Page 46 of Full House

“Yes.”

“Okay. If I ever need to be somewhere late at night, I’ll make sure you or someone else is with me.”

“Thank you.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Now, it’s your turn to answer a question.”

“Anything.”

“Who was the pretty blonde?”

A royal pain in his ass, but he didn’t say that. Instead, he said, “The daughter of the director who shot the commercial.”

“And…”

“And what?”

“Why did the two of you look so cozy?”

“We weren’t cozy.” He sighed not wanting to dredge it up but knowing Victoria wouldn’t be appeased until he did. “She was a first-rate clinger. Everywhere I turned, she was there. I didn’t want to be rude. We hadn’t shot the commercial yet, and you know how difficult it can be when a director doesn’t like you. I just wanted filming to go smooth and fast so I could get home.” He rubbed her arm. “I was already missing you like crazy. So, I spent some time talking with her, hoping that would satisfy her. Mostly mundane crap.”

“I take it that didn’t work.”

“No, it just made it worse. And on top of that, she’d been drinking all night, getting progressively drunker and drunker. That last photo you saw, was me holding her upright as I escorted her out and put her in a taxi.”

“Where was her father, the director?”

“I saw him around. He didn’t seem concerned.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been.”

Was that a note of hurt in her voice? He sighed, hating he might have upset her. “Believe me, if I’d known pictures were being taken for you to see and be hurt by, I would have tried harder to ignore her. And I definitely would have left it for someone else to make sure she got a taxi home and didn’t drive herself.”

Victoria got up on an elbow, her beautiful eyes—more green than blue at the moment—studying him. She shook her head. “No, you’re right, you did the right thing. I would feel horrible if something had happened to her, and I know you would, too.”

She paused a moment, making herself more comfortable in her new position before she continued. “That does bring up the question, though, of why April would purposely bring those pictures to my attention and also not tell me you’d lost your phone.”

Nate pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know, but trust me, as pissed as I am, I will be having a conversation with her about it.” He dropped his hand back to the bed, looking at her. “I did try calling and texting you after I got home and collected my new phone.”

Victoria hung her head, turning her attention to his chest. “I’d turned my phone off by that point. I was so upset.” She looked back up, sheepishly. “I want you to know, I do trust you. You’ve never given me reason not to. But with everything that had happened—it just looked so bad.” She sighed. “I was just being… silly.”

He cradled her face, running his thumb over the apple of her cheek. “Not silly. Hell, if the shoe had been on the other foot, I’d have flipped the fuck out. As it was, I was pissed as fuck when I couldn’t get in touch with you. My imagination was running rampant, and I didn’t even have photos as my excuse. I can imagine how you felt and it’s anything but silly.”

“Still, I probably would have handled it better without these raging hormones messing with my emotions.”

“And that leads me to my next question.” He shifted himself into a sitting position, leaning back against the headboard, taking Victoria with him and placing her on his lap. “Say you’ll marry me.”

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