Page 13 of The Wrong Side Of Us

We made small talk, like a family who was making up for lost time. All the while, Nathan held my hand in his, squeezing it and every now and then pressing a kiss to the back of it. I should have been used to this type of affection from him; he never hid what he felt.

We ate breakfast together, the most enjoyable meal I’d had in a long time. It was the first meal in a while that Carter and I had eaten in the company of family. Deborah and Frank made us feel at home; it was everything I’d ever dreamed of.

***

“What are you doing back here?”

I walked around in the wooded backyard, distracted by the beautiful sounds of birds chirping. It was only a bit past noon, and it wasn’t the best idea since I had no clue how to get back, but I was so entranced by the beauty of it I didn’t care.

I turned my face, only to see Nathan with a backpack and a bottle of wine.

He wrapped an arm around me, and I leaned my head back on his shoulder.

“I’m thinking,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

“What about?”

“You waited for me even without knowing whether I would want a relationship. Why?”

“Why wouldn’t I wait?” he countered.

“You could have been with someone else, Nate, someone ready for a relationship. And instead you waited for me without any guarantee.”

“I didn’t need a guarantee,” he said. I tilted my head back, opening my eyes to see him.

“I didn’t ever say that I would be ready for a relationship again,” I stated.

“You didn’t need to, Evie.” Nathan smiled, turning me around in his arms and placing his hands on my waist. “When you know, you know. With you, I always knew.”

I looked at him in wonder. How the hell had I gotten so lucky to have a man like him with me? My hands rested on his chest, over the steady beating of his heart, memorizing the feel of it under my hand, and I knew what I had to say.

“I love you, Nathan.”

He smiled, cupping my face in his hands as he ran his fingers over my cheeks tenderly. “I love you too, Evie.”

Nathan kissed me, parting my lips with his tongue gently. There was no hurry in the kiss, only love in every caress of our hands and mouths. It wasn’t until we both needed air to breathe that we broke away the kiss.

“Come on. I have something to show you.”

Chapter 6

Evelyn

There was no hiding the smile on my face.

Nathan wouldn’t let go of my hand as we went through the wooded area, navigating it with ease as if he knew the place by memory.

“Everyone thinks when you buy property the house on it has to be huge,” he commented.

“Some people like big houses,” I said, looking down to avoid tripping.

“Mm, yeah, big houses are nice to have. But that’s not the reason my parents bought this property,” Nathan said, giving me a pointed stare. “This,” I caught up to him, staring in awe at the sight in front of us, “this is why they bought it.”

We stood in front of a small lake. Behind it were more and more trees, small flowers peppered on them. Its beauty was difficult to describe, but it oozed peace. Calmness.

“This is beautiful. I never knew your parents owned this,” I said, turning around.

“I told you we were well off. I just made some bad decisions is all.”

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