Page 69 of Waiting Forever
“Fuck. That’s hot, too.” He groans, smashes his lips over mine then tugs me out the front door. “We need to get out of this house.”
In the car, he backs out of the driveway. “Will you set the alarm for me?”
“Sure.” I pull up the app already installed on my phone, enter the passcode to Nathan’s house, and set the alarm to Away.
I could have told my phone to set the alarm. It works through voice recognition, too. We use the same system in our home in Dallas. It’s the top seller in the security firm.
Until Nathan started telling me about his job, I never cared much about those kinds of products, preferring the panic rooms and other high-tech gadgets the firm sells. A favorite of mine is an alarm that senses body temperature. Like a heat and air conditioning thermostat for your house, it can be programmed to monitor the owner’s body temperature for panic or illness. As a result, sensors can’t be installed in home gyms. Still, clients like them and buy them.
I giggle to myself. If only Dad could hear my rambling thoughts. He’d be so proud.
“What are you laughing at?” Nathan slides me a sexy grin.
“Nothing important.” I shrug and pull my hair over my shoulder, so it isn’t caught between my back and the leather seat.
“Was it sexual?” he asks, hopeful.
I snort-laugh. “Not at all. Unless house alarms are sexual to you.”
His brows pinch. I bet he’s considering how an alarm could be sexual. Instead of explaining that isn’t where my head was, I leave him to his dirty thoughts.
He pulls onto the I-4 highway, driving toward downtown. Soon, the city comes into view. There aren’t many buildings. Orlando is nothing like Dallas.
I point at the cluster of towers in the distance. “Which buildings are we going to see?”
“The tall glass ones.”
There are several. “Gee. Thanks.”
His face brightens. “They’re hard to see from here because I want a condo with a view of Lake Eola.”
“Lake Eola?”
“It’s the hot spot in central downtown. There’s a trail around the lake and a huge fountain in the center. Places for dogs to play. Big trees. Nearby restaurants. A farmer’s market on the weekends.”
I imagine it in my head and sigh. “It sounds wonderful.”
“Hopefully, we’ll like one of these places.”
“Nathan. It’s not my condo. My opinion is unimportant.”
“Not according to me, and most certainly not according to my mom.”
“Oh, no. What did Aunt Rachel do now?”Aunt.Maybe I should stop calling her that. It seems weird since I’m dating her son. But then what would I call her? She’s always been Aunt Rachel. I can’t switch to her first name now. Can I?
He changes lanes and heads for the downtown exit. “Real estate investment is her passion. You know that. She couldn’t let me do this without her help. In fact, as soon as I mentioned it, she went into Realtor-mode, asking questions, taking notes. A half hour later, she sent me an email with the perfect listings. I think she’s more excited than I am.” He follows the off-ramp and stops at a red light. “Oh yeah, I’m looking for her, too. She wants a penthouse with three bedrooms. Actually, she picked it out. I just have to make sure it looks like the pictures.”
My chest tightens. “Is it in one of the same buildings we’re looking at?” That would not be good for our budding relationship.
“Yes.”
I let out a breath and try to calm down.
“It’s okay, Kensi.” He runs his hand over my thigh and knee. “She isn’t visiting anytime soon. She buys properties all over and sometimes doesn’t visit them for months. And it’s not like she doesn’t know we’re living together. She even picked apartments with bedrooms that have en suites for you. You’re that important to her.”
Once again, guilt oozes down my spine like warm mud. “When you say stuff like that, what we’re doing feels like a betrayal.”
The light turns green. Nathan follows a row of cars as they turn left. Neither of us speak, my comment lingering in the car like a bad smell. Is he thinking the same thing? Is that why he’s silent?Despite my fears, I can’t find the courage to ask.
