peephole showed Nate and Sam in the hallway. Surprised, I unlocked the chain and opened the door wide.
Nate smiled, and my heart reconnected. It was as simple as that. He wore black jeans that had been washed so many times they were almost gray, along with a black turtleneck. I loved turtlenecks on men. I found it an incredibly sexy look. “Hey, what are you guys up to?”
“Sam’s mom is in Ohio for a few days, so he’s stuck with me. We were supposed to go to the movies tonight, but the snow ruined our plans,” Nate said, hand on his nephew’s head.
“We were gonna see a lame movie anyway. I’m too old for Disney,” Sam said. Kinda funny, as the boy was wearing blue sweatpants and a Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirt. Disney á la Johnny Depp.
“You’re never too old for Disney. Why don’t you guys come on in? I just made some cocoa.” I motioned for them to follow. “I don’t have any coffee made, but if you want some, I can start a pot.”
“Cocoa’s fine. Do you have marshmallows?” Nate asked.
“Of course I do. Who drinks cocoa without marshmallows?”
“Ah, a woman after my own heart. That sounds great. I hope you don’t mind us barging in on you. Sam was going a little stir crazy, and I thought a visit might help.” Nate ruffled Sam’s hair as he spoke. Then, his eyes met mine. “And I wanted to see you.”
“I wanted to see you, too.” A whisper of happiness settled around me.
“What’s ‘stir crazy,’ Uncle Nate?” Sam asked.
Nate knelt down so he was eye level with his nephew. “You being bored out of your mind. And me, with nothing to occupy you. Which made both of us a little nuts.”
“I told you, we should have brought my PlayStation. Then I wouldn’t be driving you nuts. You should really listen to me. I’m a pretty smart kid.”
Nate chuckled. “Oh, I know you’re smart, kiddo. But your mother likes the fact I don’t have a PlayStation. It forces you to actually talk to me.”
I loved watching man and boy interact. It made my heart go mushy. Nate seemed really good with kids—definitely a plus in my book.
Sam stuck his bottom lip out. “But it’s boring!” Turning to me, he said, “Do you have a PlayStation?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it; he sounded so hopeful. “Sorry, Sam. No dice on the PlayStation. But maybe I can dig up a couple of board games to play. Will that interest you?”
“What do you think, Sam? Sound like fun?” Nate winked at Sam.
The boy scrunched up his face. “I guess so. What do you have?”
“Do you know how to play Monopoly? Or Sorry!? I know I have those.” My heart zinged, and little flutters of excitement bounced around inside of me. I’d hoped to see Nate that evening, and here he was. Sure, not how I’d imagined it, but I’d take what I could get.
“Anything will be fine, Liz,” Nate said, squeezing my hand. Such a simple touch, but it sent electrifying tingles over my skin. “Thanks for saving me,” he whispered. “I didn’t know how else to entertain him.”
I wanted to tell him he and Sam were saving me as much as I was saving them. For some reason, though, I didn’t. “I’ll go grab a few games, and we’ll see how it goes. Help yourself to some cookies, if you want. They’re in the cupboard next to the refrigerator.”
“Home-baked?” Nate asked with a grin.
Ha. If he only knew how dangerous it was asking me for anything home-baked. “Just Oreos, but I plan on baking tomorrow. I’ll save you something.”
After I returned with the games, we set up at the kitchen table. Over hot cocoa and Oreos, we battled out a game of Monopoly and then moved on to Sorry!, and all the while, I tried to think of something witty to say to Nate. Something flirtatious. Seeing as my last attempt (at the restaurant with Kevin) hadn’t gone that well, I was more than a little gun-shy.
And I wanted to talk about that night. You know, that amazing moment on my couch? Yep, that one. But not only couldn’t I bring it up around Sam, I wasn’t sure how I would, even if I could. It bothered me, just a little, that we hadn’t discussed what had happened between us. Did it mean something bad because we hadn’t? Or was I just worrying too much? I didn’t know.