Page 34 of Let’s Be Real

His eyes narrowed. “What do you think he would do?”

“Probably make his own toast. Say something like how hard it must have been for Kelly to grow up in my shadow, but at least she finally found someone who could see the beauty buried deep, deep below the surface.”

Nate sputtered before dropping his head to my shoulder. “That doesn’t sound like him. It’s not mean enough.”

“You got me there, buddy. He’d be much ruder. It would cause an international incident.”

“International, huh?”

My mouth curled at the edges. “His ability to be rude knows no borders.”

He glanced up, his soft brown eyes darting between mine, looking for something and seeming to find it. “You’re okay,” he said, like he couldn’t quite believe it.

With a sigh, I agreed. “I’m okay.”

If he hadn’t been with me, I wasn’t sure my answer would have been the same, but he was. Steady and calm. Stalwart in his presence. Making me smile and feel not so crappy.

And man, I still really wanted to kiss him.

Chapter Thirteen

Nate

We got through the rest of dinner without any more shots lobbed in Samantha’s direction. If there had been, I couldn’t have said with any certainty I wouldn’t have taken a page from Adrian’s book and told her family exactly what I thought of them.

For all their money and concern over their image, they were inconceivably tacky. Most of the people in that room knew full well Samantha was a Blackwell. They saw her seated far from the rest of her family and had heard her father drone on about his dream daughter. It was a public slap in the face and didn’t make any of them look good.

These days, it took a lot to upset me, but I was fairly furious by the time we were headed toward Kelly and Josh to bid them a good night.

Samantha hugged her sister, while Kelly’s hands barely touched her back. Josh, though, he took his time, wrapping her up good and tight. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have missed Kelly twitching and her hands balling at her sides.

“I can’t wait to see you in your dress tomorrow,” Samantha said. “The weather is supposed to be perfect.”

Kelly sniffed. “Don’t jinx us.”

I curled my hand around Samantha’s waist. “They say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day, so either way it goes, you’ll be lucky.”

That was when Kelly decided to smile. At me. A man she did not know.

“It was so nice of you to come all this way,” she simpered.

“Of course.” I dropped a kiss on Samantha’s cheek. “Anything for this one.”

“Aren’t you cute?” Kelly hummed then swung her gaze to Samantha. “You’ll have to tell me how you landed him. The guys you’ve dated in the past have left something to be desired.”

Josh chuckled, slinging his arm around her shoulders. He put so much weight on her she stumbled, making him laugh harder.

“Oops. Sorry, baby. I don’t know my own strength sometimes,” he slurred into her hair.

Kelly patted his hand and gingerly removed his arm. “That’s okay, sweetheart. Maybe let’s take it easy on the drinking, though.”

The look he gave her was sharp enough to cut glass. He muttered something about her not being the boss of him then stomped off, and Kelly wasted no time chasing after him.

Samantha turned to me, her eyes wide. “Well…they seem great together.”

I snorted, steering her toward the exit. “I think we win.”

She leaned into me as we walked, her fingers tucked in my belt loop. “No competition at all.”