If only Andrew knew the way I wanted to keep my eyes on Nate, specifically his tight backside.
Me: Aye, aye, Captain.
Setting the phone down, I went to work making dinner. The shrimp scampi was an easy fix, and I made a batch of plain noodles just in case the girls didn’t have an adventurous palate.
In the dining room, I set the table and called up to the twins, who hurried to claim a spot at the table. I scooped a small amount of the meal onto their plates, along with a piece of garlic bread I toasted in the oven.
“Where’s your dad?” I asked, as he still hadn’t shown up.
“He was on his phone.”
“Okay, let me see if I can get him to hurry down.”
With quick strides, I made it up the stairs and down the hall, where I gently knocked on his door, calling his name. “Nate, your dinner is ready.”
When he didn’t respond, I twisted the knob and cracked the door.
“Nate?”
There was no response, and something in me feared the worst. Swinging the door wide, I called out his name one more time, only to find the missing man standing beside his bed, completely nude.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” I cried out as I turned on my heels and slammed the door shut behind me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen him naked before, but my memories didn’t do the guy any justice. He was a freaking work of art, a masterpiece I needed to scrub clean of my mind, because there was no way I was going to sleep with my brother’s best friend again.
Chapter Four – Nate
Usually when I’m standing naked in front of a woman, she looks me over with hungry eyes or, at a minimum, makes it clear she likes what she sees. It took years for me to be comfortable in my skin with no complaints. So, watching Alex dash out of the room like she’d seen a ghost instead of my one-eyed monster left me in shock.
I’d been on the phone with Sasha again, trying to figure out what she was planning. Her calls were suddenly coming more and more frequently, despite what I told Andrew, and I feared she was having regrets about leaving our girls. Those repentances must’ve been eating away at her, but I had very little sympathy for her decision. Our marriage was a rash decision made when she’d seen those two pink lines on the pregnancy test. We learned quickly that the only place we were compatible was in bed and were divorced before the girls were born. The only reason I stayed in California was to see the twins when Sasha would allow.
“Shit,” I mumbled as I tossed my phone onto the bed. This was definitely some first impression I was making on our host. From the moment I stood at the front door, the woman gave off the vibe that I’d done something wrong. And I had no clue what that might’ve been. Outside of being friends with her brother, she knew very little about me. Yet I still couldn’t shake this sense of familiarity about her.
Tugging on a pair of shorts, since Molly spilled some of her pie filling on my jeans earlier, I left my room, yanking on a gray T-shirt along the way. The strong scent of garlic assaulted me as I stepped into the hall, and I realized Alex must’ve been at my door to alert me about dinner.
I hurried down the stairs toward the dining room, where I heard the girls chatting away as they slurped noodles. Stepping up to the table, I found a vacant seat, then looked around the room as I sat down, searching for Alex. She stood in the corner, refusing to make eye contact. She reminded me of a scared animal. Her limbs twitched like she was ready to bolt at a second's notice.
“Are you going to join us?” I asked her as I shoveled some of the main dish onto my plate.
Before Alex could answer, Molly began begging for her to eat with us, “Please, Miss Barbie? Pretty please?”
“It’s Alex, remember? And I don’t usually eat with the guests.”
Both girls turned on their greatest attempt at puppy-dog eyes, and I’m not too ashamed to admit I even tried my best at them as well. Something about Alex called to me, and there was no reason for her not to sit at the table with us.
Alex’s eyes narrowed and fists clenched at her sides, but then she surprised me as her shoulders hitched up toward her ears and her hands relaxed. I could sense a war waged inside her.
“All right, you convinced me.”
Her eyes never met mine as she sat down at the table beside Molly. There was no dull moment or awkward silence during the rest of the meal, as my daughter knew how to keep a conversation flowing, and I suspected Alex chose that spot on purpose—the farthest one away from me. The beautiful woman was an enigma for sure, and she drew me to her in a way I never experienced before. It was clear she drew my daughters to her the same way, as they hung on her every word. Molly was about to slip off the side of her chair with how close she continued to scoot toward our host.
As I glanced around the table, I couldn’t help but ponder if this was how most families came together in the evenings. I did my best to eat with the twins every night, but most of the time, I was stuck in my workshop or in a meeting, and their nanny served them dinner.
That was all going to change. Starting today.
“How often do you think you can join us for dinner?”
Alex seemed to choke on the food she just forked into her mouth when I spoke to her directly. As if any communication from me was uncalled for.
“Um… I mean… I rarely eat with any of the guests. Neither does my sister. Today is a special occasion, I suppose.”
