27. Lucy
twenty-seven
Lucy
This place is so crowded. I don’t know how I’m going to find Nate.
I slide my phone out of my pocket to call him, but a familiar profile draws my attention to a smaller cluster of tables off to the side of the dining space.
As I weave through the crowd toward Nate, I notice a group of women sitting at the table next to him.
They keep sneaking peeks at him, then whispering to each other.
The brunette on the corner seems especially bold.
When I’m about halfway there, she leans toward Nate, and he turns to her with a frown. Heat fills my chest, and I clench my jaw.
Nate looks up as I approach, his eyes roaming my face as I walk between the group of girls and our table.
Instead of sitting in the seat across from him, which he clearly intended for me, I squeeze between his chair and the wall behind him to get to the seat on his other side, setting my hands on his shoulders as I pass him.
Once I’m settled, he turns to me with a frown. “Everything okay?”
I smile and nod, feeling the brunette’s gaze on me. “Of course, babe. Sorry, it took so long. There was a line.”
He raises a brow, and the corner of his mouth twitches. “Babe?”
I narrow my eyes briefly and set my hand between his shoulder blades, hoping the brunette gets the message that Nate is off the market. Nate smirks and sets a hand on my knee. “Luce, this is Jenny. She was telling me that she thinks I responded to her wreck a few months ago.”
I nod and raise my brows, turning my attention to her. “I’m so sorry about your wreck. I’m glad that you’re okay, though.”
She smiles, her eyes darting to Nate. “That’s all thanks to Nate.”
I set my hand on Nate’s bicep and pat it affectionately. “What can I say? My husband is good at his job.”
Her gaze swings back to me, and she blinks. She chokes out a laugh and nods. “He is. You’re a lucky woman.”
I smirk and nod. “I won’t argue with you there.”
Jenny turns back to her friends with red cheeks, and Nate’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. He turns to me, eyes roaming my face, and I frown. “What?”
He raises his brows and shakes his head slowly. “Just checking to see if your face is actually green.”
It’s not green, but with the heat creeping up from my neck, it might be red. I roll my eyes and shove his hand from my knee. “Shut up, lint-licker.”
He chuckles as he grabs my pizza and slides it across the table to me. “I thought I was ‘babe’ now.”
I clench my jaw and slide my phone out of my pocket. The pizza looks delicious, but it’s larger than I expected. I bite my lip as I do a little mental math based on the carb count Nate got for me earlier.
Nate sets his hand on the chair behind me. “What’s wrong?”
I meet his gaze, then tilt my phone toward him so he can see the insulin pump app.
“I’m trying to figure this out. I don’t want to commit to eating the whole pizza.
I think I’ll add the carbs for half the pizza and save the rest for later.
I can always take more insulin in a few hours if I’m still hungry then. ”
He leans closer and examines the app with a frown. “Can you do that? Add more insulin that close to your last dose?”
I nod as I put the numbers in and wait for the app to calculate my bolus.
“Yes, as long as it’s done carefully. If I take a second dose before the first dose peaks, I would run the risk of insulin stacking, which could cause a blood sugar crash.
But if I wait a few hours after taking the first dose, I should be safe to take more if I’m still hungry. ”
He purses his lips and nods, watching carefully as I send the bolus dose through my new pump from the app. His eyes roam my face. “Did it work?”
I feel a slight pressure under my pump, followed by a familiar, slightly itchy, tingling sensation. “Yeah. It did.”
He scoots my plate closer and smirks. “Dig in then, Lucy Goosey.”
I raise my brows and pull in a sharp breath, turning wide eyes on his humor-filled face. “You swore you’d never call me that again.”
He chuckles and pulls his plate closer. “I think we’ve passed the statute of limitations on that promise.”
I shake my head. “No, promises last forever.”
He smirks and winks. “I think you mean vows last forever, Lucy Goosey.”
If Jenny and her friends weren’t so close and still sneaking peeks at us, I’d take my plate and find another place to sit. But I’m sure that if I leave, she’ll make goo-goo eyes at Nate again. So, I flash him a glare, draw a deep breath, and take a bite of my sausage pizza.
We eat in silence for a while, savoring the incredible food. When Jenny and her group of friends stand to leave, Jenny has the nerve to wave at Nate, and I can feel my face fall into a scowl. Before I can smooth it into a neutral expression, Nate turns to me and chuckles.
I try to ignore him and eat my delicious lunch, but he sets a hand on the back of my chair and leans closer. “Should we talk about whatever that was?”
