by Piper James
“You love me?” I asked, feeling a little shell shocked as tears burned in my eyes.
“I love you,” he whispered. “And you love me.”
Then he kissed me, and everything else faded away. All that mattered was Nate, how I felt about him, and how he felt about me. Somehow, I ended up sitting on the hood of the Bel Air with Nate’s tongue in my mouth as his hand slid under my shirt.
“Stop,” I said, breaking off our kiss and slipping out of his grip.
Nate’s questioning gaze was laced with a slight edge of fear, like he was half-convinced I’d changed my mind about him. About us.
“Sorry,” I said, pulling down my shirt. “I am not having sex with you on top of my mother’s car.”
He laughed with relief, reaching out to tangle his fingers with mine. “I hope you don’t have any plans for the next day or two, because I’m taking you home, and I’m not letting you leave until I’m done showing you exactly how much I love you.”
A smile so big, it made my cheeks hurt spread across my face as he pulled me toward the office. He made short work of closing everything down and locking the doors, despite stopping to kiss me every few seconds.
Before I knew it, we were in his car, speeding down the streets of Milestone toward his apartment. It was already dark outside, but that didn’t stop it from feeling like a brand new day.
The first day of the rest of our lives.
“Merry Christmas, Mom!”
It was the morning of Christmas Eve, and Nate and I made plans to spend today with my mom and tomorrow with his family and our friends. I’d driven here alone, and after giving me a hug, Mom craned her head to search the driveway.
“Where’s Nate?” she asked.
“Oh, he’s on his way. He had an errand to run, so we decided he’d meet me here.”
“Oh, maybe he’s stopping to buy an engagement ring,” she teased, nudging me in the side with her elbow.
“Mom,” I scolded, making her laugh.
After meeting Nate on Thanksgiving, Mom had hit me with a hundred questions on the car ride home. Since I’d told her previously that Nate and I were dating, she demanded to know why we’d acted so weird around each other. Had we broken up? Did he hurt me? Should she get Dad’s gun from the safe?
The tension between me and Nate, Jessa and Rafe’s baby news, and my mom’s obvious concern had eventually worn me down, and I’d spilled all the details about our fake relationship and the phony engagement. When she asked why I’d agreed to it, I’d rattled off some bullshit about helping him simply because he was Rafe’s brother. I couldn’t mention the car, and I hadn’t been in a place to admit my real feelings at that point.
Now that Nate and I were a couple, for real this time, Mom never missed an opportunity to tease me about getting engaged. She said we’d had plenty of practice, so the real thing should be a cakewalk.
“Are you going to let me inside?” I asked, hoping my nerves weren’t obvious in my voice.
Nate would be here any minute with the Bel Air, and I didn’t want Mom to see it and ruin the surprise. She stepped back to let me pass, and I took one last peek up the road before closing the door firmly behind me.
“Is that coffee I smell?” I asked, hustling Mom toward the kitchen, away from the front windows.
Once we each had a warm, steaming mug, we sat down at the table to chat. I told her about work and updated her on Rafe and Jessa’s baby journey. We talked about Lola, and how she was only one semester away from graduating college—a year early.
“She’s going to intern at Nate’s shop when she graduates. She’ll manage all the books, payroll, and human resources, giving her some experience while she searches for the perfect job.”
“Speaking of Nate,” Mom said, ignoring my groan, “how are things going with you two?”
“Things are good. Really good,” I said, unable to contain my smile.
“Has he asked you to move in yet?”
“Mom,” I said, my tone filled with warning.
“What? Can’t a mother worry about whether her daughter is settled and happy?”
“Worry all you want,” I said. “Just don’t bring it up in front of Nate.”
“I wouldn’t,” she started, but a knock at the door cut her off.
“Hello?” Nate’s deep voice called out from the front of the house.
“We’re back here,” I yelled before Mom could stand up to go greet him.
