“What the fuck?” I muttered.
“Look at the next photo message,” he said.
I did as he asked and my blood ran cold.
Oh, you planned this one, Jake, I thought. You planned every last bit of it, you fucking bastard.
The picture was one of me. I was leaning against the projector-room window, my eyes closed and my jaw set. Jake had taken it from the perfect vantage point, sitting in front of me and pointing up. The look on my face-an expression of frustration, I knew-could easily be misconstrued as a look of arousal.
Cursing under my breath, I thrust Nathan’s phone back to him, hoping he’d take it before my fury sent the damned thing flying across the room.
“So you were the one he was texting the whole fucking time.” I ran a hand through my hair, struggling to keep my temper in check.
“You didn’t answer your phone when I called.” The accusation in his tone set my teeth on edge.
I took a long breath through my nose. Nathan wasn’t the object of my anger; more than before, I understood why he was suspicious. “No, I didn’t, you’re right. I heard my phone go off, but I was trying to get rid of him. If you hadn’t been in the lobby when I came down, I was going to call you as soon as he was gone.”
When I met his eyes, skepticism was written all over his face. I wanted to be pissed that he had the nerve to be suspicious of me, but I didn’t envy the position he was in, trying to decide who, if anyone, to trust. Words were one thing, but Jake had played us perfectly and managed to concoct some incriminating photos to go with it.
“Nathan, that’s the God’s honest truth.” I took and released a breath. “There’s nothing more I can say to make you believe me, but there it is.”
He regarded me silently for a long time, seeming to search my face for something. Maybe confirmation, maybe something to betray the fact that I was lying. Since I wasn’t lying, I knew he’d find nothing to indicate that I was, so I held his gaze without flinching.
Eventually, he dropped his gaze, his shoulders slumping slightly as he leaned against the window, just inches from the place I’d stood when that damned photo was taken.
“What is he trying to do, then?” he asked without looking at me.
“He just can’t stand the thought of the two of us being together,” I said. “I mean, that had to be a blow to his ego. It always stings to see your ex with someone new, but two exes together?”
Nathan laughed softly and his eyes finally met mine again. “I think his ego needed it, quite frankly.”
Some of the tension shook itself out of my shoulders as the hostility between us faded. “Exactly. So I guess I can see why he’d try to play us against each other like that. God forbid we be happy together while he’s still single and miserable.”
“That sounds like Jake,” he muttered.
I pursed my lips. “He said a few other things, too.”
Nathan cocked his head, a silent go on.
I watched my own wringing hands, wondering if I should even go there. I didn’t believe Jake, did I? So why bother? Why bring it up at all? It was bullshit, I was sure of it. At least, I thought I was sure of it. I was pretty sure. Every other word that came out of Jake’s mouth was a lie, so this must have been too.
Nathan cleared his throat, reminding me of the silence between us that I was expected to fill.
Taking a breath, I looked him in the eye. “He told me you cheated first.”
“He what?” Nathan stared at me in disbelief. “He really said that?”
I nodded.
Nathan threw up his hands. “Jesus fucking Christ, he really is a goddamned piece of work.” He muttered something under his breath, then shook his head. “He’ll come up with anything to play us against each other, won’t he?”
“So, what he said about you cheating,” I said. “It’s all bullshit?”
He laughed. “Oh, fuck yeah, of course it-” He stopped and looked at me, lips forming an unspoken oh. Letting out a long breath, he chewed his lip and nodded. “Point taken.”
“So you believe me?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Well, he did send you pictures.”
Nathan shrugged, then put his arms around me and kissed me lightly. “Yeah, but…” He shook his head. “Fuck, I should have known. He’s always been a manipulative bastard.”
“That he is.” I kissed him again, but the instant our lips met, a slamming door downstairs caught my attention. I quickly stepped back, separating us a second before Dean and Max came into the projector room.
They both halted, eyes darting back and forth between us.
Dean cleared his throat. “Do we, um, should-”
“Let’s go,” I said to Nathan, nodding toward the door. To my employees, I said, “Projector One should be working this time. Break it and-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Max said, waving dismissively. “Break it, and you’ll break us.”
“Exactly.” With that, Nathan and I left, heading down the dark stairs toward the lobby. Just before we reached the door, he stopped me with a hand on my arm.
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” he said, barely whispering.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I would have, too.”
“I still should have known,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” he said, lifting my chin with two fingers. “I won’t. What I will do, though…” His lips were almost close enough to taste. “…is make it up to you when you get home tonight.”
I shivered. “Promise?”
“You’d better believe it.”
Chapter Twenty-six
The next morning, while Nathan was in the shower, I went into the kitchen to put the coffee on. I could barely think or see straight enough to do that simple task, but between yawning and rubbing my eyes, I managed. It didn’t help that my cats were doing figure eights around my feet, voicing their demands to be fed right now.
“If you trip me and break my neck, you’re going to starve,” I muttered as I pulled their food out of the cabinet. They ignored my logic and continued squawking while I spent a few minutes searching for the can opener before I realized that these cans didn’t require one.
Cursing to myself, I opened the cans and fed the relentless little beasts. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this tired.
I was exhausted, but last night was worth it. Well worth it. Nathan and I had settled everything in the projector room, then spent all night in my bed making sure we were on the same page. Sleep wasn’t high on the priority list. I knew I’d be paying for it today, but didn’t care at all.
Something beeped and caught my attention. I looked around, trying to figure out where the sound came from. It sounded distant, muffled even, but familiar.
Another beep. This time it sounded like it came from the living room. I wandered in there, craning my neck as I listened for it again. As I did, I picked up some of the clothing scattered between the front door and the bedroom, smiling to myself as the memories gave me pleasant chills.
A shirt slung haphazardly over the back of the couch made me shiver. I was surprised one of us hadn’t ended up bent over that couch.
The lone button on the carpet didn’t surprise me. I couldn’t say whose shirt it was from, but it probably wasn’t the only one that wound up separated from its stitches.
When I picked up a pair of jeans that had almost made it into the bedroom before being discarded, the beep caught my attention again. I dug into the pocket and pulled out my cell phone. Tossing the clothes on the foot of the bed, I flipped my phone open.