her call the man by his first name made him sick to his stomach. “Sure. Just like you have polite conversations with everyone in town before reporting on it in your little pamphlet.”
It was apparent from the rise in her shoulders that his comment about her newsletter had hit home, and as much as Nate hated himself for disparaging her, it always seemed like his only recourse.
She was always so calm in his presence when he felt like his world was upside down and inside out. It wasn’t fair.
She raised her brow in challenge. “There’s nothing wrong with talking to people in town or sharing that information with others if I have their permission, which I always do.”