Chapter Seven
Nate
As he continued to stare into Lottie’s soulful brown eyes, Nate couldn’t help but feel like the deal he’d just made would be the start of something wonderful.Their relationship as it had been before was renewed, and with more work on his part,a lotmore work, it could become something greater than that.There would still be bickering between them, they were both too headstrong for that not to happen, but a partnership of sorts no longer seemed as impossible as it always had.His eyes flicked down to their still joined hands and he smiled.
The moment he’d touched her, Nate felt himself slipping away a little in the sense that he could no longer tell where he ended and she began, but instead of panicking, he’d tried to sit with the feeling for as long as possible.What had made him uncomfortable in the past was actually quite wonderful when he pushed away the fear and anxiety of wanting and needing someone else so badly.There was a kind of strength in the feeling that he hadn’t let himself see or feel before.Instead of him losing himself in her, his strength was merging with hers, creating a force so otherworldly that he almost believed it was some kind of magic.
Lottie had always had an effect on him.Sometimes it was that she pushed his buttons so hard that he thought he might explode from the sheer amount of frustration she caused him, but in looking back at all of those instances, Nate could see that she had been pushing him to be better, to see something from another perspective that he’d just been too single-minded to consider.Where he was systematic in his approach to a problem, tackling the root issue first and the rest later, she was empathetic, trying to discover how people would be affected before anything else and coming to a solution from the more personal side of the situation.Lottie was and always had been the yin to his yang, the person who balanced him out, and Nate was kicking himself for not having realized that earlier.
Lottie smiled at him, not the bright smile that she’d plastered on moments ago that was less than genuine, but a softer, realer smile that had Nate’s heartbeat picking up speed.“Should we get started on your project, or did you want to hold hands all day?”Her smile morphed into a smirk.“Honestly, I’m game for either.”
Nate chuckled, feeling right with himself for the first time in a month, probably longer.“As much as I would like to do the latter, the town doesn’t pay me to hold hands with beautiful women.”Lottie’s eyes widened at his declaration and Nate felt his cheeks heat slightly as he stood and gently released her hands.“Come on.I’ll drive us downtown and we can talk more about what I want to do.”
Walking toward the door, Nate turned around when Lottie’s footsteps disappeared into the back of her house.Moments later, she reappeared with a large canvas bag slung over her shoulder.At his raised brow, she shrugged, a grin on her face.“If we’re heading downtown I can make my rounds while we’re there.”
Nate nodded and grabbed her coat off the hook.At Lottie’s quizzical look, Nate rolled his eyes and opened the door, ushering her outside and over to his Jeep.“It’s cold out.You can’t help me if you’re frozen solid.”
Lottie returned his eye roll as she hopped into the passenger door Nate had opened for her.“I can do a lot more than you realize.”Placing her bag in the back, she turned to close her door only to startle when she found him still standing there.
Nate reached out and brushed one of the thick curls Lottie had put in her hair over her shoulder, imagining how beautiful her gorgeous chocolate waves would look resting on his pillowcase as he let one of the small, silky strands slip through his fingers.“I realize a lot more than you think I do.”Lottie’s eyes were wary as she looked at him, and even though he’d known it was going to take a lot more than a simple apology and box of taffy to get her back in his good graces, he’d hoped that she wouldn’t be as uneasy around him as she seemed.Draping her coat over her body, Nate nodded toward the seatbelt.“Buckle up.”
Lottie eyed him again.“Bossy this morning, aren’t we?”Her sass was legendary in the town, and it was also something he’d come to love to hear over the last decade even when it was driving him mad.
Nate reached back up to Lottie and ran his thumb across her cheek, satisfied when her skin seemed to tremble slightly under his touch.“Come on now, Charlotte.You know that it’s not just this morning.”He leaned closer and inhaled the scent of home that wafted off her skin.“I’m always bossy.”
Lottie shivered again as she looked at him.“Always?”Her tone was flirtatious, though there was a wavering quality to it Nate hoped was the result of his touch.
Smirking, he ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek, letting himself revel in the feel of her softness one last time.“I guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out.”
Lottie nodded as he shut her passenger door.Adjusting himself, Nate tried to will his dick to calm down after it sprang to life at the touch of her skin against his.Knowing that would likely be impossible, he resigned himself to a morning of walking around town with his coat buttoned up snuggly to hide the evidence and joined her in the car.The entire cabin already smelled like her and Nate let himself enjoy the spicy apple scent as he drove the two of them downtown.
After spotting the canvas bag in the rearview mirror, Nate glanced over to Lottie, smiling when he saw her adjusting the heat vents and her seat to meet her exact needs.As far as he was concerned, they would stay that way and anyone else who wanted to ride with him would have to take a seat in the back because that was her permanent spot now.Not wanting to get too caught up in a fantasy that may never be realized, Nate tried to focus on getting them back to normal, or a new kind of normal where he actually treated her like she deserved to be, like the amazing woman she is.
“So what’s in the bag?You mentioned making your rounds.What did you mean by that?”He always wondered what her days looked like and now he would get a firsthand look, something he was actually quite excited about.
Lottie glanced over at him and narrowed her gaze, her expression assessing.Nate tried to focus on the drive, but it was difficult when he wanted to catalog each and every one of her looks, even those that spoke of an inherent distrust of him.“Unusually I make sure to visit certain folks in the community, but I’ve been staying at home a lot lately and haven’t had the chance.”
Guilt settled over Nate like a heavy blanket at the reminder that he’d not only kept her from himself, but from a lot of other people as well.“I’m sorry you felt like you had to hide away from everyone.”He gulped as he made the turn toward the town center.“I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
To his surprise and utter delight, Lottie reached over and squeezed the hand that had been resting on the center console.“I know you didn’t, but I didn’t want to risk running into you.You probably would have accused me of stalking you or something.”
Nate huffed humorlessly because her statement was accurate.“God, I can’t believe what an asshole I’ve been.”At a stoplight, he turned to apologize to Lottie again.“I’m so—”
