Uninvolved (43 page)

"Dave isn’t the best grocery shopper
,
" Becka explained.

They went to the grocery store together. Becka had to laugh
.
They
were grocery shopping t
ogether. How domestic was that?
When they got to the register
,
Nate
even paid
,
whispering he could not wait to see how she would repay him. Becka flushed
,
G
od
,
she wanted him
. Back at her house
,
Becka wanted to forget all about dinner and get down to business.
Nate
explained he had to make sure she was fueled for what he had planned. Becka's stomach flipped.
Nate
made
a
sautéed chicken and bowtie pasta dish, winning Dave's favor by making enough for him as well.

This was another thing she had not known about him
.
He
liked to cook.
After dinner
and back in her room
,
he told her about his job, what he did, what he wished he did. He told her about his hobbies other than
soccer. After maybe two
hours of straight talking
,
he peered up at B
ecka and asked if she still felt weird. Crawling onto him
,
she did her best to assure him she wasn’t feeling weird any longer.
This was
Nate
.
They
had been together a ton of times.
After plenty of kissing and foreplay
,
Becka was wondering why they weren’t having sex.

"
Nate
.."

"
H
mm
.
"

"Did you want to? You know…"

"Do you want to?"

"Only if you do."

"
I do
.
I was just waiting for you to make your move."

"My move?"

"Yep
.
I'm letting you have your way with me."

"I'd rather you have your way with me."

The intensity
heightened
up after that.
Nate
's hands and mouth
seemed to be everywhere. A
t some points
,
Becka
felt like she was just barely holding on. When he
put on the condom and moved above her
,
Becka raised her hips in anticipation of meeting him. He eased into her, groaning as she bucked against him. Holding himself up with one arm
,
he moved his other arm to her hip to still her. Becka ran her fingers over his chest
and
muscular arms.

Nate
paused for a beat to catch his breath and then picked up his pace, releasing her hip
so Becka could
rock against him.
His lips seemed fused to hers
, his hands coiled in her hair. Becka's own
hands moved to his back, pulling
him closer and closer to her.

Afterward
,
as Becka lay in his arms
,
she shook her head at the
insanity
of it all. "Please stay the night
,
" Becka breathed
,
crossing her fingers.

"Of course."

"Really?"

"Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else."

"What will you wear to work tomorrow?"

"I
have
a bag in the car
."

"Smart boy."

#

Epilogue

"Are you sure about this
,
man?" Dave seemed to be uncomfortable
holding the jewelry box.

"Very
,
"
Nate
said as Dave handed him the velvet box.
Nate
held it for a beat
,
looking at its contents
before closing it and putting it in his pocket.

"Are you asking her tonight?"

"That's the plan."

"Where is Becka?"

"Out shopping with Lucy. She wanted to get a new dress for our anniversary."

"Doesn’t seem like it's been a whole year."

#

Becka was
on a mission for the perfect dress and something fun to surprise
Nate
with under it. Lucy was not the best person to be
shopping with
,
Becka thought. With her morning sickness
,
Crystal wasn’t
functioning before mid
-
afternoon these days. Otherwise
,
Becka would have asked her to go shopping. Becka had seen less of Crystal since her wedding, and then she and Mitch had gotten pregnant. Poor Crystal was a bit overwhelmed.

Becka was all done at Victoria'
s Secret
.
She
had picked out an ice blue
bra and panty set with matching garter belt.
Nate
had once said it was his favorite color on her. Lucy had spent the whole time in the Pink part of the store
,
picking out pajamas with LOVE PINK across the butt. Becka wanted to see if she could find a dress with the same pale shade of
blue
. Wasn’t easy
.
Everything
seemed to be black and white.

Becka was about to give up when Lucy found the perfect dress. It was
a
tank
-
styled jersey dr
ess with a deep v. It would look
p
erfect with some
nude
heels.
Nate
was taking her to a fancy steak place for their anniversary.
With Nate she had retired her superpower
and was no longer afraid to trust in him. S
he could
no
t imagine a day
when she would ever grow tired of his kisses or how loved he made her feel.
Becka couldn’t wait to see him in a suit again. He had looked so hot at Crystal and Mitch's wedding. Becka had been a bridesmaid and
Nate
a groomsmen. Mitch had always joked that if Becka hadn’t bailed with
Nate
that night at the bar he may have never met Crystal.

