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)
Tamara didn’t react.
“As for what I see,” Nate said. “I see a beautiful, passionate, intelligent woman. I see someone who can walk into the middle of the chaos that is my family and feel right at home. I see someone who managed to convince me there is one person in the world for someone like me.” He took a breath and then said it again. “I see the woman I love.”
He wanted to reach for her hand, to take it and hold on to her and do anything he could to make her see things the way he saw them. He didn’t want to let go, because that would be like giving up. And he was not about to give up on Tamara, no matter what.
Yet he made himself stay still. He remembered what Travis and Daniel had said at Kate’s party. He must give Tamara the space that she so clearly needed. You cannot force someone to love you, and loving them didn’t automatically make everything all right. The best that you could do was be there and keep showing them how much you cared. The best you could do was refuse to give up on them while they made up their own mind.
“I don’t know what to think,” Tamara said, clearly unhappy. Somehow, the weekend had gone from perfect to disastrous in the space of a single car ride. “I wish…”
She didn’t finish that thought, and Nate wouldn’t push her.
“I need some space, Nate. I need to think.”
Nate stepped back. “I’ll give you space. I’m not going to try to push you into this, or into anything. But that doesn’t mean I’m ever going to give up on you… on us. I’m not going to stop telling you that I love you, because one day you’re going to understand. You’re going to realize that I’m for real and that I’m planning to stay forever. In the meantime, I’ll keep buying my coffee at your shop.”
“Even though that’s not what your family would do?” Tamara asked.
“It’s not about my family,” Nate said. “It’s about me and you and this…” He gestured between them.
With that, Nate forced himself to get in his car and drive across the street. He parked and walked into Married in Malibu, trying to get his mind into the right headspace to solve the coding issues of a high-tech wedding.
But all he could think about was Tamara watching him, looking perfect in the morning light.
Chapter Thirteen
It took Nate about five minutes to jump back into the here and now. He had no choice: Married in Malibu was buzzing. The Zach and Yuriko wedding was this Friday, and right away Nate could tell that everyone was a bit tense. The normally unflappable Liz was walking around the office, talking on her cellphone, giving someone a piece of her mind. You knew things were serious if Liz raised her voice. A lot was riding on this wedding, not least the fact that several million people would be watching it on their screens.
Everyone was happy to see Nate. In fact, they all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief knowing he was back in the building. They knew he and Tamara had spent the weekend away at his brother’s wedding and asked about the details, but Nate knew they weren’t really listening to the answers. Their expressions showed that they were only interested in one particular wedding at the moment, and it wasn’t his brother’s. They were, however, genuinely interested in hearing about the traffic between San Diego and Malibu. Nate just laughed to himself.
He wanted to shout about how things had gone between him and Tamara. He wanted to let every one of his colleagues know that he and Tamara were moving into a different, better kind of relationship—even if that was kind of undefined at the moment. The hardest part about being back at work, for Nate, was keeping things a secret. But he didn’t want anyone to embarrass or stress out Tamara by making innuendos when they went to get coffee.
For now, he was content to throw himself back into work. The Zach and Yuriko wedding had truly moved into high gear, and as soon as he was settled, everyone had a million questions for him. Meg wanted to sit down and talk about where he was planning to hide the cameras for the wedding so they wouldn’t interfere with the perception of a private event. He had new emails from Zach’s office, wanting specs on cable runs for the cameras.
As Nate walked the property with Daniel and Travis, looking at camera and lighting positions, he realized he hadn’t seen Furface today, but that was just a fleeting thought. A minute later, he was thinking about something else.
Tamara found herself playing catch-up when she walked into her shop just in time for the lunch rush. The teens had done an awesome job. The place was spotless, and the bakery counter was filled with lots of yummy treats. They looked so proud of themselves, and Tamara knew they were hoping she would be happy with their hard work. She was thrilled and told them so.