Page 33 of About That Rule

“Sounds good,” Charlotte told her. “And I better hear about the man too. Trust me when I say secrets just make a mess. If you like him, bring him around.”

Samantha was nonchalant in her response because Nate was already around. It was already messy. On a positive note, at least she had an outfit to wear.

THE FOREIGN CINEMAwas somewhere Nate had always wanted to check out. Reviews on the place had been phenomenal, from the food to the atmosphere to the overall experience. They even had a “Foreign Cinema Day,” which had to mean something.

When he arrived at the restaurant, he waited for Samantha outside. There was chatter floating through the waiting area with the light noise of the movie playing in the background.

He fidgeted with the hem of his gray V-neck shirt, a bit nervous about seeing her again. His ego had taken a punch when she’d stopped them from going any further the other night. It wasn’t that he blamed her, it was that, once again, he hadn’t been thinking about how having sex would jeopardize their relationship. What did hurt, though, was her declaration she didn’t want to be another notch on his belt because they were destined to fail. It was like everyone, even Sammy, believed commitment was not an option for him.

Well, fuck. For a long time, he’d agreed with the sentiment.

Things changed.

Maybe they had been for a while.

A group of women walked by him, and one stopped.

“Why are you all alone?” the blonde asked, shooing her friends for them to go inside.

If this had been any other time, he had to admit he would have been more than welcoming of her attention. He used to not even care about personality. She was blonde, had a nice rack, and was interested.

Now, though, he wanted to end the conversation ASAP. It was wrong to flirt with someone else, at least in his mind.

He gave a small smile. “Just waiting for someone.”

That didn’t deter the woman. “Anyone special?”

“I’d think so.” Nate glanced at his watch. Samantha was officially late. “It’s my wife.”

“How long have you been married?”

What in the fuck was this? He was married, why was she still pushing for more? It wasn’t like they were going to become friends.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Samantha wrapped her arm around his waist as she joined him.

He looked at her, hoping to everything holy she understood this wasn’t him picking someone up. In an instant, she gave him a reassuring smile that all was well.

“Who’s your friend?” Samantha asked, her voice not as sweet.

Nate kissed the top of her head, playing up the husband-and-wife act. “Not sure. She asked who I was waiting for and now you’re here.”

Finally, the woman took a hint and left, not bothering to introduce herself.

When they were alone, Samantha let out her laugh. “Lesson learned. I can’t be late or my husband will get hit on by another woman.”

He grinned. “If it counts, I learned that same lesson about you earlier in the week.”

“Ah, yes, when you went all caveman on me.”

Desperately, he wanted to remind her how much she’d enjoyed the way they’d kissed and made-up afterward but decided against it. It seemed like every other hang out had been filled with tension, and he needed some fun Sammy time.

“Nate.” The hostess came out to them. “Your table is ready.”

Samantha was giddy, hopping after the hostess to their table outside. Her excitement was contagious. He loved how animated she got, even over the small details like the hanging lights. Each day that passed, Nate was becoming more and more addicted to her.

“HOW HAVE WE never eaten here before?” Samantha asked as she stuffed, as elegantly as possible, another bite of the Pavlova dessert into her mouth. “Seriously?”

He grabbed his fork to swipe some of the peach sorbet off her plate before she ate it all. “I have no idea, but we’ll definitely be coming back.”