“Oh, by the way, Nikki,” Dad adds, “I moved your stuff out of Camp Bennet. Nate’s going to need it.”
I look between the two men, confused. “For what?”
“For him to sleep in,” Dad says.
For some reason, the mention of Nate sleeping has my face on fire again.
“Dad,I’msleeping there. Because Cara has my room, remember?”
“Honey, the house is full up. You can share with Cara or find somewhere else. But we couldn’t have Nate stay in a hotel for the next ten days.”
The next ten days?
Fighting through the fog of my hangover and my not-yet-fully-
awake brain, it finally clicks.
“He’s staying until thewedding?” I turn to Nate. “You’re staying until the wedding?”
Nate shrugs and smiles. “Your parents mentioned needing some help to prep the house and yard. I guess that gazebo needs some work. Said I was happy to help.”
“Happy to help?” I repeat, my voice coming out squeakier than intended. I notice Nate’s smile brings out his dimples. I shake my head, trying to make sense of this.
Mom joins us before Nate or Dad can respond to my distress. Despiteherpossible hangover, she’s looking as Diane Lane chic as ever in her pressed white shirt and pleated khaki slacks.
“Mr. Lancolm is heading back home tonight,” she says, giving me a warning look, “but your father’s right: Nate and Cara will stay with us until the wedding. There’s just so much to do!”
“There wouldn’t be if you hadn’t insisted on this crash wedding…” I mumble to myself.
“Nate has graciously offered to lend his carpentry skills to some repairs around the house before the big day,” Mom continues. “Starting with the gazebo.”
“Like I said,” Nate says easily. “I’m happy to—”
“Help. Yeah. Got that,” I say.
My parents drift over to where Cooper is standing with Cara and her dad a little ways away, under the shade of a large oak. Linney gestures to me that she’s going to take the kids to the porta-potties, and I give her a grimace.Good luck.
For a moment, there’s just silence.
Well, silence, and a group of clowns buzzing out “When the Saints Go Marching In” on the kazoo.
I turn to Nate.
“So… you’re staying here?” I feel like I have to say it out loud again to make sure my brain isn’t just misfiring from all the other chaos of the past day and a half.
He nods. “Looks like it.”
He nudges my shoulder with his, and I feel a zing ofsomethingdown my arm. I wonder if Nate feels it, too, because suddenly, he’s looking at me intently.
“Hey, um… about last night,” he starts. “And the… handshake.”
“The handshake,” I repeat, remembering exactly what he’s talking about. Not just a silly handshake. Also falling into the lake together. The kiss. Our limbs intertwined under the water. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit how good it felt—to just let go. Have a little fun.
But in the sober light of day, I can’t forget who he is. Cara Lancolm’s brother. And not even remotely the kind of person I would normally date. It would never work between us. We’re way too different. I’m polished and ambitious, he’s a goofy mess. I live in LA, he lives in Alabama.
I need to make it clear what happened last night can’t happen again. Because it’s a simple, undeniable fact. This could never turn into anything other than a massive embarrassment. I’m already worried about the unwanted attention that could come from the press catching wind of Cara and Cooper’s relationship, fully aware that the blowback will likely hitmeharder than either of them. How they’ve even managed to keep each other a secret this long is already astounding—though I have to remember that Cara knows how to keep relationships secret when she wants to.
And if there was something betweenme and Nate, Lord knows what the media would make of it. I can’t risk unraveling my life allover again. And certainly not for someone who is just on a totally different life track than I am—if he’s even on one at all.
