Page 74 of Protecting Josie
“Happy Birthday, Spirit.”
“Best birthday ever,” she mumbled against him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When Josie thought about her birthday, and the sex she and Nate had when they’d gotten home, and how sweetly he’d taken care of her when she’d woken up with a monster hangover, she couldn’t help but grin.
She wasn’t a big drinker, but that night had been incredible. She’d felt so loved, so much a part of something. Not like an outsider, as she’d felt for most of her life.
Remi and Wren were the best. Funny, welcoming, and Josie felt as if she’d known them for years rather than weeks. But even better, the older SEAL women—Caroline, Cheyenne, and the others—were just as welcoming.
Josie had received more texts on the new phone Nate had helped her buy than she’d probably ever gotten in her life. Her phone was constantly dinging with incoming text messages from her new friends. So much so that she’d had to silence it while she was working, otherwise she’d get too distracted.
And it wasn’t just the women either. Wolf, Dude, Benny, and the other former SEALs also randomly texted her to check in when she was home by herself. At first, she wondered if Nate had told them something about her that concerned them, but he’d reassured her that, no, that’s just the kind of men they were.
Things were going so well, Josie couldn’t help but worry that something would happen to destroy her newfound happiness. It was a pessimistic thought, but in her experience, just when things were going well for her, the shit usually hit the fan.
But she was determined to try to live in the moment more often. Not to let whatmighthappen destroy her happiness in the present. And Josie had a lot to be happy about. She had her job back, new friends, Nate.
He was the partner she’d always wanted. Supportive, kind, brave. Men like him existed in the romance stories she sometimes read, but they were fiction. She knew better than most people that reality usually fell way short of what was portrayed in movies and books.
But somehow, here she was. Starring in her own romance book. Complete with a hero who was head over heels for her, kind, badass when he needed to be, and on top of it all…outstanding in bed.
Smiling, Josie looked over at Nate. He was in the kitchen, wearing his blue camouflage uniform and making them both some eggs over easy before he left for the naval base.
As if he sensed her looking at him, he turned. “What?” he asked with a small smile.
“Nothing. I just…I’m happy,” Josie blurted. “After what happened, I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel this way again.”
To her surprise, Nate put down the spatula and turned off the burner. He stalked toward her. When he reached where she was sitting at the table, Josie tilted her head up to look at him. He had a serious look on his face, and he turned her chair with ease, then leaned over so he was caging her in with his hands on the arms of the chair.
“I love you.”
Josie blinked in surprise.
“I just wanted to make sure you knew that. This isn’t a casual dating thing for me. I love everything about you. Your heart, your resilience, your strength, your body, the way you look at me with those big eyes like you’re doing right now, as if you don’t believe you’re loveable.”
Josie bit her lip and tried hard not to burst into tears.
Nate chuckled and caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Don’t cry,” he ordered. “You know I can’t stand it.”
“I love you too,” Josie blurted, reaching up and latching onto his wrist with her hand.
He smiled tenderly down at her. “I know.”
Josie frowned at that. “How do you know?” she asked.
“Because I see it in your eyes every morning when I wake up. And when I come home from work. And when I’m so deep inside your body, I don’t know where you end and I begin. You’re the first person I think of when I hear a funny joke, because I want to share it with you. You’re the one I want to call when I get good news or bad. You’re the center ofmy world, Josie England, and I can’t ever imagine younotin my life, loving me back.”
“Nate,” Josie whispered, overwhelmed with emotion.
He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. A sweet kiss that she felt down to her toes. This moment felt like the beginning of the rest of her life. As if she was shrugging off the old Josie, the one who’d felt so alone in that prison cell, the awkward woman who preferred to stay at home because she had no one to go out with to lunch or dinner.
“What time will you be home tonight?” she asked.
Nate looked a little perplexed, but he answered anyway. “The usual. Probably around five-thirty or so.”
“Good. Because Wren convinced me to order a negligee and it’s supposed to come in today. I thought maybe you could help me figure out if it fits properly or not,” Josie teased with a shy smile.
