She rolled her eyes. "The only mud I'm interested in is the kind a gorgeous guy wraps me in during a day at the spa."
"I could wrap you in some mud."
She laughed. "Oh I bet you could."
He turned back to stare out the windshield as he navigated through traffic. "Have you heard from Faith?"
Though he asked the question in a casual voice, she could hear his concern. It was pretty sweet and obvious he cared about her.
"Actually no. After you left she came back. She, uhm, had to go get something but then Gray showed up."
Nathan winced. "Yeah, I sorta told him where she was, but he was so worried. I couldn't let the poor guy sweat like that. Besides, they need to work their shit out."
Julie nodded. "True, and I think they will. She had already come to the conclusion that she needed to go home and talk to him rather than park herself at my place and cry on my shoulder.
Not that I minded. But Gray showed up and she went home with him. I haven't heard from her, but then I don't expect to until tomorrow."
"I hope it works out. She seemed pretty upset this morning at the office."
"You're really worried about her, aren't you?"
He gave her another quick look as if to gauge whether she was joking. "Of course I am. Faith's like my little sister or something. I don't want to see her hurt."
"I wasn't implying you weren't sincere. I just think it's sweet the way you look out for her."
"My mama did teach me how to treat women," he said with a saucy grin.
She raised an eyebrow. "Did she? Guess I'll have to be the judge of that."
He reached over and touched her cheek, brushing aside her hair so he could slide his knuckles along her jaw. "I plan to treat you very nice."
Shivers danced over her skin until her shoulders twitched in response.
"I didn't ask you what you preferred to eat, but Serena said that Riganti's is really nice, and she's friends with the head chef, so I pulled a few strings and got us their best table for the night."
"Wow. Pulling out all the stops."
"Maybe I think you're worth it," he said in a quiet voice.
She swallowed. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? In two seconds flat they'd gone from playful teasing to . . . what exactly? Bone-melting declarations? Clearly he had no intention of playing fair.
"Are we dressed for Riganti's?" she asked skeptically as she glanced over their jeans. Not that he didn't look positively spectacular in his
His smile flashed. "Let's just say we have a private setting. No one's really going to notice what we're wearing because they won't be able to see us. You struck me as the casual dress type, and this is about as dressy as I get, so I took a chance on not offending you with my choice of wardrobe for the evening."
"What can I say, I'm a girl who likes my comfort."
"A girl after my own heart."
He was so going to have to stop with the leading statements because she got a disgusting thrill every time he made them.
When they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Nathan cut the engine and opened his door. "Hang tight. I'll be around to help you out. I'd hate for you to break a leg getting down."
Though he was totally teasing her, she actually might break an ankle, so she waited until he opened the door and reached for her waist with his big hands.
It was ridiculously thrilling to be with a man strong enough to toss her around like she was one of those women who weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet.
And he took his time letting her slide down his body until her feet hit the ground. For a moment he stared down at her, molding her against the juncture of his thighs.
Finally he reached for her hand, tucking her fingers against his palm. He pulled her away from the truck and shut the door behind her.
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I hope they serve meat in here. Serena wouldn't have sent me to a granola restaurant, would she?"
Julie laughed. "Serena is probably more of a carnivore than you are. The girl loves her red meat."
"And you?"
Either he was incredibly naive or he was a huge flirt. She was placing her bets on the latter.
Ignoring his blatant innuendo, she leaned further into his side as they walked toward the entrance. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, encouraging her further into the crook of his arm.
A man just shouldn't feel this good. It caused a woman to do and think crazy things. She nearly laughed out loud at the absurdity of that thought. Attacking the man during a massage was as crazy as it got. There was nowhere left for her to go but up from there.
Chapter 12
Faith and Gray rode in silence. Uncomfortable silence. There was a lot she wanted to say, but she wasn't about to have such an important conversation when he couldn't even look at her because he was driving.
Every once in a while he glanced over, and she could see the worry, the confusion in his eyes. But she also saw resolve, as if he wasn't about to let her go without a fight. She took comfort in that. They could work this out and chalk it up to one of the many misunderstandings they'd no doubt have over the course of their marriage.
"Where are we going?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.
He reached for her hand, curling his finger around hers. "You'll see. We're almost there."
She recognized the area as an affluent neighborhood just north of Houston. They drove deeper into the residential area where the houses grew larger and more beautiful, the landscaping speaking of professional hands.
Then he turned into the circle driveway of a large stone house. The yard looked as though it hadn't been tended to in a while, or at least only a cursory hand had been applied.
"Come on," he said as he got out.
She met him around the front and he took her hand to lead her to the front door. To her surprise, he pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock.
“Gray?”
He drew her inside, and the smell of fresh paint quivered over her nose. The house was empty. No furniture, nothing on the walls except the gleam of new paint.
"This is where I've been spending so many evenings," he said gruffly.
She stared around at the foyer, the stairs and the open living room beyond.
"But Gray, we can't afford this house, I mean, we already picked out our house."
He smiled and pulled her through the living room. "I got a good deal on this one, and I knew you really wanted something larger, something we could grow into. When I saw it I just knew I had to have it for you. It was a foreclosure. Needed a lot of work. I've done what I can myself. Painting, new carpet, stuff like that."
She looked around, trying to absorb all he was saying. So many of her dream items were featured prominently in the house. The big fireplace, the big picture windows and a patio leading off from the living room through glass doors.
"Oh my God," she whispered. "This is really our house?"
He nodded. Then he hesitated. "That is, if there's still going to be a wedding."
Shame coursed through her. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at him. A tear trickled down her cheek to her mortification. Boy, when she screwed up, she went big.
He gathered her close, ignoring the stiffening of her body. He wrapped his arms around her and cupped the back of her head with one hand. His fingers wandered through the strands of her hair as he simply held on to her.
"Don't ever do that to me, Faith," he whispered. "You scared the shit out of me this morning. When I realized you'd canceled the arrangements, I went a little nuts."
She inhaled, holding and savoring his scent as she laid her head against his chest. "I'm sorry, Gray. I wish I could give you a reason. It was irrational of me, and I'm so sorry. It was stupid and childish, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to marry me after all this."