Maybe even… Well, he could hope.
“I can’t believe you got one of them,” James was saying to Nat as they sat in the kitchen around the center island, interrogating him.
“One of what?” Nat asked with irritation.
He liked watching their dynamic, seeing her interact with her family. Rex saw the fondness, the smiles and the ribbing. They might not be as close as he was to his parents, but the sibling interaction here was priceless. Nat was no longer the boss, but a little sister. And she didn’t appear to like it much.
He grinned.
“What are you smiling at?” Nat snapped.
“Nothin’, sugar. You’re just so pretty. I missed you.”
“Yeah, one of them. A Southern boy,” James answered. “All that sugar and honey. That’s so they don’t call you by another woman’s name by mistake.”
“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you?” Rex asked him.
James snorted. “You’d think so. But I can’t seem to find one decent woman in all of North Carolina.”
“He and Aaron are visiting from Raleigh,” Beth explained. “I’m here in Charlotte, and Mom and Dad are in York, close by. One big, happy family.”
“Spread out over several states, thank God,” Nat muttered.
Rex laughed. “Well, James, I can tell you I surely nabbed the best of them. She’s mine.”
“I like him,” Beth said. “He’s so cute.”
“Thank you kindly.”
“And that accent is great. Julie has a touch of it, but it’s too light.”
“Julie’s her wife,” Nat reminded him.
“Right. Where is she?” he asked. “I wanted to meet her.”
Beth beamed. “My pride and joy is off on business I’m afraid. She had to fly to New York for a few days, but she’ll be back at end of the week.”
“Too bad. I need to head back soon, probably before then. My work in Charleston is wrapping up, but I need to head home for a few.” Then to the others he said, “But I’ve been wanting to meet Nat’s family. She’s told me a lot about you.”
James huffed. “I can imagine. I’m the playboy who can’t settle. Aaron is a close second in the loser department. And Beth can do no wrong.”
“Close enough.”
“Rex.” Nat flushed. “I didn’t call you two losers,” Nat said to her brothers, who looked affronted. “Not exactly.”
Rex laughed.
“See what you started?” She threw an elbow at his midsection, so he plucked her from her spot next to him and cuddled her close.
“Aw, sugar, don’t be like that. I’m just teasin’.”
“That’s what we’re missing, James. That drawl.” Aaron nodded. “We’ll talk slow and with a deep voice. And women will be dropping panties left and right.”
Nat shook her head. “I thought you had a girlfriend.”
“Well, she’s mostly my girlfriend. I think. We’re not exactly committed.”
“We are,” Rex said before Nat could speak. “And we’re staying that way.”
She turned to look at him, searching for what, he didn’t know. Then she smiled, and the expression turned her eyes a bright green. “Yeah, we are.”
He wanted nothing more than to whisk her away and make love to her, slowly, but he settled for squeezing her tight and spending more time with her family. What made her happy made him happy. Being with her, hugging right now, felt like heaven on earth.
Later, when Nat went into another room with Aaron and James to find some old photo albums, Beth took him aside. “I’m glad you came.”
“Me too. I’m glad she invited me.”
Beth glanced at the hallway where Nat had disappeared, then whispered, “She’s been having a hard time. She won’t admit it, but she’s worried about her job.”
“They’re crazy if they don’t take her back,” he said in a low voice. “She makes the magic happen. A more competent, take-charge gal I don’t know.”
“That’s my sister.” Beth gave him a thorough scrutiny. “It’ll take a special kind of guy to deal with Nat. She’s so strong in so many ways that it’s easy to miss what she really needs.”
He understood her. “Yeah, I know. Nat’s a tough cookie, but she’s pretty gooey inside. Sweet and sticky.” He grinned. “You’ll have to forgive the metaphor, but Nat did say you made the best chocolate chip cookies this side of the Mason Dixon.”
Beth laughed. An older, fuller version of Nat. Unlike Nat, she seemed softer, able to bend more.
Rex preferred his girl, a no-nonsense woman who knew her own mind and was happy to say so.
“I like you, Rex.” She leaned closer. “You give my sister exactly what she needs. Just make sure you don’t mistake command for confidence all the time. She’s hurting now, but she’s too proud to let on.”
“I figured. But she wanted time to deal. I respect that. I won’t coddle her, unless she needs it.” He smiled. “And she might not realize it, but she needs it now. That’s why she called.”
“I’m glad you see that. You understand her, don’t you?”
“I love her,” he said softly, and Beth’s eyes glistened.
“Oh wow. You mean that. I can tell.”
“She loves me too. She’s just too stubborn to admit it too soon.”
“Yep. You really do know her.” Beth gave him a peck on the cheek. “I can tell she loves you. She’s never been so eager to introduce a boyfriend before. And the others…they weren’t right for her. A sister knows.”
“I can tell you that she makes me happy. I can support her financially and emotionally if she needs it. But the thing with Nat is to just be there for her to draw on. I don’t need to prove myself. And she knows it.”
“God. I’m so happy she found someone to understand her. You have no idea how worried I’ve been about that. My brothers, those two need help. But they’re easy. Nat, not so much.”
“Tell me about it.”
They both laughed, just as Nat and her brothers returned carrying photo albums and arguing about something that had happened when Nat was in tenth grade.
After a marathon of family photos through dinner and dessert and stories about Nat’s bossy years growing up, Nat called it a night.
“He’s tired, and I’m tired of looking at myself with those big buck teeth.” She pointed to yet another picture of her at eight years old.
“You’re adorable,” Rex said, meaning it. She had pigtails and the cutest blue jumper. In the picture, she seemed to be yelling at Aaron for something. “Cute family.”
“True.” James puffed up. “They all take after me.”
“After Mom, actually. Thank God,” Aaron said with bite. “Our father is not someone you want to emulate. Guy’s got a different woman on speed dial every other day.”
Yet the brothers seemed to go through women like M&Ms.
“True. We might date a lot, but one woman at a time,” James explained.
“Ah, I see.” He did. Nat hadn’t mentioned her father’s philandering, but the look on her face spoke volumes. No wonder she didn’t care for cheaters.
“What about your parents, Rex?” Beth asked. “Are they close?”
Nat answered for him. “Sue and Harry Samson are the most wonderful people you could meet. They’re so in love.” She sighed. “And his dad is hot. Rex should age well.”
“Nice.” He frowned. “You making eyes at my daddy?”
She snorted. “Please. I like my men closer to my own age.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And manageable.”
Her brothers laughed. “Oh man, she nailed you,” Aaron crowed.
“Nice, sis,” James said. “Rex, be a man. Stand up for yourself.”
Rex shrugged. “But if I do, she’ll only beat me for it later.”
Nat’s brothers and sister gaped. Then Nat started to laugh so hard she cried, and her siblings laughed with her. Rex joined in, until he decided he’d had enough.