Page 85 of Nate

“There’s that cocky demeanor I was sure was in there,” Markie teased with a grin, making him laugh.

“Confident, not cocky.”

Nate sauntered toward her and took the bag from her, pulling her into a kiss before leading them out of the apartment. They walked down the stairs and got into Nate’s truck, and he drove them to his cabin.

****

The sound of gravel crunching under the tires filled the air as Nate pulled up to his place. He shut off the engine and stepped out, taking a deep breath of fresh pine-scented air. He opened the back door of his truck and removed Markie’s case before turning to find her already waiting for him.

Taking her hand, he led her up the wooden porch steps and set her bag down before unlocking the door. Motioning for her to enter first, he followed her inside.

The following morning, Nate stood in the kitchen sipping his steaming coffee as Markie entered the room, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“Good morning,” she greeted with a yawn.

“Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”

Markie gave him a playful look that made it hard for Nate not to grin.

“If someone had let me alone most of the night, I would have slept fine.”

Nate snorted. “I didn’t hear any complaints.”

Markie laughed. “Busted.”

Chuckling, Nate wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple.

“We’ll head out once you’ve had some coffee. Have you spoken to your mother this morning?”

“I got a text from her she sent at six saying they were on their way home.”

Nate checked his watch. “So, they have a two-hour head start on us. If you had gotten out of bed earlier like I suggested, we’d be right behind them.”

“Excuse me? I told you last night that I wanted to leave early, but you insisted on keeping me up half the night.”

“Please. I think you have that backwards. You were the one keeping meup.”

“And you loved every minute of it,” Markie teased before planting a kiss on his lips.

“True,” Nate admitted with a smile. “I’ll go grab our bags and load them. Hurry and finish your coffee, I don’t want him alone with her for too long. Does she know we’re coming?”

“Yeah, she said she might wait until we get there before telling him,” Markie replied with a mischievous grin. “He’s going to hate it when Aunt Lola shows up. He can’t stand her.”

Nate laughed. “Well, I already like her.” With that, he walked out of the kitchen and headed to the bedroom to retrieve their bags, then loaded them into the truck before returning to Stella’s house. He was not looking forward to it. At. All.

Chapter Twelve

Markie sat up when Nate pulled into the driveway of her mother’s home, and she couldn’t help but grin when she saw another vehicle parked in the driveway.

“I bet that’s my aunt’s car,” Markie said excitedly.

Nate chuckled. “I’m anxious to meet her.”

Markie shook her head, a fond smile on her lips. “She is going to love you.”

“You’re close?”

“Very. She’s my mother’s sister, but they are as different as night and day. She can’t understand Mom being with Jarrett either. She made sure Jarrett knew her feelings toward him when they first met.” Markie laughed. “She told him, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, but my sister is not as naïve as you may think.”

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