Amy rolled her eyes at her mother who gave a knowing smile.
“You have to allow him one shining moment,” her mother whispered.
Her father, probably sensing their amusement, looked at them. “Women don’t understand the importance of the game.”
“Maybe not,” her mother conceded, “but we do know when to get to the airport.” She glanced at Amy. “Will you be taking Old Snoopy or joining us?”
“I’m not taking a separate car to see you off,” Amy replied.
“Just checking. You have an abnormal loyalty to that car.”
“Ha ha,” she shot back.
“Oh, that reminds me.” Nathan pulled out a business card and handed it to her. “I’m having a new engine put in that car, and I’m taking care of the rust on it while it’s being worked on. This way, it’ll be like new.”
Amy sighed as she reluctantly took the card. Once again, he was taking the reins in her life and once again, her parents looked grateful about it, but she had to admit that it was a touching gesture. He was extending the life of her first vehicle.
“Thank you,” she said, surprised that she meant it.
He smiled with a pleased look on his face and picked up her mother’s suitcase so they could go to the airport.
The ride there was nice. The sunny weather promised a safe and uneventful flight. At one point, he reached for her hand and she decided not to pull back. Her parents were in the backseat and couldn’t see it, so that made it more meaningful. It wasn’t something he did to appease her, make her forget something, or to give her parents the impression that they were a happily married couple.
They waited with her parents who checked in and went upstairs to the corridor that would lead them to their flight. Amy fought a momentary stab of grief as she hugged her parents good-bye. She did miss them, and even if her life was no longer in Florida, the distance would not make them any less precious to her.
“I love you, sweetie,” her father whispered. “You made a good choice with this Nathan, just like you did with Sean. Your mother and I are happy for you.”
And that was the final seal of approval. She smiled and thanked her dad before he joined her mother and walked down the corridor that led to the security check point.
Nathan put his arm around her shoulders. “They’re nice people.”
“Yes, they are.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing them again. Your dad and I are going to partner up and join the golf tournament down there. It should be fun.”
“That is the only Christmas gift my dad needs.”
“What do you think your mother wants?”
She thought of her mother’s excitement as her mother patted her stomach. There was nothing more her mother would love than to hear she was going to be a grandmother. With a shake of her head, she told him, “I think you know the answer to that.” Before he could ask for clarification, she headed back to the car.
Chapter Twelve
It was around five when Danielle dropped her two and four-year-old children off at Nathan’s house. Her face was back to normal, a fact that Amy noted with relief as she handed Danielle the gift card for the restaurant. Chase and Byron huddled together but smiled at Amy. Amy returned their smiles and took the diaper bag and suitcase from Danielle.
“You’ll have a good time with your aunt Amy,” Amy promised them. “It’s your uncle Nathan that you have to get used to.” She winked at them. “Feel free to be normal kids around him.”
Danielle looked uneasily at her friend. “Are you sure you want to put Nathan through this?”
Amy shrugged. “He’s the one who keeps insisting on having a child. What better way is there to find out if he means it or not than to let him be a dad for a weekend?”
Danielle bit her lower lip.
“Nathan’s a grown man. He can handle two little kids.” Maybe. Or maybe not. Either way, she was about to find out.
“Yes, but are you really going to get out of the marriage if he can’t handle it?” Danielle pressed.
“I don’t know.”
Danielle’s eyes lit up. “Then you might stay with him!”
“Shh...” Amy glanced over her shoulder. Good. Nathan hadn’t returned from his den. “Not so loud.” She practically shoved her friend out the door. “Now, have a good time. You have my cell number if you need anything.”
“Okay. Okay. Can I give my kids a hug before I go?”
“Oh, sure.” Amy stepped aside so that Chase and Byron could hug their mother.
“I love you guys,” Danielle said and kissed their cheeks.
Amy smiled. Even if Danielle complained about all the hard work motherhood was, it was apparent that, deep down, she enjoyed it. It warmed Amy’s heart. Up until that time, Amy never gave motherhood any serious thought. She and Sean figured they’d start a family when he got out of the military, and then he died so it wasn’t even an option. But now... She blinked and shook her head. This weekend wasn’t about her. It was about Nathan.
Danielle stood up. “Okay. I’m going. I’ll be here Sunday at four.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call you later tonight to let you know how things are going, but remember, this is the weekend for you and Randy to be together.”
“Yes, I know. I promise not to worry too much.”
After Danielle left, Amy turned to the two boys who peered up at her. “I think we’re going to have a lot of fun. I have some great things planned. First, there’s the park, then the zoo—”
“Can we see a bear?” Chase, the four year old, asked.
“Of course we can.”
“A giraffe?”
“I think the zoo has just about every animal there that you’re interested in.”
Chase looked very happy, and Byron sucked his thumb and held her hand.
She heard Nathan’s footsteps before she saw him.
“What a lovely scene,” he said, not hiding his pleasure.
Chase and Byron immediately turned to him with wide eyes and inched closer to Amy.
