Page 81 of Nathan

“Mine, too,” Callum says.

“And mine,” Declan says.

Dex edges closer to me until you couldn’t fit a sheet of paper between our bodies. “You know what this means?” she murmurs.

I look down at her. “No.”

“That I’m always right.”

Chapter 28

Dex

Saying goodbye to Nate’s family has a bittersweet taste to it. He arrived thinking he didn’t belong, and left having not only repaired his damaged relationship with his brothers, but he’s discovered a half- sister he didn’t know he had, either. They offered to come wave us off, but Nate refused. He’s putting a brave face on it, but I know he didn’t let them come to the airport because he didn’t want to show his vulnerability. I can’t blame him. The last few days have left him pretty raw.

When we’ve negotiate security and are airside, I let out a deeply satisfied sigh. “I’ve had the best time.”

Nate wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my temple as we set off for the first-class lounge. “We can come back soon.”

I try to keep the smugness out of my smile. “What a difference a few days makes.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, his eye roll telling me I failed on the smugness stakes. “You’ve had your money’s worth, Titch.”

I tap my forefinger against my bottom lip. “Hmm, I reckon I can get a few more days out of it yet.”

We find a seat close to the window where we can watch the planes taxiing to the runway. I go to sit in a chair, but Nate catches my arm and tugs me down beside him. He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, then caresses my lobe, and shivers of delight creep down my spine.

“I want to say thank you,” he says.

My eyebrows almost disappear into my hairline. “Apologies and thank yous.” I glance around theatrically. “Who are you, and what have you done with Nate O’Reilly?”

A glimmer of a smile briefly dances on his lips, but it doesn’t break into a full-on grin at my teasing.

“I owe you everything. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be all bitter and twisted inside, mourning the things I’d lost. But you pushed and pushed. You wouldn’t give up, even when I said some pretty horrible things and treated you pretty badly. Because of your tenacity, my little Dex, instead of losing it all, of destroying my family, I now have everything I’ve ever wished for. I’ve rediscovered a closeness with my brothers that was smashed into smithereens seven years ago, and I’ve gained a sister, too.” He bends his head and picks up my hand, his thumb rubbing gently across my knuckles. “And I have you.”

I hold my breath, with my gaze fixed on watching him caress my skin.

His head comes up. “I know we rushed into this thing so quickly, and I don’t regret it for a moment, but after we get home, I want to take time to get to know you without the shadow of my secret looming over us. Romantic walks along the beach at sunset, picnics in the park, bike rides…with cooter-safe saddles.” He grins, and so do I. “I want to know every single thing about you.”

Bringing his hand to my face, I press it against my cheek. “Promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“If you get lost inside your head again, talk to me. Don’t keep things all bottled up inside. Let me help give you some perspective. We can fight and argue. Hell, I hope we do because I kinda like the making up part, but please don’t keep things from me. Don’t shut me out. That hurts most of all.”

He turns his head and kisses each of my fingertips. “I promise.”

Four Months Later…

It takes every ounce of strength within me to close Bernard’s office door without slamming it, but I get my revenge by flipping the bird once it’s closed. He won’t see the gesture, but still… I feel a hell of a lot better. He’s been in a foul mood all week, and I can’t wait for the clock to tick over to five o’clock so I can get out of here. Nate has promised me a weekend to remember, and I hope that starts and ends in his bed.

I file away some emails and mark a few for Bernard’s attention when he’s gotten over his snit. With little to occupy the rest of my day, I flick aimlessly through a celebrity magazine, pausing when I come across a picture of Nate and me. It still shocks me every time I spot myself in the press, but it’s something I’ve had to get used to. In a way, I find it comforting, because the only girl Nate is ever photographed with is me. Despite what those two assholes had gossiped about the night I’d gone to the set with Nate, he’s never once given me any cause for concern.

I’m about to give the plants a quick watering to see them over the next two days when the elevator pings to signal someone’s arrival. I groan. Please don’t let this be one of Bernard’s clients hoping to see him without an appointment.

I peer down the hallway in time to see Nate strolling toward me. My breath catches on an inhale. He’s so beautiful, so graceful, so mine. I never get sick of the sight of him. Today he’s worn a pair of black fitted pants and a white shirt, open at the neck with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his strong, tanned forearms. A simple outfit, yet my tummy does several somersaults, and I get the urge to press my thighs together to relieve the ache between my legs.

Almost a year has passed since I first watched him stroll toward me a week after I’d started the job as Bernard’s personal assistant. I spent six months drooling over him before that fateful day when his actions resulted in Bernard firing me, sending our relationship spiraling in a direction I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams.

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