I grinned at her. “That had to be overwhelming.”
She blew out a big breath that fanned her hair away from her face. “Oh, yeah. But enough about me.” She grinned from ear to ear. "So, tell me about Nathan."
I nearly choked on my tea. "Excuse me?"
Erin laughed. "Oh, come on. I see the way he looks at you. And the way you look at him."
Heat crept up my neck. "I don't know what you're talking about." But even as I said it, I thought of Nathan's intense gaze, the electricity that seemed to crackle between us whenever we were close.
Before I could answer further, two other women entered the inn. Erin waved them over. "Rissa, meet Aurelia and Skye."
Aurelia, a stunning woman with eyes that were nearly golden, gave me a knowing smile and flipped her black hair over her shoulder. "So you're the one Nathan's all tangled up about."
I groaned. "I walked into a trap."
Skye, a petite blonde with deep blue eyes, grinned. "Absolutely."
They all laughed, and I couldn't help but join in. As the conversation flowed, easy and warm, I realized something important—I wasn't just building a life here. I was building connections. Friendships. A sense of community I hadn't felt in a long time.
The thought filled me with a bittersweet ache, memories of my old pack, my old life, rose to the surface. But as I looked around at these women, at their welcoming smiles, I felt a flicker of hope. Maybe I could find a new place to belong.
As I left the inn, I bumped straight into Nathan on the way back to my car in his driveway. His gaze flickered over me, something unreadable in his expression. "Tea?" he asked, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.
I huffed, fighting back a smile of my own. "Don't start."
But even as I said it, I felt the pull between us, the undeniable attraction that simmered beneath the surface. I wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to give in to it. To let myself fall.
He chuckled. “See you tomorrow night. For our date.”
With a final, loaded look, I stepped around him and got in the car, my heart full and my mind racing with possibilities. Stock Creek was changing me, day by day. And for the first time in a long time, I was excited to see where the journey would lead.
Chapter 19
Rissa
I paced around my bedroom,my stomach twisting into knots. This was a mistake. What had I been thinking, agreeing to go out with Nathan? I paused in front of the mirror, smoothing my dress for the tenth time. Not too casual, not too dressy. Why did I even care what he thought of how I looked?
Headlights flashed through the curtains, and my pulse jumped. He was here. I grabbed my purse with shaking hands and hurried outside before I lost my nerve. And before Gavin came home and caught us going out together. Oh, this was justtoo damn much.
Nathan stood there, leaning against his truck, looking unfairly good. Dark jeans, a fitted Henley that showed off his broad shoulders, that easy confidence rolling off him in waves.
"You look nervous," he said with a smirk as I approached.
I lifted my chin. "I'm not."
His smirk widened, and he gestured to the passenger door. "Then let's go before Gavin gets home since you don’t want him to know."
I climbed into the truck, my heart hammering against my ribs. As Nathan slid behind the wheel, his woodsy scent enveloped me in the enclosed space. I swallowed hard. What was I doing? This was insanity.
But when he glanced over at me, something in his expression made my doubts melt away, just for a moment.
As we pulled out of town, tension thickened the air between us. I crossed my arms and gazed out the window at the darkening sky, trying to ignore the heat of Nathan's gaze on my skin.
"You can relax, you know," he said quietly.
I scoffed. "I don't exactly do secret dates often.” Or any dates at all. “This is new territory for me."
His fingers tapped an uneven rhythm against the steering wheel. "You don't date at all, do you?"
