What Nate wouldn’t do for a bite of her peach. Libido racing, Nate glanced at his watch and wondered how long they needed to stay. Neither of them were a part of the wedding party, so they did not have to stay for photographs. Nate cleared his throat. “So, are the girls going home with you tonight?”
“Philly asked.”
“And Kimber?” asked Nate. With him being gone all week, Nate had worried about Stephen handling his time with the girls and was grateful for Lexi being around. A feminine presence was necessary in the household and while Stephen and Lexi were not married or engaged, it was only a matter of time. Nate typically enjoyed his nights off and away from the household to socialize. Having the grandparents take the girls for the weekend helped Nate avoid the talk with his nieces. Before Amelia, there’d been no desire to introduce the girls to whomever kept him company.
“She wanted to know if she’d still be grounded if she came over,” Enzo said, giving Nate a wink and a nudge in the rib cage to jar him out of his thoughts, “but you guys know Jeanette and I always follow your rules.”
“Sure.” Nate returned the wink. “Which is why I have a tracker on all of her phones. She can try and go out with her friends, but I’ll be watching. I should have weighed Philly this morning.”
“Now you can’t blame the sugar on me today. Philly’s been eyeballing that six-tier cake all afternoon. You should have all week,” said Enzo, “but from my understanding you haven’t been home much.”
Not sure how to answer the question, Nate shook his head. “Well, you see...” He still did not have a proper answer. How did he explain their meeting in Atlanta or what happened when Amelia returned to Southwood?
“Save your excuses,” Enzo said with a chuckle. “I am hard of hearing, not hard of hearing gossip.”
“Gossip?” Nate’s jaws clenched. If Amelia got wind of that, she might hightail it back to the reality TV world.
“Don’t worry.” Enzo waved off any fret. “Pastor Rivers informed me of the work you’re doing for Helen Marlow. Bless your soul, have you met her yet?”
“Briefly.”
“And you’re still living?”
The memory of her prickly demeanor did bring a chuckle to Nate. “Yes, sir.”
“Good for you. Well, looks like my blushing bride is waving me over.”
Enzo nodded and shook Nate’s hand before excusing himself to rejoin his wife at a table filled with other pillars of the community. Nate’s green eyes scanned the gazebo for any sight of Amelia and found her in the arms of Parker Ward—again. He took a step toward the laid-out dance floor and over the greenery of the park.
“Dance with me.”
The latest obstacle to get in Nate’s way was the five-foot-five bridesmaid dressed in purple and accented with jealousy green. “Hello, Brit. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“Dance with me,” Brittany repeated like one of Philly’s broken dolls. She glanced over her shoulder. “She seems pretty busy catching up with her first love.”
She’d voiced what he’d already suspected. Nate shrugged his shoulders. “So?”
Brittany reached for Nate’s hand and dragged him to the edge of the
dance floor. At least he’d be a few steps closer to Amelia.
“I’m disappointed in you, Nate.” Brittany stated the obvious.
“Why?” Nate tried not to sigh. Other wedding guests began to crowd the floor, causing Brittany to get closer. In turn, Parker was probably trying the same move.
“You’ve been ignoring me.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong—” Nate cleared his throat “—but we never made each other any promises.”
Brittany’s fingers, with their purple acrylic nails, walked their way up the buttons of his shirt. “We’ve always had an unspoken bond between us.”
“Brittany, please,” he begged before she humiliated herself. Philly craned her neck to watch them dance. She was always hinting around for Nate to invite her favorite teacher home for dinner. “Stop.”
“You forgot already?”
“Forgot what?” Nate jerked his head away from her approaching face.
“The safe word.”