Page 79 of Long Hard Road

“You think you had to convince me to let you sit on my face?” He chuckled and dug his fingers into my ass. “That ride is always available to you, angel.”

“Good to know.” I tried to return his smile, but I was stuck on the thought that I was only going to have him for another week. That he wouldn’t always be available to me. I would leave Crestwood and he would move on. I was sure it wouldn’t take long for some other women to swoop in and fill my place in his bed.

“Let’s go to dinner.” His hands trailed down to my thighs. “I know everyone will want to see you and this will be their last chance since you won’t be here for the next gathering.”

It was the first time either of us had acknowledged what our lives were going to be like after I left. I hated picturing Nate sitting around the dinner table with his family, all of them laughing and teasing one another, with an empty chair next to him. My chair. I hated even more picturing another woman in that chair.

As expected, his family was thrilled when we walked into Tom’s kitchen. Lily and Harper greeted me with big hugs and Chase handed me a beer while making an inappropriate comment to Nate about how they would need to sanitize every inch of our Airstream when we were done with it. Tom smacked the back of Chase’s head.

“Let’s not forget the crusty socks I used to find under your bed,” he said, giving his son a pointed look.

Chase smiled guiltily. “So glad you remember that, Dad.”

When Evan arrived with his kids in tow, chaos ensued. Emma screeched loudly and jumped in place. Nate laughed as he tried to introduce me and she immediately launched into a speech about how much she loved my latest concert. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the living room so she could show me every picture on her phone that she had taken at the concert.

Nate grumbled something about losing me to a tween on our way past, but he was smiling. So was his whole damn family when they saw the way he was looking at me. The Sullivan family was the family I had always wanted. None of the adults cared at all that I was famous and made a lot of money. They just cared that I made Nate happy.

After dinner, we played an intense round of War and there was a lot of good-natured trash talk that had me laughing until my cheeks ached. Unlike last time, no one was eager to leave after I took all their quarters. The guys and the twins went down to the stables together to check on a couple of mares who were expected to foal soon.

“You aren’t really going to leave on Saturday, are you?” Harper asked in a pleading tone. “You belong in Crestwood, Madi.”

“This isn’t my home. My job requires me to be elsewhere.” I plucked at a thread on the pillow I was cuddling on the large, leather sofa in Tom’s living room.

“It wouldn’t have to.” Lily tucked her legs beneath her across from me. “I was able to start my life over here. It took a little adjustment, but you could do the same.”

I had thought about that a lot over the last couple of days, usually while I was watching Nate sleep next to me. I wanted to stay, to be with him. But he hadn’t asked me to stay. In fact, he had been carefully preparing us both for my departure.

“It’s not really my call,” I said quietly.

“Of course it is. Nate wants you to stay.” Harper pointed her beer bottle at me. “And it’s obvious that you want to be here with him. So… stay.”

“He hasn’t asked me to stay.” I wasn’t sure why that was so hard to admit.

“My brother can be a total dumbass sometimes.” Harper sighed and reached over, squeezing my arm. “He’s just afraid that you will say no and break his heart. Just tell him you want to stay and put him out of his misery.”

“I’m not going to put him in a position where he feels like he has to say yes just so he doesn’t hurt my feelings. You and I both know that Nate isn’t good at putting his own feelings first.” My concerns were only compounded by the fact that if I did stay, I would need to stay with him. My cabin was rented to someone else starting next week and I knew there weren’t many rental options available in Crestwood. That was a lot of pressure to put on a guy I had known for three weeks.

“You are both so damn stubborn.” Lily tossed a pillow at me. “I know how it feels to put your heart out there and hope a guy doesn’t crush it. But Nate isn’t going to do that, Madi. He adores you.”

“I can’t stay anyway,” I said, changing my tactic. “I have a bunch of work commitments lined up. Backing out isn’t an option.”

“Do you even want to do those things?” Harper asked doubtfully. “You don’t sound like someone who can’t wait to get back to work.”

She was right. I had no desire to pose for pictures and walk red carpets. That didn’t matter, though. “My life isn’t normal. I can’t just do what I want. I have dozens of people who depend on me. People whose livelihoods depend on me.”

“What about Nate? Do you think he hasn’t grown to depend on you?” Pain etched itself deep in Harper’s eyes. “He loves you, Madi. Maybe he hasn’t told you, but I can see it. You being here has brought him back to life.”

I wasn’t so sure. I knew that Nate and I had something special, that we were falling for each other. But love? It had only been three weeks. He had never even seen my life outside of Crestwood. It was intense enough to scare away even the toughest, most confident man.

When the guys returned, Nate came straight to me. He pulled me off the sofa and right to the door, calling a hasty goodnight to everyone. He didn’t even give me a chance to tell Harper and Lily goodbye. We entered the Airstream in a hurry, both of us already stripping away our clothes. As he laid me on the bed and pressed his strong, warm body against mine, I looked deep into his eyes.

His glide into me was slow and smooth, with no hesitation or loss of control. His lips molded against mine like they had been created only to kiss me and no one else. The air filled with familiar sounds of soft moans, rustling sheets, and colliding skin. I focused on each sound, each touch of his hands on my body. I wanted to remember this moment forever because this was the moment that I realized I was no longer falling for Nate Sullivan. I was all the way in love with him.

26

NATE

“You really let her go?” Chase eyed me suspiciously over the table saw. “The best thing that has ever happened to you and you let her drive away?”

---