Nate smiled at the words Lottie had written about him, feeling even fonder of the woman he’d loved for so long.Touched by her seeing past his blustering to the man he tried to be, Nate sniffled, exhaling shakily as he continued to read more of her articles.Each one was just as complimentary of him as the last, but they weren’t puff pieces.They mentioned his stumbles those first few weeks in office, but always with the unwavering faith that he would pick himself back up and try again.He had, and the fact that Lottie looked for and found that in him, even when he didn’t deserve it, had Nate loving her more than he thought possible.
Pulling out his phone, Nate sent her a quick text telling her that he loved her.When he heard a phone chime, his eyes moved over to the door, brightening when they landed on the very woman he’d been thinking of.
“Hey.”He rose from his chair and walked over to Lottie, wrapping his arms around her powder blue pea coat.He smiled when he noticed the brooch on the lapel.“This is a nice surprise.”
Lottie leaned up and brushed her lips over his.“I wanted to check on my flower delivery and ask if you wanted to have lunch with me.”
Nate smiled and leaned down to kiss her again, more passionately this time as he tried to pour every bit of love from that deeper well he’d just discovered into it.Lottie groaned and he kicked the door to his office shut, locking it quickly.Willa was gone, but even without her standing guard outside of his office, no one would dare approach his door when it was closed.
Pulling Lottie back toward his desk, Nate smiled against her mouth.“I would love to have lunch with you.”He started to undo the buttons on her coat, groaning when the sides parted and he was able to get his hands on her again.The silky material of her dress bunched in his fingers as he gripped her waist, pulling her down on top of him as he sat in his chair.“After.”
Lottie sighed and fisted the front of his shirt, her head nodding against his.“After,” she agreed.As the two made good use of their alone time together, Nate couldn’t help but be awed by her wanting to be with him.Lottie was everything he had ever wanted and now that he had her, there was no way he was ever going to let her go.
Chapter Eighteen
Lottie
The final downtown business association meeting was scheduled to start any minute, and Nate was nowhere to be found.Lottie paced the hallway outside of the offices, wearing a pattern in the wooden floorboards with her slingback heels.The sound of them clacking against the dark wood was starting to grate on her nerves, but Lottie had to keep her body moving or she would go crazy.Berating herself for not insisting that she and Nate arrive together, Lottie pulled out her phone, frowning when there were no calls or texts from him.There was no way he’d forgotten this meeting.The two of them had been talking about and preparing for it for weeks, and now that it was time to present Nate’s final proposal, he’d gone AWOL.
Not wanting to think the worst, she continued her pacing, counting the bricks in the wall just to have something to distract herself.Just when Lottie thought her skeleton might burst out of her skin from all the anxiety that had been building, a cold breeze moved past her exposed legs and she whipped around to see Nate entering the building, a bright smile on his face the moment his eyes met hers.As beautiful as it was and as much as Lottie loved to see it, she couldn’t stop herself from marching up to him and swatting him lightly on the arm for all of the distress he’d caused her.
“Where have you been?”She chastised him.There was no real heat in her tone, and the moment she’d finished posing her question, she wrapped her arms around Nate and held him as tightly as she could, not caring that she was wrinkling his fine suit.“I thought something might have happened to you.”
Nate’s arms snaked around her and he swayed her gently, placing a simple kiss on the top of her head.“I didn’t mean to worry you.”His lips found hers and the moment their connection was renewed, any misgivings Lottie had had about him being late melted away along with her ability to stand.Kisses from Nate always managed to weaken her knees in the most wonderful way, like when you slipped into a hot bath and your whole body went pliant.When he leaned back, his blue eyes were nearly as bright as the clear sky outside as he stared down at her.“I was actually taking a page out of your book.”
Pulling back from the hug, Nate showed Lottie a pink bakery box in his hands and she chuckled at the sight of it.“Buttering up the panel?That is definitely something I would do.”In fact, it was a thought she’d had earlier but ultimately dismissed, not wanting to overstep.She was there for support, nothing more.
Nate kissed her again briefly before placing his hand at the small of her back and leading her toward the office door.“Well, it worked last time and I need all the help I can get.Besides,” he said, his smile widening.One of his hands disappeared into his coat before emerging with a single red rose.“I wanted to stop somewhere else to surprise you with this.Sorry, it’s a little crushed now, but someone gave me a pretty amazing hug.”
Lottie smiled down at the flower as her finger brushed over one of the velvety petals.It was a little smashed, but the bloom was still beautiful, mostly because Nate had been the one to give it to her.“Worth it,” she said, beaming up at him.“Are you ready for your big presentation?”
Nate huffed a breath as they walked inside the office.“As ready as I’ll ever be.”His brow pulled together as he smiled sadly at her.“I’m not sure what I’ll do if they say no.”
Lottie reached up and kissed his cheek, smoothing away some of her red lipstick that she’d left behind.“They’ll say yes.”Of that, she was certain.It was not only a great idea, but Nate would undoubtedly present it in a way that left little room for argument.She cupped his cheek, staring into the eyes that she longed to see looking back at her for the rest of her life.“I believe in you.”
Nate beamed at her and after they’d said hello to Francine, they made their way to the conference room where the panel of three waited, looking like judge, jury, and executioner.It was fitting, seeing as how they were the arbiters of the fate of Nate’s project, but Lottie had every confidence that the man she loved would be able to convince them of the necessity of his idea.
