Chapter 18 Nora
NORA
Itucked the blankets under my chin and closed my eyes, trying again to fall asleep.
The house was at the perfect temperature, no lights were on, so that wasn’t bugging me. I hadn’t had any sugar past seven.
I loved Colson’s bed…and well, Colson himself, which was something I was finally comfortable admitting in my head at least.
So, why couldn’t I sleep?
I moved my toes, stretching them under the blankets. I was sore from earlier, but the bath helped ease any discomfort. Still, his fucking monster dick was on my shit list right now. After dinner, he had tried to start things again, and I shut him down.
A girl needed to rest.
So, we went to bed, and I have just been lying awake.
Colson finally turned toward me and let out a loud exhale.
“You’re very loud when you can’t sleep.”
I tilted my head on the pillow and stared at him in the dark.
“I literally haven’t said or done anything but stare at the ceiling.”
“It’s this.” He put his hand on my chest. “I can tell when you’re upset or breathing harder than normal. When worry slips in and ties up your heart, I feel it tighten around mine too.”
I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips, kissing the pads of his fingers.
“I think I’m struggling to wrap my head around what you offered.”
I could tell his eyes were still closed as he stroked my arm.
“What?”
“Your offer, the one where you said I should go with you for Christmas.”
“Oh. That.” He let out another sigh, moving to his back.
“Yeah…that seems big.”
“It’s not.” He clipped out.
I hated when he did that, downsized something that felt significantly large.
“You’re taking me home to meet your family for Christmas, won’t they ask who I am to you?”
“No.”
Fuck, he annoyed me.
It was my turn to let out a sigh, which must have made him realize he was frustrating me.
“Nora, my family is fucked-up. They want to see me once or twice a year so that we can be photographed together, or so they can brag about their latest accomplishment. Trust me. They don’t care who I’m currently fucking.”
Ouch.
My voice was a little wispy as I asked, “So you’ll introduce me as the girl you’re currently fucking, then?”
His snort wasn’t encouraging.
But he moved closer, his chin dropped to the hollow of my neck as he pulled me into his arms.
“Nora, if I knew that it wouldn’t scare you the fuck off, I’d introduce you as my girlfriend, but I’m trying to play by your rules.”
“My rules?” I asked, pulling out of his arms.
He sounded exasperated.
I didn’t care.
“Yes, you’re the one who asked for no strings attached…did you forget that?”
Oh no, he did not just act like I was the one who wanted this. I jumped out of bed and flicked on the light.
“Fuck, Nora.” Colson groaned, covering his eyes.
I crossed my arms and paced the room.
“I need you to explain. What do you mean that I’m the one who wanted that?”
“I have bedside lamps…”
Ignoring him, I asked again.
“What did you mean?”
“Fuck…” He lifted his arm and dropped it on the bed. “I showed up at your house with flowers, and dinner, Nora, and somehow you drew the conclusion that I wanted something casual?”
Wait…
I had completely missed that. I mean, he’d been taking care of me with my back, and the pipes…I just thought it went with his savior complex.
Stepping closer to the edge of the bed with arms linked, I stared down at him.
His hands were over his eyes, and the blankets pooled around his waist, revealing his muscled chest. It made me think back to all the sweet things he’d said before the bath.
The confession. I had tossed the entire thing away as a move to fuck me, especially because of how brash and rough he was with me directly after said confession.
“So you wanted…” I faltered, too nervous to throw it out there and risk rejection.
Finally, he sat up, glared at me, and answered.
“Strings. Lots of them, Nora. A tie for every fucking thing you do and say. Preferably you tied to my bed, naked, so I can do lots of wicked things to you. Now please turn off the fucking light.”
He plopped back down and the last latch in my heart opened, releasing a set of wings. My entire chest swelled, feeling my heart take flight.
He wanted strings.
With me…
“Why didn’t you say that then, and why did you confess all that to me then get rough in the bathroom?”
He groaned from under a pillow, then sat up. “Because I didn’t want to scare you off, and I was so worried that you wanted no strings that I tried like hell to pull back any that I might let show. I was worried you’d walk away.”
My heart flipped because while he didn’t say it…his sentiment felt an awful lot like love.
“Nora…please.” He muttered, tugging the pillow back over his face.
Turning on my heel, I flipped the light off.
“Now come back to bed.”
I did as he said, crawling in and pulling the covers high. He pulled me to his chest, intertwined his legs with mine, and whispered in my ear.
“You’re a ridiculous kind of crazy, baby. But you’re my ridiculous kind of crazy.” He kissed my jaw and then said, “Now go to sleep.”
And I did.
“Oh my gosh, this tree!” I gasped, tilting my head back as I stared at the largest decorated Christmas tree I had ever seen. It was lush with white lights, golden and red bulbs, silver and golden beads, and ribbons tied around it. My designer heart soared.
Rae stood next to me and let out a soft but happy sigh. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”
“I haven’t even decorated my tiny one yet.”
