Page 54 of The Story of Us
This is real.
She held his gaze until some of the tension in his posture lessened, hands falling to his sides. This special place had been painstakingly designed to look like it was part of the deep green and earthy brown nature that surrounded it, but also so it could stay hidden.
Suddenly she understood, the realisation crystalising like Nate had painted it on a canvas in front of her.
Thisbig, strong guy—if she had a dollar for every time Nate had been described that way—had tried to make himself small, burnt out from too much attention, too many opinions.
And Eloise knew exactly what to say. “They’re perfect, Nate. Everything in here is perfect.”
* * *
Artsy wasNate’s favourite look on Eloise. Her make-up was smudged, her oversized shirt was covered in paint splatters and her black leggings highlighted all of her delicious curves. One leg was tucked under her body, the other stretched out in front of her on the chaise. He was sitting at the opposite end of the couch, his socked feet resting on the coffee table. Two empty bottles, one beer, one cider, were on the coffee table in front of them, and Echo’s gentle snores and the scratch of charcoal across paper provided the soundtrack to their evening. He loved that Eloise was more relaxed now, her shoulders and torso swallowed by the comfy couch, a new cider tucked against her hip.
“I’ve been thinking about something,” Eloise ventured. Nate stopped playing with different shading techniques and waited for her to continue.
Ah.
Here it was. He’d been waiting for it.
“What?”
“Small towns really are a blessing and a curse.”
He slid his gaze towards her, picking up his drink. “They can be.”
“Several women asked me about your penis earlier.”
Nate coughed, beer fizzing in his mouth. Those women were a menace. Although … maybe he should be thanking them. This jokey, casual banter was a much more familiar place to be with Eloise. It was exactly what he needed tonight after telling her about his time in the States, even if he hadn’t told her about Cobie. “Which women?”
Eloise rewarded him with the grin he’d been hoping for. The one that started out as a scowl, her lips puckered, eyes serious before her resolve cracked. “Why? You looking for a date?”
“With one of the Old Girls? They’d eat me alive.”
Eloise chuckled and took a big swallow of her drink. “Can I ask you something?”
“You already have.” He teased her with one of Teddy’s favourite childhood comebacks. That grin appeared again, his own immediately mimicking hers.
“I’ve never seen you date anyone. Not in the whole time you’ve been back. I can understand being hesitant about getting serious with someone, but it’s not like you’re short on offers for something simple and fun. Joanie says you’re ‘the whole package’ and anyone would be lucky to have you.” A dark expression flittered across her face, and he’d bet she was thinking about Bianca. Or all the Bianca’s he’d met over the years.
“Been keeping tabs on me?”
“Hello.I literally just reminded you who I normally live with. I get a debrief every morning over breakfast. Sometimes, there’s an agenda if she’s worried she’ll forget something.”
Nate snorted. Between Joan and his mother, it was impossible to keep a secret in this town.
“But, yeah, maybe a little.”
Now would be the perfect time to tell her everything about Cobie. But that would transport them back to a heavy conversation. Lead to more questions. More exposure when he was already emotionally exhausted. “I just haven’t.”
“Huh.”
“Oh?”
“I thought maybe it was because it was hard to trust people like you were saying? I mean, you’re…”
“I’m …” The need to know how Eloise would describe him was so swift that Nate had to sit on his hands.
An impish expression lit up her face, and she stretched forward, her braid slipping over her shoulder as she placed her bottle next to the others on the coffee table. “You’re a man of mystery.”
