Page 44 of Hate to Love You
My apartment building is about a mile from the restaurant. Zara dropped me off earlier this evening. If I called her, she’d be here in a heartbeat. No questions asked. Next to Mom, Zara is the only other person in the world I can count on. But I don’t want to do that. I think the walk will do me good. It’ll give me some time to clear my head and process what just happened.
“Davies?”
I blink and focus on the guy who has appeared out of nowhere.
Feeling confused, I ask, “What are you doing here?”
Chapter Fifteen
Brody
I jerk my thumb toward a couple of guys from the team who are behind me. “We’re just about to grab dinner.” My eyes slide over her with more care. Even though I don’t know Natalie all that well, I can tell something’s bothering her. She seems off. And pale. “Are you okay?”
Not answering, she bites her lip, and her eyes jerk back to the restaurant.
“Natalie?” I say with a bit more force. This isn’t the Natalie Davies I’ve known since freshman year. That girl is a bruiser and yeah, upon occasion, a real ballbuster. The quiet woman in front of me is nothing more than a paper-thin shadow of her.
She remains silent as a couple of guys pass us on their way inside.
There’s no way I’m leaving her out here alone like this. Making a split-second decision, I tell them, “Hey, I’m going to run Natalie home. Just grab dinner without me.”
Of course, a few of the assholes otherwise known as my friends can’t just say okay, catch ya back at the house. They’ve got to get in a crack or two about me being pussy-whipped.
I roll my eyes.
Give me a break. It’s been less than a week.
Ignoring them, I say, “Come on.” I nod my head toward the lot. “My truck is parked over there. I’ll take you back to your apartment.”
Looking a little more like herself, she waves me away. “Go have dinner with your friends. It’s not that far of a walk. I’ll be fine.”
The sun is just beginning to dip beneath the horizon. Sure, it’ll be a while before it’s dark out, but so what? I’m still not letting her walk home alone. She may not know this about me, but I can play the part of a gentleman pretty well.
“I’m sure you would be,” I say. “But there’s obviously something wrong, and I’d like to know what it is.” Before she gets it in her head that arguing with me will do any good, I add, “I’m not taking no for an answer. We can stand here all night and discuss it, sweetheart. It’s up to you.”
She sucks in a sharp breath and slowly releases it. “Don’t you think you’re taking this fake-boyfriend thing a bit too far?”
I chuckle because it sounds like she’s on the verge of relenting. Which, quite honestly, is very un-Natalie-like. My girl over here loves to get into it with me. That only reinforces my suspicions that whatever’s bothering her is a big deal. “It’s good practice for the real thing, right?” I give her a wink and the tension radiating off her in thick, heavy waves dissipates.
We fall in line together as we walk toward the truck. I open the passenger side door and make a grand sweeping gesture with my arm. “Your chariot awaits, madam.”
She snorts and slides inside without a word. I close the door and circle around to the driver’s side.
“Since when do chariots cost more than forty grand?” she asks as I turn the key and start the engine.
I shrug. “Dunno. Inflation?”
The edges of her lips pull up, and she settles onto the leather with a deep sigh as if she’s bone weary.
Once we’re both fastened in, I pull the truck out of the lot. When she remains silent, staring contemplatively out the window, I ask, “Are you going to tell me what happened or do you want to play a game of twenty questions?” When she doesn’t immediately respond, I add, “I’ll have you know that it usually only takes ten questions before I’m able to guess correctly.”
Natalie rolls her head toward me. She looks a little unsure and a lot exhausted. “You really want to know?”
Electricity zips through the air as our gazes connect. My teasing tone falls away. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”
She pulls her eyes from mine and focuses straight ahead. “My parents separated nine months ago. I met with my father at the restaurant for the first time since he walked out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” No wonder she looks upset. “It didn’t go the way you thought it would?” Hearing this makes me realize just how little I know about Natalie on a personal level. It also makes me realize that I want to dig beneath the surface and get to know her better.