Page 62 of Be My Reason

“No way, Lyn.I’ll go get some sleep and be back later.” He shuts the door after him.

“Well, isn’t that cozy?” Nate narrows his eyes at me. “Did you enjoy your hug?”

I can’t tell if he is joking or just being an ass so I try to ignore the attitude. “Laura broke up with him and he is having a hard time.”

“How convenient that he is suddenly single right before I have to move back to Raleigh.” His words bite me. Now I know he’s being an ass. I can’t believe that he picks now, right now, to talk about leaving. And why does he have to make it about Ryan? I start seething and I am about to lay into him when I realize that he is probably having a hard time dealing with the fact that he is leaving and so he is deflecting his emotions onto Ryan.

I reach out to Nate and pull him to me.I put my hands on his face and bring his lips down to meet mine. He is all fresh and minty and I kiss him softly with the hope that he understands that I am his. But like most men, they simply don’t get it unless it is right in front of them, emblazoned on a flashing neon sign. I break the kiss and look him dead in the eye. “I’m yours, Nate. It doesn’t matter where you live.”

He lets out a breath and kisses my forehead. “I’m sorry, Brooklyn. I don’t mean to be a dick.I don’t trust him.”

“But you should trustme, Nate.” I sigh into his shoulder. “And if you won’t take my word for it, go ask him yourself.”

“I did,” he says.

“You did?” This surprises me and I pull back from him to get a good look at his face. “When?”

“The other day, when you and Emma were out for your chicks’ day.”

I think back. That was right after our couple’s date when hegot all worked up because Ryan had seen my boobs courtesy of the bikini malfunction. “So then you should know that he isn’t a threat to you.”

“The hell he isn’t.” He possessively runs his hands up and down my arms. “In fact, I have more of a reason to hate the guy after what I found out. But I haven’t had time to figure out what to do about it yet.”

“Nate, you’ve lost me.Just spit it out.”

“The bastard is going to franchise the bakery, Brooklyn.” He shakes his head and his lips purse in anger.

“What?” I pull my arms from his. “That is crazy. I have no idea where youcame up with that, but he knew good and well when I brought him on that I wanted to keep it small. He knows I would never franchise, that’s not was Brooklyn’s is all about.”

“Well, you might want to remind him of that, based on the plans I saw on his kitchen table the other day.”

“I don’t need to ask him anything, because I know for sure that is not what the plan is. You didn’t see what you think you saw. He has a lot of other business investments that he deals with, some that really are franchises. Those are what you saw.” I go over to get him a cup of coffee to go. “I wish you would stop making Ryan the bad guy.”

“I’m notmakinghim anything, Brooklyn. Heisthe bad guy. He’s going to take your business and do the very thing that you swore you’d never do.”

I hand him his cup of coffee—my signal that I want to end this conversation. “Nate, you have asked me, on more than one occasion, to trust you. So, now, I’m asking you to trust me.”

He groans in frustration and I can tell that he is trying to hold back so that he doesn’t upset me by continuing the argument. I’m relieved when good wins out over evil in his mental battle and he kisses me goodbye.But while I’m watching him walk out the back door, I have to wonder if he is even capable of trusting a woman—of trusting me.

~~ ~

Nate decided to take me out in celebration of the big catering job we landed earlier today.If all goes as planned, the job will lead to more business in the near future. This is the kind of client I’ve been hoping for since I brought Ryan in. It will require a lot of work and planning but with Ryan on task, we will be able to handle it.

“To you, baby.” Nate raises his glass of champagne.

“To Brooklyn’s.”I clink my glass to his and can’t help the huge smile on my face.

We eat what is arguably the best lobster dinner that I’ve ever had.He has taken me to The Olde Pink House. I grew up always hearing about this place, but of course I could never afford to dine here. I still can’t, but Nate wouldn’t let me put up much of a fight. When the man sets his mind to something, he usually gets what he wants.

“I want to take you everywhere, experience everything with you,” he tells me, while shoveling a forkful of decadent chocolate cake into my mouth. I roll my eyes and moan at the onslaught of chocolate flavors exploding on my taste buds and I wonder if they would give me the recipe.

“I don’t need anything else as long as I have you.” I looklong and hard into his eyes and hope that he understands how much I mean the words. He stares back at me as desire blooms within me. I reach up and run my fingers along his unshaven jaw. He grabs my hand and lowers it to his lap where his arousal is evident, igniting the fire within me yet again.

“Oh, you have me. Youdefinitely have me,” he says. I give him a little squeeze down there. “By the balls, apparently,” he adds, making me giggle.

He waives his hand at the waiter and quickly gives him his credit card.He nuzzles into my neck, then his lips linger to suck gently on my ear. “Mmmm . . . chocolate mixed with vanilla. Can it get any better than this?”

We practically run out the front door of the restaurant, tugging on each other to hurry. It’s no wonder that we barely leave home, it’s much easier there to throw down and have at it whenever the mood strikes us.

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