Page 37 of Yours, Truly

“What?” I said looking in his eyes.

“I told you, I’m going to protect you Gi. I managed to convince him. He isn’t an easy guy to talk down to if I'm honest.” Nate chuckled while taking a sip and my heart sank. I knew that he wasn't. I had to endure his attitude in the lead up to the event that had landed us in this mess in the first place. I desperately wanted to tell Nate everything but I couldn’t. The secret was eating away at me. It wouldn’t be long before Nate would find out anyway, as soon our team presented the evidence in court.

“I also told my boss about us.” My eyes darted up to his, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Nate,” I whispered, not sure what to say.

“He told me to take a step back and let Jensen, my intern, handle Mr Cato but I can oversee it.”

“And you didn’t tell me this earlier?” I said not sure why he hadn’t brought this up, when he was so concerned about me telling Angelina.

“I called him on the plane, while I was in the bathroom. My job is safe, but I need to file a report to disclose my relationship to you, due to the upcoming trials with your company.” I relaxed, he did this for me.

“The promotion?” I asked, wondering if he was willing to give all of this up.

“I’m still in the running, it's not going to affect anything Gi. You’re notmyclient.”

Relief washed over me that this didn’t have to be hidden anymore, that at least one secret in our tangled web of lies wasnow disbursed. “Obviously the same rules apply to me as they do to you, I can’t be seen at work with you and I can’t discuss any part of the case with you.”

“That’s amazing Nate!” I praised. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling but I knew that Nate had taken a risk for us. I laid my head on his chest and breathed in the soft scent of Hugo boss, appreciating the man wrapped around me.

“Besides, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t protect the woman I love?” he said, alarm bells suddenly ringing in my head.Love…love…love, did he just say- holy shit.My body stiffened as if I was afraid to make any sudden movements in case I scared him off.

“What did you say?” I asked again, slowly turning to face him. His wide grin plastered across his face, his eyes shining bright in the darkness of the night. A lump formed in my throat as I wanted to hear those words he’d just said aloud. Again. With him looking in my eyes. I needed to make sure I’d heard it right before I allowed myself to express the same words I've been wanting to say for weeks now. He put his glass down on the balcony table before taking my glass from me and doing the same. He placed his hands on my waist and looked into my eyes, a warmth consumed him.

“I said, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t protect the woman Ilove?” he repeated, emphasising the word I knew I had heard correctly, not removing his gaze to ensure I had registered what he just said.

“I love you Gi.” I was speechless. “As much as I have beenfighting it, I can't deny it. And I really wanted to tell you on the plane when you were riding me, but thought that wasn’t the right time. But this is and I fucking love you,” he confessed, my heart skipping a beat, the warmth spreading through my body. I knew that once I said the words, there was no going back, this was everything I wanted, everything I had dreamed of.

But I was also petrified that this would mean I also had a lot more to lose when we finally told Ivy. Anxiety rising in my chest, I closed my eyes and focussed on my breathing. I knew I was in love with him. I’d known since the day of the Christmas market and despite all our ups and downs, those feelings never changed. It was all or nothing at this point so I decided to take the leap, knowing I could get hurt in the process. But this was love, it hurt like hell sometimes. It's better to have loved and been loved than to never to get to experience it.

“I love you Nate,” I smiled. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if my response was the only thing he wanted to hear. This was not only a massive step for us as a couple, but for Nate to give himself completely to me. He couldn't stop smiling and he pulled me close to him. He took my hand and led me back into the suite.

“I have something else to tell you.” He had more confessions. I already felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. “The morning after our first time, I came back here. I wanted to get your name and number. I had done casual hookups over the years but I hadn’t been with anyone in a while before you. There was something about you and I was curious. It may have been lust and desire, as I had no clue who youwere, I didn't know your name or number. That drove me crazy after I left here that night. The next morning, I stopped by this room to get it but you were gone. I lost all hope of seeing you again but when I saw you again at Ivy’s, I knew there had to be a reason. Like you were meant to be mine.”

Nate was really opening up and the confessions were pouring out of him, I couldn’t keep up. Despite the rollercoaster of our journey to be where we were now, I wouldn’t trade a single moment, even now that we were in uncharted territory. It scared me as I wasn’t sure how much Nate would handle.

“You do realise you have to meet my family,” I laughed. He had met the delightful Brie but now he had my parents to meet.

“You mean your lovely sister…” Nate raised an eyebrow at me and I chuckled.

“That’s the one. But you will love my parents,” I smiled, pretty excited, “and I’ve already met your family.” I teased playfully, which earned me being slung over his shoulder and thrown on to the bed. I was laughing so much I curled into a ball.

“We can handle it, together,” he laughed, lying beside me in the bed as I stretched myself out to make room for him. “But first, tomorrow I am taking you on our first official date. So, not dressing up isn’t an option.” I bit my lip, smiling and nodding in agreement. My dreams were finally coming true, I could have my cake and eat it.

28

MEET THE PARENTS

Easter weekend, we decided to pay my parents a visit and I was super nervous. I had mentioned to them about my new relationship and wanted them to meet Nate. They were also the only people in our personal lives that we could be ourselves around at the moment, as Ivy still didn’t know. In my heart I knew Ivy would accept us but, in my head and my gut, all that consumed me was fear. It was getting harder to keep quiet and sneak around her. Visiting my parents was the breath of fresh air I needed.

We decided to take Nate’s Porsche. I was still a little tired from work and he insisted that I get some sleep on the way, after he punched the address into the satnav. I did just that and had a short nap in the car. Nate’s hand rested on my knee as he drove down the highway and away from town. The purr of the engine and the circular motion of Nate’s fingers lulling me to sleep. My parents lived a couple hours out of the city which was a nice break and change of scenery whenever Iwanted to escape.

We pulled into the paved driveway, next to my parent’s car. Nate looked so nervous. I placed my hand in his and smiled softly. The insecurities radiating from him filled the small confined space.

“You’ve got this. My parents are going to love you,” I encouraged. Nate had never gotten to the ‘meet the parents’ stage so this was a massive deal to him. This was the longest relationship he had been involved in. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

I shifted in my seat to face him, gently taking his face in my hands and resting my forehead against his. “I love you Nate.” He leaned forward, meeting my lips with a delicate kiss, as if my touch healed him to the core and gave him the courage he needed.

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