She laughed. “It’ll take them time to get used to you.” She squeezed the boys’ hands. “That is your uncle Nathan.”
“Uncle?” Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Danielle and I are best friends, so I think of these kids as my nephews.”
Nathan nodded. “Ah..” Then he knelt in front of them. “You know, I’m not the scary one. She is.” He pointed at her. “Hey, wait a minute,” he told Chase. “What’s that behind your ear?”
Chase brought up a hand and traced it. “Nothing.”
“Hmm... I thought I saw something. Let me check.” He felt behind the boy’s ear, gasped, and showed Chase a quarter. “Look at that. You’re made of money.”
“Awesome!” Chase exclaimed and took the quarter. He felt behind his other ear.
“It doesn’t happen each time,” Nathan said. “Just once in awhile.”
“Try Byron,” Chase said.
“You think he’s got a coin behind his ear too?”
Chase nodded.
Nathan reached behind Byron’s ear and pulled out a nickel. “I see it runs in the family.”
“Too bad it wasn’t another quarter,” Amy inserted.
Nathan glanced up at her and winked. “The smaller they are, the less they make.”
She laughed. Of course. It made sense, and it was cute.
“I wanted to ask you,” Nathan began as he stood up, “if you would like to go to dinner next week with a couple friends of mine. Alright. They’re not really friends, but I do know the husband and thought it might be fun to get to know them better. The man is in charge of the commercials for my company and seems like a nice guy.”
“Maybe,” she replied.
“Maybe?”
“I have to see if you survive this weekend first.”
His gaze met hers in an unmistakable challenge. “I might surprise you.”
She shrugged, pretending that she wasn’t curious. She did want t
o see how he would fare.
“What’s that behind your ear?” he asked her.
Startled, she felt the area. “Nothing.”
“Here. Let me check.” His fingers brushed her hair back, and he lightly touched the skin behind her ear, making her body tingle. A smile widened on his face before he produced a folded dollar bill in his hand. “Look there, boys. Amy makes dollar bills.”
She shook her head. She should have known that’s what he was doing. “Okay. That’s a good one.”
“Can you make another dollar?” Chase asked her.
“I’m sure I can, but we should wait until after dinner,” Amy replied. “So, where should we take them?”
Nathan grinned at her. “You’re going to make this hard on me, aren’t you?”
She didn’t know why she thought he wouldn’t prepare for this weekend, but it was quickly dawning on her that he had and that she might, once again, be out of her league. He seemed to anticipate all of her moves before she made them.
“I did a quick internet search and found a great pizza place fifteen minutes from here that has games for kids,” he announced, putting his hands in his pants and rolling on the heels of his feet as if he couldn’t wait to head out.
Chase and Byron cheered but stayed close to her.
“I’ll get the keys and we’ll head out,” Nathan said.
Amy suddenly realized what he didn’t think about. “You’ll need car seats.”
“Oh, I had those installed in my other car. We’re all set.”
A bit disappointed that he had planned for that one too, she sighed and went to get her purse so they could go out.
***
When the kids were asleep, Amy retired to the bedroom that night. As she shut the door, she noticed that Nathan stared at her in surprise. “What is it?” she asked.
“Your parents left this morning,” he replied as he set his wallet on the nightstand by what had become his side of the bed. “Aren’t you going to sleep in another bedroom now?”
“Oh.” Setting her purse on the dresser, she shrugged. “All my clothes are in here. It’s easier this way.”
“Of course.”
She noted his amusement but decided to ignore it. Instead, she opened the closet door and retrieved the pajamas. When she came out, she noticed that he had taken off his watch and belt. She hesitated for a moment because then he began to unbutton his shirt. He wasn’t looking her way at the moment, so it gave her the freedom to admire his broad shoulders and flat chest. As he turned to head toward the closet, she quickly looked away and headed for the bathroom. Okay. So maybe she wanted to see him naked. She was a normal female, and she did miss sex.
Forcing the thought from her mind, she closed the bathroom door and changed clothes. It’d been a long time since she’d enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh, and her body made it perfectly clear that it wanted to do so again. Sighing, she took her toothbrush and put toothpaste on it. She needed to get a grip on herself.
She was in the middle of brushing her teeth when Nathan entered the bathroom. She stopped and took a good look at his reflection in the mirror as he placed his neatly folded pajamas on the ledge above the towels. Her face flushed a wild shade of red, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
He opened the shower door and glanced her way. “Want to join me?”
She coughed and almost dropped her toothbrush. Grabbing a washcloth from the counter, she wiped the toothpaste that dribbled down her chin. Then she spit in the sink and dared to look over her shoulder. Even if he seemed annoyingly smug in catching her undivided attention, she couldn’t help but look down at the more interesting part of him.
“Well, come on in if you want.” Then he stepped into the shower and closed the door.
As soon as he turned the water on, something in her snapped and she could think again. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t a teenager. She was a grown woman who’d had sex before. She knew the male body very well, but here she was, standing in the bathroom like an idiot and openly gazing at Nathan as if she was a virgin.
