“I still don’t know what you mean.” When in doubt or cornered, you play dumb. That was a rule she’d always lived by, and it had never proven wrong before.
“You were drunk, and you told me you don’t remember anything about that night.”
She held her breath, suddenly very afraid of where he was going. He took a step forward. She gripped the table behind her, because if she didn’t, she’d melt into that puddle of flesh and bone, and how humiliating would that be?
About as humiliating as what’s coming.
“I thought I’d share the pieces I remember.” His tone was conversational, but his eyes were so intense, they appeared obsidian.
“You wore a red top that had sequins all over it. It shimmered when you moved, and black jeans that fit your body like you’d been poured into them. Your hair was down the way I like, and your smile could have lit up the entire casino. You gambled fifty bucks and won three hundred. We celebrated by ordering up some Jack and cokes.” His eyebrow rose. “And you drank ’em all.”
“Nathan, we don’t need to relive that night.”
He smiled then and took another step closer. “We kinda do, Moll.” He paused, and her cheeks grew hot under his gaze. “We headed up to the rooms because the guys had left hours earlier, and you came to mine because you lost your key card.”
“That was a lie,” she whispered.
“I know.” He cleared his throat. “This is where it gets good, so listen up. You got real close to me and I remember how you smelled.” He paused. “I like the way you smell.” Another step closer. “You told me you loved me. That you’d always loved me. That you wanted to be with me. That you wanted me to make love to you.”
I want to die, Molly thought. Right here and now.
“Then you got this weird look on your face and ran for the bathroom, where you proceeded to lose your cookies for at least an hour. And then I put you to bed.”
Molly grimaced and lowered her eyes. She forgot about the puking part.
“The thing is, Molly? Once I put you to bed and you passed out, I sat there and did some thinking. I decided that you and me couldn’t be a thing because I didn’t want our friendship to suffer. But I wanted you. Even back then.”
She felt his hand on her chin, but kept her eyes shut when he forced her head up.
“It took a few years, but I finally got it. It’s that thing you do.”
“What’s that?” she asked softly.
“You make me want to be a better man. You make me feel alive. You make me hope. You make me want things I never thought I’d want.”
“Like what?” Molly held her breath.
Nate dipped his head, his voice low and intimate. “Like you.”
Her eyes flew open, and she shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I love you Molly Malone, and I probably always have. After what we shared, being away from you has taught me one thing. I don’t want to be away from you. I don’t want to live in another state if you’re here in Crystal Lake. I want to wake up with you every single morning. I want to make breakfast for you because we both know you might starve if I don’t.” His hands slid up either side of his face so that she was trapped. “Molly, you’re the first face I want to see in the morning and the last one before I fall asleep. I want to make love to you. I want to make babies with you. I want to raise that damn puppy with you. I want it all.”
Nathan watched her closely. “Now is when you should say something.”
Her life was about to change, and Molly had never felt readier. She shrugged and attempted a smile. “Yes,” she whispered, leaning into him. “Yes, to all of it. Yes to you and Petal and love and babies, and yes to a life together.”
He swooped in and kissed her so hard that her head spun, her insides liquefied, her body came alive. She’d been dormant since he’d left, and for the first time since she woke up alone in that cabin, Molly felt alive in every sense of the word.
“Geez, guys, can we get past the kissing stuff and get to the good part?”
Molly pulled away from Nathan and peered over his shoulder at her brother. What could be better than this?
“Let’s get our dog and get out of here,” Nate murmured.
“Okay,” she replied slowly. “But it will be dogs. I can’t leave Mama.”
Molly was still stunned and pretty much speechless as they gathered up the pup and her mother, along with a bunch of supplies. They hopped in Nathan’s truck, and Zach followed behind in hers, with Jade behind him. When they turned onto River Road, she looked at Nate, but he shook his head with a smile.