Page 122 of The Plus One Contract

Nathan glances at me. “You sound surprised.”

I shrug, keeping my gaze fixed on the soft glow of the path lights ahead of us. “I just didn’t know that about you.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

It’s a casual statement, not meant to be anything, but something about it presses against my ribs. A quiet ache. A reminder.

He’s right.

I don’t know much about him at all.

I know the way he kisses me, the way he can take my body, the way he holds my stare like he can see right through me.

I know he’s good under pressure, that he can fake his way through anything, that he’s sharp, sarcastic, and a little too smooth for his own good.

But I don’t know the little things. The more important things.

I don’t know what keeps him up at night or what he thinks about when he’s all alone.

I swallow against the sudden tightness in my throat and push past it.

“Where is it you’re flying to tomorrow?” I ask, keeping my voice light.

He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Chicago.”

“For how long?”

“A month.”

I kick at a loose shell on the path, watching as it tumbles onto the sand.

“And then it’s back to New York?”

He sighs on a long exhale, looking out toward the waves. “Not sure.”

His words settle between us, too heavy, too final, too inevitable.

“Julian stays in California, though, right?”

“Most of the time,” he says. “He travels too, but I was always the one who didn’t mind it as much.”

I hum, nodding like it makes sense.

Like it doesn’t bother me.

Like it doesn’t make my stomach clench to realize that this is just…who he is.

Nathan isn’t a man who stays.

He moves.

From city to city, from deal to deal, from moment to moment.

And soon, from me.

We walk side by side, silent for a minute. The path is lined with subtle lights, but it still feels like we’ve stepped into a more private world.

He’s the one to break the silence. “Shouldn’t you be inside, living it up on the dance floor with your friends?”

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