I nodded.
“Every business in this town has a ridiculously adorable name.” She giggled from behind her own napkin.
I smiled, finding her amusement adorable. “I never really noticed before.”
“I wonder if it’s a prerequisite to opening a business here. Like your permits will be denied if your name isn’t adorable or quirky enough.” Nellie smiled, pausing to take a sip of her water.
“I don’t think it’s a prerequisite, but you’re right; a lot of businesses have quirky, cutesy names in town.” I chuckled, standing up to clear our plates. Nellie stood to help. “No, you sit, I’ve got this.”
I took her plate and carried it over to the sink, rinsing it and putting it in the dishwasher. I might live in a cabin in the woods, but I didn’t skimp out on things that’d make my life easier. I had a dishwasher and a washer and dryer—high efficiency, like my furnace.
“Thanks, for dinner. And everything,” Nellie said from the counter, watching as I moved about in my kitchen. “I’m sorry to be crashing your evening.”
I moved to the island, putting my palms on the countertop across from her.
“It’s my pleasure,” I told her sincerely. “In case you haven’t realized it yet, I enjoy being with you, Nell. I’m happy you’re here.”
I couldn’t ignore the little spark of happiness that brightened her eyes. “Well, I’m happy to be here. It beats being stuck on the highway in the snowstorm. Or trying to climb up the stairs to my apartment after all that snow.” Nellie wrinkled her nose.
“You’re welcome to stay here whenever you want,” I told her. I didn’t care if it was ‘too soon’ to make such an offer, the idea of her climbing up the slippery stairs to her apartment in this weather made me feel like locking her in my cabin until winter was over.
“Thanks for the offer, but I like my apartment.” Nellie smiled. “It’s the first thing that’s truly been mine. I mean, I moved out of my parents’ house young, but I always lived with roommates, and the space never really felt like it was mine, you know?”
My possessiveness melted away like ice in the sun.
“I can respect that.” I nodded. “There’s something to be said about having a space that’s all yours.” I hoped that one day Nellie would feel at home here.
“So, your brothers live around here, too, right? And your parents?” she asked.
“Yeah. Everyone’s about a five-minute drive away from each other by ATV or snowmobile. It’s comforting to know that although I can’t see them, they’re nearby,” I explained. “Charlotte jokingly referred to it as the family compound when she started dating Damien. My dad loved the term and it ended up sticking, unofficially, anyway.”
“That’s pretty neat, that you guys have that kind of relationship with one another.”
“You’re an only child, right?” I asked. Nellie nodded, smiling almost sadly. “Whenever I’d fight with my brothers, I’d wonder what that’d be like.”
“It’s lonely,” Nellie admitted, lifting her shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve never been able to call a sibling for help or know that my parents are around the corner. Even when I lived with them, they were never really around.”
“I’m sorry, that’s rough.” I leaned forward, taking Nellie’s hands in mine.
“I’m pretty much used to it,” she said, looking down at our hands. “It got a little less lonely when I met Sage. She’s like the sister I never had.”
“Sometimes, family isn’t forged by blood, but circumstance and chance,” I said. “But you can consider yourself an honorary member of the Wood family. Heck, you already were once you became an employee, but now that we’re dating and you’re carrying my baby—”
“Might be carrying your baby,” Nellie interrupted, her lips twitching with a smile that she struggled to hold back.
“Regardless of what that test says, I consider that baby mine, as much as I consider you mine,” I told her, holding her gaze.
Nellie’s mouth opened and closed, like she was searching for something to say. I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb, slowly rubbing it.
“The sooner you accept both those facts, the sooner we can get to the fun part.”
“What’s the fun part?”
“Getting reacquainted with each other physically.” I waggled my eyebrows at her playfully, but I was serious. Holding Nellie’s hands in mine made me think about how those hands had felt on my body, and it made me crave that again. Touching her in all the ways I’d thought about over the last few weeks, without the muddled haze of alcohol to dull my senses.
“You’re such a guy.” Nellie rolled her eyes dramatically, pulling her hands away from mine. I let her retreat, knowing she wasn’t going far.
Nellie was skittish, and it was easy to see why. Aside from Sage, she didn’t have people in her life that fought for her, and as a result she didn’t let many people get close. We’d talked a few times about her parents, and although I wanted to peel back the layers there, I could tell it was a sore subject.
