Fight With Me (23 page)

I should let Nate know that I’m going out, but he’s so sleepy, I decide to leave him be and make him breakfast when I get back.

When I get to the gazebo, I’m amazed to find that the caterer did indeed come back and clean up.  The space has been returned to its original state.  Amazing, I didn’t even hear them.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and kick off my flip flops, wiggling my toes in the sand, and take a deep, deep breath.  The air is salty and just a bit musty from the storm.  Seagulls are flying around, scouring the sand for food, and the water is crashing on the shore in white clouds, then pushing out onto the sand in sheets of wet glass.

I can’t wait to put my feet in it.

I walk down to the edge of the water and stand still, waiting for the water to rush forward and engulf my feet and ankles.  Oh my, it’s so cold!  I giggle and do a little dance in the water, splashing about, getting used to the cold, looking down at my toes.

I need a pedicure.  Maybe I’ll call Nat and see if she wants to go with me after work this week.

Work.  I’m not ready to go back.

“There you are.”

I hear Nate call from behind me and I turn to smile at him.  He’s pulled on his jeans and a sweatshirt, but he’s not smiling.  He looks pissed.

Great.

“What’s wrong?” I ask and walk toward him.

“You were gone when I woke up again.”

“Uh, you were asleep, Nate.  I just came down to the beach for a bit. Where else would I go?”

“I hate waking up and finding you gone.  Bad memories.” He hugs me to him and kisses my hair. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll wake you next time and tell you I’m up.” I pull out of his arms, but link my fingers in his. “Take your shoes off.  I’m not done wading in the water.”

“It’s cold.” He frowns down at me. “I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Oh stop, I won’t get sick.  C’mon, it’s fun.”

Nate removes his shoes, rolls his pants to his knees and we walk through the water down the shoreline.

“I’m not ready to leave,” I murmur and take a deep breath of salty air.

“We don’t have to head back until this evening if you like.” He kisses my knuckles and smiles at me.

“I know. I guess I’m not ready to go back to work tomorrow either.” I shrug. “Probably not something I should admit to my boss, I know, but there it is.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” he asks.

“Oh, nothing,” I wave his statement aside. “There’s no drama. I’m just not a great actress, and the whole ‘you’re my boyfriend at home but just my boss at work’ thing is tiresome. By the end of the week I’m exhausted from being afraid that I’ll say or do something inappropriate.”

“You know, baby, if you ever decided you didn’t want to, you don’t have to work.”

I laugh and kick the water, splashing. “Right. I do have to work, Nate.”

He pulls us both to a stop and looks down at me with serious eyes. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.” I shake my head and rub my forehead. “I like my job. I’m good at it. And yes, I’ve been smart and I have a nice sized nest egg, along with a bit of an inheritance, but I do have to work, babe.”

“I can take care of you,” he whispers.
Oh, I love him.

“But you shouldn’t have to, that’s the thing.” I start walking again through the water and Nate follows me. “Besides, what would I do if I didn’t work? I’d go crazy. I’m not crafty. I hate TV. I need to do stuff.”

“You are too crafty. What about making more signs like the one you gave Natalie for the nursery?”

“Oh no,” I laugh up at him and shake my head. “That was a one-time thing. It was fun, but I’m not artistic.”

“I thought it was great.” He kicks water up, splashing my legs, and I giggle.

“Well, it’s not a career.”

“What if you had kids?” he asks and I immediately shut down inside. I do not want to have this conversation. I’m not ready.

“Don’t go there.”

“It’s a valid question.”

“Kids aren’t even on my radar, Nate.”

“What is on your radar, Julianne?” We aren’t looking at each other, we’re just walking, hand in hand, through the water, watching the waves and the birds.

“You. Work. Family.” I shrug. “That’s plenty for now.”

“As long as I make the list, baby.”

“You’re at the top these days, ace.” I smile sassily, and try to lighten the mood. “In fact, I like it when you’re on top.”

He laughs, a full-on belly laugh, and splashes my legs again. “Okay, funny girl.”

***

Pedicures tonight after work?

I send the text to Natalie and resume reading a report on my desk. I have so much to do! Three reports to write, Nate sent me a list of items he needs researched, and we have a meeting in just a few minutes.

