The Billionaire's Best Friend (The Sherbrookes of Newport) (9 page)

“
There’s nothing to explain. Not now anyway.” For the first time all evening her polite tone dropped away. “Let’s just leave it and watch TV.”

Leave it?
After her implication, he couldn’t just leave it. “Not happening. What did you mean?” Even if the best he could ever hope for was her friendship, he needed to get past her anger first.

Lauren unexpectedly jumped to her feet, took a few steps away, and whirled around to face him.
“Fine. You want to talk about the past? We’ll talk. You promised to write. Do you remember that, too?” She took a step closer. “That day you said we’d stay in contact, but you never bothered.”

His gut winced. When he
’d said the words way back then he’d meant them. He’d even tried once. He had picked up the phone, started to dial, and hung up. Just like then, Nate was unsure of what he intended to say now as he stood and began, “Lauren let me—”

“
Don’t make up any excuses.” She stepped toward him and jabbed a finger into his shoulder. “I don’t want to hear it. Besides, it doesn’t matter now. We’ve both moved on.”

In one motion, Nate wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her closer. The sudden physical contact caused his heart rate to rev like the engine of his brother
’s prized Corvette. “Bullshit.”

With his hand still wrapped around her wrist, she took a step away from him.
“Soon you’ll go back to wherever the military wants you. We may never see each other again. The past doesn’t matter.”

“
Like I told you the other night, Lauren. I am not leaving.” He focused on removing the anger from his voice.

A cynical smile formed on her face.
“You left the Marines? Yeah, right. They mean more to you than I ever did.” The anger he’d heard before diminished, but sadness took its place.

Nate reached out his free hand and touched her cheek.
“That’s not true, and I’m no longer on active duty.” The warmth from her skin managed to penetrate through the calluses on his hands. “I’m in the reserves now. Last month I graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico.”

Lauren
’s eyes flew open. “You’re an FBI Agent? Seriously?” Her voice hit the next octave.

Surprise and shock trumped anger any day of the week.
“Yeah, in the Boston field office.”

“
Wow, that’s . . .” The awe in her voice trailed off. “That doesn’t change anything.” She took a step back, and his hand fell away.

With the increased distance between them again, the sunshine he
’d felt bathed in a moment ago disappeared. “I don’t believe that.” In two steps he closed the distance between them. Before she could move again he made his move. He let his lips brush against hers.

Home
. The word lit up in his head. Regardless of the years gone by, he belonged right here with this woman. He always had.

All messages between her brain and muscles stopped. For that brief moment she could only relish the feel of his firm lips once again against hers after all this time. Then the paralysis wore off, and she placed both hands on his chest and shoved him hard. “That didn’t happen.”

Nate folded his arms across his chest.
“Yeah, Lauren, it did.”

Her eyes traveled down his face to his arms where his biceps strained against his shirtsleeves. Back in high school he
’d been fit and muscular, but the years since then had taken his unrefined body and sculpted it to perfection.

Don
’t get distracted.
“I’m seeing Kevin.”

He took a step closer. Despite the warning bells in her head, a flash of heat and excitement
burst through her body.

“
Simple. Stop seeing him.”

The rich timber of Nate
’s voice washed over her, triggering both desire and annoyance at the same time. Lauren latched onto the annoyance. “Kevin makes me happy.”
It’s not a lie
. He may not set her on fire, but they had fun together, and she felt safe with him. “Just because you’re back changes nothing. I have a life, Nate. I didn’t just sit around while you did your part saving the world.”

Nate unfolded his arms then reached for her hand.
“Lauren, give me a chance to explain. I—”

Rough calluses rubbed against her hand, a reminder of the different lives they had led since high school.
“Nate, I’m glad you’re home safe, but our relationship ended a long time ago. Maybe we can be friends again. That’s it, though.” Her last sentence came out almost as a whisper. If he’d come back into her life years ago, maybe her response would’ve been different. Now, though, too much time had passed.

