Fringe Benefits (14 page)

Looking a bit sleepy, Nate shook his head. “I haven’t told her much of anything yet. Figured we’d surprise her and tell her about us in person. She’ll be thrilled, I’m sure.”

“Then what reason did you give her for me coming with you?”

“I told her we were coming for a teacher conference.”

Her eyes wide, she had no idea what to say. She’d taken for granted that he’d smoothed the path by letting Jackie know about them being a couple and about the new living arrangements. Why wouldn’t he have told her that Dani was his girlfriend—his roommate?

Her disappointment and apprehension were her own fault. She’d had a stupid fantasy, born from her favorite movie,
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
, that they’d be welcomed into Jackie and Mark’s home, and Dani and Nate would play card games with them and grow closer to each other when his family embraced her with open arms. She’d even pictured him taking her for a ride on a motorcycle he’d happen to own exactly like Matthew McConaughey in the movie. And then there was that hot sex scene in the shower…

Instead of a romantic comedy, Dani faced a potential disaster.

“You’re thinking awfully hard over there,” Nate said. “I probably should’ve told her, but”—he shrugged—“it’s really no big thing.”

“To you, maybe.”

“Why are you so worried?”

She’d never seen a reason to share her thoughts about Jackie with him. But now that the two women were about to come face-to-face, now that Nate was going to let his mom know he’d attached himself to his boss, a woman eight years older, Dani needed to tell him about the tension the last time she was with Jackie. “Remember the day you moved in?”

He nodded.

“Your mom came in and had a cup of coffee with me.”

“So?”

“She seemed kind of… angry about you moving into my place.”

He cocked his head. “Why would she be angry? I was renting your basement, and it was a huge step up from that horrible room I had.”

“I know, but she acted upset about the move.”

“Are you sure? Mom is sometimes a bit intense. She was probably just being her crazy self. I love her to death, but she honestly takes some getting used to.” Nate let out a light chuckle. “Ask Mark. He’ll have a million stories about Mom’s volatile emotions. Besides, my guess is that she was just tired from the long drive so early in the morning. Mornings are definitely
not
her thing.”

His words were comforting, but Dani couldn’t quell her anxiety as he got their luggage out of the trunk. Ever the gentleman, Nate carried her suitcase and his duffel to the front door. When she reached for the doorbell, he shook his head. “You’re family now. Just go on in.”

Damn if her hands weren’t trembling as she opened the front door. She held it open as Nate headed inside, and then she shut it behind them.

The town house was amazing. The two-story foyer made the place seem huge. The enormous chandelier was made of crystal and dark wrought iron. She’d seen one in the lighting store Robert used and had considered it for her own foyer before settling on a brushed nickel finish with frosted glass. The walls were painted a warm beige, and the travertine floor tiles were an inviting mixture of beige, walnut, and gray. The pleasant scent of roasting meat wafted through the air.

Jackie Brennan obviously had excellent taste, but after hearing Nate’s stories about her lacking any kind of cooking skills, Dani wondered about that heavenly smell.

“Mom?” Nate’s voice echoed in the cavernous foyer. “We’re here!”

“Nate?” a feminine voice called from down the hall.

He set their luggage by the bottom of the staircase, took Dani’s hand, and led her down the hallway into the enormous kitchen. When he stopped suddenly, she ran right into him as he stared at the young woman drying her hands on a blue towel.

Peeking past him, Dani gaped. The twentysomething woman was nothing short of beautiful. Her long, dark hair fell in thick waves around her slender shoulders. A heart-shaped face was dominated by brown doe eyes. Her slender figure had to be a perfect size 4, and she was dressed in skinny jeans and a pink long-sleeved blouse.

“You must be Carly,” Dani said, extending her hand. “Nate’s told me a lot about you.”

The brunette set the towel on the counter and gave Dani a cool, rather smug smile. “Carly won’t be here for a couple of days. I’m Kat.”

The moment Nate saw Kat standing in his mother’s kitchen, he’d wanted to grab Dani, toss her over his shoulder, and run right back to Illinois.