My phone pings with a response from Natalie.
Sure! I’ll bring Liv. She’ll sleep.

Perfect! Can’t wait to see you both. Will call when I’m on my way to pick you up.

I smile and gather my coffee and things I need for the meeting. I’m so excited to see Nat and the baby. It’s just what I need.

We all file into the conference room and sit in our usual places. We don’t have assigned seats, but we are people of habit, and always sit in the same chairs. There are six of us; Nate and I, Mrs. Glover to take notes, and the other partner, Mr. Luis and his team, Carly and Ben. Mr. Luis is in his mid-forties, graying and pot-bellied. He’s a shrewd business man, and is not at all friendly in the office. He’s all business.

Ben is much the same way. He’s about my age, not much taller than me, thin and wears glasses. He’s handsome, and very intelligent. He’s not rude, he’s just all about business, which I can respect and even admire.

I have no idea if either man is married or what their private lives consist of, and that’s just fine by me.

Carly sits across the table from me, dressed in a green shift dress, her red hair pulled back in a bun. She looks over to me offers me a fake, brittle smile.

I don’t reciprocate.

I glance casually over at Nate and he’s watching our exchange, running his forefinger over his lower lip in thought.

My fingers unconsciously touch the silver heart at my neck. My birthday diamonds are in my ears and I’m wearing my birthday tennis bracelet. I’m draped in my man, he’s sitting three feet from me, and I can’t touch him.

It’s a little weird.

When everyone is settled, Mr. Luis begins the meeting, bringing us all up to date on account statuses, what needs to be worked on and what’s not working at all, then he turns it over to Nate.

He passes around some of the reports I put together this morning to each of us. “Miss Montgomery put these reports together this morning. I’d like to go through them now, since I have you all here.”

As he methodically works his way through the reports, I find myself able to focus and concentrate on the work, and it makes my stomach settle. I was worried that we’d ruined this for me; that it would always be a struggle, and I’m relieved that I answer his questions appropriately and professionally, and no one would ever guess that we are anything but colleagues.

As we all begin to file out after the meeting, Nate says to me, “Miss Montgomery, I’d like to see you in my office in ten minutes, please.”

Huh.
“I’ll see you then.” I nod and head back to my office, close the door, and exhale. Another meeting accomplished without any screw ups.

Win.

***

“You can go on in, Miss Montgomery.” Mrs. Glover smiles warmly at me as I walk past her desk toward Nate’s office.

“Thanks.” I knock once and walk into his office. “You wanted to see me?”

I close the door behind me and smile over at my hot executive boyfriend. He’s in another one of his dark suits with a white shirt and gray tie, his hair is pulled back.

He’s effing hot.

He steps out from behind his desk and crosses to me, and I’m suddenly crushed to his chest in a big hug. He smells fantastic; all fabric softener and coffee and Nate.

He reaches behind me and locks the door quietly and I pull back to look into his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just missed you this morning.”

“I’ve been right down the hall.” I chuckle and kiss his chin.

“I know, it’s not the same. Mondays suck, for more reasons than one.”

I know exactly what he means. We’ve just had the whole weekend together, all day, and now we’re back where we have to pretend.

“Hey, before I forget, I made plans with Natalie for after work.  We’re getting pedicures. So I won’t be at your place when you get home.”

“Okay. Are you coming over when you’re done?” he asks.

“I think I’ll just go home, Nate. I have a mountain of laundry to do, and I’ve barely been there over the past few weeks. One night apart won’t kill us, you know.”

He frowns and runs his fingertips down my face. “I’ll go to your place tonight.”

“You don’t have…”

“I don’t want to sleep without you, Julianne.”

Oh. Okay.

“Okay, I’ll meet you at my place then. I need to make you a key.”

“No need,” he smirks down at me. “I’ll talk you into moving into the condo with me soon enough.”

“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you ace?”

“Yeah, pretty sure,” he whispers and kisses me softly.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure too.

***

“Oh, this feels so good.”

Natalie and I are at our favorite nail spa near Alki Beach.  We’ve been coming here for years. I have Olivia on my chest, snoozing away, my feet in hot water, and my best friend to my right.

Life is damn good.

