Page 21 of Living with Fire
I raise an eyebrow at him then rephrase. “Nate is my hero and rescued me?”
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, clearly not liking the whole hero idea.
It must be something he shies away from regularly because Elizabeth gives him a knowing look. “Always so humble, Nathan. We all know you’re just doing your job, but you have the job of a hero, and you might as well accept that.”
Nate swirls his straw in his milkshake, evidently not entertaining this conversation any longer. It seems to be clear to Elizabeth that he isn’t going to budge an inch on this because she changes the subject. “You’re still off next Sunday?”
“Of course,” he smiles warmly at his mom, the indifference vanishing. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Good.” Elizabeth looks from Nate to me and then back again. “You should bring Savanna.” Her eyes land on me once more. “It’s my birthday and I would be delighted if you joined Nathan at my birthday barbecue. You can tell me more about how he rescued you. I love hearing firsthand stories about my boy.”
My mouth is unattractively hanging open, unsure of what to say. I don’t even know Nate, not well anyway, and his mom is inviting me over for a barbecue. This isn’t weird at all. “I, uh… I mean…”
“Mom,” Nate says, and I hear a warning in his tone. “Savanna and I don’t know each other that well. Let’s not make her uncomfortable.”
“What better way to get to know someone than to bring her to a barbecue?” Elizabeth says, paying no attention to the warning. “In fact, if you don’t bring her, maybe you shouldn’t show up. I would be sorely disappointed, as would your aunts.” The woman beams at the two of us as if she didn’t just utter a threat to her son. “Now let me go check on your burgers, I’ll bet they’re ready.”
I stare at Nate, my eyes wide, unsure of what to say. He just sighs and shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. “If you hadn’t picked up on it, my family likes to meddle, and their favorite thing to meddle in is my love life. Ignore them.”
“Was she serious about you not showing up without me?” I ask, stunned that the woman who seemed so sweet and nice would say such a thing. Nate shrugs and my eyes grow larger. That’s definitely not a no, and he won’t meet my eyes which makes me believe he’s not entirely sure. “But… but… she seemed so normal!”
At this, Nate laughs, but what he finds amusing is beyond me. “My mom is amazing, and I love her, but she’s definitely meddlesome like the rest of the women in my family.”
I know I look a little freaked out because he leans forward and waves a hand. “The older generation of females in our family tend to harp on the younger, single generation. What my mom is telling me, without telling you, is that she’s going to blab about you and me being here together, and if I don’t show up with you, I’m going to be met with a lot of questions.”
Oh. I see. His laughter wasn’t amusement, it was resignation. Something I hear clearly in his voice now.
“Why would you bring me here then?” I implore, eyebrows furrowed until my face smooths out, my eyes widening. “Unless… Was this part of your not hitting on me plan?”
This time his laughter is genuine. “Not at all. I stop here most days when I get off shift and have a bite to eat before I go home and crash. I wasn’t really thinking about my mom, and what she might think about you and me being here, until I saw her. By then it was too late to do anything about it.”
“And now you’re going to be subjected to the third degree if I don’t come with you?” I ask hesitantly, and he nods. “Why do they meddle?”
He shrugs through a long, low sigh. “What can I say? They love love. They think happiness means having a partner, a family, all that stuff. So considering I’ve been single for a while, that must mean I’m miserable.”
“Are you?” I question before I can think better of it.
Nate chuckles, flashing me a wide grin. “Far from it. I’m too busy to be miserable.”
“Is that why you’re single?” I ask, and when he shrugs noncommittally, I raise an eyebrow. Maybe I shouldn’t be curious, but I am.
“Lately it’s definitely been because I’m busy, but it’s a combination of that and not finding the right woman,” he explains, making me wonder what’s been happening lately.
Twirling my straw in the thick milkshake, I eye it for a moment while chewing on my lip. Nate seemed serious that he would be bombarded with questions, and based on his reaction, it doesn’t sound like a pleasant time. I hate to think that I’d be the reason for that. “I don’t like knowing I’m going to be the cause of grief for you after you’ve been nothing but generous with me.”
“It’s okay. Honestly. I’ll explain the situation, and while they might be disappointed, they’ll understand,” he tells me with a confident nod of his head.
When I give him a dubious look, he smiles sincerely and reaches over, laying his hand on mine, creating that same electricity that ran through me before. I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows hard, obviously feeling the same thing I am.
I don’t think it’s my imagination that his voice is an octave deeper when he says, “Let’s just worry about getting through today before we start talking about barbecues, okay?”
Right. Today. I’ve been enjoying Nate’s company so much that I haven’t given another thought to the rest of the day, and while it was a nice break, I need to think about where I go from here.
I chew on my bottom lip for a moment before asking, “Do you think I’ll be able to get into my apartment today?”
Nate frowns, and I see the answer in his eyes before he says it out loud while giving my hand a squeeze. “Unfortunately not. It might be a while before you can get back in there. Do you have renter’s insurance?”
I pride myself in being a smart woman, but I’ll admit that not getting insurance was not one of my smarter choices. I sigh, shaking my head as I look down at my milkshake.