Nate
’s jaw clenched, the only outward sign he felt anything. No big surprise there. Even as children he had been great at hiding his emotions. “I need some air.”

He disappeared out the front door onto the porch without his jacket.
Ah, the wonderful Nathaniel Callahan avoidance.
How many times had she seen that over the years? Oh well, at least it brought an end to their conversation.

Chapter 4

Lauren bolted upright in bed. Next to her, JoJo lifted her head as if to say
you woke me
. Then she heard it again. A gut-wrenching moan that sent a chill through her body.

Nate
. In one movement she kicked off the covers and flicked on the bedside lamp. “Damn,” she said when the light didn’t turn on. Moonlight from outside provided just enough light to cross the room without banging into anything and grab the flashlight from her bureau. Another moan came from across the hall. Without hesitation, Lauren left the room. The light from the flashlight bounced off the closed bedroom door. Through it she heard Nate say something, but all she caught was the word “no.”

“
Nate?” His only response was another agony-filled moan. Lauren opened the door as Nate once again said, “No,” his voice thick with grief. The bright beam from her LED flashlight washed over him. He’d stripped down to his underwear and his legs were twisted up in the bed sheets. Even though his eyes remained closed, his face was contorted in pain and his entire body gleamed with sweat. As she stood in the doorway, he moaned again, his head thrashing back and forth.

“
Nate,” she called again as she moved to the side of the bed. When no response came, she put down the flashlight and reached for his shoulders. “Wake up, Nate.” She tried to give him a little shake but it was a bit like trying to move a cement slab. “Come on, Nate. Wake up.” This time she raised her voice.

His eyes popped open, darted wildly around the room, and then locked on her face. Still unfocused, he stared at her, but she got the sense that although his eyes were on her, he wasn
’t really seeing her.

“
Are you okay?” Now that he’d stopped moaning, she became aware of the warm slick skin under her hands and the oddly shaped scar she could feel on his left shoulder.

He blinked a few times.
“Lauren?” His eyes moved around the room illuminated only by the flashlight then returned to her. Recognition finally filled his face.

“
You were . . . dreaming.” The pain and grief she saw on his face made her chest ache. Before she could do something stupid like hug him, she lifted her hands and clasped them together in her lap. “Are you okay?” she asked again.

The mattress on the bed shifted underneath her as Nate pulled
himself up. “Sorry I woke you.” He raked his hand across his face. “I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

Yeah, right
. She may not have been an expert on the brain and how it behaved during sleep, but she knew people didn’t normally moan and break out in a sweat when they slept. “That wasn’t a dream, Nate.” She unclasped her hands and placed a palm on his cheek. “Do you want to talk about it?” The stubble growing on his face scratched her fingers as she caressed his cheek.

His hand wrapped around her wrist holding her hand still.
“I said I’m fine. It was just a dream I have sometimes. No big deal.”

Evidently his definition of a big deal varied greatly from hers. Her common sense said to let it go. Her soul said something else.
“If you need anything, I’m here.” She’d loved him too much at one time to see him suffering now.

“
I’m fine,” he said again, the hard edge from his voice gone now.

Now is a good time to go
. Lauren swallowed, comprehension hitting her full on. Nate sat virtually naked just inches away. Thanks to her extra bright flashlight she saw every bare inch of him in magnificent detail. Despite the little voice telling her otherwise, Lauren let her gaze roam from his face across his shoulders and chest and down his torso. Not an extra ounce of flesh existed on him. Reversing the track her eyes had just taken, she spotted the Marine insignia tattoo—the eagle, anchor, and globe—on his upper right bicep near his shoulder. Back in high school she never would’ve guessed he’d get a tattoo, yet it looked good on him. Almost natural, if that was possible.

“
Thanks.” Nate’s voice washed over her, tugging her back to reality. His hand moved down her arm creating goosebumps on her skin.

