Page 19 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

NATHAN

T hose eyes. I could get lost in her eyes forever.

And that smile. I swear, every time she smiled at me, I felt it in my soul.

Did I ever feel this way about Courtney?

I don’t think so, which is crazy, considering I was going to marry her.

Sure, I loved her, or I thought I did, but there’s no way I felt this strong of a pull to her.

Things with Courtney had started great, of course.

Don’t they always? But as things progressed, I think she was more in love with the idea of being with me and my “fame” than she was actually in love with me.

Toward the end, it felt as if we were going through the motions, but I thought it was just a rough patch we would get through after the stress of the wedding had died down.

Things have a way of working themselves out though, and Courtney sealed our fate when she had a tryst with some B-list celebrity.

I was still hurt at the way it had gone down, but I wasn’t sad about losing Courtney anymore, and I think that was mostly thanks to Daphne.

She was a bright light in my world, and I was so very grateful that she stumbled into my life when she did.

Was she ready to explore a relationship with me?

Probably not, but I wouldn’t give up. I knew we had met for a reason, and I was determined to see where this could go, even if that meant pretending my feelings for her didn’t exist. For now.

We glanced at each other for only a moment before her eyes were drawn back to her book, but in that moment, I thought I felt a shift in her.

Was she softening to the idea of us? I guess time would tell, but until then, I needed to keep my cool.

She almost left this morning, and I couldn’t stand the idea of it.

The day passed in quiet comfort. It was nice having her sitting in the same room as me while I worked. My fingers flew across my keyboard, laying down the plot of what I had hoped would be our story and our happily ever after. At least through my writing, I knew we’d find our happily ever after.

From her spot on the couch, I heard Daphne yawn and looked up to see her stretching with a sigh. She rose from the sofa and started for the kitchen. “Hungry?” she asked as she reached the refrigerator.

“Yeah, I could eat,” I said with a wink and a grin.

That earned me a raised eyebrow. “Behave, I mean actual food,” Daphne shot back while rummaging through our provisions .

“It’s kind of late for lunch. How about an early dinner? I can order a pizza from that place in town, or we can go out?” I suggested.

Daphne shrugged. “No offense, but I think we should stay in or at least not be seen in town anymore together.” She laughed. “You may be used to living in the spotlight, but I am definitely not.”

“That’s fair, so takeout then? I can go pick it up and I’ll grab a few more things from the store to get us through the next couple of days,” I offered.

“Okay, that sounds good. What are you in the mood for?” Daphne asked.

“You,” I said with a wink. I was only half joking, “but I saw some menus in the drawer by the fridge. Why don’t you see what our options are while I get changed?” She shook her head but then went to dig through the drawer with the menus while I made my way to my room.

When I returned to the kitchen, Daphne was bent over the island, facing away from me with her chin resting on her hands as she scanned the menus spread out before her.

I wish she were spread out before me, I thought.

I walked up behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back because, of course, I couldn’t help myself, making her jump.

“Shit, oh my God, you scared the shit out of me,” she said breathlessly, clutching her chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I swear.” I motioned, crossing my heart, and vowed to remember this for the future. She was cute when she was spooked and breathless. “Find anything good?”

“Yeah, pizza is fine with me. When you mentioned it before, it sounded good, but I wanted to see what my options were. If I’m being honest, I could eat pizza every day.

It’s actually one of my favorite foods,” she mentioned as she walked over to her bag that was slung across a dining table chair.

She pulled out her wallet and started looking through it. “Here, let me get the pizza.”

“Nope, I got it,” I countered as I pulled on my jacket to leave.

“Listen, Nathan. You got lunch yesterday and groceries, and I still owe you for letting me crash in your rental. You’ve got to let me contribute somehow,” she said as she tried to shove a fistful of money at me.

“Fine,” I acquiesced, taking her money. “What toppings do you want? But I swear if you say any fruits, you’re getting your own pizza.”

Daphne pretended to be insulted and put a hand to her chest. “Excuse me, sir, but do I strike you as some sort of pizza heretic?” We laughed, and then she went on, “I’m pretty easygoing when it comes to pizza.

No mushrooms or fruit, and I’ll be good.

But if you don’t bring me crushed red peppers, you’ll be dead to me. ”

“The only wrong answer there was pineapple, Daphne. I’m relieved to know you aren’t a total psycho,” I joked and walked toward the door.

“Wait,” I stopped and walked back to her, “let me put my number in your phone and then you can text me a list of what you need from the store while I’m out.

” Was this my sneaky way of getting her digits?

Perhaps, but clearly, I wasn’t above playing dirty.

Surprisingly, she handed her phone to me, and I entered my number and then sent myself a text, so I had her number too.

I handed her phone back. “Okay, I’ll be back.

Text me a list.” She smiled, nodded her agreement, and gave a small wave as I was closing the front door.