Page 51 of Nathan
“Wow, they must have a lot of money. Did his father start IKEA or something?”
I was carrying my duffel bag and two bags of groceries. “No. His mother inherited the cabin years ago. But his stepdad is well off.”
“So is your family, I heard.”
I stiffened a little. “Mhmm.”
“There was a comment online that you’re part of some business empire. Is that true?”
Setting down all the bags in the kitchen, I squatted down and opened the small fridge and started filling it with the groceries we’d brought. “My adoptive father owns Solver Industries.”
“Never heard of it.”
“It’s not a consumer-oriented business. They mainly produce machinery for factories and advanced technology for science labs and pharmaceutical companies.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Charles and Liv live outside of Dublin, and two of my adopted siblings work for the company.”
“What about you? Didn’t you want to work for the company?”
“No. Maximum, River, and I pursued other interests.”
Serena was emptying a bag onto the kitchen counter. “How old were you when you got adopted?”
Getting back up, I folded the grocery bags. “Fourteen.”
“What about your biological parents?”
“The short version is that they’re dead. If you want the long version, it’ll have to wait until we’re settled in.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Serena had unpacked bread, cans, and cereal, and handed me a carton of milk.
I placed it in the fridge with the beer, white wine, and Fanta. “How about you pick which room you want while I go and get the rest?”
Serena turned to the three doors. One of them was open, and we could see right through a window to the lake. “Can I have the one with the view?”
“There’s a view in both bedrooms. That room sleeps six people in two bunk beds with queen mattresses on the bottom. That’s where I slept the last time I was here. The other room has a queen bed.” I wanted to add that I was more than willing to share a room with her, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
Walking to the open doorway, Serena looked into the first bedroom. It had blue colors on the walls with only a small closet, a queen bed, and two side tables.
“We can test the mattresses if you want to see which bed you prefer,” I said and instantly felt my neck heat up.
She turned her face, and a smile tugged at her lips. “What kind of test are we talking about?”
I smiled back at her. “Whatever you’d like.”
“A nap sounds nice,” she said and opened the door to the other room.
Last night when Serena told me she wanted to come with me to the cabin, I’d ended up so excited that it’d been hard to fall asleep. I was painfully aware that we needed to address what happened between us on Saturday night. I also needed to tell her that it wasn’t a random stranger who took the photos of us kissing. Last night when I should be sleeping, I’d gone over a thousand ways to tell her, and none of them had sounded good in my head.
“Actually, a nap sounds fantastic, and after, we can go for a walk to see the area.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded.
She looked skeptical. “You’re going to nap with me?”
