Page 52 of About That Rule

“So has he.”

Samantha wouldn’t survive a police interrogation. She was sweating from all of Charlotte’s questioning.

“You two are seriously just friends?” Charlotte asked again.

“Yes.” She was exasperated. “Nate’s always been one of my best friends.”

There was a brief silence, and Samantha didn’t know whether Charlotte not talking was good or bad.

“I was getting on your case to make sure because…” There was the dreaded pause again.

Samantha could tell by her friend’s tone she was hiding something from her. “Because what?”

“Because Nate called me yesterday and asked for my friend Simya’s number. I gave it to him, not really thinking twice about it since Simya, like most of my girlfriends, has always had a thing for Nate. But with you two spending so much more time together, I want to make sure it’s okay—that I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes.” Charlotte’s bad cop routine had been dropped. Now, she was being soft and sensitive.

There was no way in hell Samantha was going to get upset—especially not with Charlotte. This was a conversation for her and Nate, no one else. But if she were honest with herself, it hurt. Nate was acting quick to ask for someone else’s number. They weren’t even at the courthouse to annul the marriage yet.

“It’s fine,” Samantha reassured her. “We both know how Nate is.”

Speaking of the man, Nate walked into his apartment, shutting the door and smiling at her. He put his hand to his ear like he was one the phone, asking her who she was talking to. She mouthed, “Charlotte,” then quickly got off the phone.

It was time for them to have a talk.

“WHAT DOES ‘WE both know how Nate is’ imply?” Nate questioned while he got comfortable on the couch. He had a suspicion this response was going to lead to a longer discussion, and after his workday, he didn’t want to stand anymore.

Instead of sitting beside him, Samantha sat in the chair across from him. This wasn’t a good sign. He was in the hot seat and had no idea what he’d done wrong.

Samantha crossed her arms. Oh yeah, this definitely wasn’t looking good for him. Under the stink eye she was shooting at him, he was nervous. Nervous with no idea what crime he’d committed to turn her against him.

“Are we seeing other people?” Samantha finally broke the dooming silence.

He tilted his head. Where the hell was this conversation going? “No. Not only was it one of our rules, but I thought with everything that’s transpired between us lately, it was just known we weren’t seeing people.”

“Uh huh.” She didn’t sound like she believed him, which was bullshit.

This whole conversation was irking him. Was she implying she wanted to see other people? That wasn’t happening. He took a deep breath so he didn’t lose his shit. “Why? Did you want to see other people?”

“No, I don’t want to see other people!” she snapped.

He stared at her. “Then why are you gossiping with Charlotte about how you both know how I am? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Let alone in correlation to us seeing other people.”

“Because I was talking to Charlotte and she was pushing for me to tell her why I was visiting you so much.”

He cracked a smile. “Aren’t newlyweds supposed to be in the honeymoon phase where they can’t keep their hands off each other? Why does she have all this time to be so worried about us and your recent travel?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know about the honeymoon phase, now would I?”

She stood up and started pacing. This was not how she operated. Nate had no idea what was making her so jumpy.

“I thought we were going through a honeymoon phase, at least recently. Am I wrong on that?” Nate treaded lightly. He still had no idea what was wrong.

It was the truth about the honeymoon phase, though.

It was like the moment they’d finally indulged in sex, the world had gotten a little brighter. She was all he could think about, all he wanted. Most days, it was like she was all he needed. Having her question this was taking a step backward.

“Why did you ask for Simya’s number?” she asked, pointblank.

“Simya, who lives in New York? I asked for her number because when we spoke at the wedding, she asked me for help with renovations. I don’t have capacity for it right now, but I wanted to follow-up with her with my friend’s contact information so he can help.”