“What argument could you possibly have? We have a contract, remember?”

Nate eyed Charlotte, taking in the way she put her hands on her hips, drawing attention to her figure. He knew this was only a defense mechanism, and there was no way he was going to let her put him at arms-length any more. Not pausing, he walked towards her until he was close enough to slide his hands along her waist and pull her against him. She was tense for a split-second, before she lifted her arms and returned his hug.

“This is not an argument,” she said into his shoulder.

Nate kissed the top of her head. “You’re right. But I’m paying the kid I hired triple his rate for the Johnston’s yard, and he’s throwing yours in for free. So, I’m not breaking the contract.”

Charlotte pushed on his chest and huffed, but he didn’t let her go.

“That’s a low-down dirty trick, and you know it.”

Nate just smiled. “You left me no other option than to be tricky. That’ll teach you to coerce me into terms I don’t approve of.”

“No one forced you to sign the contract.”

Nate bent and nuzzled his face into her neck, then murmured, “No, but you distracted me so I didn’t know what I was doing. I could say the contract is void because I was under undue influence at the time.”

“Nate, where’s Taylor?”

Looking up, Nate saw Taylor watching them with a grin on his face. “Don’t worry. He’s here.”

“What?”

This time when Charlotte pushed against him, Nate released her and stepped over to greet Taylor. “What do you want to do first, buddy?”

“I want to swim.”

Nate glanced at Charlotte, grinning. “Perfect. Let’s all go change and meet at the pool.”

Taylor ran for the stairs, and Nate grabbed Charlotte’s hand to pull her along behind.

He and Taylor beat her down to the pool so they jumped in and horsed around while they waited for her. She finally appeared on the deck with a white sarong tied around her chest. Taylor was begging Nate to throw him across the pool again, but Nate’s attention was glued on Charlotte.

“Just a minute, buddy,” he said. Then he called across the pool to Charlotte, “It’s about time, slow poke.”

“Is it cold?” she asked.

“It’s not cold to me,” Taylor said.

“Yeah, well you could swim in an arctic lake and not think it was cold.”

Charlotte untied her sarong and draped it over one of the lounge chairs before kicking off her sandals. Nate took one long look at her creamy skin and the hint of cleavage her suit revealed, and thought that it would have been better if the pool was cold. Because even though there were dozens of women in bikinis on the beach below, this woman in a fairly modest one piece was sending his pulse into overdrive.

It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, but that she was her—the only woman he wanted in his life. She was strong and spunky, sweet and serious. And he wanted her in every way a man could want a woman.

And from the way Charlotte kept glancing at his chest, then quickly away again, he hoped he was having a similar effect on her. If he couldn’t convince her he was worth the gamble, he didn’t know what he would do.

Once Charlotte got in the pool, they swam for a long time before they finally convinced Taylor to leave the pool. Nate asked Mrs. Henderson, his housekeeper, to order pizza while they changed. When it arrived, they settled down to eat it in the media room while they watched a superhero movie.

Taylor sat between them, enthralled by the actions on the large screen and lost in the experience provided by the sound system. But Nate’s eyes continually wandered to Charlotte’s beautiful face as it was lit by the flickering lights. Even though he tried to keep his staring covert, she caught him at it several times. But only because she was looking at him.

Worn out by the exciting day, Taylor fell asleep before the movie was over. It was only when Nate turned off the movie that he realized Charlotte was asleep too. Chuckling to himself, he gently shook her shoulder until her eyes popped open wide.

“Did I go to sleep?”

“Oh yeah. You were out. Want me to carry Taylor to bed?”

Charlotte rubbed at her eyes and said in a voice husky with sleep, “Yeah. That would be great. He’s so big now I can barely budge him.”

When Nate picked Taylor up and perched him up on his shoulder, he was impressed by how solid the kid was. But it didn’t tax his strength to carry him to bed, even though he had to carry him up two flights of stairs.

Following behind him, Charlotte brushed past him to open the bedroom door, then she hurried over to the pull the covers down on the full-sized bed in Taylor’s room.

“Oh, man. He hasn’t brushed his teeth,” she whispered.

“Surely one night won’t wreck his dental health.”

“Probably not,” Charlotte agreed with a slight smile, as if she was laughing at herself. She pulled the covers up over his shoulders and bent to press a kiss on his forehead. “He must have been completely worn out.”

Nate waited for her at the door, and after Charlotte turned off the lamp and checked that the night light was on in his bathroom, she followed him out in the hall.

They stood together in the dim hallway, staring at each other. “Thanks for bringing us here, Nate. I haven’t seen Taylor have this much fun in a very long time.”

“And that makes you happy, doesn’t it?”

She nodded.

Nate stepped closer to her. “I’m thrilled Taylor is enjoying himself, but you know that isn’t my only goal in inviting you here. Are you having fun? Or is all this sumptuous wealth overloading your system?”

She smiled. “I admit it was at first, but now that I’m a little more used to it, it’s not so bad.” Then she looked up at him, meeting his eyes more squarely. “And honestly, having you around makes all the difference. You’re so great with Taylor, and I can’t tell you what that means to me.”

