Best of Three (Counting on Love) (20 page)

Emma knew that Nate saw her from fifty yards away. He didn’t look surprised to see her. She parked her cart in front of him and sat beside him on the bench across from the check-out lanes.

They didn’t look at each other, choosing instead to study the people coming and going from the store.

“They don’t sell what you need here,” she said, crossing her legs and leaning back nonchalantly, her fingers clasped, hands resting on her stomach.

“A twenty-four hour bodyguard to keep watch over my son?”

“Antipsychotic medication.”

He didn’t respond to that. “You were supposed to keep your phone on,” he said instead.

“My phone was on.” She worked on acting blasé. Like the fact that he hadn’t called her didn’t sting and like she hadn’t figured out that he was just messing with her.

She could tell he was frowning without even looking at him.

“You were supposed to answer it when I called,” he said.

“You were supposed to call me for sex, not to track down Shannon and Michael.”

“You really don’t know how to let someone else be in charge, do you?”

“Shocking, I know.” She wasn’t about to let on that she
wanted
Nate ordering her around. That had never happened with another guy ever and it sucked that it was Nate frickin’ Sullivan when it did finally happen.

But she’d get over it. And as far as he was concerned, she was
already
over it. Or even better, there had never been anything to be over in the first place.

They sat in silence for another few seconds.

“Why are you here?” she asked. “It’s a big public place. It’s unlikely they’ll be having sex here. They don’t even sell beds or mattresses.”

“They sell air mattresses and sleeping bags.”

She turned to look at him then. She couldn’t avoid ever looking at him again anyway, though it would be easier on her if she did. “Tell me you’re kidding. Right now, Nate, or I’m buying a funnel and I’m going to start dumping this liquor down your throat.”

He eyed the cart. “No flavored vodka?”

Even that tiny mention flashed her back to that night. Dammit. “I’m done drinking flavored vodka. Left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Something flickered in his eyes and she wondered if he understood her underlying message.

If he did, he didn’t give any further indication.

“Your solution is to get me drunk?”

“If you’re staking out Carl’s because you’re afraid that your son and his girlfriend might get worked up walking past the sleeping bags, then yeah. You need to get drunk.”

“Michael hasn’t been home in three days.”

Emma sat up straighter. “What?”

Nate nodded. “He hasn’t been home and isn’t answering his phone. At least, when I call.”

Emma pressed her lips together. She hadn’t known that. Why didn’t Shannon and Michael understand that this behavior wasn’t helping? They were making things way worse.

“He hasn’t been staying with Shannon and Dena.” Or if he was, they’d been hiding it from Emma. Which made Emma frown. That wasn’t cool. She hated the idea that Shannon—and
Dena
—would start having secrets from her now.

“I called Dena and she told me that,” Nate confirmed. “But all Shannon would tell her was that he’s staying with friends.”

Dena hadn’t told Emma that Nate had called her either. That made Emma scowl. She was going to have to have a talk with her friend. She and Dena had always been a team. Or so she thought.

“Then you found out they were here and decided to come talk to him,” she concluded.

Nate nodded stiffly. “If it’s come to the point where he’s leaving home and not talking to me, then…I need to try to fix it.”

She liked that. Nate was admitting he might have a part in this. This was progress.

“I can call Shannon,” Emma offered. “She’s answering her phone.”

“Did you know that Shannon has a friend getting married?”

Emma blinked at the seemingly abrupt change of subject. “Yes.”

“Her friend is young.”

“Twenty. But they’ve been together for five years.”

“Great. They went to prom together. If you can make it through that you can make it through anything.”

Emma hid her smile at his bitter tone. “Look who’s judging here. Weren’t you the one ready to get married at age seventeen?”

“Exactly. So I know what I’m talking about. That’s way too young.”

Emma didn’t disagree with him that it was young to commit to someone forever. Look at her. She was twenty-eight and not sure how that would work. “Why is it bugging you?”

“It’s not exactly a good role model for young, impressionable, in-love Shannon, is it?” Nate asked.

Emma shook her head. “Jane’s not Shannon’s role model; she’s her friend.”

“Who’s in love and planning a wedding and all aglow. Don’t you think Shannon might catch some of this wedding fever?”

“Did you say she’s all aglow?” Emma asked.

Nate scowled.

She laughed. “Jane is young. She’s in love. Weddings are fun and, yes, Shannon is having a good time being a bridesmaid. But do I think that means Shannon is thinking of proposing to your son? No.”

But there was niggle of doubt in the back of her mind. Shannon was head over heels and worried that Michael was going to leave her to go to college somewhere far away.

“She gave him a bracelet.”

“I know.”

Nate finally turned to fully face her. “None of this bothers you at all? None of this makes you think that they’re moving too fast or getting in over their heads?”

Emma sighed. She wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous. She wanted to laugh it off. But the thing was—he had a point. And he looked worried. Not like he wasn’t getting his way, but like he was truly concerned. And
that
bothered her.

Dammit.

Two weeks ago, she would have had a lot of fun rubbing this in and teasing him with it. But now—whether it was the kiss or the fact that he’d shared about his past as a single dad bullied by his grandfather or that she was truly looking at him and seeing more than the man who so easily infuriated her—she didn’t know, but it was bugging her that he was so worried.

She looked longingly at the liquor and chocolate in her cart. It was going to have to wait.

Or did it? She glanced at the check-out lines and saw one where the customer was finishing up. “Stay here,” she told Nate, grabbing a bag of pretzels and her purse.

