Page 68 of Protecting Josie
“Who said I liked it?” she sassed.
She heard his chuckle as he moved out of her sight, into the bathroom.
Josie stretched, feeling like a contented cat. The twinge between her legs reminded her again of what they’d done the night before, and her smile grew. She would definitely be thinking of Nate all day.
“You seem nervous, is everything okay?” Josie asked Nate later that afternoon.
He’d checked in with her a few times over the course of the day, as was his routine. His texts, along with Remi and Wren’s, made Josie feel loved.
She’d spent so much of her time completely alone in her apartment working, never talking to anyone, that it felt strange at first to have so many people checking on her, or texting her simply to tell her something that was on their minds. They weren’t asking her to do anything, they just wanted to connect.
Which felt awesome.
After Nate arrived home, however, he seemed…off. Distracted. He’d been getting and sending a lot of texts.
“If you don’t want to go out to eat, it’s fine. I can make us something.”
“No!” Nate said, a little too loudly. He took a deep breath. “Sorry, no, I want to go to Aces. And you’ve been looking forward to meeting everyone. We’ve just been going over some pretty intense stuff at work.”
That didn’t really make Josie feel much better, but she did her best to push her worry aside. Nate and his teammates were good at what they did. She’d seen that firsthand. She trusted that if they were sent on a mission, they’d be all right.
She’d even had a little talk with Remi and Wren about the exact topic. About how they felt when the team was deployed. They’d validated her feelings and reassured her that when the SEAL team was sent off, they knew what they were doing.
“Okay,” she said a little belatedly.
The drive to Aces was taken in silence, but not an uncomfortable one. The lot was packed when they arrived but surprisingly, there was an open spot pretty close to the front door.
“It’s cute,” Josie said, as she studied the building. The bar wasn’t in a run-down part of the city and the logo—a poker chip with the word Aces across the front, in cursive—was eye-catching and appealing. The parking lot was clean and well-lit.
“There are cameras covering every inch of the lot,” Nate said, obviously watching her eye her surroundings. “Jessyka takes the safety of the people who come here very seriously. Especially after what happened to Wren. She even installedcameras looking up and down the street, in case someone doesn’t park in the main lot, as the asshole who tried to assault Wren did.”
Josie nodded. She’d heard the entire story about Wren’s situation, and was impressed with the way Jessyka, the owner of the bar, had stepped up to try to make sure it never happened again at her establishment.
“Ready?” Nate asked after he’d lifted her out of his truck.
“Ready,” Josie said firmly. And she was. Excitement was winning out over her nerves at this point. She wanted to meet the people who’d been so good to Nate. Who’d helped him get over the death of his SEAL teammates. His friends.
Nate pushed open the door and gestured for her to precede him inside. The feel of his hand on the small of her back was warm and comforting.
“Surprise!”
Josie jerked at the sound of so many people yelling at the same time. The bar was lit with bright lights that someone had turned on the moment she’d stepped inside. There was a huge “Happy Birthday” banner stretched behind the bar, and dozens of people were staring at her and Nate with huge smiles on their faces.
She turned to look up at Nate. “Is it your birthday?” she asked in shock. Surely he would’ve told her if that was the case.
“No,” he said with a soft smile. “We’re celebrating yours. You said you missed your thirtieth birthday, and I didn’t want such an important milestone to go unacknowledged.”
Josie swallowed hard. She could hear all the people talkingand laughing behind her…but she only had eyes for the man she’d fallen deeply and madly in love with.
“You aresogetting some tonight,” she blurted.
Nate threw back his head and laughed, and Josie had never wanted a man more than she wanted him at that moment.
“We’ll see how you feel,” he said, when he had control over himself.
“How I feel?” she asked.
“I’m thinking the girls want to celebrate with you in style,” he told her, nodding his head at something or someone behind her.