“Hi, Nate,” she said as he strode into the kitchen.
“Merry Christmas,” he replied.
He bent over to kiss her cheek, giving her shoulders a squeeze before sliding into the chair next to mine. Taking my hand, he lifted it to his lips and kissed my knuckles. I could feel the energy crackling off him, and his excitement fueled my own. We’d planned to wait until after lunch to show Mom the car, but I didn’t think I could wait.
I met Nate’s eyes, trying to convey my thoughts, and he shrugged. I narrowed my gaze, and he chuckled. Leaning in to kiss my cheek, he whispered, “It’s your gift. It’s up to you.”
It may have started out that way, but Nate had put so much work into that car, so much love, it seemed like the surprise was more from him than from me. I may have come up with the idea, but he’d done all the work.
“You know, it’s rude to share secrets in front of people,” Mom said, taking a sip of her coffee, her eyes shining over the rim of her mug.
“Nate brought your Christmas gift,” I said, keeping my eyes on his. When he gave me a small nod of encouragement, I looked back at Mom. “I was going to give it to you after lunch, but I can’t wait.”
“Well, I’m always up for gifts,” she said, setting down her mug and smiling. “Let’s go into the living room. Yours are under the tree.”
Nate and I sat next to each other on the couch as Mom dug around under the tree for our gifts. I pulled a small box from my purse while she was distracted, and Nate discreetly passed me the Bel Air’s key. I’d stuck another gift for her under the tree, just to throw her off, and she came out with it and three more wrapped boxes.
Mom opened hers first, a silk scarf I’d picked out with the car in mind. She could tie up her hair with it when she wanted to cruise around with the top down in the summer. She gushed over its beauty, wrapped it around her shoulders, and handed Nate and I our gifts from her.
She gave me a pair of white cowboy boots with little blue flowers embroidered all over them. They were so beautiful, I kicked off my shoes and pulled them on so she and Nate could admire them.
“I know you probably don’t have room in your closet, but I saw those and knew you had to have them,” she said, smiling.
“Thanks, Mom. I love them.”
“Merry Christmas, baby,” she said.
Nate opened his gift to reveal two sets of wrenches—one standard and one metric.
“I wasn’t sure which kind you use, so I got both!” Mom laughed.
“They’re perfect. Thank you, Barb,” Nate said, smiling at her. “I use both, so these will come in handy.”
My fingers wrapped around the box I’d stashed between Nate and me, but Mom picked up the last present she’d pulled from under the tree. She held it out toward me, and I took it from her with a shake of my head.
“Mom, the boots are perfect. You didn’t have to get me anything else.”
“I didn’t,” she said, then shot Nate a pointed look. “This one must’ve slipped it under the tree before he met us in the kitchen.”
“Nate?” I asked, my gaze shooting over to meet his.
“Open it,” he said, but his smile seemed tense.
Like he was nervous.
I unwrapped the rectangular box, taking a deep breath and holding it as I opened the hinged lid. Nestled inside was a platinum keyring with two charms—a stethoscope and a monkey wrench—and one new-looking key.
My eyes darted back to Nate. “What is this?”
“It’s a key,” he said, shooting me a wink.
“A key to what?” I asked.
“My apartment,” he said, his face growing serious. “But I want it to be our apartment. You don’t have to give me an answer now. I know it’s a lot. I just…don’t want to be apart from you any more than we have to be. I want you to move in with me, Ivy.”
I looked over at Mom, whose grin stretched from ear to ear. I thought about our earlier conversation and how she asked me if Nate had brought up moving in together.
“Did you know about this?” I asked.
She held up her palms in surrender. “Purely coincidence. I swear.”
I turned back to Nate, his hopeful expression warming my heart. “How much closet space are you willing to sacrifice? I have a lot of boots.”
Nate jumped to his feet with a whoop of joy. Pulling me up into his arms, he pressed a quick, hard kiss to my mouth before spinning me around. He set me back on my feet, saying, “We’ll make the closet space work. I promise.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Mom said, tears in her eyes.
