Chapter nineteen
I lay in my bed andwatched the clock tick over to nine-thirty. I knew I should get out of bed and start the day, but the events of the night before kept playing over and over in my head, leaving me feeling more tired than what I’d been when I had gone to bed in the first place.
Why couldn’t Nathan just let me be? Why did he have to keep pulling me back to him when he had no intention of having any kind of relationship with me other than a purely sexual one? It was torture for me to even be in the same room as him because I wanted so much more than that.
Then Nathan had to bring in that horrible woman, Sonja, who couldn’t wait to rub my face in the fact that Nathan had left me the night he had found out I was a virgin and ran straight into her bed. Just the thought of that smug look Sonja had given me when she told me was enough to make me want to cry. I may have acted tough, but deep-down I had been devastated. I didn’t think I was able to hurt anymore then what I had already been feeling, but I had been wrong. I’d hit an all-time low last night.
I dragged myself out of bed and wrapped my dressing gown around my body. I walked into my kitchen and was surprised to find Sam sitting at my table with a coffee in his big hands. I could tell that I had interrupted him and Violet deep in a serious conversation.
“Sam, what are you doing here?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.
“Good morning, Rose. I’ve just been trying to convince your sister that Nathan is miserable without you and that you should come with me today to see him,” Sam answered, casually lifting one of his large shoulders.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, taking a seat beside him. I was feeling a little confused and had no idea what he was talking about. “I don’t want to see him.”
“Nathan asked me to come over here and pick you up. He wants me to bring you to him and I’m not allowed to tell you where I’m going to take you or what he wants you for.”
I looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Are you crazy, Sam? Nathan and I had a big fight last night and I told him I didn’t want him in my life. Nothing has changed today, I’m not going to be one of his women,” I remarked dryly. “I deserve more than that.”
“I know that you do but Nathan will kill me if I don’t bring you back with me. Do you want that on your conscience?” Sam asked, a slight smile forming on his face.
I looked over to Violet, who shrugged at me. “It’s your choice, Rosie. I guess it can’t hurt to hear him out.”
“You’ve changed your tune from last night,” I noted, not quite sure what had gotten into my sister. The night before she’d spent over an hour telling me to forget all about Nathan.
Violet shrugged again. “I’ve been talking to Sam, maybe I was too quick to judge Nathan. He is going to pay for Liam to go to rehab and will give him his old job back when he’s done. Like I said, it can’t hurt to just hear what he has to say.”
I sighed and stood up. “Fine, just give me a few minutes while I go change.”
I walked back into my bedroom and felt the nerves zinging through my body. I had no idea what to get changed into since I had no idea where I was going. I ended up picking out a denim skirt and a black silk top. I slipped on a pair of black sandals and met Sam outside by the SUV. I was crazy for doing this.
“What have you got planned for today?” I asked Violet as I got in the car.
“I have a date with Zayden,” Violet smiled cheekily.
“I see. I hope that’s not the reason you’re suddenly keen on me giving Nathan a second chance, is it? You haven’t found love yourself?” I teased.
She shrugged. “Maybe. Now go see what he has to offer you today.” Violet shut the door and waved to me as Sam and I drove off down the driveway.
As I settled back into the soft leather seat, I wondered what on earth I was doing. I don’t even know what Nathan wanted or where he wanted me to go. Hadn’t I just told Nathan last night that he should just forget about me and get on with his life? And now here I was giving in to him the very next day? I really should demonstrate some more self-control whenever Nathan was concerned. This really wasn’t a good idea.
“Sam, where are we going? This is crazy. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I really should just go back home and try to forget that Nathan even exists,” I called though the interior window.
“Come on, Rose, listen to what your sister said. It can’t do any harm hearing what Nathan has to say to you. You can always just leave if you don’t like what he wants to tell you. I’ll drive you home myself.”
“Did he tell you what he wanted me for? I haven’t got time to waste following him all around the countryside. Tomorrow is Christmas and I still have presents to buy.” I felt a frisson of annoyance run through me. It was typical of Nathan to expect me to drop everything and come as soon as he wanted me. I was annoyed at myself as well for doing it.
Sam shook his head and looked at me in the rear-view mirror. “No, but he has been moping around the house all week. Then this morning I saw him and he looked completely different, he looked happy. I have no idea what happened to him, he just called me and told me to get you up to his cabin any way I could. He had something he wanted to tell you and it couldn’t wait a moment longer.”
I was curious. “The cabin? Why on earth would he want me to go there?”
Sam simply shrugged and turned his attention back to driving on the winding road in front of us.
