Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street #3)(47)
Author: Samantha Young

Nate’s hooded eyes were trained on my mouth. ‘That’s some dress.’

‘Your favorite color.’

‘On my favorite person.’

I smiled and gave him another quick kiss. ‘Should we sit down before we cause a scene?’

‘Or we could just go back to your place,’ he suggested, caressing my hip.

Although I shivered with delight just at the thought of it, I pressed a hand against his chest and leaned back. ‘I think we can afford to take a tiny little break from the bedroom for a few hours to spend time with our friends.’

‘An hour.’

‘Three.’

‘An hour and a half.’

I chuckled and shrugged. ‘Okay, two.’

‘Two hours.’ He gave me one more quick kiss and let go of my waist, only to take hold of my hand. As he led me over to share his seat with him I felt all my friends’ eyes burning into us.

After I took my seat I looked around at Ellie, Jo, Joss, Braden, Adam, and Cam, and I had to bite my lip to stifle my laughter. They were staring at Nate as if they’d never seen him before.

‘It’s a manwhore miracle,’ Joss breathed, her eyes wide.

I giggled, nudging my shoulder against Nate as he glared at her.

‘Seriously.’ Ellie smiled. ‘I don’t think I actually believed it until I saw it with my own eyes. Nate loves Olivia.’

Nate’s glare grew darker, but the girls didn’t seem to notice.

‘I knew.’ Jo smirked at them. ‘I knew he fancied the pants off her all along.’

‘I’m just glad he’s finally met his freaking match.’ Joss grinned smugly at him.

‘He did go through a lot of women to find her,’ Ellie added. ‘It was a long time coming.’

‘Men,’ Nate suddenly growled through clenched teeth, ‘control your womenfolk.’

While Braden, Cam, and Adam laughed, enjoying Nate’s discomfort, I attempted to restrain my amusement. It was very hard for me. But it was fun to see someone as laid-back as Nate get wound up over a little teasing.

When Joss opened her mouth, obviously ready to deal out more teasing, Nate cut her a deadly look. ‘Liv needs no more reminders about my … colorful past with women, so can we all shut up and talk about something else, please?’

The group shared gleeful little looks but did as they were asked, and we started discussing the renovations Joss and Braden were making to Ellie’s old room in their apartment. They were turning it into a nursery, and once they knew the baby’s sex Jo, Dad, and Dee were going to help with the decor.

‘I’m getting another round.’ Nate turned to me. ‘Want to come up to the bar with me?’

I told him yes, still holding his hand as he pulled me through the crowd to the bar. As we waited I leaned into him, squeezing his hand in mine. ‘Babe, you know I don’t care about your past hookups, right?’

A muscle in Nate’s jaw ticked as he looked at me. ‘I just don’t need people reminding you of it.’

‘Why does it bother you so much?’

He seemed genuinely surprised by my question, as if somehow it should be obvious. ‘It took me weeks to convince you what I felt for you was real, Liv. I don’t need my past messing us up again.’

Wow. Nate was worried about losing me?

Pressing against him, I gave my head a little shake. ‘Nate, those women didn’t mean anything to you. They’ve never worried me.’

‘You sure?’

‘I’m sure. All that uncertainty was about Alana, but that’s over, okay? I love you and I’m here with you. I’m not going anywhere.’

His eyes darkened with heat and something else I hadn’t seen before. ‘Promise?’ he demanded.

I felt concern wash over me as I realized that our separation had caused more demons in Nate than I’d been aware of. It suddenly occurred to me that I’d spent the last week allowing him to drive away any uncertainty I had over the depth of his love for me, when I should have been working just as hard to prove to him that now that I knew he loved me I wasn’t going to let anything else come between us.

Reaching up I brushed my lips over his ear. ‘Let’s go back to my place now.’

Nate pulled back, his eyes questioning.

‘I have a promise to make,’ I answered on a saucy smile.

Understanding flared in his eyes, and just like that we were moving toward the exit. I texted Jo to let her know we were leaving, and Nate and I hurried along the street in silence until we got to Jamaica Lane.

Upstairs in my bed, where it had all started, I slowly made love to Nate, promising him with every inch of me, that the ‘after’ we’d found together … well … it was forever.

Epilogue

‘I really do appreciate you guys keeping me company.’ Ellie smiled gratefully as she set down a tray of drinks and snacks among all the boxes. ‘Adam can’t stand clutter or chaotic spaces, so I promised him I’d get this place up and running before we move in.’

I stood with an ornament wrapped in newspaper in my hand as Joss and Jo dug through boxes. ‘You can stop thanking us,’ I assured her. ‘We’re happy to help. You’ve got a lot on your plate. New house. New job. Wedding plans.’ I frowned at her, putting down the ornament to reach for a drink. ‘Did I tell you lately that you’re crazy?’

It was a few weeks since our night out with the gang, and Ellie and Adam finally had the keys to their new home on Scotland Street. On top of the stress of the move they were now well into their wedding plans. The wedding was only nine months away.

