Page 82 of Until Nalia
“You’re making this a big deal, and it’s not a big deal,” Hanna tells me.
“Says the girl who called us about hooking up with a guy on vacation and ended up married to him after he stalked her,” May says.
“Walker didn’t stalk me, he just...”
“Stole your phone and left you no choice but to see him again,” May cuts Hanna off.
“You’re one to talk, you fell for the guy you thought was catfishing you.”
“Touché.” May grins.
“Okay, I’m going to hang up. None of you are helping me out.”
“Just shove some cute PJs and your toothbrush in your bag and go with the flow when you get to his place,” June tells me, and that’s the first bit of advice that is honestly helpful. “It’s not exactly something that you want to plan, well, unless you’re into that kind of thing.”
“No one is into planning unless you have kids, and it’s totally necessary because you can hardly get a moment alone,” Harmony says, and April raises her brow.
“Are you okay, friend?”
“Fine, totally fine, but I miss not planning.” She sighs. “But this isn’t about me.”
“It will be okay,” Willow says softly. “You like him, right?” I nod even though I don’t just like him; I’m two steps from being stupidly in love with him, which is ridiculous. I didn’t even want a relationship. I for sure never thought about getting into a relationship with someone who had kids of their own. And he and I still have to navigate our relationship with kids involved. So far, that has been surprisingly easy, but that could change at the drop of a hat. I mean, what would we even do if the kids decided that they hate each other and that they don’t like me?
“Don’t psych yourself out,” Harmony says, cutting into my spiraling thoughts, and I drag in a breath. “Just go shower, shave all the appropriate places, lotion yourself up, and enjoy an evening alone with your guy.”
“What she said,” Ashlyn says quietly.
“Right, okay I’m going to go shower.” I stand and walk towards my bathroom. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Text us later,” Harmony says.
“Hopefully, she's going to be too busy to text us,” April mutters as I end the call.
Flipping on the light in the bathroom I get undressed then quickly get down to cleaning myself up while I internally panic because OH MY GOD.
Twenty-Four
NALIA
Seeing Logan’s Jeep in his driveway should not send me into another tailspin, but as I pull in next to him, behind Billie’s cute little car, the same one I saw him working on at his shop what feels like weeks ago, I think I might puke.
As I showered, shaved, lotioned, picked out a cute matching set of lace to wear under my jeans and tank, got dressed, put on a little bit of makeup, and did my hair, I was so distracted that I didn’t have time to think about the fact that I would be seeing Logan, or that we would be alone. But as I shut off the engine of my Bronco and Logan steps outside dressed in his jeans and his t-shirt with Dozer at his side, the reality of this evening comes crashing down on me.
With no choice but to get out, I grab my purse from the passenger seat. It’s much bigger than the one I normally carry since there was no way I could fit my toothbrush, pajamas, face wash and night cream in the small cross body I always use.
“Hey, babe.” He meets me on the sidewalk, taking my bag and lifting it, the way you do when you’re testing the weight of something. “Moving in?”
Oh no. I freeze as a new wave of panic starts to fill my stomach. What if I spent the last hour making assumptions about what this evening will entail, and he just invited me over to hang out and is planning on me going home in a few hours?
“I brought stuff to stay the night,” I blurt, and he stares. Oh god, why did I say that? “We didn’t talk about it. I don’t know what I was thinking, so I’m just going to leave now and find a warlock or witch that is capable of sending me back in time so I can erase this moment from your memory.” I turn around and start walking away.
“Hold up.” He laughs, grabbing my wrist and turning me around to face him. “On the off-chance warlocks or witches exist, you should know it’s not necessary to ask for their help.” He drags me closer with a smile that makes my toes curl. “I didn’t want to make you anxious by suggesting that you should stay the night.” His hand wraps around the side of my neck, and he lowers his face to mine. “I figured I’d talk you into staying later and let you borrow a tee and give you the extra toothbrushes I picked up for you yesterday when I was at the store.”
“Oh,” I whisper, latching onto his side, and his smile broadens.
“You’re really fucking cute when you’re nervous.” His thumb sweeps across my jaw, then his mouth lowers towards mine. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” My fingers tangle in his tee, and my eyes start to slide closed as his breath brushes across my lips.