She paid for the bag and ripped it open, shoving three in her mouth as she walked back to Nate.

It was clear Nate was blaming Michael’s relationship with Shannon for his sudden disappearance. She had to reassure him without further alienating his son.

Piece of cake.

“Let’s go.”

“I’m not leaving this store without talking to Michael.”

“I know.” She held out her hand. “But at least you can quit
looking
like a stalker.”

Nate looked from her face to her hand, then back to her face. Finally he got to his feet and took her hand without another word.

She counted that as a small victory.

The woman was shopping in Carl-Mart, for god’s sake, and she looked fantastic.

In fact, Nate was wondering which aisle the sleeping bags were in.

And she was here. Here when he was about to lose his cool and overhead page his son to the front of the store. Here when he was here—without a clue about what else to do.

He knew he was acting like a lunatic. But when Michael hadn’t come home Sunday night and hadn’t answered Nate’s phone calls, he’d panicked. Shane, thank god, took pity on Nate and checked all the police logs and hospitals, reassuring Nate that Michael wasn’t in jail or hospitalized. But that still left a lot of options. When he’d finally swallowed his pride and called Dena, and Shannon had confirmed that Michael was alive and well and staying with friends, Nate had nearly thrown his phone through a window. He was relieved, of course, but pissed. Michael would have known that Nate would have been worried sick. It was this rebellious, inconsiderate behavior that had Nate acting like an idiot. He was camping out in Carl-Mart just for a chance to talk to his son.

Yet somehow when he’d seen Emma coming down the main store aisle toward him, he’d felt better. Relieved. Like he could be a lunatic and she would roll her eyes at him, but she wouldn’t leave. Like he could confess all the things he was worried about and she’d give him that you’re-a-nut-job look but she’d stay and probably point out a bunch of stuff he hadn’t thought of. She might even convince him not to worry.

Now that she was holding his hand too, he wondered how he’d managed to avoid calling her the last three days.

It had been tough.

He’d had a crazy schedule at the hospital and clinic. He’d put in an extra workout. He’d hung out with the guys. But with the guys there was always talk about the girls. Ryan would mention Amanda, Shane would say something about Isabelle, Cody would tell a story he heard from Olivia, and Nate inevitably thought of Emma every time.

And then there was nighttime. When he was alone. Nothing to distract him, no way to avoid the thoughts of her and how badly he wanted her in the bed beside him.

Emma let go of his hand to reach into her bag of pretzels. And he missed her touch.

This was not good.

“There they are,” she said, grabbing his arm to pull him into an aisle in the electronics section.

Nate couldn’t help his smile. “Stalking isn’t okay, but spying is?”

“No, none of this is okay,” Emma said. “But this is better than sitting up front and scowling at everyone like they’ve all kicked your dog and pissed in your beer.”

He looked at her with the combination of exasperation and amusement that was becoming very familiar. “I don’t have a dog.”

“That’s one more thing that’s wrong with you.”

He shook his head. Why did he feel comforted having her with him again? He couldn’t explain it, but the fact that it was hard to impress her drew him somehow and her matter-of-fact way of dealing with him—whether he was being an ass or bossing her around or telling her about Michael’s mom—made him feel comfortable in a way he only felt with his buddies from the Hawks.

Emma leaned around the display of earplugs on the end of the aisle they were hiding in. “I want you to see what they’re doing here. It’s nothing to worry about but I know you won’t take my word for it.”

“Do
you
really know what they’re doing here?”

“It’s a scavenger hunt that’s part of the couples shower.” She dug into her purse as he peeked around the corner too.

Michael was holding two CDs behind his back and Shannon chose one side. He pulled it out to show her what she’d picked and she gave him a huge smile, grabbing the CD from him. She looked at the cover of the CD, then up into Michael’s face.

And Nate stared, dumbfounded.

That girl thought his son walked on water.

There was something in her expression, the way she smiled, the way she tipped her head—something. He couldn’t dislike or totally distrust someone who thought Michael was amazing.

He ducked back into the aisle with Emma.

“Here.” She handed him what looked like an invitation.

It was, indeed, for a couples shower that day. He’d seen it. That was how he’d known to come to Carl-Mart today to find his son.

The invitation said everyone was encouraged to bring their significant other. The scavenger hunt started at three, with dinner to follow at a popular Italian restaurant at five.

“Why a scavenger hunt?” he asked, handing it back to her.

Emma removed the invitation and Nate realized there was a second card underneath it. “For fun, Nate. You’ve heard of fun, right?”

He read the back of the invitation.

Gather one item in each category as a gift for Jane and Matt. It can be fun, practical, silly, sexy…anything goes! Keep the total of all items under $50 (excluding tax). You’ve got until five o’clock sharp!

The list of items included
something to use in bed
,
something to make him hot
,
something to make her scream
,
something to play with
and
something sweet and sticky
.

He raised wide eyes to Emma’s. “What the hell is this?”

She took the list back from him. “You’re such a prude.”

He hesitated, then stepped close to her and dropped his voice. “Really? Watching you make yourself come in my truck? Making you come in the middle of a park? Prudish behavior, Emma?”

He saw her swallow hard and her cheeks get a little pink. Then she shoved him back. “Knock that off, Sullivan. I’m not the sucker you think I am.”

He frowned at that. “Sucker?”

She pointed her finger at his nose. “The
only
reason I’m here right now is because Shannon called me. This isn’t about the truck or the park or your stupid ego thing, so keep your distance.”