Page 80 of Want You

When he slipped between the sheets, Octavia was the one who did the curling, wrapping her arm around his chest and nuzzling into him, releasing a contented hum when her leg slipped over his.

“Can I be honest?” she murmured.

“Always.”

Her fingers tapped across his pec a few times before she spoke. “I like Scottie.”

Nathan’s heart stopped and he held his breath as the taps of her fingers switched to grazes.

“Breathe, love.” She chuckled. “But there are things about him that I didn’t know. Things I wouldn’t have liked.”

“There are things about me you didn’t think you liked,” he countered.

“True…But I was immediately physically attracted to you. Even though my brain was like, ew, a hockey player.”

“I did get the looks,” he joked.

“Scottie is very attractive, don’t get cocky. He’s just…I don’t know…didn’t do it for me physically. That can always come later of course and obviously there was something about him that had me excited about meeting him. I’m looking forward to getting to know him better, but only as⁠—”

“A brother-in-law?” Nathan cut in.

Octavia pushed up on her elbow and glared down at him. “This better not be a proposal.”

He shook his head. “Nah, when I do that, you won’t question if that’s what’s happening. You’ll know.”

“Good. I expect quite a show, Mr. Albertson,” she said, lowering herself back down.

Nathan had everything planned already and there was nothing showy about it. He’d be doing it at their cottage. Maybe at the end of the summer or during the next All-Star break. It was all highly dependent on where they were in their relationship. He’d marry her tomorrow if she expressed interest. But with her career in limbo and her focus on taking on hockey culture, he wanted her to be able to focus on that and not whether it was too soon to be taking the next step.

“I don’t, for the record,” she whispered.

“Hmm?” Nathan hummed into her hair.

“Expect a show.”

He chuckled quietly, his arm tightening around her shoulders and tipping her body more into his. “I know, Autumn girl. But you’ll still know when I do it.”

No verbal response came but she did nuzzle more into him, and he imagined there was a happy little smile playing on her lips.

CHAPTER 40

OCTAVIA

Switching legal specialties was proving to be a lot of work, but for the first time since she passed the bar, Octavia was excited about her chosen career.

She was buried in textbooks and cases and hadn’t seen Nathan in four days, but as she walked into the arena next to her nephew and mother, she felt lighter than she had in months.

After planning a big dinner for the previous week, Flora and Tyler had been taken down by a cold followed a couple days later by Scottie. So despite Flora being stuck at work, Octavia and her family were attending Nathan’s game and they’d all go out for a quick bite after.

Scottie stood slowly when they walked into the family room, gesturing to the two women next to him to follow.

“Mom, Em, this is Octavia and I’m guessing her mom and”—he looked down at Tyler—“I’m guessing the Lego-obsessed nephew, Tyler.” He tapped Tyler’s Toronto Wolves Lego hat.

“Yep!” Tyler chirped.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Octavia said, barely getting the words out before both women enveloped her in a hug.

“Sorry, we’re big huggers in this family,” Nathan’s mom confessed, stepping back. “God you’re stunning,” she marvelled and Octavia felt her face heat.