“Yep. Set up a forwarding address and everything. Marcus can have my room.”
“Speaking of…” His hand slides up to cup the back of my neck, fingers playing with my hair. “Stay tonight?”
I lift my head to look at him, finding his eyes soft and warm in the dim light. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He brushes his thumb across my cheekbone. “Do you have to be up early tomorrow?”
“I’ll set an alarm.” I lean into his touch. “I’ll even make you breakfast.”
“Plenty of time then.” He shifts slightly beneath me. “Though we should probably shower first.”
I groan, dropping my head back to his shoulder. “That requires moving.”
“True.” His hands slide down to my waist. “But I’ll make it worth your while.”
That gets my attention. I prop myself up on my elbows to look at him properly. “Oh yeah? How exactly?”
His smile is slow and promising. “Come find out.”
Somehow, we drag ourselves off the couch and into the bathroom. Nate’s shower is bigger than mine, with one of those wide showerheads that feels like standing in warm summer rain. He turns on the water while I grab fresh towels from the cabinet, admiring the way the muscles in his back flex as he moves.
The water is perfectly hot when we step in, steam rising around us in lazy curls. Nate pulls me under the spray, and I sigh as the warmth seeps into my skin. His hands slide up my arms, leaving trails of soap bubbles in their wake.
“You’re getting better at this,” he says, working the shampoo into my hair.
“At what?”
“Handling the cold.” His fingers massage my scalp, and I practically purr. “Remember when you first got here? With that lightweight jacket and no gloves? For Vermont winters, that was practically naked.”
I laugh, tilting my head back to rinse. “Hey, Arizona didn’t exactly prepare me for Vermont winters. Besides,” I add, reaching for his shampoo, “I’ve found better ways to stay warm.”
He hums appreciatively as I work my fingers through his hair. “That you have.”
We take our time washing each other, trading slow kisses under the spray. It’s intimate in a different way than before. Less urgent, more tender. By the time we finish, my skin is pink from the heat and my fingers are pruney, but I feel warm down to my bones.
Nate wraps me in one of his big, fluffy towels, kissing my shoulder before grabbing one for himself. I’m using his spare toothbrush when I hear my phone buzz from the bedroom.
“Can you grab that?” I ask around a mouthful of toothpaste. “Might be Marcus wondering if I’m okay.”
Nate disappears and returns a moment later with my phone, looking highly amused. “Well, he’s wondering something, all right.”
I rinse my mouth and take the phone, reading the text message lighting up my screen. It’s from Marcus reading,You go, girl!and followed by a selection of fire and eggplant emojis.
“Oh my god.” I drop my head into my hands while Nate laughs beside me. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
“Probably not.” Nate wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder to look at the phone. “But at least he’s supportive.”
I turn in his arms, letting my head thunk against his chest. “Supportive is one word for it. Overinvested is another.”
“Could be worse.” He kisses the top of my head. “Come on, let’s go to bed. You can plot your revenge in the morning.”
I let him lead me back to the bedroom, where he’s already turned down the covers. I slide between the sheets, surrounded by his scent and warmth. Maybe I’ll let Marcus live after all.
Nate pulls me close, and I curl into him, fitting perfectly against his side like I’ve done it a thousand times before. His breathing evens out quickly, but I stay awake a little longer, listening to his heartbeat and thinking about how lucky I am to have found a perfect life in this small town that’s become more of a home than I ever expected.
CHAPTER 36
NATE
