Page 207 of Boyfriend of the Hour

“One day,” he agreed as we continued up the steps.

I couldn’t find it in myself to argue. I didn’t want to. Not even a little.

A few minutes later,we entered another set of double doors on the second floor that opened into a suite that was larger than Nathan’s entire apartment in New York.

“This was my room,” he said as I followed him inside. “Where we’ll be staying.”

I looked around. The entire space was littered with memorabilia connected to Nathan, an entire life he had lived before coming to New York and striking out on his own. Baseball memorabilia. 4-H ribbons. A tower of CDs in one corner, alongwith an outdated computer setup. Several bookshelves were built into another corner, filled with well-used books of all genres.

And this was just a living room.

Through another door was a bedroom, plus an en suite bathroom with marbled floors and a mostly empty walk-in closet. The bedroom was neatly made up with more antique furniture and tasteful textiles of blue and white, which matched the rest of the house but were obviously chosen for a boy.

The crown prince, as it were.

“Your mother won’t pitch another fit about us staying together?” I wondered.

Nathan shrugged. “Probably, but it will go the same as the last one. I meant every word I said. And I can be very stubborn.”

I walked around the entire room, taking in little things like photographs, trophies, and anything else that seemed to belong to him outside of the taste of his mother or an interior designer. Eventually I stopped at the window looking out toward the horse stables I knew Nathan loved so much but never got to see. Nathan came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, tucking his head on my shoulder.

Since we had come back from Paris, he had become that much more affectionate. Even voracious. It was like a dam had been broken, and now he couldn’t stop touching me, no matter what.

I wasn’t arguing with it. I craved the feel of his skin on mine just as much as he did. For two months, I had been suffering from Nathan withdrawals like any reasonable addict. Or maybe it was just that I had come to need this man as much as I needed things like air, water, and food. Somehow, in the last few months, he had become as essential to my life as anything else.

Maybe I didn’t completely understandwhyhe loved me so much that he was willing to take on his entire family to keep me around.

But I understood how it felt. I would do the same thing in a heartbeat.

“How’s your knee feeling?” Nathan wondered before pressing a kiss to my neck. “The flight didn’t bother it, did it? Often, atmospheric pressure can cause joint swelling.”

I leaned back into him, half lost again in his touch. “Not at all. It’s actually been feeling pretty good. You weren’t kidding about the quick recovery.” Then I turned around in his arms. “Why? Are you interested in getting a little ‘exercise’?”

Nathan frowned. “Exercise?”

I moved my eyebrows up and down a few times like a silly cartoon character.

He stared blankly for a moment before awareness dawned across his face. “Oh!”

Socute. Enough that I had to kiss him right there.

A few moments later, he pulled away, though not without lipstick smeared on his cheek.

“Damn,” he muttered. “As much as I would like to do that right now, there is somewhere else I’d like to go today before dinner.”

“Where’s that?” I asked, though I was already starting to unbutton his shirt.

His hands stilled mine. And any idea of getting busy flew out of my mind when I caught his grim expression.

“You look like you’re expecting a war,” I said.

He ground his teeth. “I suppose I am. But before we start the next battle, you’ll want to know what we’re fighting for.” He squeezed me closer. “I’d like you to meet Isla.”

FORTY-THREE

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF ISLA

#1 Shes so much like Nathan