Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“That’s not going to happen,” Tamara interrupted, waving the suggestion away. “Certainly not if you keep taking your girlfriend to such nice restaurants.”
“I don’t know,” Nate replied with a smile. “This place is not nearly as romantic as where we went for our first ‘date.’” He didn’t want to spook her, so he made sure that she could hear the quotations hanging in the air. “But we should probably get our stories straight so that—”
Again, Tamara cut him off, waving away his worries. “It’s going to be fine,” she assured him. “We both know each other well enough to wing it. I’m here for you, you’re my friend, and I promise that everyone will think we’re a couple. They’ll be convinced we’re so in love that they won’t even think about setting you up with anyone else.”
Nate wanted to believe everything she had just said was true. There was a reason the two of them could pass for being in love so easily and why everywhere they went, people thought they were a perfect fit. Right there and then, the thought crossed his mind that he should tell Tamara the truth that he could no longer ignore. He should tell her that he didn’t want to pretend and that he was falling in love with her.
But before Nate could act on the impulse, she said, “I’m glad that we can do things like this without it being weird. It’s good we sorted things out between us and that we understand each other so well. It’s nice to be around a guy who’s content to be friends and who doesn’t want to ruin the friendship by taking it further.”
Nate froze and didn’t say a word. How could he when Tamara had effectively given up hope of ever finding love? Or at least with him. There was nothing he could do right now except try to make this weekend as perfect as possible, while hoping he could somehow change her mind.
Chapter Ten
After their enjoyable lunch, Nate gave Tamara a quick tour of the area, and then they made their way to his brother’s. Beach house didn’t really capture the place. Tamara stared at it, agog. It was huge, maybe not quite in the league of the beachfront home Jason and Liz had in Malibu, but it was certainly large enough to accommodate the family and many of the guests. The impressive sprawling structure was two stories, and it curved along the edge of the beach like some mysterious white-walled crab catching the sun.
Already, a few cars were parked on the driveway, but Nate managed to find a spot. Leaving their bags in the car, the two of them headed up to the front door, a carved, Spanish-style structure that was easily twelve feet high. On impulse, Tamara grabbed Nate’s hand as they waited for someone to answer the bell.
“For authenticity,” she whispered, although that wasn’t it entirely. She wanted to hold Nate’s hand. It felt safe, and strong, and… well, just right.
The door opened, and someone yelled, “They’re here!” They were welcomed inside by a sea of Nate’s relatives. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, and Tamara was a little overwhelmed as she tried to put names and faces together.
Nate was making introductions so quickly they could have been on a red carpet. “This is my brother, Tim. And my sister, Lucia. This is Lucia’s husband, Kyle, and this is my cousin…” The introductions continued, but she could see that even Nate was having trouble keeping up.
They were friendlier than Tamara could have believed. And there were more of them than Tamara could have believed. Nate had said he had a big family, but this was really something. It was only when she found herself introduced to the second set of stepparents that she started to get a sense of how this family rolled.
“Wait,” she whispered to Nate, “your parents’ exes are all here?”
“More than just my parents’ exes,” Nate explained. “I think there are a couple of my sister’s ex-husbands here somewhere too. Tim gets along with everybody, so those guys would have been invited as well.”
He’d already told her about their serial marriages, but Tamara could see for herself that it was an ongoing process in his family. No wonder they were always trying to matchmake him. And with such a big family, weddings would always be coming up somewhere along the line.
“So, you’re Tamara,” Nate’s mother said when he introduced them. She was very attractive, with Nate’s dark hair, high cheekbones, and a kind smile. She kissed Tamara’s cheek and then said, “Nate’s spoken about you before, of course, but I never guessed the two of you were together. Nate, she’s beautiful.”
Wait, what? Nate had spoken about her before? When was that? She blushed but was surprised to find she liked the idea of Nate talking to his mom about her.