Which reminded me that we needed to have the girls over to help us, but it was just a few days until Christmas, and Colson and I were leaving for California. It was why we were up at our friends’ house, visiting them before we took off.
Davis and Colson were talking on the back porch while fresh snow fell, and the dogs played in the yard. Rae had invited us up for lunch, considering dinner would put us on the mountain at night, and my anxiety couldn’t take that.
“Okay so…” Rae said, flicking her eyes to mine as she headed back into the kitchen to prep lunch. “California…Colson…spill.”
I spent the time cutting vegetables, explaining what Colson had told me the night prior.
“So, he ended up confessing first, then?”
Taking the salad plates from her, I set them on the table and tried to push away the blush creeping along my neck.
“Yes, it seems that way, doesn’t it? I just hate this…I felt broken. I completely missed all the signs, and even when he was practically confessing his love to me last night, I assumed he was trying to get laid.”
Rae’s eyes softened sympathetically. “It makes me feel the tiniest bit better that I’m not the only person who missed signs and well, you still can’t top my crazy with the way I stalked Davis…”
“It’s not like I want to…but I think that what happened to me before …”
“It messed with you,” Rae added for me.
I nodded, hating the truth.
“Well, meeting Colson’s family is a big deal, so keep your guard up. Has he told you very much about his past, or any of them?”
I thought that over and realized he hadn’t, but it wasn’t like I had asked.
“Umm, I know what I’ve read on the internet…”
“That’s the other thing.” Rae walked over to the cupboard and grabbed two glasses and handed them to me before grabbing another two. “His family is rich and kind of famous.”
That didn’t bother me anymore…at least I didn’t think it did. “Being rich and famous doesn’t really faze me, people are people.”
Rae lit a candle in the middle of the table and flicked her eyes to mine.
“Okay, but you haven’t asked him personally about what you might have read. Don’t you think you should know about his parents and siblings, like on a personal level, as in should you bring anything, or will they expect you to sleep in separate rooms?”
Dammit, she was right.
Slumping into a chair, I blew out a breath and set my chin in my palm.
“So how do I ask without trying to come across as nosy?”
Rae grabbed her white wine and settled next to me.
“Just ask…or don’t and form your own conclusions when you get there.”
Yeah, that could work.
Davis opened the door, carrying a glass pan with steaks and a few pieces of chicken.
He was laughing at something Colson had said to him, with a devastating smile and a set of eyes that searched for Rae the moment he stepped inside.
The way they gravitated toward one another still made me swoon.
My best friend had found her person, and the way he treated her set the bar fucking high for the rest of us mortals who didn’t have grumpy mountain men who worshipped the ground we walked on.
However, Colson’s gaze did exactly what Davis’s had, that smile grew and then he dipped and pressed his lips to mine in a quick but sweet kiss. As our first form of public affection, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.
I grabbed his hand under the table.
Colson drank a beer while Davis and Rae explained the details of their wedding that was coming up in a few months.
They wanted a quick ceremony up here where they lived, with a small number of guests.
Davis asked Colson if he’d be a groomsman, Rae had finally asked me to be her maid of honor by sliding a gold bracelet my way and telling me I better start planning.
“I already have an entire Pinterest board created for you,” I assured her with a hug.
On the way back down the mountain, I asked Colson a few questions about his family like Rae had suggested.
I looked over at him, feeling nerves shudder under my skin. “Is there anything I should know about your family?”
He laughed, looked over and smiled, then put his eyes back on the road.
“What do you mean, exactly?”
Shit, already off to a bad start.
Shifting in my seat, I tried again. “Well…we’re staying with your parents, right?”
“My dad, yeah,” he clarified with a tight jaw.
“So, your mom isn’t in the picture, then?”
I wanted to tread carefully with this question because of how solemn and closed off he seemed when the girls had pulled that box of photos of her out.
He adjusted his hand on the steering wheel, but the muscle in his jaw kept jumping, until he finally muttered. “No.”
Okayyy…
“Um…so, do you get along with your siblings, or are there any black sheep of the family I should watch out for?”
“I’m the black sheep.” He looked over again, but his stare was heavy. “I get along fine with my brothers.”
That was good. Right, no drama with the brothers meant things were good.
“Do they know you’re bringing me?”
Slowing down, he put his blinker on and turned his steering wheel before he smiled at me.
“Yes, they know.”
Okay. This whole conversation felt great…just fucking wonderful.
I looked out the window, feeling defeated. I was going to have to show up and make my own conclusions.
I saw him glance over again out of my periphery. “So, Liam texted me…he mentioned having a training session that was booked last-minute. I know he could use the money, so I’m going to have the girls come over. Would you be okay with me bringing them over to help decorate your tree?”
Smiling at the mention of the girls, I looked back over.
“Of course.”
At least we wouldn’t be stuck brooding over this awkward as fuck conversation.