A thrill swept over him at her approval. “That’s easy. He’s a fun kid.”

“I think so,” she chuckled. “But that’s not the only thing that I like about you.”

Nate raised his brows and smiled. “Oh yeah. What else do you like?”

“You’re so…” She paused for a second with a thoughtful look.

“So…?”

“Normal.”

“That’s not what I was hoping for.”

Her laughter bubbled out. “Well, it’s what I was hoping for. Even surrounded by all this, you’re still you—an average, down home, southern boy.”

“Down home and southern? Yes. Average? Not so much.”

She laughed and he watched her, loving the change from her usual serious expression. He reached out to her and she didn’t hesitate to move towards him in return. As he put his arms around her, she said, “Don’t knock it. Average is working for you.”

“Huh. Forgive me if I still want to change your mind on that.” And then he kissed her, long and thoroughly, until there could be no doubt left in her mind that whatever was blooming between them was far from common.

But he knew feelings would only take them so far, and he had a lot of work to do to make a life that Charlotte would willingly be part of.

 

***

 

The next day was spent mostly on the beach, where Charlotte kept slathering Taylor with sunscreen. Nate was sure to give her the same careful attention since her skin was so fair. She looked like a goddess on the beach with her hair piled up in a bun, and her graceful body reclining in the sun. She looked so relaxed, that Nate was sure to entertain Taylor and keep him safe in the waves so she didn’t have to worry about him.

Eventually, they headed back into the house for a late lunch. His housekeeper had a large tray of fresh cut-up fruit waiting for them. Charlotte and Taylor dug in and Nate almost laughed at how similar their reactions were. When they both wiped watermelon juice off their chins at the exact same time, he lost it.

“What?” Charlotte asked, her fingers hovering over the strawberries.

“You’d think you two never saw fruit.”

When her cheeks blushed crimson red, Nate wondered what on earth he’d said wrong, until Charlotte answered.

“I buy it whenever I can. But it’s not cheap you know.” Then she tilted her head, and looked at him. “Except you don’t know, do you?”

He looked at her silently for a moment. “I do know that I only got it with my free lunch at school when I was growing up. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“It’s okay. We always have bananas and usually oranges or apples. But this…” she waved her hands around the large platter, “This is beyond my reach.”

Nate shook his head. “The things that impress you.”

She grinned and took a bite of a bright red strawberry then licked her lips. Completely distracted, Nate stared at her for several moments before he remembered what he’d been wanting to ask. “How would you feel about Taylor staying here tonight while you and I go out for a nice dinner?”

“Who would be watching him?”

“My housekeeper?”

Charlotte scrunched up her nose and glanced at Taylor.

Taylor shook his head. “Is Sam around?”

Nate’s heart warmed that Taylor liked his assistant, who was honestly the best friend he had. But not many people got him. “You’re cool hanging out with Sam?”

“Yeah.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “He let Taylor play games on his tablet on the way here. Now they’re friends for life. But I don’t want to impose on Sam. He already had to babysit for you last week.”

Nate’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Charlotte grinned. “Alexa.” Then she ate a slice of kiwi, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

Definitely uncomfortable now, Nate scratched his jaw. “Yeah. Did I mention I’m having a dinner party tomorrow night? And she’s coming. Actually, she more or less planned it weeks ago because she said she couldn’t stand to see me lonely. About a dozen of my other friends are coming in.”

She licked her lips and stared at him with wide eyes. “No, you did not mention that.”

“I thought about canceling it, believe me. But I really would love for you to meet my friends. I mean, I’ve met one of yours.”

“Well, how is Alexa going to react to me being at your party.”

Nate sighed. “She tried to talk me out of inviting you, saying you’d be uncomfortable and out of your depth.”

“How lovely of her.”

Nate glanced down to see if Taylor was paying attention, but he seemed to be too focused on stuffing his sticky face. “I’d love to watch you prove her wrong.”

“You sound as if you believe I could.”

Nate held her eyes and smiled. “I’d never be so stupid as to doubt you.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m looking forward to it, but I won’t run from it either.”

“And dinner tonight?”

She hesitated, but smiled. Her shoulders dropped as if she’d forced them to relax. “Yes. I’d love to. And thanks to Lanelle’s interfering ways, I even have something nice to wear—for both events.”

“Mrs. Johnston? This sounds like a story I’d love to hear.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. She came over when I was packing and kept putting all kinds of things in my suitcase, and I didn’t have time to take them back out.”

“Did you know you’re blushing again? Now I’m dying to know what else she put in there.”

“Well, that’s as much as you’re going to know. And now, if I’m going to be ready to go on time, I’d better start getting ready. I’ve got sand in unholy places.”

She grabbed Taylor’s berry stained fingers and pulled him along with her. Nate watched them go with something brighter and homier than mere laughter in his heart. He wanted more of this in his empty life, but getting close to Charlotte was like coaxing a butterfly into his hand.