My pulse thudded heavily. I didn’t believe in fate, coincidence, or anything that couldn’t be backed by logic and planning. Yet as I watched that ring settle against her skin like it had been waiting for her all along, logic felt thin and fragile.
“This is the one I want,” she said finally, her smile so bright, it was almost giddy. “If that’s okay.”
I swallowed, nodding before I managed to gain some trust in my voice. “Yeah. It’s okay. That’s the one.”
On the drive back to the St. Regis, she couldn’t stop looking at it. She kept angling her hand so the light caught the facets, mesmerized by the shifting reflections dancing across her palm. I watched her from the corner of my eye with a warm, odd sensation building in my chest, and somewhere between the jewelry store and home, I realized I hadn’t thought about Emma once today.
Shit. I really am a bastard.I just didn’t really know what to do about it right now.
Back at our apartments, I was reaching for my keycard and thoroughly berating myself internally when Kate cleared her throat. “Nate, can we talk for a minute?”
When I turned to face her, I immediately recognized the careful tension in her posture and the way her shoulders had squared slightly. She was bracing for impact. I just didn’t know what kind.
“Sure, we can talk,” I said, stepping into her apartment when she motioned me in after she’d unlocked the door.
She lingered near the entryway instead of moving farther in, which told me this wasn’t casual conversation territory. I stood a few feet away, crossing my arms loosely over my chest. “What’s on your mind?”
She took a slow breath, her fingers brushing over the ring again. “I, uh, I know you want an actual wife. Something real that’s more than just an arrangement and a piece of paper.”
I wanted to ask her how she knew. We’d never talked about it and the fact she’d just assumed rubbed me the wrong way. The familiar bite of a scathing retort crept into me before I’d really looked at her. When her gaze lifted to meet mine, the vulnerability twinkling in her eyes caught me off guard.
Swallowing that combative instinct immediately, I just looked into her eyes and nodded instead. “I do want that, but it doesn’t mean I expect anything from you.”
“No, I, uh, I know, but I’m willing to give that a go. I just wanted you to know.”
The words damn near knocked the air from my lungs. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me after we got married.”
“I thought that too, but maybe we can at least try.” She inhaled a deep breath. “I was thinking we could start by letting ourselves like each other as friends?”
Friends.
The term lodged itself awkwardly deep inside, scraping against nerves and tender spots I hadn’t even known I had. Before I could think better of it, I took a step closer to her.
“Do you really want me to be your friend?” I asked, my voice rougher than it should’ve been. Lower too.
Kate didn’t answer immediately, those whiskey-hued eyes just searching mine for a long, extended moment. Unless I was very much mistaken, there was a flicker of heat fighting for dominance beneath the uncertainty and confusion.
The moment stretched just long enough to sting. Finally, I nodded, turning toward the door. “Right. I should?—”
Her hand wrapped around my wrist before I could finish, the contact as electric as it was urgent. She tugged, pulling me to her with surprising strength. Then her mouth was on mine in another reckless, spur-of-the-moment kiss that burned away every rational thought I had left.
CHAPTER 24
KATE
My hand slid from Nate’s wrist to the front of his shirt, gripping the fabric to hold him to me. One second, we’d been standing in my foyer with tension crackling between us, and the next, his mouth had crashed onto mine.
Or mine crashed onto his. I honestly didn’t know. All I knew right now was that he couldn’t bejust a friendand I needed him to know it, but words had evaded me and actions spoke louder anyway.
This kiss, for example, spoke freaking volumes. It was overwhelming in its intensity, hungry and once again laced with a degree of inevitability that made it feel so damn right, I didn’t even try to fight it.
I gasped into his mouth and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. One hand bracketed my jaw while the other slid firmly around my waist. The strength in his grip sent a rush of heat through me, reminding me of all those times I’d seen the lean definition in his muscle and hadn’t been able to touch him to see if he felt as hard as he looked.
When I instinctively stepped closer, he let out a sound so hot, it made me moan softly. This was totally crossing a line. Several lines, actually.
Bright, glaring, neon warning signs flashed through my mind, reminding me of five years of carefully maintained boundaries. Five years of waiting and remaining loyal, all of it obliterated by what I was doing right now, but none of it mattered when Nate’s hands tightened and he lifted me clean off the floor.
I let out a startled laugh, but it quickly dissolved into another breathless moan as he carried me the few steps to the couch. He lowered me onto it, following instantly. Bracing one arm beside my shoulder, he leaned over me, his eyes dark and searching for just a beat before he kissed me again.