Ellie laughed. ‘Well, I thought I’d have help from a certain someone, but she had to go and get knocked up by my overprotective big brother, who, I might add, barely let her out of the house to help me unpack.’

Joss glanced up at her. ‘Yes. I got knocked up deliberately so I wouldn’t have to help with the heavy lifting or bouquet choosing.’

‘Speaking of heavy lifting,’ Jo said with a frown, ‘where is Cole?’

I looked toward the front of the house. ‘I think he went outside. Want me to haul his ass back in?’

‘Aye,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Bribe him with food if you have to.’

‘You didn’t have to make him help.’ Ellie smiled as if in sympathy with the teenager.

‘Why?’ Hannah suddenly appeared in the hallway, arms wrapped around a box. ‘You made me help. If I can’t escape, Cole can’t escape.’

‘I’ll go get him,’ I muttered, making my way out of the huge living room into the wide, spacious hallway. The double doors were both open against the wall, giving us better access to the property, and as I neared them I heard Cole’s voice, followed by a softer female voice. I slowed my steps, quietly making my way to the entrance.

My eyes widened at the sight of Cole standing at the bottom of the front stoop next to a small redhead. It wasn’t that the sight of him talking to a girl was surprising; it was his body language. He hovered over her, almost protectively, and the way he was smiling down into her face …

The girl laughed at whatever Cole was murmuring to her and I bit my lip at the bright look that entered his eyes. They continued talking in hushed voices in an intimate way, and I decided I definitely was not intruding. On silent feet I made my way back into the sitting room.

Jo looked up from her packing box. ‘Where is he?’

I grinned. ‘He’s flirting his ass off with a pretty redhead. There’s no way I’m interrupting that.’

Her eyebrows hit her hairline. ‘Seriously?’

‘Seriously. And by the looks of things, I’d expect a girl to be coming around the apartment from now on, if I were you.’

Hannah smirked. ‘Great. Now I have ammunition.’

Ellie nudged her. ‘Be nice.’

‘Why? He’s always taking the piss out of me. Now I finally have something to torture him with.’

We shook our heads at her and continued to unpack.

Twenty minutes later, Cole strode in, a dark scowl marring his handsome face. Worry creased Jo’s brow. ‘Hey, baby boy, you okay?’

He grunted at her and moved toward a box.

I shared a look with his sister before plucking up the courage to ask, ‘What happened to the girl? The redhead.’

Cole jerked as though I’d shot him. Without looking at me he muttered, ‘She had to leave.’

‘Well, did you get her number at least?’

He lifted his head and his green eyes blazed into mine angrily. ‘What do you think?’ And at that he stormed out of the room, ignoring Jo’s shouts to him to apologize for his rudeness.

‘Leave it.’ I shook my head. ‘Just let him be.’

Before Jo could reply, my cell rang and seeing Nate’s face on my screen lightened my mood. ‘I have to take this.’ I ducked out of the living room and wandered toward the empty kitchen as I answered, ‘Hey, baby.’

‘Hey, yourself.’ His low, warm voice soothed me. ‘You about done at Ellie’s?’

‘Unfortunately not. I’ll be a few more hours.’

‘Okay. Cam and I will just hang out for a bit, then.’

‘You know, it might be good if you swing by the house and pick up Cole.’

Nate snorted. ‘Bored, is he?’

‘Upset. I think something happened. With a girl. So obviously he doesn’t want to talk about it with us.’

‘We’ll be right there.’

My stomach melted. ‘You are so getting laid tonight.’

He laughed softly. ‘Don’t I get laid every night?’

‘Yes, but tonight I’ll do anything you want.’

‘Anything?’ he growled.

‘Absolutely anything.’

‘Remind me to be a nice guy more often if this is the benefit.’

I smiled a little goofily and leaned back against the wall, my body all pliant just thinking about him. ‘Okay. But don’t be too nice of a guy. I do like it when you’re bad.’

‘Do people actually talk like that?’ Hannah’s voice ripped me back to reality, and I jumped off the wall to see her giving me a wide, teasing smile.

My cheeks flushed and I heard Nate laughing on the other end of the line. ‘It’s not funny,’ I snapped at him.

‘Oh, it’s definitely funny, babe,’ he said on a chuckle. ‘See you soon.’

We hung up and I glared at Hannah. ‘You could have let me know you were there.’

Her eyes twinkled mercilessly. ‘I could have, but then I wouldn’t have overheard your delightful conversation.’

I narrowed my eyes on her as I moved to brush past her. ‘One day, Hannah Nichols, you’re going to meet a guy who makes you so gooey you’ll end up doing and saying things you never imagined, and then who’ll be laughing?’

Hannah’s pretty smile widened. ‘Hopefully we’ll all be laughing.’

‘You have a good answer for everything, don’t you?’

‘I like to think so.’

Chuckling, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her with me. ‘Come on, we’ve got a house to get in order.’