She turned on the faucet and dabbed her face with cold water. She needed to get a hold of herself!
“The water is nice and warm,” Nathan called out.
She couldn’t see him clearly through the steam covering the shower door, but she wanted to be in there. Her pulse raced and her body screamed at her to go in there. She bit her lower lip and drummed her fingers on the counter. Did she want to stay married to him? This was a big decision. Shouldn’t she at least wait and see how he handled being with kids? And, probably the most important question of all, was that the only thing he wanted? To get her pregnant so he could have a child?
She didn’t like thinking that. She’d like to think he picked her for companionship too—someone to spend his life with, someone to love. She didn’t just want to be a mother. She wanted to be a wife. Maybe she should ask him. And what if he said yes just so she’d sleep with him and get pregnant? She saw that baby room. He’d designed it before he interviewed for a wife.
Finally, she opted for the safe route and left the bathroom.
***
In the middle of the night, one of the kids woke up crying. Alarmed, Amy jerked awake, immediately tangled in Nathan’s arms as he struggled to throw the sheets off his body. The whole ordeal resulted in what might be classified as a wrestling match with a lot of grunting before Amy finally freed herself from Nathan, but she fell out of the bed and landed on the floor.
He hopped out of bed and helped her up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Her elbow and thigh were sore, but there wasn’t anything that was seriously injured.
“I wanted to have some interesting activity with you in bed, but that wasn’t quite what I imagined,” he joked.
“I don’t know if interesting is the word,” she replied as they went to the bedroom where the kids were staying. “I thought there was an emergency, and I needed to scramble to safety.”
“I guess the kid does sound like a tornado drill.” He led the way and opened the door. Flipping on the light, he turned to the youngest boy who had fallen off the bed. “So that’s what happened.”
Chase who had woken up, sat up in bed and said, “Byron needs gardens.”
Amy furrowed her eyebrows as Nathan picked the crying two year old up. “You mean, Byron needs guard rails?”
“I think so,” Chase said.
“That’s not the only thing he needs.” Nathan held Byron out to her. “He has a dirty diaper.”
Amy shook her head and smirked. “You want a child so badly? Well, prove you can handle it.”
He blanched. “You can’t be serious!”
“Do you want a child or not?”
“But...but...”
She met his gaze and crossed her arms.
He grimaced but headed for the diaper bag.
“I’m thirsty,” Chase told her.
“I’ll tell you what,” she said, turning her attention to Chase. “If you go potty, I’ll give you some water.”
“I can do that,” Nathan volunteered.
“Oh no,” she immediately argued. “You’re the one who married me to get a child. That means you have to prove you can handle having one because if you don’t agree to change diapers, even the really nasty ones, I’ll go on the pill.”
He gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“We aren’t in our parents’ generation. Men are expected to help out. There’s more to having children than making them, Nathan.”
Sighing in resignation, he shuddered. “You win. I’ll change the diaper.”
Smiling in satisfaction, she waved for Chase to go potty. After Chase went to pee and then drank some water, she returned him to bed. Nathan had changed the diaper and laid out the comforter on the floor where he tucked in a sleepy Byron. Her heart warmed at the sight. Everything looked to be in order, so she figured he managed pretty well for a man who never went through the task of changing a diaper before.
>
Once Chase settled into bed, she and Nathan left the room. He turned off the lights, but the nightlight in the corner of the room cast a yellow glow over everything. They returned to their bedroom and she returned to her side of the bed.
“Have fun changing that diaper?” she asked, unable to resist the opportunity to tease him.
“No. I almost threw up. Who knew that kids could produce smells like that? And how can someone so small produce something that big?” He shuddered. “I washed my hands three times but still feel unclean.”
She grinned. “Well, you did a pretty good job. Byron looked happy.”
“Sure he was. I did all the work. He just laid there and laughed at me.”
She burst into a fit of giggles. “Not as easy as it looks, is it?”
At that comment, he rolled onto his side so he was facing her in the dark. “How would you know? You don’t have kids.”
“No, but I’ve babysat those boys a couple of times. I’ve had my fair share of diaper changes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me to not inhale that horrible odor?”
“Some things have to be learned the hard way.”
“Yes, I know. It’s all a part of your plan to convince me to let you out of this marriage. I guess it was worth a shot, but it didn’t work.” He inched toward her, and she thought too late to scoot back. He put an arm around her waist and drew her closer to him. Though their bodies didn’t touch, she felt his heat through their clothes. “I still want to be married to you.”
“What if I can’t have kids? What if I’m infertile?”
“Is that a hypothetical question or is that really the case?”
She thought to lie and tell him she knew that for sure, but then she realized the fib would do more harm than good. Finally, she opted for the truth. “I don’t know. Sean and I never tried to have children. I might be. Then I might conceive right away. But what if I can’t have them?”
“Then I still want to be married to you,” he whispered and kissed her lightly on the lips. “We can always adopt.” He rolled onto his back and resumed his normal sleeping position.
What Nathan Wants Page 10