The look on Dani’s face—the horrified expression that was immediately replaced by the mask of calm it had taken Nate forever to breach—had felt like a stab to the chest. Every bit of progress he’d made to win her heart might have been lost.

The thought chilled him to the bone.

While Dani just stood there with her fake unemotional smile, Kat hurried to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rose on tiptoes to brush her mouth over his. “I missed you so much.”

Although his arms remained at his sides, Nate caught the narrowing of Dani’s eyes. A good sign since it meant she was jealous of Kat laying hands on him. He finally found his voice. “What are you doing here, Kat?”

The type of sensuous smile she gave as she kept her arms around him would have had a profound effect on him a long time ago. Now it only irritated him that Kat was being so brazenly affectionate. Not only did he want to spare Dani any more pain at seeing his former fiancée throwing herself at him, but he also wanted to give Kat a shake and remind her that she’d walked away from him, that what had ever existed between them was dead and buried.

“I’m home for good,” she announced.

“I beg your pardon?” The last he’d heard, she’d been in London with plans to backpack her way through Europe with some guy named Norm.

“I’m home for good,” she repeated. “Jackie helped me get a job as a school aide while I finish school.” Kat let out a little chuckle. “I’m just about done with my paralegal certification.”

Although he had no intention of having a friendly conversation with Kat, he needed to know what the hell was going on, and he needed to know right now. There was a reason she was here today, and he couldn’t stop thinking his mother had something to do with it.

Jackie had always been so supportive of Nate’s relationship with Kat, and when they’d split, she hadn’t even tried to hide her disappointment. Could this be her attempt to throw them back into each other’s paths?

All he could think to ask was, “Why are you here?”

“I live here.”

“You
what
?”

Instead of answering, Kat turned her dark eyes on Dani as she thankfully stepped back so he didn’t have to push her away. “Since Nate’s obviously in shock at seeing me again, he’s forgotten his manners.” She held out her hand. “I’m Kat Brennan.”

Dani shook her hand. “Danielle Bradshaw.” Her voice was as monotone as a computer simulation.

“You’re Nate’s boss. Jackie said Nate was bringing you to some education conference.” Her gaze shifted back to him. “Where exactly is that conference being held, honey? Funny thing… I couldn’t find anything online about a conference for teachers anywhere in Indy.”

How in the hell could he have found himself in this ridiculous predicament?

By lying to his mom. If he’d been open and honest with her about his relationship with Dani, especially about them living together, he wouldn’t be facing this awkward conversation with Kat, nor would he have to have a similar awkward conversation with his mother.

No way around it—he’d been a chickenshit. Nate had put off telling Jackie about Dani because he knew how she’d likely react. It wasn’t that she disliked Dani; it was that she couldn’t get past her being his boss and a few years older, silly notions she’d repeated in almost every one of their conversations. Kat’s words only emphasized that point.

Utter nonsense, but he’d learned from experience that once his mom had her stubborn mind set against something—or someone—she needed to be confronted, told why she was wrong, and then buried in evidence before she would be convinced to change her opinion.

Dani had been acting even more reticent since Friday, as though something had happened. But in her typical fashion, she hadn’t said a word. Since he couldn’t do anything about her change of attitude, he decided to focus on what he could do.

It was time to straighten things out. “Where’s Mom?” he asked.

“Right behind you,” Jackie said before poking him in the back. “Welcome home, Nate.”

Nate embraced her and waited until she’d greeted Dani with a polite aloofness. “Mom, can we sit and talk?” he asked.

“Oh my. That sounds ominous.”

Dani moved closer to Nate. “I’m sorry to be a bother, but I’m getting a really bad headache all of a sudden. Is there someplace quiet I can go to and lie down for a little bit?”

Jackie was the one to answer. “Of course. The basement suite’s ready for you.” She tossed Dani a lopsided smile. “Figured you’d like to see things from Nate’s point of view. Plus you’ll have tons of privacy.”

“Thank you,” was Dani’s flat reply.

“Downstairs. It’s the second door on the right,” Jackie said. “If you see a washer and dryer, you’ve got the wrong room.”

As Dani went to the stairs, Nate followed. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Just getting a splitting headache.”

