He gave her hair a playful tug, then stepped away. “Don’t listen to them. They’ve been obsessed with marrying me off since I turned thirty. They’d say anything to convince you I’m husband material.”
It wouldn’t take much convincing, she thought. “Don’t worry, I have no delusions you’re the marrying kind.” Nate was right. She’d gotten caught up in his sisters’ fantasy.
They’d convinced her that she was the one woman who could get him to break his no-relationship rule. In their minds she had something going for her that no other woman had had—time. Time enough for her to get past Nate’s defenses and capture his heart. After all, she was the only woman Nate had ever introduced to his family. Except he hadn’t introduced her. She’d introduced herself, and it had been obvious he’d wanted to get her off the phone as quickly as possible.
“You should tell that to my brothers-in-law. They’ve been texting me since six this morning. Two of them wanted to know when we’re getting married so they could mark it on their calendars. One wanted to know if he was my best man. Brother-in-law number four wanted to know if I’d been in an accident and had amnesia. I like him best. My least-favorite brother-in-law, Val’s husband and Chase’s boss at the FBI field office, he wanted your number. I didn’t give it to him, but don’t be surprised if you receive a text from an anonymous number listing all the reasons you shouldn’t hook up with me.”
“If he does, he better hope your sister doesn’t find out. And not just Val. They all think you can do no wrong. It must be nice to have such a close, supportive family.”
“Your definition of supportive must be different than mine. But yeah, when they’re not trying to run my life, I lucked out.”
“You did, and so did I.” Ellie walked into the room and smoothed a hand over the comforter. “Where did you get this? It’s beautiful and exactly what I pictured for the bedding but had no idea where I’d find anything like it by Sunday.”
“Val. My mom bought it for her hope chest. According to my sister, my mom started filling it when Val was thirteen.” He ran a finger over the comforter and smiled. “I guess they inherited their wedding-obsessed gene from her.”
“Nate, I can’t keep this. Val should save it for Annalise.”
“I said the same thing, but I was outvoted. They’ll be offended if you don’t accept it, Ellie. Besides, my nieces liked the idea their stuff would be part of the Beauty and the Beast room. They think my mom would too.”
“Your mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman. You all must miss her very much, her and your father.”
“Yeah, we do. They were great parents. That first year without them was tough, but Val stepped into my mom’s shoes. If we missed a Sunday family dinner, family birthday, or holiday at her place, there was hell to pay. She’s relentless. You’re just lucky she doesn’t have your cell phone number. She—” He dropped his chin to his chest. “You gave it to her, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “Yesterday when we were on the phone.”
“You mean, all my sisters and nieces have your number now?”
“What did you expect me to do? Say no?”
“If you valued your sanity, you would have.”
“You’re exaggerating. Besides, I really liked them. I think they’re great. They seem like a lot of fun.”
“Yeah, they liked you too,” he muttered.
He was obviously not pleased, and she knew why. But she shrugged, pretending she didn’t. “I’m a likable person.”
“Hey, Ellie,” Ryder called up the stairs. “Joe wants to know what’s for breakfast.”
“Tell Joe and the judge it’s about time they start making their own breakfast. Ellie’s busy.”
“Nate! I’ll be right down, Ryder.”
“You have to stop catering to them, Ellie.” Nate followed her from the room. “You can’t do everything by yourself.”
“If you saw what they were making themselves for breakfast, you would have taken over too. But you’re right. At least for the rest of this week, they can look after themselves. I’m making an exception this morning because I have to break the news to Grandpa that my mother’s coming for the weekend. I called her last night.”
“You talk to Joe, and Ryder and I will make breakfast.”
“You don’t have to do that. You’re already doing enough for us.” The phone rang at the reception desk, and Ellie hurried the rest of the way down the stairs to answer. “Mirror Lake Inn, Ellie speaking.” She pressed her lips together when the woman’s voice came over the line, turning her back on Nate. “Hi, Val. Thanks so much for the comforter. It’s perfect, and so are the teacups, teapot, and rose. Please let the girls know how much I appreciate them.” She felt Nate behind her and shooed him away.
He stepped in front of her, crossed his incredible arms, and looked at her with a see what I mean eyebrow raised.
“Twenty-two? Wow, there really are a lot of you. No, no, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She turned to open the reservation book, flipping to Sunday’s afternoon tea. “I should be able to fit you in at the one o’clock seating. Does that work for—” She broke off, talking to her empty hand. “Nate!”
He had the phone to his ear, clearly unhappy Val was booking his entire family for Sunday’s tea. She might have appreciated how sexy his gruff and growly voice was if she weren’t annoyed with him. She made a grab for the phone, and he put out his other hand to keep her at arm’s length. The man had a very long arm. “Nathan Black, you give me the phone right now.”
He snorted, turned his back on her, and continued arguing with his sister. Ellie moved in front of him, warding off his outstretched hand with her own while attempting to take the phone from him. She had to jump a little because he was at least six five and she was five nine. When Nate once again blocked her, she dipped her hand under the neck of her long-sleeved T-shirt and pulled her cell phone from her bra.
Nate’s argument with Val abruptly ended. Ellie looked up, thinking his sister had hung up on him, only to find he was staring at her.
She shrugged. “I don’t have pockets in my leggings.” Then she gave him a smug smile and called his sister. Her call went to voice mail, and she left a message. “You have a reservation for twenty-two at one on Sunday, Val. I can’t wait to meet everybody. If anyone has allergies, just let me know.” As she disconnected, she was thinking of ways to show her appreciation to Nate’s family.
Her musings were cut off when Nate slammed the phone in the cradle. Without saying a word to her, he strode into the dining room.
She followed him to the kitchen, where he was taking a carton of eggs out of the fridge. Ryder winced when Nate plunked the eggs on the counter. “I’ll help Nate make breakfast, Ryder. Why don’t you take Toby for a quick walk before we eat?”
“Sure,” he said, and left the kitchen while casting an apprehensive glance over his shoulder at Nate. “Joe and the judge said to call them when breakfast is ready. They’re in Joe’s room drawing up plans for the reno.”