Sweet Temptation (37 page)

It had ten bright red drawers, with the complete set of tools that went with it. After paying for it, she asked for it to be sent to his place by Christmas Eve, as there was no way she could get it there herself. Happy that she was finished, she made her way out and looked around again for Nate.

Where the hell was he?
She thought. Pulling her phone out of her bag, she dialled his number and waited. It went straight to voice mail. She placed her phone back in her bag, as she made her way towards the food court. She was starting to feel a little ill and maybe something to eat would help her feel better. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Nate with his back to her. Smiling, she quickened her steps towards him, glad she had finally found him. As she got closer to him, she noticed that he wasn’t alone. She moved behind a stand near-by.
Who was he talking to?
He didn’t look very happy at seeing this person. She moved closer to hear and held her breath when she realized he was talking to some girl.

Why would he be talking to someone in this manner?
He was really laying into her.

“Please, Nate. I really need to tell you something. It’s important,” the girl sobbed.

What was so important, that he wouldn’t even listen to her?

“I don’t want to hear anything from you at all,” he grunted.

The girl reached up and whispered something in his ear. Skylar watched the colour drain from his face.

“Are you serious?” he said, leaning against the rail.

The girl nodded, wiping tears from her cheeks. By the look of it, whatever she said wasn’t good. He whispered something back to her that she couldn’t hear. “Thank you, Nate,” she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Skylar was feeling worse than she did ten minutes ago. Moving from between the stores, she quickly made her way back to the bench seat out front of Victoria’s Secret and slumped down. She felt like she was going to throw up, and knew she didn’t look her best either. She wanted to know what was going on. She rested her forehead in her hands, breathing slowly. She really needed to eat something before she threw up in the store.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Nate asked, kneeling down in front of her. She could hear the worry in his tone.

“I don’t feel so well.”

Nate lifted her hands away from her face and looked at her. He frowned, “Do you want to go home?”

Skylar nodded. She couldn’t tell him the whole truth; that she had been feeling ill before she saw him with another girl. That scene just made her feel worse. Nate helped her up carefully. He picked up all the bags she had, and they made their way towards the parking lot. Nate placed the bags behind their seats, helped Skylar in, and buckled her up. He walked around to his side, jumped in, and drove home.

* * *

After Nate left Skylar in the changing room of Victoria’s Secret, he decided he wanted to find her another Christmas gift. He wanted something else for her, but he didn’t have a clue what to get her. While he was browsing through one of the stores, someone called his name.

Turning around at his name being called out, he saw the last person he wanted to see. “What do you want?”

Why, of all days, did she have to be here
? He thought, watching the owner of the voice walk towards him. It was Natalie.

“We need to talk,” she whispered, smiling weakly at him.

“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say, Natalie.”
Jesus, what would Skylar think if she saw him talking to her?
Grabbing her arm, he pulled her closer to the storefront, so they were out of open view. He didn’t want to explain this encounter to Skylar.

“I’ve been calling you and leaving messages, but you never reply to any of them,” she sobbed.

“Did you really think I would after what you did?”

“I’m sorry for what I did to you, Nate. I didn’t mean any of it, I swear.” She tried to get closer to him, but he only pushed her away.

“I don’t believe anything you say anymore, Natalie. It was all a bunch of lies,” he snarled..

“Can I at least apologize for what I did?”

“I don’t want to hear anything from you at all.”

Natalie leaned up and put her lips to his ear. “You have a son, Nate. I had a DNA test done with the last guy I slept with after you, and it’s not his. It’s yours.”

“Are you serious?” he asked.

Natalie nodded. “Come around tomorrow night around 8:00 p.m., and we’ll talk about it.”

Jesus Christ, how the hell was he going to tell Skylar that he had a son?

“Thank you.” Natalie kissed him on the cheek.

After Natalie was out of sight, he left to find Skylar. He found her sitting on a bench seat looking as if she wasn’t feeling well.
This day was just getting worse by the minute
. After making it to the truck, he started the engine and drove home.
What the hell was he going to do?
This was all so fucked up; everything was going fine… until now
. If he really had a son with Natalie, he had to work at being a family with both of them, but he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Skylar. Nate glanced over at Skylar; she was leaning against the door looking out the window.

“Baby, are you all right?” he asked, concern etched across his face.

“Yeah, I think I just need rest for a bit. I’ll feel better after that.” She smiled, but the corners didn’t touch her eyes.