“Oh! Mom, Nate and I have one more gift for you.”
“Oh, honey, this wasn’t necessary,” she said as she took the small box from me.
She pulled off the lid and stared into the box for a moment, obviously confused. Tears stung my eyes as she lifted hers to me and gave me a small smirk.
“Isn’t this the key to the Chevy?” she asked, shaking her head like she thought I might’ve lost my marbles.
“It is,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. “It’s out front.”
“What do you mean? It’s in the barn—”
“Just go look, Mom,” I said, hustling her up and pushing her toward the front door.
Nate beat us there, swinging open the door so I could lead Mom out onto the porch. There, glistening in the sun, sat the cherry-red Bel Air. Even though it was too cold to drive that way, Nate had put the top down before he came inside so Mom would see the fully-restored interior, too.
“Is that?”
“Nate fixed it,” I said quietly. “He finished what Dad started, making it perfect—just like you. Merry Christmas, Mom.”
She started to cry, which made me start to cry. Nate laughed at us, so I gave him an elbow to the gut. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and we watched Mom climb inside the car and sit behind the wheel.
She looked so happy, running her fingers over the steering wheel and dash, and I could tell she was thinking about Dad. That car was his dream realized. A gift that was always meant for his wife.
Nate had made that dream a reality…just like he was slowly making all of my dreams come true.
“I love you,” I whispered, leaning my head against his chest.
His arm tightened around my shoulders, and I felt the fingers of his free hand under my chin. Tilting my head back, he pressed his lips to mine before pulling back to meet my gaze.
“I love you, Ivy. And I promise I’m going to do my best to keep you as happy as you are right now. Always.”
I smiled. “I know you will. I can’t help but be happy when I’m anywhere near you.”
“Now, that is,” he said, and I shook my head.
“Even when I thought I hated you, and I groaned and griped and acted like I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with you, you still had the ability to take my breath away and make my heart beat fast.”
“Same,” he said.
“Let’s make a deal,” I proposed.
“Uh-oh,” he replied, faking a shudder.
I chuckled, pushing my fingers into his hair. His hands fell to my hips, his fingers digging in as he pulled me in closer.
“Let’s resolve to never keep our feelings bottled up again. Don’t assume we know what the other is thinking, and really talk things through if we ever feel upset or feel like we’re not getting all of our needs met.”
“Deal,” he said, pressing his lips to mine. “Speaking of needs—”
“Thank you so much, you two!”
Mom ran up the steps, tackling us in a group hug before Nate could finish his sentence. We embraced her, and I could feel the joy vibrating in her bones. I recognized it, because I’d felt that kind of joy myself.
Every time Nate Walton looked at me the way he was looking at me right now. Like he couldn’t live without me, and he wouldn’t want to anyway.
I returned his smile as warmth spread through my whole body. I’d finally gotten everything I’d ever wanted. I was happy, in love, and I finally felt like I had a life outside work with real friends and a sweet, sexy boyfriend.
Mom went back inside, and Nate pulled me to a stop out on the porch.
“When we get home, we’re going to christen every room in our apartment.”
“Haven’t we already done that?” I asked, grinning.
“That was when it was my apartment. Now that it’s ours, we need a do-over.”
“Okay,” I said, “but only if you do that one thing with your tongue—”
He growled, and I squealed as his fingers tickled my ribcage. “Don’t tempt me, woman, or we’ll have to make excuses to your mother and cut out early.”
“How about we eat lunch, and then I’ll show you the hayloft in the barn?” I teased, making him growl again.
“It’s a deal,” he said, pressing his lips against mine.
“Deal,” I repeated.
And that was one bargain I’d happily see through to the end.
