Page 236 of Boyfriend of the Hour

“But…but….” I sounded like a broken speedboat. “But what about your family? What about Isla?”

For the first time in days, I finally received a smile. The one that warmed me to the core.

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Nathan said. He shook his head, as if embarrassed. It was adorable. “I forgot. I never forget things.”

I tugged on the pockets of his jacket—the one from the hotel gift shop with Atlantic City splashed in bright pink lettering over a casino table. He made it look like couture. “Tell me.”

“You should have told me you were going to meet with the de Vrieses. I would have gone with you.” Nathan shook his head. “I’m ashamed I didn’t think of the angle myself.”

I bit my lip. Holy crap. Had my planworked?

“I’m glad you didn’t,” I told him. “You’re not that manipulative. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”

One brow rose quizzically. “And you are?”

I swallowed and grinned. “Normally, no. But this was a desperate situation.”

“It certainly was.” Nathan gathered me close again and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I was so scared, Joni. So fucking scared I had lost you. When the doormen said you hadn’t come home, I thought I was losing my mind. But Carrick pulled some strings with the FBI. They found you take on a surveillance camera. By Shawn. Carrick had already gotten the invitation for the party, and we put the two together.”

A shadow passed over both of us at the mention of my now-dead ex-boyfriend.

My feelings about his death at our hands were…complicated. There was some guilt, yes. A lot of it. And some genuine fear that I might be going to hell for what I’d done.

But there was also remorse. Relief, yes. And grief, even, for the girl who had thought she had loved the man, even if that love was just a manipulation of his.

One day, I’d make sense of it all. Or maybe never.

“I still can’t believe Carrick found me,” I said. “Or even helped you find me too. I thought he hated me.”

“He doesn’t like you very much,” Nathan admitted. “But he said he respects you. And that we deserved a shot at freedom together even if his sorry carcass had to take the brunt. His words, not mine.” He chuffed against the crown of my head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Carrick say he respects anything, so that’s fairly impressive.”

I smiled weakly against Nathan’s chest. “So long as he leaves us alone, I’ll take it.”

He tipped my chin up so he could look at me again. “Your plan worked. At least, I think it was your plan. Apparently, the board received a call from Eric de Vries with a proposal for a major project between his company and Huntwell. It was, however, contingent on a member of the Huntwell board remaining in New York as a permanent liaison.” He tipped his head. “Apparently my father found it too lucrative to refuse. Even when I told him I wouldn’t sign the paperwork unless they transferred Isla’s guardianship to me.”

My eyes popped open. “And…did they?”

Nathan’s smile was like being enveloped in a hug. “They did. Once she finishes at Ferndale, she’ll move up to New York. I’m going to start looking for a house in Westchester when we get back.”

“Somewhere with horses,” I put in.

He nodded, that smile spreading into a grin. “And a dance studio.”

“And an…operating table?”

We both laughed.

“I think we can keep that at the hospital,” Nathan said, brown eyes twinkling through his lenses.

We got in the car, and I fiddled with the new phone Nathan had gotten me while he adjusted things like his seat back and the radio.

To my surprise, he didn’t immediately put on whatever station he wanted or connect it tohisphone for whatever he was in the mood for.

It was funny, but in the time we’d spent together, neither of us had really put on much in the way of music.

“What kind of music do you like?” he asked.

I blinked. “What?”