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Nathan fakes a gasp. “Your boss is entering a structure on his own property that he paid for? How riotous."
“Completely unacceptable,” I agree with a widening smile.
“Don’t you worry, miss. I’ll ruin his life in your honor.”
“Good.”
Scoffing again, Charlie scoots off the bed. “Yeah, you two like each other,” she mutters. Heat fills my cheeks, but cool as a cucumber, Nathan ignores her side comment.
“You ready?” he asks her.
“I just have to go get cash. Spencer said I could take sixty dollars.” She cockily pumps her brows at me, knowing she has me backed into a corner.
“Forty,” I offer, compromising.
“Fifty,” she sasses back.
“Could be zero.”
“Fine. Forty,” she grumbles, marching past Nathan like forty bucks is a disappointment. That’s two allowances for this week.
Nathan doesn’t follow Charlie out. He leans against the doorframe, one foot in two boats. He’s half in my room, half not. I don’t know why I have such strong nervous butterflies. I slept next to him. His underwear-sheathed dick and I are acquaintances. But I’m still not used to it when he stares at me like this. So intently. Like he’s trying to read my mind.
“You need something?” I ask.
“I’m sorry,” he says simply.
“There are worse things than being forced to live in a palace.” I roll my wrist and gesture to my temporary room.
“Oh, not about moving you in. I feel pretty good about that.” His weak chuckle is unenthusiastic. “I meant I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first to take Charlie shopping. It’s been a while since I’ve been around kids her age, and I should’ve respected you as her parent before offering. But her hopes are up now, so…”
“She can go. I trust you.”
His brows lift in surprise. “You do?”
“To protect my sister?” I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
“And what about you? Do you trust me to take care of you?”
I tuck my legs in, folding one ankle over the other. “Am I giving off the impression that I need protecting?”
He runs his finger over his bottom lip, a pensive look on his face. “One of my many character flaws is that I like to be needed.”
“I do need you,” I snap back. “I need you tonotuse this opportunity to spoil the shit out of my sister.”
“Why not?” he challenges. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I’m not exactly hurting for cash. You guys have been through too much for too long. You deserve to feel safe and spoiled every now and then instead of always looking up, wondering when the sky is going to fall. So, with your okay, I’m going to go buy Charlie some really expensive, unnecessary shit today.”
Stupid prince.I wish he’d go back to being a toad. He’s so much easier to resist when he’s a toad. “How unnecessary are we talking?”
“Unfathomably ridiculous. Like I know a dude who custom builds six-foot bubblegum machines.”
“Hm, if they have one in pink, that would be the perfect finishing touch for your office.”
He shifts his gaze up with a heavy sigh. “I actually forgot about that for a moment.”
I release a rich belly laugh, feeling genuinely happy. Maybe this can work for now. Nathan and I can find a way to be friends. Maybe this crush will become a silly thing of the past. “All right. Offer accepted. Spoil my baby sister. Thank you…for everything.”
He ducks his head in a humble nod. “One more thing,” he says, pulling a flat, square box from his back pocket. He takes three steps forward into the room and balances the box on my knee. “I said you both deserve to be spoiled.” He leans over and gently flicks my earlobe. “You never wear earrings, yet your ears are pierced. I just figured…” He shrugs.