Page 25 of The Surprise Wedding
Nate frowned. “I’m happy where I am, Tim.”
Of course he couldn’t say anything about what they were currently working on or that, from a computing point of view, it was a lot bigger than anything his brother could offer.
“But just think of all the things you could be doing with us,” Tim insisted. “I’m just saying maybe you should be working somewhere that really uses your talents.”
Tamara knew she had to save Nate and dove right in. “I can tell you that Nate enjoys the things he gets to do at Married in Malibu. Besides, if he worked here, he’d have to be away from me, wouldn’t he?”
“And you can’t break up such a lovely couple,” Florentine said, joining them. “Now, come on, Tim. Leave him alone. My mom wants to talk to you.”
“Thank you,” Nate said as soon as they were alone. Tamara slid into his arms briefly and gave him a squeeze. It was what a real couple would have done, after all. She was very aware of the attention Nate’s family was giving the two of them. Almost as aware as she was of Nate’s strong body next to hers. They didn’t play to the gallery, but she knew Nate wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him. She could feel his energy.
All through dinner, they sat close enough that they could have been physically joined at the hip. It was just pretend, Tamara reminded herself, but the truth was that she craved the contact, the closeness to Nate. She felt a bubbling happiness while at the same time feeling more calm and centered than she had in years.
Nate’s parents were sitting with them at the same table, and his mom was eager to tell Tamara what Nate had been like as a little boy. The surprising thing was that Nate had already told her a few of these stories. She’d heard the one about him and his brother racing their bikes across a busy intersection and almost giving his mom a heart attack. And she loved the one about the time Nate had set up his own computer help desk as a teenager. The stories were charming, and it was clear that Nate’s parents adored him.
The hard part came when some of Nate’s relatives wanted to know how they’d met and how things were going with their relationship. But she took a breath and decided—mostly—to just tell the truth. “Well, I guess you know I own a coffee shop close to where Nate works. We met because of his coffee obsession,” Tamara explained with a smile. “Since he started at Married in Malibu, he comes in my shop four or five times a day. I guess we both realized how much we have in common, and we like spending time together. We never seem to have a shortage of things to say. And then… you probably know about the big launch they did for the new Lucas Crosby single? Well, things changed for us at that party.”
She felt Nate tense a little. In response, she put a hand on his knee. Things had changed for them at that party, just not the way she was letting on.
Nate’s mother beamed at Tamara. “I, for one, am glad they did. Honestly, it’s been nothing but ‘Tamara this’ and ‘Tamara that’ for weeks. I’m so glad to finally meet you. And I hope we get to see a lot more of you.”
“Mom!” Nate said, but everyone ignored him. His family were all enjoying seeing him with a girlfriend, and it was obvious that they all really liked her.
Once dinner was finished, and Tamara insisted she couldn’t eat another bite, Tim offered to show them up to their room. “It’s got a great view,” he said, “and an en suite. I think you’ll have everything you need, but let me know if not. I want you guys to be comfortable.”
Nate ran out to the car to get their bags, and then they headed upstairs with Tim. He opened the door to their room, and Tamara let out a small gasp. The view over the ocean was spectacular, the kind of sweeping vista that the best hotels would charge a lot for. There were other elements that reminded Tamara of a hotel too—the guest room was essentially a small apartment unto itself, with a sofa, a large bed swathed in white sheets, and a door that led to an en suite bathroom.
Before Tim left to return to the others, he reminded them of the wedding brunch in the morning. “Keep it casual,” were his final words.
They thanked Tim for the great room, and as soon as the door closed, they burst out laughing.
“I don’t know about you, but I thought we did pretty darn good,” Tamara said, referring to their starring turn as a couple.
“Everyone bought it,” Nate agreed. “We didn’t get any weird looks or questions, and I think you know my mom, for one, just loved talking with you.”
Tamara grinned. She’d really liked Nate’s mom. “I thought everyone was great, and they made me feel so welcome. I was a bit nervous at first, but I needn’t have worried.”
Nate nodded, but as he looked around the room, the smile fell from his face. “Listen, Tamara, I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said.
The king-size bed loomed large between them. Tim had seemed so pleased to be able to give them such a beautiful room, and besides, what could they say? Tamara hadn’t dared to think much about the weekend’s sleeping arrangements for fear that she’d get carried away. So she’d decided it was something she’d deal with in the moment. Now the moment was here.
“That’s crazy,” Tamara replied, shaking her head. “We’re both grown-ups, Nate. We can handle sharing the bed. Especially this bed—it’s huge. It’s like someone wheeled a small country in here.” She laughed a little nervously.
“Are you sure?” Nate asked. “I really don’t mind.”
Tamara assured him it was fine, but in truth, she wasn’t sure for one simple reason—how could she possibly stop herself from reaching out for Nate in the night? She imagined nibbling her way down his body. But she quickly shoved that image to the back of her mind and repeated, “I’m sure.”
They took turns getting changed in the bathroom and realized they’d both brought some old and ugly, but comfy, sleepwear. In Tamara’s case, she wore an oversized T-shirt that still had stains on it from a particularly memorable Super Bowl party. Nate’s T-shirt looked to be at least a dozen years old and featured a Star Wars motif that included the Death Star.
Smiling at each other, they stood shyly beside the king-size bed, realizing they had similar tastes when it came to sleepwear. The trouble was, Tamara thought to herself, even in that old stretched-out T-shirt, he looked great. It was going to be a long night. There was no way she’d be able to sleep soundly with this delicious man beside her.
Taking a last look out the window, she saw a big ship in the distance, its lights twinkling in the night sky. Apart from a couple of dog walkers, the beach was empty and quiet save for the crash of the waves on the beach.
A little awkwardly, she turned down the bedspread and climbed into bed.
Nate followed, and then, sitting up, they turned to look at each other. “You know,” he said, “this has been quite a week.”
“How do you mean?”
