"That woman is on a mission.I swear she's already called every florist within a fifty-mile radius and somehow convinced the bakery to bump us ahead of three other weddings.I think she might actually be a wizard disguised as a middle-aged woman."
We both laugh and something inside me loosens.Maybe it's the way Nate’s fingers have found my thigh again, grounding me with a slow, reassuring stroke.
"I'll be there."I promise.
Mom beams, then squints.“Did you get up to anything exciting for your birthday?”
Heat floods my cheeks.I try so hard to sound casual.
“Oh, um, nothing too crazy.Just dinner and a bit of sightseeing.”
As if sensing my panic, Nate chooses that exact moment to press a slow, warm kiss to my thigh—just above the hem of his shirt.
The traitor.
His mouth curves against my skin in a smile that is entirely aware of the effect he’s having.
"Well when you’re back here, we’ll celebrate together."Mom says, oblivious.
Nate shifts closer and kisses the spot just above my knee and my breath catches.
"I will, Mom," I manage.
"I love you, Nora."
"I love you too."
"Send me your flight details when you have them, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye, Nate!"she calls out loudly—because of course she knows.
Nate’s voice is warm, a little amused.“Congratulations, Kat.”
Mom winks at me before the screen goes dark.
Silence fills the room.
I look at him.“You think she knows?”
He doesn’t miss a beat.
“That we’re together, or that we just had sex multiple times this morning?”
I grab a pillow and throw it at him, he catches it one-handed, grinning.
Then his expression softens.“You okay?”
His voice is quieter.The one he uses when he’s stripping things down to truth.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
He tilts his head slightly, reading me the way he always has—like he can see the parts I’m trying to hide.
“Your mom is getting remarried,” he says simply.“And yeah, it’s Nick—anyone would be lucky to have him.But it still shifts things.”
“I’m happy it’s Nick,” I say.“He makes her happy and I just want her to be happy.”
