Page 19 of Sight Unseen

I rolled my eyes, not sure fixing Nate’s phone would be on Jon’s list of priorities. I chastised my inner bitch as I made my way to their bedroom. Nate’s phone sat in the charger, green light blinking. I plucked it out and took a lingering look around.

It wasn’t a place I’d spent a lot of time, but in the past, when Jon had been away on a photo shoot, we’d sometimes watch films in here, swathed in the floppy duvet, eating chocolate and drinking beer.

Neutral colors were bathed in natural light from the large picture windows. The bed was understated, king-size, of course, with a simple gray and blue striped duvet. It was Nate. Not fussy, simple but elegant and contemporary.

I caught myself in the dressing table mirror; light blond hair, deep green eyes and a few wrinkles in tanned skin stared back. I pulled a tongue, the gesture was returned. I sighed and turned away.

I left the room, switching on his phone and entering his numeric password to open. Nate was a hacker’s dream. He used the same easy passwords, either 1792 or Clayman17 for everything. I had no idea what the significance was. I’d told him countless times to change them because honestly, everyone knew his preference, his friends even teased him about it, but he’d always shrugged and said if anyone wanted into his stuff that bad, they’d get in no matter what.

“Nate, you really need to change your password, buddy. I—” I stopped. Nate was fast asleep, long lashes on his cheeks, hands loose and relaxed in his lap. His chest rose and fell evenly and his legs were splayed open in a display that made me want to cover him up like a prudish matron so no one else could see him. Nate had always had a pretty impressive package, and with his legs stretched like that, it was perfectly framed.

“Not cool, Cody,” I muttered as I took out a blanket from the side dresser. “Perving over your best friend when he’s sleeping. I need therapy.”

I spread the soft blanket over Nate and sat down gently beside him, so as not to wake him up. My hands itched to push the soft strands of hair from his face, but I didn’t dare in case I gave in and kissed him. Temptation was a bitch I wanted to slap.

I laid my head back too and contemplated the ceiling, watching the fan whirl around and around as it brushed air our way. Then turning my attention to Nate’s cell, I managed to get the iPhone set up with all the accessibility options I could find then put it down on the side table.

“It’s going to be okay,” I murmured, half to myself, half to Nate in case he somehow heard. “This isn’t the end of things. It’s only the beginning of something new.”

Chapter 5

Nate

A loud bang woke me. Startled out of sleep, I blinked and sat bolt upright. Somehow I was tangled in something and I swore as I fought to unwind whatever it was from around my legs. Next to me, there was a loud snort then Cody’s voice echoed sleepily in the room.

“Wazzup? Where’s the fire?”

“No fire. Just me coming home to find you two sprawled all over each other, fast asleep.” The irritation in Jon’s voice was hard to miss. “I brought dinner home in case you’re interested. I’ll put it in the kitchen.”

I heard retreating footsteps as I pulled what turned out to be a blanket off me and threw it on the floor.

Cody protested. “Hey, that was keeping me warm, asshole. Give it back.”

I grunted, my mouth dry. I’d probably been snoring. “Did you hear the man? Dinner’s ready.”

I leveraged myself to my feet and stood, legs aching from being in one position so long. “What’s the time, bud?”

There was a grumble, a soft curse and the rattling of something on the table. “It’s nearly eight o’clock. We’ve been asleep a couple of hours.”

Cody yawned loudly and I imagined him stretching,

I frowned. “Jon took nearly three hours to fetch food and dry cleaning?” The familiar prickle of suspicion I’d gotten used to recently surfaced again. Where had he been for so long? More important question—did I truly care?

Mixed emotions made a soup of my insides but guilt, need, irritation and confusion was a broth I didn’t need right now.

I held out a hand. “Up,” I instructed. “We need to eat, I’m damned starving. And knowing you, you’ll want to stuff your belly as well.”

My hand was grasped by warm fingers as I helped pull Cody to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah, I can manage a little something,” Cody grumbled, still holding on to my hand. I didn’t want to let go.

I snorted to cover the unexpected emotion. “I don’t know how you manage to keep fit with the amount of food you consume. You should be as big as Old Al.”

Old Al was a new arrival—a gorilla at the Los Angeles Zoo Cody had dragged me to see more times than I cared to remember. He had a curious fascination with the primate.

Cody’s hand left mine and gave me a light shove. “I’ll have you know I have a killer metabolism. Sex, surf, dance and a good old-fashioned balanced lifestyle.”

There was a patting sound. “That’s how I keep this magnificent body of mine in shape. You could bounce a quarter off this stomach.”