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A part of the glass moves and Nate appears, his hand coming up above his eyes to shield from the blaring sun. He waves me forward, but I can’t move as my gaze tracks the length of him. His cargo shorts encase his thighs and sit low on his hips, a soft-looking t-shirt stretching across his chest.
I haven’t seen him for a whole week: not since our first date.
Finally pushing my foot down on the gas pedal, I move the car forward, parking in front of a giant garage door. I haven’t even turned the engine off before the back door of the car opens and he’s reaching inside for a squirming Izzie.
“Uncle Nate! We’ve come to play.”
He picks her up, lifting her out of the car. “Hey, kiddiwinkle!”
He shuts the door as Clay and I get out at the same time. He hesitates, looking over at Nate and Izzie before moving toward me where I’m opening the trunk to get our bag out.
I frown at him, is he picking up on my paranoia? When Nate moves his attention to us, Clay smiles. “Hey, Uncle Nate.”
“Hey, bud. I thought we could have some fun in the lake today.”
“Sure,” Clay replies, still not moving from my side as I close the trunk.
Nate steps forward, Izzie still in his arms as he takes the tote bag from my hand and leans forward, placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Hey, beautiful,” he whispers in my ear before pulling back and walking toward his house. I stand still, shocked at what he called me, and when he turns back around, he smiles. “Well come on then, we all need to change.”
Izzie’s giggles surround us as they walk through the door, and when I step forward, Clay’s hand slips into mine. We walk toward the house, and I come to a stop as soon as we pass the threshold.
My eyes don’t know what to look at first in the large open room. My sandals slap off the wooden floor and I cringe, wondering if I should take them off. Clay’s hand releases mine and he walks ahead, through the middle of the room and past the living area to the left and through the sliding double doors.
Stepping farther inside, I close the front door behind me, slowly wandering past the cream sofa, my fingers trailing along the wooden table sitting in the center of the sofa and a loveseat. Stopping at the edge of the rug in front of the stone fireplace I pull my sandals off, closing my eyes as I step onto it, my feet sinking into it. It’s like walking on a cloud.
I can already imagine what it looks like burning real wood, the reflection of the fire flickering off the windows. The pads of my fingers whisper down my arm, almost able to feel the warmth.
Spinning in a slow circle, my curiosity gets the better of me when I take note of the hallway sitting on the other side of the room behind a reception table with a huge bouquet of fresh lilies presented in the center. Sandals dangling from my fingers, I make my way toward it, but when I see all the doors trailing off it, Izzie shouts out for me.
Eyes wide, I turn back around and head for the same double doors Clay went through and into a top-of-the-line kitchen. The wooden counters match the hardwood floors, a large wooden dining table sitting to the right, glass sliding doors behind it. You can tell it’s a well-used kitchen, the layout made for socializing, especially with the amount of chairs sitting around the table.
My gaze wanders through the sliding door, seeing Izzie already in her suit and Clay standing in his board shorts and a t-shirt.
Walking between the giant table and the island surrounded with stools, I head outside and over to the tote bag resting on a chair. Pulling out my bikini, I drop my sandals in the top of the bag.
“Where can I get changed?” I ask Nate who is now standing in only his board shorts. Dear God, those muscles are captivating.
“If you walk back through to the main room, there’s a hallway on your left and you can either change in the first door on the left or the one on the right.” He shrugs. “Totally up to you.”
“Okay,” I reply, turning back around and heading to the hallway I was going to snoop through.
Four doors sit on either side of the hallway with one at the end. I push through the first door on the left, coming into a modern, light bathroom. A large open shower takes up the lefthand wall, a huge vanity on the wall opposite, the mirror above it taking up most of the wall.
The door clicks shut behind me and I change as quickly as I can into my bikini, wishing I would have brought a cover-up with me. Cringing, I look around for a towel but can’t see anything hanging up and there’s no way I’m going to search for one.
He said we’re going to the lake anyway, so I may as well put my clothes back on over the top. Pulling my white tank back over my head, I push my legs through my linen shorts before tying the belt around my waist.
When I walk back outside, Nate, Clay, and Izzie are waiting for me, my sandals now hanging off the ends of Nate’s fingers, several towels draped over his other arm. He holds my sandals out to me and I take them gratefully, sliding my feet back into them.
With a cheeky grin on his face he says, “You guys stay here, I’ll be back in a minute,” and runs back through the house.
I move over to Izzie, pulling a hair tie off my wrist and putting her hair up, knowing if we’re going in the lake it’ll get wet and tangled if I don’t.
“I’m so excited!” she shouts when I move back a step. “Today’s going to be so
much fun!”
