Page 64 of Nate

“I agree.” Markie grinned. “Jarrett’s going to be so surprised to see you with me.”

Nate chuckled. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face.” He opened the door, stepped out, then walked around to her side and opened the door. He took her hand and helped her out, then opened the back door and removed his duffle bag and her overnight case. She took the case from him, then he took her hand, and they walked toward the house.

****

The front door opened, and Nate watched as an older version of Markie stepped out. Surprise registered on her face, but she ran down the steps to hug her daughter. Markie let go of Nate’s hand and hugged her mother. He looked toward the door to see a man staring at him and he didn’t look happy. Nate smirked at him.

“Nate, this is my mother, Stella… Knowles. Mom, this is Nate Jefferson. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him with me.”

“Of course, not—”

“You could have told us you were bringing a guest, Markie,” Jarrett Knowles said as he walked down the steps.

“Oh, it’s fine, Jarrett. I’m happy to see that Markie has a new man in her life.” Stella smiled. “And a very handsome one at that.” She looked at Markie. “One or two bedrooms?”

“One,” Nate said, keeping his eyes on Knowles and almost grinned when he saw his jaw clench. Nate shook Stella’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I can see where Markie gets her looks.”

“Oh, my. What manners you have. It’s wonderful meeting you, Nate.”

“This is my husband, Jarrett. Hon, this is Markie’s friend, Nate Jefferson.”

The two men stared at each other, then Nate put his hand out to him, daring him not to shake it. When Jarrett did, he gripped Nate’s hand tight, but Nate grinned at him.

“Mr. Knowles.”

“Jefferson.”

“Well, let’s get inside out of this heat.” Stella took Markie’s hand and led her inside.

Before they entered the house, Nate removed his hat, wiped his feet on the mat, then followed them inside. He almost whistled at the place. It looked like a damn museum to him. He could never live in a place like this even if he had all the money in the world.

“Mom? We’re going to take the bags up to my room. Maybe relax a little before dinner.”

“That’s fine, honey.” Stella smiled.

“I hope you brought your swimsuit, Markie,” Jarrett said.

“No, I didn’t. We’re leaving early in the morning.”

“That’s too bad. You could always skinny dip,” Jarrett said with a laugh and Nate wanted to lay him out.

“If she does, she’ll be doing it with me,” Nate said, then looked at Markie. “Lead the way, baby. I’m tired. A nap sounds good.”

“It does, doesn’t it. Mom, we’ll see you later.”

“The party starts at six. We’ll see you then if not before,” Stella said.

As Nate followed Markie up the stairs, he looked down to see Knowles staring up at him. Nate stopped and raised an eyebrow, then chuckled when Knowles huffed and walked off.

At six, they walked downstairs. Nate could hear laughter and music as they made their way through the house. Markie wore a red skirt with a white blouse, and red stilettos on her feet. She had her hair up in a ponytail and Nate wore dark blue jeans and a red dress shirt.

“I hate dressing up,” he muttered as they walked out onto the patio.

Markie laughed. “You’re not dressed up. You’re wearing jeans, a shirt, and cowboy boots.”

“I’m wearing a dress shirt.”

“Whoa, look out cowboy, you’re getting all gussied up.”

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