“I wish I didn’t have to get to work,” he says.
“Do you always work on Saturdays?”
“I work most days, if I’m to be honest. With Micha gone, it’s all kinda left to me. I need to head to Cincinnati today, and I won’t be back until late tomorrow night.”
“What’s in Cincinnati?” I ask.
“Flying pigs and chili served over spaghetti.” Nate laughs. “Really, I’m just checking out some business ventures down there. Not sure it will be worth the investment, but we’ll see.”
“More real estate?”
“Yes,” he says quickly. “Just storage though.”
“Storage?”
“Not worth getting into,” Nate says, shaking his head. “I’d bore you to death.” He leans forward and brushes his lips over mine once more. “Happy Valentine’s Day, sweet Cherice. I’ll see you Monday.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Nate.”
I watch him walk down the stairs before I shut the door to my apartment. I place my fingers over my lips as I slowly walk back to the kitchen.
All thoughts of his overly simplistic explanations seem irrelevant as I revel in the excitement of making some headway in finding my birth parents. His offer made me absolutely ecstatic, and though in the back of my head, I know he’s hiding something from me, I can’t bring myself to worry about it.
I send him a quick thank you for the pancakes, but I don’t hear from him again until much later that night.
Nate O: You are very welcome, Cherice.
My heart beats faster.
How is Cincinnati?
Again, it takes a while for him to respond.
Nate O: Cold and rainy. It has me thinking about more pleasant activities.
Such as?
I bite my lip as I stare intently at the phone until his message comes through.
Nate O: A warm fire in the fireplace, a glass of good bourbon, and your company.
“Oh, wow!” I can see it in my head as well. For some reason, my imagination has Nate wearing a red smoking jacket and me in strappy black heels.
That sounds pretty good to me too
I sit for a few minutes, waiting to see the ellipsis in the app that tells me he’s typing, but nothing happens.
“He did tell you he was working. Maybe you should leave him alone.”
I place the phone on the kitchen table and grab one of the books I saw in the box with Aunt Ginny’s picture. It’s an author I haven’t read before, but the hot, half-naked guy on the cover caught my eye. I settle on the couch and start reading.
I get through the first few chapters before my phone dings again.
Nate O: Sorry. It’s been really busy here. I may not be able to respond very quickly, but please don’t let that deter you. I usually hate being tied to a phone all the time, but I’m finding myself glancing at it more and more just to see if I have a text from you. :)
I can’t help but smile.
I wish I had something more interesting to say!