Lauren met his hazel-blue eyes, unable to look away. For a moment it felt as if the clock had turned back fifteen years. As if drawn by a pulley, she leaned forward intent on one thing, kissing him again. A sudden shift on the mattress when
JoJo leaped on the bed broke whatever spell she’d fallen under. With a jerk, Lauren pulled her arm away and jumped up. Unable to look at him again, Lauren focused on the wall behind him. “The power went out. There is a flashlight in the bureau if you need it.” She sensed that he wanted to say something, so she didn’t give him the opportunity. “I’m going back to bed. See you in the morning.” Lauren took a few steps toward the door, but when JoJo didn’t follow she stopped. “Come on, JoJo. Bed.” The dog looked up in response to her name, but she didn’t get off the bed. Instead she settled her head on her paws. Prepared to pull the dog off the bed, she moved toward her. “Come on, you silly goose. He doesn’t want you to sleep in here tonight.”

“
She can stay if she wants.”

Lauren
’s hand paused above the dog’s collar. “Are you sure? She likes to hog the bed.”

“
Positive. Leave her.”

Don
’t argue. Leave while you still can
. After she gave JoJo one final pat, she retreated back to her own room and away from the temptation that Nate presented.

***

With one hand she covered a yawn while the other poured an extra-large mug of coffee. After the restless sleep she’d had, she needed all the caffeine she could get. Thank goodness the power was back on. Before doing anything else, she took a long swallow of the French-vanilla coffee. Combined with a splash of milk and two sugars, it was the perfect mix of sweet and creamy. The warm liquid washed through her body, warming her as well. While the power had come back on a good fifteen minutes earlier, the house still remained on the chilly side. It would probably take another hour or so before it reached her preferred temperature.

After a few more sips she moved on, prepared to tackle breakfast. The weekends were the only time she put extra effort into cooking breakfast. During the week she opted for things like cereal with fruit or yogurt mixed with granola. On Saturdays and Sundays though, she didn
’t need to rush, so French toast or homemade waffles often made the menu.

So far she
’d heard nothing from the spare bedroom. In case that meant Nate still slept, she tried to be quiet as she moved around the kitchen. After living alone for so long, she’d gotten used to not worrying about waking someone else up. Even if she didn’t wake him, at some point he’d make an appearance. Then what? Should she bring up the scene last night or let it go? He’d brushed the dream off as nothing. The expression on his face said otherwise. Granted, people experienced nightmares all the time, yet a tiny voice said the dream he had last night was much more and something that happened often.

It
’s none of my business
. Lauren cracked a few eggs into a bowl and then added some vanilla and milk. Nate had family and friends to talk to. He didn’t need her interference. Besides, if she tried to help he may interpret it in the wrong way. Right now she didn’t need that complication. Things with Kevin were going well. Too much interaction with Nate could jeopardize that relationship. With more force than necessary, Lauren beat the eggs together with the vanilla and milk before adding sugar and cinnamon to the mixture. Once satisfied, she set the bowl aside, dug out her skillet, and turned on the stove. All the while though, she kept an ear tuned for any movement in the spare bedroom. If he didn’t wake up on his own soon, JoJo was sure to wake him. JoJo always woke her on the weekends when her bladder could wait no longer.

Nate felt the last remnants of sleep drift away. With reluctance, he opened his eyes. An unfamiliar room surrounded him, and a black dog slept with its head resting on the other pillow. Instantly his brain kicked in. Memories from the day before flashed through his head.
Lauren’s house.
In one motion he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. Without even bothering to grab his jeans, he moved to the window. A winter wonderland greeted him. Snow no longer fell, but at least a foot of the white stuff covered the backyard. If he hoped to leave anytime soon he had some shoveling to do. Despite knowing what he needed to do, he stood at the window. It had been a while since he’d seen snow like this. If the temperature stayed as cold as it had been, this snow would be around past April Fool’s Day.