Page 18 of Full House

Victoria eyed Nate then Rick before putting down her fork. “Did I miss something?”

Nate sat forward, set the bottle of water on the table, then picked up his own sandwich. “Nope,” he said, taking a bite.

She looked at them both skeptically. Rick still had his eyes planted on his plate.

Nate nudged her leg with his knee. She turned to find him staring at her. She frowned, trying to get a read on him. He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t look pleased either. Maybe something in between?

Trying to cut the sudden tension at the table, she hastily came up with a topic for discussion. “So, Rick, you got any big plans this weekend?”

It would be their first weekend off since they began filming. A big deal to a lot of the cast and crew.

Rick took a sip of his soda before answering. “Not much. Probably mostly catch up on lost sleep. You?”

“We’re going to San Diego,” Nate answered before she could reply.

Say what? Her head swung Nate’s direction, eyes bugging. She swallowed funny, causing something to go down the wrong tube and started coughing.

Nate’s hand shot out, grabbing his water bottle and handing it to her as his other hand slapped her on the back. “You okay?”

She nodded, coughing a couple more times before taking a long pull of his water. She set it back on the table. “Thank you.”

She looked over and caught Rick eyeing them. He picked up his soda, indicating the space between them with it. “You guys look good together.”

“We’re not—” Nate’s hand landed on her knee, stopping her flow of words.

“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything if you’re trying to keep it a secret.”

“No secret,” Nate clipped out.

Balling up his napkin and throwing it on his plate, Rick stood, giving them a sly smile. “Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” He picked up his trash. “See you back on set.”

Victoria gave him a small wave and watched as he weaved his way to the nearest trash can before giving her attention to Nate. He was calmly eating his sandwich, a peaceful look on his face as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “What the hell was that all about?”

“What?” He nonchalantly raised his brows then took a sip of his water.

For some reason, his attitude pissed her off. “The whole thing.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Your caveman attitude. Spilling the beans about us. San Diego,” she hissed between clenched teeth.

Nate shrugged, popping the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth. Shrugged! Could she hit him over the head with his water bottle and not draw attention? She made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl.

Nate wiped his mouth with a napkin then sat back in his seat. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. People are going to find out soon anyway. I promised my mom a month ago I’d visit on my next weekend break.”

She sat a full minute without saying anything. She knew she should mention how silly he’d acted, how Rick hadn’t looked at her in any particular way. Or say something about the fact that while people might learn about them eventually, there was no need to broadcast it for all to hear. But she didn’t say either of those things because mom was the one word he’d said that she couldn’t stop fixating on. Nate had told Rick they were going to San Diego. And that meant only one thing.

He wanted to introduce her to his mother.

She took a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth, as she’d been taught in acting class in times of stress. Deep breath in. Slow breath out.

All the while, Nate lounged in his chair calmly watching her.

She knew she had to say something. Anything. “You want to introduce me to your family?”

“Just my mom. Maybe my sister. My parents are divorced, and Dad lives in Oregon.”

She knew that. Still, she had to know. “Why?”

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