Page 21 of Let’s Be Real

My heart stopped, but I still managed to smile. “Of course. What a bummer that would have been if we’d been in the wrong room.”

Nate pressed on my back. “It was nice seeing you, Peter. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunity to speak more, but I’m going to take Samantha up to our room now.”

Clasping my hand in his, Nate guided me away from my dad to the elevator. A few other guests joined, so I couldn’t explain what was happening.

As the elevator rose, so did my heart rate. Nate slowly stroked my hand with his thumb, warm and gentle, giving me the slightest sense of calm. By the time we’d reached our floor, I’d bitten my bottom lip to a pulp.

At our door, Nate took the key card from my hand and unlocked it. He held the door for me, and I trudged inside, my stomach a wreck. Guilt swamped me, dampening my armpits and giving my eye a weird twitch.

“There’s only one bed,” I blurted out.

He stood in the center of the room, scanning. Since he hadn’t let go of me, I was right beside him, looking only at him.

He didn’t look angry. If anything, his face was as neutral as always. And his thumb—that sweet, baby angel thumb—was still steadily stroking along my skin.

“It’s a big bed,” he said calmly. “I think we’ll survive.”

“I doubt it. You don’t sleep well, and I sleep like a maniac.”

He sputtered a laugh. “What does that mean?”

I put myself in front of him. “It means you’ll be lucky if you don’t wind up with my elbow in your mouth.”

“Hmmm.” He glanced at the bed again. “Like you said, I don’t sleep. If your elbow comes near my mouth, I’ll be able to block it.” He gave my hand a final squeeze before letting go. “We’ll survive, Samantha. I’m not worried.”

“But, Nate”—I pushed on his chest— “not only do I flail, I cling. I might snuggle you.”

His eyes widened, and he raised his hands. “Oh no. That’s the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard. I think I better get going.”

He turned toward the door, but before he could take a step, I grabbed his sleeve and tugged him back around. To my surprise, he was laughing.

At me, but still.

A win was a win.

He cupped my shoulders, the warmth of his broad hands seeping through my thin T-shirt. “Relax, Samantha. I don’t care about the bed. It’s three nights. If I accidentally get snuggled or elbowed, I’ll live. It’s not anything to get worked up over. Truly.”

I blew out a heavy breath, letting my chin fall to my chest. Something about Nate’s voice unwound the knot in my gut and eased the tension I hadn’t known I’d been holding in my shoulders. It was almost instant. There and gone with the rhythm of his reassurance.

He’d told me to relax…and I did.

“I know. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have,” I admitted. “It’s just…being here, near them, I revert to this insecure person I barely recognize.”

“I don’t think I got it until I met your dad,” he said gently.

“He was thrilled to meet you.”

When I’d introduced them, and he’d recognized Nate’s name, his eyes had lit in a way they never had toward me. Once he was speaking to Nate Wells of the esteemed Wells family, I might as well have not been there.

It hurt in the same way as getting pricked by a pin. Sharp and immediate but not fatal. The thing was, though, after the thousandth or hundred-thousandth prick, there was no telling where one began and the next one ended.

“He doesn’t know me,” Nate said. “It means nothing at all. You get that, right?”

“Sure.” I took in a deep breath and set it all aside, plastering on a grin. “Now that we’ve gotten through the first disaster of the weekend, do you want to check out the rest of the resort?”

He looked me over for a long moment. If he wasn’t convinced by my smile, he didn’t let on.

“Lead the way. I’m all yours.”