“We need to get back on our pedicure schedule,” Natalie remarks and sighs as she dips her feet in the hot, fragrant water.

“Definitely.” I kiss Olivia’s head and pat her little diaper-covered bottom. “She’s so sweet, Nat.”

“I know,” Natalie smiles at us. “Here, give me your phone, I’m going to take a picture.”

“Oh, good!” I hand her my phone and smile as she takes our photo and then hands the phone back to me. “Oh, look at us, Livie.  We’re beautiful.” Without hesitation I send the photo via text to Nate.

“Can we paint her toes, too?” I ask Natalie and she giggles.

“Sure.  Let’s do pink.”

The nail tech finds the tiniest brush she has that she uses to hand-paint designs on nails, and paints each of Olivia’s tiny toes baby pink. She sleeps right through it.

“Adorable.”

My phone pings and I check the text from Nate.
Gorgeous girls. Kiss her for me.

I sigh and show it to Natalie.

“He’s very sweet.  I’m surprised.”

“I know. He can be rough around the edges, with his motorcycle, and the fighting, and the tattoos. I had no idea. But at work he’s exactly the opposite, all professional and rich business man.”  I kiss Olivia’s head and breathe in her baby smell. “And this weekend he was incredibly romantic and sweet.”

“So, someone’s in love.” Natalie grins at me.

“Yeah, I won’t deny it.”

“I’m so happy for you.”

“But it’s so complicated, Nat.” She frowns and tilts her head and I continue. “We can’t tell anyone at work. Ever. We’d both lose our jobs. It’s not easy to pretend.”

“Don’t pretend, just be you. You’ve always gotten along well with him at work, just keep doing that.”

“Easy for you to say.  You’re not the one who wants to lick him every time you see him.”

“Well, no, Luke might have issues with that.” We laugh, and then she’s serious again. “Just be who you are, Jules. Enjoy him. The rest will work its way out.”

“I hope you’re right.” My phone pings again and I check the text message.

Hey baby, I’ll be late tonight. Unexpected teleconference.

I frown but then shrug.
Okay. Still coming over when you’re done?

I’ll be there.

Okay, see you later. xo

“Nate’s working late,” I murmur and stow my phone back in my handbag. “Are we on for Friday movie night?” I ask, changing the subject.

“We are. Luke’s mom, Lucy is going to watch the baby at our place.  I’m a bit nervous to leave her for the first time, but she’ll be in good hands.”

“I’m so excited. A night out is exactly what we all need. Let’s go to that newer bar by the theatre that has a live band on Fridays. We can dance, and the guys can shoot pool.” Olivia starts to squirm, and I give her her pacifier.

“That sounds good to me. I’m warning you, though, I’ll be texting Lucy all night for updates.”

“I don’t mind.” I grin at her over Olivia’s soft head. “I’m just thrilled that you’re no longer pregnant and we can have a margarita.”

“Or three,” she smirks.

“You know, Nate’s birthday is only a couple months away.” I pat the sleeping Olivia’s back as an idea forms in my head. “Since he’s working late tonight, why don’t you and I spend some time in the studio after we leave here?”

“Oh, that would be fantastic! I’m itching to get back to the studio.”

“Then it’s a plan.” We grin at each other and sigh as the technicians begin to rub our calves and feet.

***

“I forgot how fun this is with you,” Natalie murmurs and presses the shutter aimed at me. Luke met us at the house to pick up Olivia, so it’s just Nat and I, like the good ol’ days, playing around with pretty lingerie, makeup and her camera.

Sexy dance music is pumping through the speakers of the sound system, and I can’t help but move my body with it.

“You’re so good at this, Nat. I’m so proud of you.”

“Okay, no mushy shit tonight. Think sexy.” Natalie backs up and surveys the scene. I’m on her king-sized, white satin-sheet clad bed in the middle of the studio. Because it’s dark outside, she has her lights on. My long blonde hair is down and wavy around my face, in that just-fucked state that men find so sexy. “Lie on your back with your head facing me and arch your back and put your legs in the air, knees together.”

I comply, making sure my silver heart is nestled seductively between my cleavage and cross my ankles, legs straight up in the air. I’m wearing white thigh-highs with a while garter and lacy white push up bra.