Page 65 of Never With You
“Oh, I’m so glad!” The smile on his mother’s face could light an entire city. “Yes, grab some food first.”
She walks away, but Nate doesn’t let go of my hand. I pull back, putting up a fight, but his grip is relentless.
“Why did you say we’d eat with them?”
“Because what’s the point of having a fake girlfriend if I can’t use her to make my parents approve of my life choices?” My mouth opens to reply, but he leans in and whispers, “Showtime. Let’s see what you got.”
His words blanket my neck with torturous chills. I want to pull back and find some relief, but he laces his fingers through mine and walks forward, dragging me behind him.
As we pass Isaac and Lauren, Nate tugs me closer. He leans over their table, slapping Isaac on the back with his free hand. “Ah, looks like you went with the soup. Couldn’t handle the Thai jungle curry, huh?” He flashes his cockiest smile. “Too spicy for you? I prefer the spicy stuff.” His gaze travels over me seductively. “It’s more fun.” He lifts my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Enjoy your plain broth.” And then we’re off again, heading for the buffet table.
I quickly glance back to see Isaac’s response. He’s fuming.
“You are alarmingly good at this,” I say.
Nate’s face turns, showing only half of his charming smile. “Oh, honey, I’m just getting started.”
No words have ever terrified me more.
“So,how long have you two been dating?” Nate’s mom smiles back at me with such genuine interest that my heart pangs with guilt. Lying to Nate’s overbearing father is one thing, but Connie Farnsworth is a casualty of our fib that I did not see coming.
“Uh…” My eyes drop to my plate of food, feeling the disgrace.
“It’s new.” Nate comes to my rescue. “Just a few weeks.”
“So, nothing consistent,” Mack scoffs. “Just like always. One short relationship after another. There’s no real responsibility in that.” He takes a sip of his drink, looking around the boat.
Connie adjusts her expression, skipping over her husband’s words. “Have you worked at Voyager Travel long?”
The question is clearly for me, so I swallow my food and answer. “About nine months.”
“I’m surprised it took you both that long to realize you had a connection.”
“Carly didn’t like me at first.” There’s a gleam in Nate’s eyes when he looks at me.
“Why not?”
One look at Connie’s furrowed brows, and I feel like I just kicked her favorite puppy.
“I actually don’t know.” Nate flips his gaze to me. His stare challenges me, daring me to answer honestly. “Why didn’t you like me, Carly?”
I nudge his thigh with my leg, letting him know I don’t appreciate being put on the spot like this, but I instantly regret it. His fingers pinch just above my knee, squeezing hard and making me squirm. I grab his hand to try to stop the ticklish sensation, but he adjusts his grip, so now we’re holding handsagain—this time under the table, which seems like the dumbest thing for our charade since nobody can see it. But it’s also the dumbest thing because it trips up my heart. I can either fight for my hand back or answer Nate’s mom. Answering seems easier since his death grip is no joke.
A thin smile pulls across my lips as I gaze back at him. “I thought Nate was arrogant and lazy.”
His nose scrunches, and he shakes his head at me, amused by my answer.
“That’s because he is,” his dad adds, pulling my gaze to him.
Under the table, Nate’s grip tenses again, and for some unknown reason, a protectiveness falls over me. It’s okay for me to call Nate that but not his dad.
“My first impressions about him were wrong. Nate isn’t lazy. He does a lot. I just didn’t value it the way I valued the things I do.”
Mack’s brows lift like I’ve piqued his interest.
“Nate focuses on people over projects or to-do lists. Because of that, he’s able to enjoy his job and playwhilehe works—something I think we all could do more of. Everybody wants to travel with him because he’s so much fun. I mean, look how much your employees already love him after fifteen seconds at the microphone.”
“He does have a way with people,” his mom gushes. “He used to charm the socks off all his teachers in school.”
