Page 135 of Boyfriend of the Hour

I’d watched him do this several times at this point, and there was something about the way his big hands moved capably over the machine, pulling shots and pressing the beans, all to producesuch a delicate drink. This was why he was a surgeon, I realized. He approached everything with finesse.

My right breast tingled, remembering the exact feel of that deft touch. Even in his sleep.

“Which part are you sorry for?” I wondered as Nathan set a mug in front of me. He’d poured the design of a flower with the milk this morning. “The spontaneous fighting or the part where your brother compared me to antipasti?”

Nathan grimaced as he took a sip of his coffee. “You heard that.”

“I did.” I patted his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve definitely heard worse.”

That didn’t seem to help. He grabbed my hand and tugged lightly, as if to beckon for my attention. “I hate that you’ve been treated like that by anyone. My brother is an asshole.”

“Well, not totally,” I said with a grin. “His body has other parts too.”

The joke didn’t land. Nathan just released my hand and shook his head. “About this morning…if I did anything inappropriate…”

“You mean the part where you woke me up with full tongue?” I took a big sip of coffee, if only to hide the grin I couldn’t quite stifle at the thought of that kiss. Under the counter, I squeezed my legs together, grateful he couldn’t see.

Nathan just grimaced. “You were awake.”

“Kind of hard not to be when someone tries to maul you first thing in the morning.” I shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve also definitely?—”

“If you tell me again you’ve experienced worse behavior that way too, I honestly might hunt the perpetrator down today instead of going to work,” Nathan said without even looking at me.

There was no levity in his voice. Not even a hint of sarcasm.

I put my coffee down.

“Don’t do that,” I said just as solemnly. “I was making a bad joke.”

When he looked up, the intensity in his eyes made my whole body quiver in response.

“I don’t like those jokes,” he said quietly. “I don’t like jokes about anyone mistreating you. You don’t ever deserve to be hurt.”

Something in my chest tightened at his words, and I found it difficult to swallow. It was such a simple thing to say that no one should hurt me. You’d think I’d have heard it plenty of times, with a giant family who supposedly loved me and five siblings to watch my back.

But no one ever had. Not out loud. Not like that.

“Thank you,” I said just as quietly.

“You’re welcome.”

“And I…well, I was just trying to lighten the mood. The truth is, it wasn’t bad at all. Waking up with you, I mean. Or the kiss, even if it wasn’t me you were kissing, exactly. Whoever you were dreaming about…she’s a lucky woman.”

Nathan’s gaze met mine with such force, I almost fell off my stool. It was an expression I’d never seen before. Confusion, maybe. Mixed with something almost like grief.

He must really miss her, whoever she was.

The mystery women from years past.

His long-lost love.

For whatever reason, the idea suddenly felt unbearable.

I slid off my stool and picked up my drink. “Thank you for the coffee. I’m, um, going to get ready for the day.” To do what, I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t working until tomorrow.

“Wait.”

I turned. Nathan was still staring hard at me, but he shook his head and rubbed the spot between his eyebrows.