“Can I get you anything? Aspirin? Tylenol?”

She shook her head.

Damn if she didn’t move her hand out of his reach when he tried to take it so he could give her a reassuring squeeze. Then she left him to face the music.

Thankfully, his mother didn’t speak again until Dani was well out of earshot. “Call me paranoid, but something’s wrong here. Nate, I really expected you to be a helluva lot happier to see that Kat has finally come home.”

“Happy?” Kat pouted her lip. “More like catatonic…”

“Look, let’s go sit down and talk. Okay?” he asked.

His mom nodded and went to plop on the sofa. He wasn’t at all surprised that Kat followed and took the seat right next to Jackie.

Inwardly, he shrugged at her audacity. It was pure Kat, so he figured he might as well get this over and done with, with both women at the same time.

Sitting on the coffee table to face them, Nate took a deep breath and blew it out as he leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs. “I need to tell you about Dani.”

“She looked kinda sick,” Kat said. “She got really pale all of a sudden. Is she ill?”

Catty as always
. “No, she’s not sick. She’s… upset.”

“Upset?” Jackie knit her brows. “Over what? Did you have a fight or something? Is she kicking you out of her basement?” She gave him a curt nod as though she accepted that idea as the truth. “We’ll start looking around for a house for you to rent and—”

“Stop, Mom. I’m not searching anymore. Maybe later, but not right now. Look, I know you didn’t like the idea of me living with Dani, but—”

“I’m fine with you renting her basement,” Jackie snapped. “I told you that. I shouldn’t have made such a fuss. She’s a nice lady. I was just afraid it would be a problem since she’s your department head and a little older. Figured she might not like a twentysomething kid in her house.”

“Are you ever going to let that shit go?” This was going to be more difficult if she couldn’t open her mind and start looking at Dani as a beautiful woman instead of his boss and some sort of desperate cougar. “She’s a department head, not my
boss
.” He sarcastically punctuated the word with air quotes. “And I’m twenty-four—twenty-five next month—and not exactly a kid anymore.”

“I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

Since his mom’s tone was contrite, he let some of his anger slip away. “Dani’s only a handful of years older than me. You really don’t need to keep bringing it up.”

Kat frowned. “Why would her age matter to either of you? She’s just Nate’s landlady.”

Nate shook his head. Kat had opened the door, so he stepped right through. “Dani’s my girlfriend.”

Both women gave him the weirdest looks. Jackie’s expression was a cross between shocked and upset. Kat’s was pure pissed.

He didn’t care about either of their reactions. Dani meant the world to him, and he wasn’t going to let his mother or his ex hurt her any more than they already had. “We started dating and we’re serious about making things between us work. We live together now.”

“Oh, Nate…” Jackie shook her head.

Her disappointed frown sent his temper soaring again. “What exactly is your problem with Dani?”

“It’s not
her
so much…” Letting out a sigh, she raked her fingers through her short hair.

It had never dawned on him how many of her mannerisms he’d adopted. “Then what exactly is it, Mom? Hell, I thought you’d be playing matchmaker since she’s so great. What made you set your mind against her when you don’t even know her?”

Folding her arms under her breasts, she glared at him. “I wasn’t set against her.”

“Bullshit.”

Kat was still scowling, that same glare she’d always given him when he hadn’t allowed her to have her way. Funny how when he’d been so besotted with her he hadn’t noticed some of her more annoying traits. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me, Nate. It’s just plain cruel to throw her in my face when I came home to be with you.”

“To be with me?” He shook his head, not even wanting to know exactly what motivated her to suddenly want to resurrect the dead relationship. “We were over a long time ago, Kat. And I didn’t bring Dani here to throw her in your face. I didn’t even know you were going to be here!”

“Let me guess,” she continued in a snide tone. “There is no stupid conference. You brought her here to surprise your mom with your new toy.” She let out a snort. “Like some cat dragging home a dead mouse for its owner.”

Probably seeing his temper start to boil over, Jackie stepped in. “That was uncalled for, Kat. You don’t have to be mean about it.” She looked to Nate. “So she’s your girlfriend now?”

