Page 24 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

DAPHNE

W hat the fuck? When I walked into the cabin and saw Nathan up close and personal with that gorgeous blonde, I was fighting my internal rage demon so hard.

It took everything in me to stay cool and not freak the fuck out.

But why was I so upset? I’ll tell you why…

because clearly, I have feelings for this man that I didn’t expect to have.

I had no business being jealous. We weren’t together.

He made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want anything serious with me.

This was just sex, and I thought I was okay with that.

Was I okay with that?

I thought I was, but when I walked in and saw them together, my chest hurt.

I was so disappointed when I thought for that initial moment that they were in an intimate embrace.

Sure, he was charismatic and handsome and funny, but neither of us was in a position to start a new relationship.

Courtney obviously wasn’t done with him, though it seemed like he was done with her.

I definitely couldn’t risk more with him, especially now.

What if he changed his mind? What if she kept coming back, and they decided to work things out?

That’s why I couldn’t get involved more than I already was.

I had to protect my heart, and I had no business acting like a jealous girlfriend.

I wasn’t his girlfriend—I was a fun post-engagement hookup to him, right?

Whatever it was between us, I had to keep my shit together.

The last thing he needed was another stage five clinger like his ex.

I would have to play the cool girl even though inside, I was freaking out.

I took another sip of my bourbon and winced.

Why was I drinking bourbon at 8:00 a.m.?

I hadn’t even had my coffee yet. Welp, I guess that’s how this day was going to go.

“You okay?” Nathan asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m good.” I raised my glass in his direction. “Cheers?” I shrugged and gave him a lopsided grin.

“Ha, yeah, cheers.” He laughed, “I guess day drinking is in order.” Nathan took a long pull from his glass and leaned against the island. “So, what did you have planned today?”

“Me? Oh, you know, the usual. Scrolling social media, reading, and apparently drinking is now on the agenda.” My eyes widened as I took another sip.

“I thought maybe we’d go into town today, but I think that’s off the table in case Courtney is still lingering around. You okay with staying in? We could watch movies or play board games? Order delivery later?” He looked so excited by the mere thought of staying in and hanging out, playing games.

Gah, why was he so damn cute?

“Sounds good to me, but I think we need actual food first, or this is going to be a very short day for me. I’m a lightweight.” I went to the fridge to gather supplies. “How do you feel about pancakes?”

“Love them, actually.” Nathan sat at the island while I got to work on breakfast and coffee because even if we were day drinking, I needed caffeine.

“So today was supposed to be the wedding,” I started. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand, but how are you okay? I’d think it would be a hard day for you.”

“I honestly thought it would be too when I first got here, but looking back at our relationship and the breakup, I think things were over before she cheated. The wedding planning masked a lot of our issues, and when she cheated, it was the last straw for me. And it may sound corny, but I think your being here has a lot to do with my being okay today. I’ve really enjoyed spending this time with you, and not just because the sex is out of this world. ” He winked.

My cheeks flamed. Sex with Nathan was out of this world, but he was right; that wasn’t all. We had connected on a deeper level, and we’ve had nothing but fun and easy conversations since we met. “Yeah, the sex is pretty good, but I know what you mean.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Pretty good, huh? I’ll remember that.” He winked again and then looked at his phone, which was vibrating on the island. “I gotta take this. Be right back,” he said and then stood and strode into his room.

I continued making breakfast—pancakes with fresh fruit and bacon on the side.

It looked and smelled so good, but Nathan wasn’t back yet, and I didn’t want to start without him.

I went to his room, where his door was cracked open.

“I promise I’m okay, Dad. You don’t have to worry about me.

” I heard Nathan say from the other side of the door.

“Listen, I gotta go, but I promise I’ll stop by after my trip and we’ll catch up. ”

I realized he was finishing up his call, so I quickly made my way back to the kitchen and waited for him to reemerge. He came walking back moments later. “It smells so good, Daphne. Thanks for making breakfast.”

“No problem. It’s ready if you want to go sit at the table.” I gathered up our plates and brought them to the dining table, where I had already set our coffees and condiments.

“Everything okay?” I asked, nodding toward his phone that was still in his hand.

“Oh yeah,” he said, putting his phone face down on the table. “It was my dad checking in to make sure I was okay today.”

“Are you close to your dad?” I asked as I dug into my pancakes.

“Yeah, I am. We’ve always been close, but we got closer when my mom got sick.

I was there a lot to help out while my brothers handled things at the shop.

My dad took a big step back from the business when Mom got sick.

She was the love of his life, and losing her tore him apart.

He stopped going into the shop, and my brothers stepped in to take over the day-to-day stuff right after she died.

And since he’s not been occupied with work, my brothers and I try to spend as much time with him as possible. ”

“My God, I can’t imagine going through that, either as a child or as a partner.

That must have been so hard on all of you, but I’m glad he has you and your brothers.

” Shit, I was trying to be the fun girl and keep things light today, but this conversation was getting heavy.

Both of my parents were alive and well, still as in love as the day they got married.

I couldn’t imagine losing either of them or what it would be like to lose the love of my life if I ever found him.

I must have been staring off into space, deep in thought, because when Nathan cleared his throat, I jumped.

“Shit, sorry, I was a little lost in thought there.”

“It’s okay. Sorry things got heavy there.”

“No, it’s totally okay. I asked because I wanted to know more about you and your family. It seems like you all have pretty great relationships. But I am so sorry about your mom.” I gave him a small smile and reached my hand out to cover his.

He smiled back at me. “Thank you. That really means a lot. Seriously, I’m glad you’re here, Daphne.”

The rest of breakfast passed in quiet comfort. We talked more about his family and made small talk. After we finished breakfast and our first glass of bourbon, I decided to shower and have another cup of coffee to wake up, so I retreated to my room.

When I came back out of my room, Nathan had moved into the living room and had blankets and pillows spread out in front of the fire. On the blankets, he had set up a board game, and as I got closer, I started laughing.

“Operation? You’re not serious!” Of all the games to find in this cabin, he chose Operation.

“You’re a nurse, right? This is right up your alley,” he laughed.

“First of all, I’m not that kind of nurse. And second, technically surgeons perform the actual operations.” I rolled my eyes and pretended to be annoyed.

“Tomato, tomaatto,” he exaggerated with a wink.

Damn this man and his ability to make me laugh.

I made myself comfortable on the blankets and propped myself up on some pillows.

Nathan handed me a glass. Okay, I guess he was serious about day drinking.

We clinked them together. “Cheers! And may the best man win,” he said smugly.

“We’ll see about that,” I said as I grabbed the tweezers to start my turn. Bzzzzzzz. Fuck.

“Drink.” Nathan motioned to the glass I had set down.

“Oh, no fucking way. I agreed to drink with you. I didn’t agree to make this into a drinking game. I’ll freaking die,” I huffed.

“Come on, Daphne, live a little,” Nathan coaxed.

“Fine, but I’m telling you now, you won’t like me when I’m praying to the porcelain god and you have to hold my hair back.” I tipped back my glass and took a small sip. “ Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ll like you much either, then.”

Nathan laughed, and it was a laugh that seemed to come from his very soul. It was a laugh I very much wanted to hear more often. Okay, so maybe this was a good idea. I made it my mission to keep winning and keep my sips small. This was going to be fun.