Nate took her outstretched hand in his and smiled. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
What was he talking about? Her secret crush on him or her secret psychic abilities? But the worry that he might have guessed either of her secrets vanished at the feel of his warm, strong hand enveloping hers.
“Why are you two being so formal? You should be hugging, not shaking hands,” her grandmother said, pushing Ellie into Nate.
“Mrs. M,” Nate muttered, releasing Ellie’s hand to slide his arms around her. No doubt to steady her and not to comply with her grandmother’s blatant attempt at matchmaking. Her grandmother loved Nate and didn’t bother hiding the fact that she thought he and Ellie were a perfect match.
Ignoring how wonderful he smelled and how incredible it felt to be in his arms again, Ellie gave him a quick, friendly hug and then backed away.
“What?” her grandmother said. “You don’t think it’s odd my granddaughter doesn’t give you a hug instead of a handshake when you spent the night of Sadie and Chase’s wedding in each other’s arms?”
“Granny! We danced. We didn’t—”
Her grandmother frowned. “I know. That’s what I just said.”
Ellie’s cheeks flamed with heat. “Right, of course. Don’t mind me. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” She held up the beer bottle and cigar. “And Grandpa Joe is missing.”
Agnes held up her phone. “We got the alert. No one in town has seen him. But don’t worry, Nate will find him.”
“I’m sure Nate has better things to do, Granny. You can’t just—”
“Ellie, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” The three of them turned at the sound of two vehicles coming up the gravel road. Ellie closed her eyes and took a calming breath. Her family had arrived.
“Nate, hurry. Kiss her. Kiss her now.”
Ellie’s eyes popped open, and she stared at her grandmother in embarrassed horror. “Granny, are you cra—”
“It’s not a big deal, Ellie. Mrs. M told me what’s up. She figures your mother won’t mess with you if she thinks you have someone like me backing you up.”
“You mean, like a boyfriend? You’re supposed to be my boyfriend?”
Nate shrugged. “Half the town is in on the act to save the inn and Joe. I don’t mind doing my part.” He stepped closer, smiling down at her as he tipped up her chin with his knuckle. “What do you say?”
“I don’t know if this is a good idea. I—”
“Be quiet and kiss the man. They won’t believe you’re a couple if they don’t see it with their own eyes.”
Chapter Two
Ellie looked from her grandmother to Nate. The poor man had no idea what he was getting himself into. He might be an agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and incredibly good at his job, but Agnes MacLeod was as devious as any of the criminals he’d put away. She was also right, to a certain degree.
While Nate’s act wouldn’t deter her mother from trying to railroad her into going along with her plan, Ellie’s fake in-a-relationship status might deter her mother from listing all the reasons she would never be in one again. It was one of her mother’s favorite gaslighting tactics to throw Ellie off balance.
“What are you two waiting for? They’re turning into the inn,” her grandmother said.
Nate stepped back, lowering his hand from Ellie’s chin. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at him and smiled. He might give off a dangerous bad-boy vibe, but he was an incredibly nice guy. And it wasn’t as if Ellie hadn’t thought about kissing him. She’d actually given it quite a bit of thought the night of her cousin’s wedding. They might have already done the deed if he hadn’t been called away in the middle of their last dance together that moonlit night in October.
“I’m good. Let’s do this.” She stepped in to Nate and placed a hand on his chest. The man was seriously built and gorgeous. His muscles…No. No thinking about his muscles or how handsome he was. They were simply playing a part for a few hours. She’d deal with her grandmother’s off-the-wall expectations later. It wasn’t as if Nate would be around for more than a day anyway. The man was married to his job.
“Are we going for quick and chaste or down and dirty?” he asked, a teasing note in his voice.
She blinked up at him. Heat spread through her body at his question and her grandmother’s snort of laughter. Ellie opened her mouth to blurt Quick and chaste when she caught a glimpse of her mother’s face as the black SUV drove by. The rebellious streak in Ellie that she mostly ignored took over. “Down and dirty.”
“Totally not what I expected you to say,” Nate murmured as he wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Her body was practically humming with desire. But it was too late to change her mind. His mouth was on hers, his lips surprisingly soft and gentle. Their breaths mingled in a kiss that was more teasingly seductive than down and dirty.
There was no urgent plundering. It was a lush exploration of her mouth by a man who knew exactly what he was doing, and he did it very, very well. He angled his head, and she followed, deepening the kiss. It was like a sensual dance, one they’d performed before. She clutched his leather jacket, dizzy from the intensity of her feelings. She swore she heard violins. The sound of car doors slamming interrupted the romantic soundtrack in her mind.
Nate broke the kiss and stared at her.
“Good. You look relaxed and ravished, Ellie my girl. A much better look on you than pale and stressed out. And you, laddie”—her grandmother grinned at Nate—“look stunned.”
Nate’s mouth flattened. “You and I need to have a chat, Mrs. M.” He glanced over Ellie’s head. “But it’ll have to wait,” he said. Then he reached for Ellie.
He wasn’t going to kiss her again, was he? She didn’t think her mind or body could take it. “Um, Nate, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to kiss me again.”
“You and me both,” he said under his breath, and then he took the cigar and beer bottle from her hand. “I’ll text you when I find Joe, and you can tell me how you want to play it.”
She looked over her shoulder. Her parents were out of their car, waiting for her sister and Richard to join them. Ellie returned her attention to Nate, retrieving her phone from her pocket.
“I’ve got your number,” he said without meeting her gaze. He lifted his chin. “What’s across the lake?”
She glanced at the rooftops barely visible through the trees. “Cabins. They’re part of the inn, but my grandfather hasn’t rented them out in years.”
“Is there an access road?”
“I’m pretty sure there is, but we usually walked around the lake or took the boat.” She looked to the right of the dock where the rowboat had been this morning. “It’s gone.”
“Probably faster if I go by boat. Do you have another one?”
She nodded, wondering what she’d done wrong. He wouldn’t look at her. Had she offended him when she said she didn’t think they should kiss again? He seemed to be on the same page as her, but—