Page 64 of About That Rule

CHAPTER25

SAMANTHA STRETCHED INbed the next morning. When she rolled to snag a look at her husband, she smiled. After all these years—thirty, to be exact—she found love in her best friend. And in their pure spontaneous manner, they’d jumped in feet first and gotten married. Okay, so maybe that part was a bit blurry, but it worked for them.

“Why are you staring at me? We should be sleeping,” Nate grumbled next to her, pulling the comforter over his head.

“Well, checkout is in an hour. Let’s go grab something to eat before you go back to New York and I head home. I mean, it seems like we have a lot to figure out about schedules, where we’re going to live with you staying on two coasts, how to pay bills, you know—all the married stuff.”

He sat up, his hair in complete disarray. He looked at the digital clock then lay back down. “I already paid for late checkout. We have a few more hours. When is your flight?”

Not for another six hours. She snuggled back in bed with him. “I think I can make that work. But we do need to hash out everything else.”

“Give me one more hour,” he muttered before falling back asleep.

Samantha wasn’t one of those people who could wake up then go back to sleep, but she wasn’t getting out of bed. Not yet. She had no idea what their schedule was going to look like, so she stayed put in his arms.

He groaned, sitting up. “It’s like I can feel you thinking. Let’s get room service and talk through it.”

She gave him a quick kiss before getting out of bed. “I want as many breakfast carbs as possible.”

“Why are you getting out of bed?”

“To brush my teeth and put on a robe. Unless you want whoever delivers our food to see me naked,” she retorted.

He grumbled something she couldn’t hear.

“What was that?”

“I said put the damn robe on,” he said, speaking louder.

By the time she got done her morning routine, Nate was in the bathroom ready to start his. She forgot his timing was all off from going from the east coast to the west coast. He had told her before it’s once he went to bed and woke up the next day that things were off.

“Did you order breakfast already? I can handle if you want,” she suggested. “I’m sure you need some coffee.”

He spit out his toothpaste before answering. “Already ordered. I got you pancakes and waffles with a side of bacon.”

“You’re amazing.”

He chuckled. “I got myself eggs and a pitcher of coffee.”

“Gross, not one carb. Don’t think I’m sharing,” she teased.

He lifted an eyebrow. “I think I have my own ways to convince you to share with me.”

“Hmmm, we shall see.”

Just when she was about to drop her robe, there was a knock on the door. Damn, room service.

Nate, also in a robe, quickly grabbed some money off the dresser and went to the door. He thanked the person who delivered their food and gave them the cash. Once the person left, he pulled the tray in. She couldn’t wait to demolish the pancakes. She could smell the syrup from the bathroom.

They got comfortable in bed, ready to eat and discuss the matrix that would become their married life.

“Where are we going to live, in California? You mentioned you bought the house, which is amazing, but what’s the timeline for you to move?” Samantha asked before stuffing her mouth with a pancake.

Nate sipped his hot coffee. “I want to transition back home, but it will probably still take six to eight months. Long-term, we’ll reside in California. We can move into our new home once we close and some of the base remodeling is done. The house has to be livable. Short-term, we’ll have to continue visiting each other.”

She pouted. Now that she had the happily-ever-after, she wanted a schedule that allowed her to wake up to Nate every morning.

“It’s short-term,” he said, giving her hand a kiss. “I know it isn’t ideal, but when I come to visit, I’ll make sure it’s when I can stay for a week at a time. I know you have your work that requires you to be in the office, but maybe there can be some flexibility?”