He nodded.

“Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I could see the sparks, and you… well, you were clearly taken with her. So I’ll try to make her feel more welcome. I’m sorry she walked into… all this.” Jackie stood up. “Let me make Dani some tea. You can take it down and let her know she’s more than welcome here.” As she headed into the kitchen, she called over her shoulder, “Since you like her, I’ll refrain from cooking anything except tea.”

At least he could chuckle now. Until he saw Kat sitting on the sofa, her eyes angry. “Kat—”

She held up a hand. “Don’t say a fucking word.”

“Hey, now,” Jackie scolded. “Watch the language.”

While the admonition was hilarious coming from a woman who talked like a sailor, Nate let it go. “We should talk.”

“No, we shouldn’t.” Kat jumped to her feet. “I’m heading up to my room. I’ve got homework.”

Nate didn’t try to stop her. The hurt in her voice surprised him and made guilt wash over him. Despite feeling as though he owed her some kind of explanation or excuse, he actually didn’t. Any commitment he’d made to her had ended when she’d walked away, and she’d seemed to do it with an ease that indicated she’d never truly loved him the way he’d loved her.

Seeing her now, he could finally put any residual hurt to rest. He cared for her, but he didn’t love her. Not anymore, and with the intensity of his feelings for Dani, he had to wonder if he ever truly had.

But he’d misjudged Kat’s feelings. A woman couldn’t fake that kind of heartache. While he was here, he’d have to find some time to sit down and talk with her so any wounds remaining from their relationship could finally heal.

Now it was time to soothe Dani. He went to his mom and helped her put together a small tray with hot tea and graham crackers. Then he carried it downstairs. At the bedroom door, he kicked it softly in lieu of knocking. “Dani? Are you asleep?”

“Come on in.”

She was lying on her side on top of the blue quilt, her back to him. The only light came through the slim basement window.

“I brought you some tea and Tylenol.”

Rolling toward him, she wiped her hand across her eyes as though she’d been crying.

His stomach clenched. “I’m sorry about all the stupidity upstairs.”

“It’s not your fault.”

He sat on the bed by her legs and set the tray down where she could reach it. When she sat up and propped the pillows behind her, he lifted the tray long enough for her to finish and then put it over her lap. “Drink some tea. Should help you feel a little better.” He picked up the bottle of pills and spilled two on his palm. “Take a couple of Tylenol, sweetheart.”

“Thanks,” she murmured as she obeyed, tossing them into her mouth and then taking a drink of the small glass of water he’d added to the tray. After she poured a couple of pink sweetener packets into the tea, she sipped for a while as they sat in the quiet. “Did you know Kat was going to be here?” she finally asked.

Nate rubbed his hand up and down her shin. “Not a clue. The last Mom told me about her was that she was in England.”

“Wonder how long she’s been back.” Dani nibbled on one of the crackers.

“I honestly don’t give a shit how long she’s been here or how long she plans to stay. You’re the one I care about.”

*   *   *

Dani could hear the emotion in his voice, the sincerity in his words. She just needed to force herself to believe him.

Seeing the beautiful woman Nate had loved, the one he’d been engaged to, the one he’d almost shared a child with, had been a shock she’d had no time to prepare for. Even worse, to watch as Kat threw herself at him and kissed him had been gut-wrenching.

Overwhelmed by jealousy and worried that Nate had dragged her here as some sort of weird way to try to win Kat back, Dani did what she did best where emotions were involved.

She retreated.

It had seemed the best tack, and she hadn’t been lying when she’d told them she had a headache. Her head pounded in rhythm with her wounded heart. She’d allowed some tears of disappointment to fall, and crying, even if only for a minute or two, had helped ease the hurt of both her head and her heart.

Only a woman in love could have been so devastated by a friendly kiss of greeting, and she simply didn’t want to accept that she’d fallen in love with Nate Ryan.

Once she could push aside the jealousy, she’d started to see things as they truly were. Nate hadn’t been at all happy to see Kat. Although she’d hugged him, he hadn’t hugged her back. Nor had he kissed her. There had been no welcome in his words, only the same confusion Dani had felt.