Nodding, he concentrated on getting them home. After parking in his driveway, he grabbed Skylar’s bags and went around to her door. Nate offered his hand to help her out but she didn’t take it. Frowning, he looked at his hand, then at her. “Everything all right, Skylar?”

She climbed out and faced him, “Yeah, why?”

“Just wondering, that’s all. Did you want to come in? I can make us something to eat if you’re hungry?”

“I might just go and change my clothes. I’ll pop over later okay?”

“Sure thing, baby.”

Skylar leaned up and kissed him. Nate wrapped his arm around her and walked her towards her door. “I’ll grab the bags off you later.”

He watched as she rushed off opening her door and walked in. Breathing out, he walked back to his house and placed the bags on the chair near the kitchen. He reached in his freezer for the tray of beef to make dinner for the two of them, then made his way towards his room for that shower.

* * *

Skylar leaned against the door, blowing out a breath.
God, what did that girl say to him that made him act the way he did?
She felt the bile rising in her throat. Covering her mouth, she ran to the bathroom just in time and heaved into the toilet. What was wrong with her?

“Are you all right, Skylar?” Alex came in to see her.

“I think I ate something that wasn’t right.”

“Sweetie, is there anything you want me to do?” he said.

“Really Alex, it’s alright. I’m going to make an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow. Can you come with me, please?” she said softly, not wanting to upset her stomach further.

“Of course I will.” Alex wrapped his arms around her. “You know I’ll do anything for you, Sky.”

“I know. I’m going to go lie down; hopefully that will help.”

Nodding, he stood and helped her up. “I’ll come and check on you when you’re in bed, okay darling?”

“Thanks, Alex,” she answered him. Removing her clothing and pulling on a pair of pj’s, she pulled the comforter back as she crawled in. Cuddling up to her pillow, she stared out the window.

Alex checked on her an hour later. Skylar was curled up in the middle of her bed, sleeping peacefully. He lifted the blanket high to cover her and closed the door softly and walked out towards the lounge. He was flicking through the channels when he heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” he called out in the direction of the door. Turning around, he noticed Nate entering the room. “Hey Nate.”

“Hey. Where’s Skylar?” he asked.

“In bed, asleep. Why?”

He frowned. “She said she was coming over later for dinner, but never showed.”

Alex stood and walked into the kitchen and Nate followed. “She wasn’t feeling too well, so she went to lie down.” He cracked the top off a beer and took a sip.

“She said she wasn’t feeling the best earlier; that’s why I brought her home,” Nate answered him.

“Do you want a beer?” Alex asked him.

“No thanks, I might go check on her and crash here for the night, if that’s all right with you.”

“That’s fine with me. I’m off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning, Nate.”

Nate nodded and made his way towards her room. Softly pushing open the door, he walked in. Making his way to the side he usually slept on, he undressed and crawled in beside her. It didn’t take her long to move beside him. Smiling, he wrapped his arm over her waist and pulled her closer to him.
Exactly where she belonged- in his arms
, he thought. He really wanted to tell her what happened today with his ex, but he wanted to be certain before saying anything. He really didn’t want to hurt her with this news. Skylar snuggled closer into him and he sighed in bliss.

Chapter 20

Skylar stretched and tried to sit up; realizing instantly that someone had their arm thrown over her waist holding her firmly. Turning her head to see who it was, she found Nate lying next to her. She knew she said that she would go over later yesterday, but she hadn’t really been up for it at all.

Lifting his arm off her gently, she sat up breathing in slowly, quickly noticing that her stomach wasn’t agreeing with her. Grabbing onto one of the posts of her bed, Skylar pulled herself up and waited for the dizzy spell to pass. Her legs were wobbly as she slowly let go of the post and moved towards her bathroom.

Halfway there she knew she wouldn’t make it at that pace. Covering her mouth, she took off, slamming the door behind her, and emptied her stomach into the toilet.
What the hell was going on with me?
After flushing the toilet and rinsing her mouth, she crawled over to the shower and sat down. Someone softly knocked on the door “Skylar?”

“Yeah,” she answered.

“Do you need anything?” Alex asked her.

“Can you ring up and make an appointment to see the doctor, please. It’s not getting any better.”

“No worries,” Alex said as he closed the door behind him.

After washing up, she wrapped a towel around her body and brushed her teeth.
God, I look white as a ghost
, she thought. As she leaned against the sink, her stomach started turning again. She took deep, steady breaths in an attempt to avoid throwing up again.