Epilogue
Ivy
The ceremony was perfect. There wasn’t a dry eye in the church as promises were made—promises filled with love, laughter, and several impatiently stolen kisses. When the minister finally declared Rafe and Jessa husband and wife, the whole crowd went wild with applause and cheers.
Jessa had asked me to be her maid of honor, so I spent a lot of the ceremony watching Nate. Though he looked calm and composed on the outside, I could see tension in the set of his shoulders, how tightly he kept his hands clasped together in front of him, and the way the muscle in his jaw kept ticking…like he was grinding his teeth.
I tried to talk to him on the ride to The Bullpen—where the reception was being held—but he just held my hand and told me he was fine. That he’d just been nervous, being in front of the whole town like that.
“Guess what? I got a new job!”
Karly plopped down in the chair next to me with those words, sipping a glass of champagne. Felicia was right behind her, a “Happy New Year” paper crown on her head and some gold plastic beads around her neck.
“A new temp job, you mean,” Felicia said, sliding into her own chair.
“Don’t mind her bitchiness,” Karly said, nodding her red head in Felicia’s direction. “She’s just jealous.”
I took a drink of my own champagne and wisely held my tongue. I’d seen these little spats turn physical with these two more than once, and I, for one, did not want to get tit-punched.
“Jealous? Why on earth would I be jealous? I have a stable, well-paying job.”
“Yeah, with old Bobby Sumner. He’s as old as a dinosaur and has the arms to match.”
Karly set down her glass. Tucking her elbows tightly against her sides, she waved her hands up and down—the universal sign for t-rex arms. I managed to swallow the drink of bubbly in my mouth without choking, but just barely.
Felicia gave Karly a narrow-eyed look, but the redhead ignored it. She picked up her flute, took a sip like nothing had happened, and turned her attention back to me.
“Where is the job?” I asked.
“That’s the best part,” Karly squealed. “I’m going to be a receptionist for Milestone’s newest law firm—Parker and Parker. They’re twin brothers from Texas, according to Jessa. I haven’t seen them yet, but I hear they’re hot.”
Felicia rolled her eyes. “Jess never said they were hot, Karly. She only met the one, and all she said was he wasn’t ugly.”
“They’re twins, Felicia. And Jessa only played it down because Rafe was giving her the side-eye while
we were talking about it. I could see it in her face—he’s hot, which means his brother is hot, too.”
I hadn’t met the Parker twins, but Rafe had. I heard all about how he saw Jessa with the handsome Max Parker at an early-morning meeting at the local coffee shop. His mind had immediately gone to a dark place, assuming Jessa and Max were on a “morning after” date. Then he met Marshall at Jessa’s house and, not knowing he was a twin, assumed it was the same guy, claiming to have never met Jessa. He told me he’d nearly punched the guy’s lights out before the whole thing was cleared up.
There was no “night before the morning after.” Jessa had been meeting with Max because he and his brother wanted to rent out The Bullpen for a grand opening party for their new law firm. And Marshall really had never met her.
“So when do you start?” I asked before Felicia could start arguing again.
“Next week! I know it’s just a temp job,” she said, rolling her eyes at her dark-haired friend, “but I’m hoping it will turn into so much more.”
That gleam in her eyes scared me, a little. It was obvious she was talking about more than just a permanent position. As a mischievous smile tugged at her lips, I knew I was right.
“Be careful, girl,” I warned.
“Yeah, sexually harassing two big shot lawyers is a great fucking idea,” Felicia grumped.
She seemed off, especially considering we were at the wedding reception of one of her best friends. I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong, but warm lips landing on my neck made me lose my train of thought completely.
“Dance with me,” Nate whispered, his breath tickling my ear.
I was on my feet in a second, wrapped in Nate’s arms as he twirled me to the center of the room. Tables had been cleared away, leaving a makeshift dance floor. Twinkling white lights were strung above it and soft music played from the jukebox.
“You’re so beautiful,” Nate said, his fingertips brushing the skin bared by the low-cut back of my dress.
