it is. This project isn’t from the goodness of your heart. You want something in return.”
Nate winked. “Baby, you don’t have to bribe me with tacos to sex you up.”
“Sex me up?”
“Well, either I sex you up or I go down…lady’s choice.”
“How magnanimous.”
Nate gave the pan a shake. “One thing about me you might not know…I’m a giver. I live to serve.”
I laughed. “Your reputation begs to differ.”
“And your experiences?”
I bit my lip. “Those are a different story.”
“Until you, I hadn’t found a woman who deserved my undivided attention.”
“What’s so special about me that I get that honor?”
“Because you’re so goddamned beautiful I can’t help staring at you.” He graced me with another sidelong glance that lingered over my curves. “Say the word, and I’m fucking yours baby. I’ve got twenty-five pounds of ground beef in that cooler to prove it.”
My heart beat too fast to hear over the rushing blood coursing through my body. I swallowed. Nate didn’t expect me to answer. His sweet smile soothed the raging blitz of emotions and hormones that stole my voice.
I had no idea what to say. I knew which words he wanted to hear.
And those were the ones I couldn’t say yet.
Not if I kept the secret.
Nate nudged me to prep the ingredients, and I helped to organize once we cooked the meat and chopped the onions and diced the tomatoes. I shoved as much as I could in the fridge. It took a few hours, but we prepared everything and stashed it away without me combusting from standing too near the stove or straying too near the man who owned my heart, my body, and was slowly wearing down the only defense I had against him.
He turned off the light over the stove and stared at me.
“All done.” His voice was a low, gravelly rumble. It hummed through me, and I couldn’t breathe. “The wedding is saved.”
“I…I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Yes, you do.” He leaned in, but he didn’t kiss me. “I should get going. Need a shower to get all the grease off me.”
I licked my lips. “You could shower here.”
“Only if I get some company.”
The thought thrilled me. I bit my lip and took his hand, tugging him towards the bathroom. He grinned.
“Mandy, you don’t have to. I was joking about the tacos.”
“I’m not joking about this.” I pulled him closer. His eyes burned so bright and beautiful it was amazing I hadn’t surrendered to him before. “Nate, I can’t tell you how I feel yet…but I can show you how much you mean to me.”
“I don’t want to make it complicated.”
“It’s not anymore. It’s really, really simple.”
I wanted to be with him. I wanted to tell him every secret, every fear, every amazing possibility that came from carrying his baby.
But first I wanted to prove just how I felt about him.
In case revealing the truth destroyed everything we might have had.
18
Nate
Mandy led me to the shower. She didn’t let me speak, but I already said everything she needed to hear.
And it was more than I ever admitted to any woman.
Mandy was always so warm. Her heat boiled inside me, and the soft brush of her skin enraptured me. Her arms tucked around my neck, and her fingers tickled in my hair. I hardened from just her touch.
I’d never let her go.
She refused to admit what she felt for me, but nothing would stop me from making this woman mine. She fell for me, and I caught her. I wasn’t letting go.
I thought it’d be frightening to confront my own feelings.
It wasn’t.
This was the easiest decision I ever made.
The bathroom wasn’t big enough for two people, but we wouldn’t be separated for long. Mandy fit in my arms perfectly. Why didn’t I realize she belonged there long ago?
I kissed her, nibbling her lip and flicking her tongue. I’d do anything to hear her quiet little mew, and I do even more to turn it into a moan. I ripped my shirt off, battling against her touch to pull hers off too. Her fingers brushed my skin, as if she finally gave herself permission to enjoy what I could offer.
She had every permission, every right, and every reason to touch me.
I was hers.
I tugged her shirt off. Jesus, her tits got bigger every time I saw them.
That was a damn nice surprise.
Not that Mandy wasn’t absolutely perfect before, but now she was curvier, more beautiful, and utterly feminine. What was it about this woman that made me want