lean her head against his chest. If she did, she’d be able to feel the warmth of him, hear his heartbeat. For a moment she’d be able to imagine that this was real and that he belonged to her.
Abruptly, he dropped her legs to stand her on the ground. “I’ll get the food.”
Half an hour later, they’d eaten the food they’d brought. Nate congratulated her on having so wisely chosen two delicious salads and a whole bowl full of brownies. They laughed over how they had blindly snatched and run.
But through it all, she kept feeling that he had something serious he wanted to say to her. Please, she thought, don’t let it be questions about the gossip she was sure he’d heard by now.
When they finished their meal, Nate stretched out on the grass in some dappled sunlight, while Terri sat a few feet away. “I got bawled out by Stacy,” he said.
“Oh? Any reason?” It wasn’t easy to keep the hope out of her voice.
“For imposing on you.”
“Because you make so much noise in the morning? And because you hog the remote and you seem to think that televisions are made only for watching sports? Or is it that you put so much chili pepper on that chicken yesterday that I could barely eat it? And you—” She broke off because he was smiling broadly.
“She doesn’t know about those horrible things.”
Terri drew in her breath. “Are you saying that you haven’t told her that you’re living with me?”
“I’m just renting. We’re not living together.” He turned his face to the sun, enjoying the warmth. “Stacy was quite...uh, vexed with me for inviting people to your house. She wanted to know if I’d asked your permission and I said I had.” He turned toward Terri. “I did, didn’t I?”
“You asked if a ‘few friends’ might come over. And you ignored my warning about the whole lake showing up.” She was teasing him.
“If you want them to leave, I’ll kick them out.” He started to get up.
“No!”
Smiling, Nate lay back down. “I told Stace I didn’t think you were upset, but I promised to make sure.”
“And that’s why we’re here?” Terri realized that she’d had a bit of hope that it was for another reason. She knew he was staring at her, but she didn’t dare look at him. He was much too good at reading what was inside people’s minds for her to meet his eyes. “So what else did Stacy say?”
“She reminded me that I have brunch at her parents’ house tomorrow at eleven.”
That idea made her laugh and she turned to look at him. “That sounds exciting. I bet they’ll be overjoyed when you show up in a rugby T-shirt and grab your food with your hands.”
Nate didn’t smile. “Her parents hate me.”
Terri gave a snort of disbelief.
“I’m serious. They can’t stand me. Her dad thinks I’m going to knock over the furniture.”
“Bull in a china shop?”
“Exactly.”
Terri stretched out a few feet from him. Her feet were bare and the grass felt good on her toes. Nate sounded truly upset by this. “I doubt if they actually dislike you. It’s just that you’re not Bob and your parents aren’t the Aldersons. Why don’t you get your mom and dad to come to Summer Hill and court the Hartmans? Or maybe your money uncles could befriend them. Then they might forgive you about Bob and—”
Nate sat up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He sounded shocked. “Who is Bob? I’ve never heard of the Aldersons.”
“Oh dear.” Terri stood up and reached for her heels. “I think we better go back. Della will be telling everyone that you and I are here doing the naughty. We need to cut the gossip off before it begins.”
“Sit!” Nate ordered.
She obeyed. “Wow. Do you know that you sounded just like Kit? Did I ever tell you that he once stopped three boatloads of people with just his voice?”
“I know all about Kit Montgomery. What I don’t know about is Bob and company.”
“I don’t think it’s my place to tell,” Terri said primly. “Stacy is the woman you’re going to marry and she—” She couldn’t endure Nate’s intense glare. She swallowed. “Robert—Bob—Alderson was Stacy’s boyfriend all through high school.”
“High school,” Nate said.
“And college. Look, I really think—”
“So when did they break up?”
“I don’t know!” Terri’s voice was rising. “As you’ve seen, Summer Hill and the lake are separate. I went to school in town but we keep socialization in our own