When Becka got dropped off by Lucy
,
she was surprised to see
Nate
still at her house.
She thought he planned on getting ready at his house. Instead, h
e was playing
Xbox
with Dave.

"Hey
,
kid
.
"
He
smiled
as she walked in
.

Becka never got tired of hearing him call her that.
N
ow, N
ate
only said Becka
when he was annoyed at her.

"Hey
,
b
abe
.
" Becka leaned down to give him a kiss and then yelped when he pulled her into his lap, deepening their kiss.

"Gross
,
" Dave said
,
scrunching up his nose at them
.
"You just died
,
dude."

Nate
didn’t see
m to care.
Becka laughed and
,
getting up,
went to grab her bags to put them in her room.
Nate
,
seeing the pink striped bag
,
asked if he could see what she got and pouted when Becka said later.
Nate
followed her to her room to see if he could convince her
in
o
ther ways. He knew her every
weakness and was on a mission
.
Becka never stood a chance.

"I love you
,
"
Nate
said afterward as she lay in his arms.

"I love you too."

Somehow they made it to their anniversary dinner. Becka loved her new dress
,
and Nate couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. She was having the same problem
.
She
almost never saw him in a suit. The way his arms filled out that jacket, she totally got the appeal of a broad
-
shouldered man now. Dave had already left for work when they got back to her house.

Nate was acting weird and randomly went into her backyard. Becka followed him to find he had turned their sprinklers on full blast and was standing in the middle of it all
,
getting soaked.

"Nate! What are you doing? You'll ruin your suit."

"Come here
,
kid."

"But I'll get all wet."

"You better
.
Now
get over here."

Becka walked out into the spray and stood in front of him.

"What are we doing
,
Nate?"

"A long time ago
,
you told me you fantasized about doing it in the rain. Well
,
this is Phoenix
,
kid
.
I had to improvise."

Nate pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"But what about my neighbors?" she asked
,
pulling back.

"You have tall fences
,
and it
’
s dark out. You'll just have to try and be quiet."

"I am not that loud."

"Sure you aren’t
,
" Nate said
,
capturing her mouth with his.

When he knelt down in front of her
,
Becka went to join him
,
but he stopped her.

"Nate?"

"I just have one quick question to ask you first."

She gasped when he pulled out the ring.

"Becka Sherwood, will you marry me?"

She covered her mouth with her hands and nodded her head, unable to speak. Nate reached for her left hand
,
and she sank down to her knees in front of him.

"I love you so much
,
" he said, sliding the ring onto her finger.

She still couldn’t speak and kept nodding her head. Nate pulled her into a kiss
.
She
could feel him smiling against her lips.

#

Acknowledgments

I want to thank everyone who helped and encouraged me along this journey. To Jamie Tibbs, who was always available for me to vent to about my completely made up people. To my first readers, Judy, Kate, and
Elly, your feedback was amazing. Thank you so much!
To
my
cover designer Sarah Hansen, seriously, have you seen the cover? Well, I know you've seen the cover, you created it but, you are so much more. You are the reason for my John Green addiction for one and two, seriously it's like you crawled up into my brain, you are amazing. To my editor Yesenia Vargas, who can not only translate my gibberish into coherent English but still loves me even though I am punctuationally challenged. Your support means so much to me, plus I seriously need to frame your margin comments, you have become not only my editor but my friend.
To Melodie Ramone, Nikki Mahood, Helen Boswell, Rachel Walter, Emma Hart, Ross McCoubrey and Gareth Young, your friendship and support means so much to me. To
all of the
book blogs
/Facebook pages that have given me so much love;
Kathy with Romantic Reading escapes, Jeannette and Kristy with I Heart Books, Kendall with Book Crazy, Trev with First Class Books, Denise with Shh Mom's Reading and Jen with Three Chicks and Their Books
.
Lastly, to my husband for offering to make dinner
and dealing with my crazy full time.

About the Author

Carey Heywood lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, three children, and nine-pound attack Yorkie. In her spare time, she transports her children from one extra-curricular activity to another while maintaining her day job in the world of finance. Right now, she is probably eating Swedish Fish.