Nate stopped talking to listen to whatever it was Kole was saying. The fingers still gripping her hips held her a bit tighter and Gracie wondered if he even realized he’d done it.
“He did?”
Nate waited as Kole said something else. A funny, almost nervous look flashed across Nate’s face, but it was gone before she could be sure.
“Now?” he blinked a couple times. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Give me five to clean up and I’ll be there.”
Gracie eased herself off his lap, enjoying the groan he almost held in as their bodies separated. Nate narrowed his eyes at whatever Kole was saying now and responded with, “Keep laughing, asshole. Not like you and Sarah have any room to talk.”
Snickering as she walked past, Gracie yelped when Nate’s hand landed on her bare cheek. It didn’t really hurt, of course, which made her laugh even harder as she went back into the bedroom to change.
Donning a comfy pair of yoga pants and a sports bra and tank, Gracie found Nate by the door, lacing his boots. Her chest tightened.
Nate hadn’t been back out on an op since they’d brought her to the hospital. None of the guys had. According to Nate, Alpha Team was back, so Jake had given Bravo this time off, along with her.
She knew Nate would have to go back out into the field at some point, and she trusted every single guy on his team to protect him while they were gone. Still, Gracie worried.
With her heart in her throat, she did her best to sound casual when asking, “Do you know when you’ll be back?”
Nate finished tying the last boot and stood to grab his keys. “Half an hour. Hour tops.”
“Oh.” Yeah, no way could he miss the relief in her voice.
With a lopsided grin, he walked over and rested his hands on her hips. “I’m just meeting Kole for something. Did you think we’d been called out for a job?”
Embarrassed, Gracie shrugged a shoulder. “I wasn’t sure.”
Nate pulled her to him so her breasts were pressing up against his chest. “Bravo isn’t officially available for another big job until Monday, so you don’t have to worry about that for a few days yet. But,” his brow furrowed. “I will get called out at some point. Is that something you’ll be able to handle?”
She realized he was asking if she could be with a man whose job took him away as his would.
Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his. “Of course I can. I mean, I’ll worry every minute until you get back, but I trust the guys to keep you safe. And I trust you.”
Relief filled his eyes. Taking her mouth in his, Nate gave her the sweetest, softest kiss. “I’ll worry about you, too, you know. But just remember, my one goal, aside from keeping my team safe, will always be to come back to you.”
“Good.” She smiled, knowing in her heart of hearts, he meant it. “Now, go,” she shooed him with her hands. “Take care of whatever you need to with Kole and I’ll cook us up some dinner while you’re gone.”
“Sounds good.”
He gave her a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose then her lips before heading out the door.
Gracie turned to head to the kitchen, and began an easy meal of spaghetti and meatballs. While the sauce was simmering and the meatballs were baking, she decided to go freshen up a bit before Nate got back home.
She started past the living room toward the hallway, but Nate’s closed computer caught the corner of her eye. She stopped.
He’d acted so strangely when she’d first come in to the room earlier. Almost as though he hadn’t wanted her to see what he’d been doing.
Gracie glanced at her watch. He’d been gone nearly forty-five minutes. She looked at the door and then back to the computer.
“I really shouldn’t,” she whispered to herself. It would be a major violation of his privacy. Still…
He’s hiding something from you.
Biting her lip, she waited two more seconds before giving in and rushing over to the couch. Sitting down, she took a deep breath and nervously opened the lap top and waited.
When the screen came back to life, Gracie was confused and hurt by what she saw.
Houses. Nate had been looking at a real estate site, and the last page he’d looked at was for a listing nearly an hour out of the city.