I turn my frown to him. “What do you mean?”
He smirks. “You were jealous, weren’t you?”
I roll my eyes. “I was not jealous.”
“What would you call it then?”
I narrow my eyes, meeting his gaze boldly. “I’ll tell you if you tell me what happened in the elevator earlier.”
His brows scrunch. “The elevator?”
I nod and take a bite of my pizza, chewing hastily. “When we were leaving the endocrinologist’s office, there was a man on the elevator who smiled at me.”
His eyes widen momentarily. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I smirk, set my pizza down on my plate, and lean toward him. “Let me refresh your memory, then. We got onto the elevator, the man smiled at me, and you wrapped your arm around me like you were staking your claim.”
His eyes dart between mine as he exhales. I don’t realize how close we are until I feel his warm breath against my face. “I didn’t want you to get cold.”
I raise a brow. “It’s July.”
He shrugs. “Elevators are drafty. And we agreed that a little PDA fell in the green-light territory. Your turn.”
My mind scrambles for an explanation for my behavior. “I didn’t want her to embarrass herself.”
He frowns. “Embarrass herself how?”
Heat crawls up my neck, and I roll a shoulder against the creeping feeling.
“She couldn’t see your wedding ring because your hand was under the table.
I didn’t want her to make a fool of herself flirting with you only to find out you’re already married.
It was best to cut her off before she got going. ”
His eyes roam my face, dropping to my mouth for a split second, and my heart somersaults in my chest. When his eyes meet mine again, the sparkle in them is dim, like someone turned the knob on the light switch. Something like disappointment sits heavy in my stomach at the shift in his expression.
He clears his throat. “So, sitting beside me, calling me babe, that was to let her down easy?”
I swallow around the discomfort in my chest at not being entirely honest. “Yes.”
He purses his lips and nods, sitting back in his chair as he picks up his pizza and takes a bite. Silently, I turn to my plate and do the same.
I know his drafty-elevator excuse is weak at best, but doubt starts to creep in. He’s been very affectionate today. Honestly, part of me started to believe he was holding me because he wanted to.
Stupid.
Obviously, it was part of the agreement to show affection in public.
He doesn’t act like that when we’re at home.
He keeps a distance between us. Even when we’re in the living room watching a movie with Quinn, he’ll sit on the far side of the couch or in the chair.
He has no interest in touching me when we’re alone.
So, clearly, this increased attention is an effort to keep up appearances.
I can’t explain why that makes my chest ache. I don’t want to put words to it.
Quinn’s giggles ring out across the park as Nate falls to the ground again. I grab her swing, wrapping my arms around her and holding her suspended in the air as Nate stands up and brushes wood chips off his clothes.
He turns his bright hazel eyes to Quinn. “You got me again, Quinnie. What am I going to do with you?”
She points at Nate and yells, “Nae-da, Nae-da!”
Taking this as my signal, I pull her back and count down from three.
When I let her go, Nate braces himself and falls dramatically when Quinn’s tiny bare feet meet his chest. She cackles as he tumbles, and I can’t help but laugh.
Nate’s eyes meet mine as I catch Quinn again, holding her as we wait for him to get up.
He laughs as he stands, and my heart stumbles in my chest.
Seeing him so full of joy makes up for every tense moment we’ve had together since our date last week.
He takes a long stride toward us as I hold Quinn in the swing. He tickles Quinn’s feet, and she giggles again. “Do you like knocking me down, little lady? Is that funny?”
Quinn catches her breath and reaches for Nate. She pats his chest and looks up at him, still in the swing in my arms, as she proudly announces, “Dada.”
I freeze, eyes darting to Nate’s face to watch his reaction. His breath leaves in a long exhale, and his shoulders droop. His eyes roam her face, then climb to meet my gaze, darting between mine like he’s trying to read instructions for how he should respond.
I clear my throat, trying to dislodge the lump that formed there, and set a hand on his forearm. There are so many things I want to say to comfort and reassure him, but I can’t force any of the words out. So, I stroke his arm, hoping that the gesture conveys everything I’m thinking.
He swallows roughly and draws a deep breath as his gaze drops back to Quinn.
He slides his hands under her arms and lifts her from the swing.
As I let the swing go, he steps aside, kisses her head, and hugs her tightly.
“I love you so much, Quinn. I have big shoes to fill, but I’ll try my best to be a good dad for you.
And I won’t let you forget your first Mom and Dad. ”