When Sam and I pulled up out front of Nathan’s cabin in the bush, I could see Nathan’s black sports car parked in the driveway. Sam parked the SUV beside it, got out and walked around to open my door for me.
“Nathan said to tell you that he is waiting down by the waterfall for you,” Sam said as he helped me out of the car. “I have to go back to town. Are you right from here on your own? Call me if you need anything.”
I nodded and waved goodbye to Sam as he got back in the SUV and drove off back down the driveway. I had second thoughts about being left here with Nathan, but I had reception on my phone. I could call Sam if need be.
I walked to the back of the house and followed the path down though the bush to the waterfall. As I neared the end of the path, I could see a small table set up by the water. It had a crisp white tablecloth, fine white china, and sparkling glassware all arranged neatly in a place setting set for two.
Nathan was sitting in one of the chairs watching me walk towards him. He looked so handsome and Sam was right, there was something different in the way he looked. There was a look of ease in his eyes, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. I thought that he actually looked happy.
“Nathan, what is this? What’s going on?” I asked as I got closer to him. I was still surprised at how he could make my heart skip a beat with just one look from his dark brown eyes.
“Rose, I’m glad you came. Come, sit down. I’ve got us some lunch.” Nathan got up from the chair and walked over to me. He softly took me by the hand and led me over to the table, where beautiful looking gourmet food was set up on white serving plates.
I pulled my hand away from his and frowned. “Nathan, what is going on? Why am I here? I hope that you didn’t just bring me out all this way to have lunch with you, because I told you last night that I couldn’t do this anymore. I can’t be around you and have you treat me like one of your many women, it’s too hard for me. You know that I want more than that from you.” I was beginning to feel teary. It was painful being around someone that didn’t feel the same about you, especially when those feelings were so strong.
“Do you love me, Rose?” Nathan asked softly, his dark eyes studying my face.
I sighed a long, frustrated sigh. “Is that what this is all about? You can’t go on knowing there’s a woman out there who loves you and you might miss another opportunity to rub it in my face that you don’t love me and don’t want a relationship with me?”
“That’s not what this is about at all. I want to know if you love me, Rose? I need to know,” Nathan pleaded.
I walked away from Nathan and went to stand by the edge of the water. I remembered the first time we’d come here. Things had been easier then, because although I had been attracted to Nathan, I hadn’t been in love with him like I was now. I had felt a hatred towards him then that had made it a little easier to turn off my feelings. I didn’t hate him now though and that was the problem.
I sighed. “Yes Nathan, I think I do love you.” I turned to look at him and I know that Nathan could see the pained expression on my face. “Are you happy now? Here is another woman you can add to your list, another woman whose heart you’ve broken in an attempt to get one back at your ex-fiancée.”
A surprised look flashed across Nathan’s face and this time he didn’t try to hide what he was feeling. “That’s not what this is about, Rose. I’ll admit in the beginning it was all about payback, payback for Kylie, for your sharp tongue, and for your brother, but now...” he trailed off and came and stood right beside me so he could look right into my eyes. “Last night you told me that you wanted me to be your partner and that if I couldn’t, you wanted me completely out of your life. I sat there after you left and thought about everything you said and the words ‘completely out of your life’ just keep going around and around in my head. I started to feel sick and I realised that I couldn’t live with you not in my life. I realised that I didn’t want to live without you,” Nathan sighed and he looked off into the distance, like he was having trouble explaining himself. “I thought about this all night and I now know that I don’t want to be your friend or your partner.”
“What are you trying to say, Nathan?”
Nathan looked down at his feet and sighed. When he looked back up at me a small smile crossed his lips. “I haven’t been able to function this last week without you. What I’m trying to say, angel, is that I love you and I want you in my life. I want you to be my wife. You’re right, I have been wasting my life away. I do want to get married, I do want to have children, and I want to do it all with you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring.
“Rose, will you marry me?” Nathan asked as he slipped the ring onto my finger.
I smiled, it was typical of Nathan to put the ring on my finger without waiting for an answer, but I didn’t care. I had never felt this happy in my entire life. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Of course, I’ll marry you, Nathan.”
Nathan leaned down and kissed me. “I want to commit to you for the rest of my life. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives.”
I smiled cheekily. “Well, now that I’ve got you to finally commit to me, how about you take me back to that cabin of yours and show me exactly what I’ve got to look forward to for the rest of our lives?”
A low groan escaped Nathan’s mouth and he pulled me against him, showing me he was already ready to go. “With pleasure, my angel.”