Enjoying the Chase (61 page)

 She took a deep breath, her hands
tightening into fists.

“You don
’
t get to make a judgement on him after a couple of hours. You saying
that he
’
s not good enough for me
just proves that you don
’
t know
him at all. If you knew him properly, you would look him right in the eye and
you would hope that he never realises how much better he can do than me. If you
knew him, you
’
d be smiling at him
proudly, recognising what a beautiful person he is inside, and outside. No,
Dad, you don
’
t know Nate at all!”

I stood there with my mouth open in shock,
staring at her because she
’
d just
argued with her dad for me, she
’
d
just told him that she was crazy about me and was fighting my corner. Part of
me wanted to point at him and shout,
‘Ha! In your face, old man!
’
The other part of me wanted to grab her
and hold her so tightly that she wouldn
’
t be able to breathe. I loved those words coming out of her mouth,
because I was totally crazy about her too.

A smile pulled at the corners of George
’
s mouth as he shrugged. “Just checking.”

“Just checking what?” she huffed.

He laughed. “I was just checking if you
were serious about him. It appears your mom was right.”

What the hell? Was he testing her?

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “You mean
you were just trying to get to me say all that stuff about Nate, just to see if
this was serious or not? Why didn
’
t
you just ask me if it was serious, instead of making me blurt all of that
out in front of him, probably making myself
look like a freaking moron?” she cried angrily.

He cupped her face in his hands and bent
his head, kissing her forehead. “Because that would be too easy, pumpkin.
Besides, Nate doesn
’
t think you
’
re a moron.” He turned to me and smiled. “Do
you?”

I gulped and shook my head, still unsure as
to what was going on here. A not-so-subtle blush coloured Rosie’s cheeks as she
cringed.

George smiled. “Five years ago, when I said
a load of bad stuff about the other guy, did you stand up for that little
punk?” he asked, looking at her curiously.

Rosie
frowned. “No,
but Jo-” Her dad held up his hand, cutting her off before she could finish
saying his name. She sighed dramatically. “Fine. The guy who
’
s name we don
’
t mention,” she corrected, rolling her eyes. “He was everything you
said he was, I knew that at the time. That
’
s why I didn
’
t defend
him.”

I smiled, feeling extremely proud of myself
that she stood up for me, but not Josh. A
couple
of months ago, she believed I was just like him, but not now.

“Pumpkin, you
’
re a great judge of character, well, apart from that one person
anyway, so if you like this guy, then that
’
s good enough for me. I was just checking what you really thought of
him. And also, pushing him to see how far I could before he snapped. As it
turns out, his patience level is pretty high. He
’
s suited to you, because you
’
re frustrating as hell,” he said, winking at his daughter.

“I
’
m not frustrating!” she protested.

I nodded. “
You are,
Stripes,” I interjected.

She turned to me and laughed, slapping my
chest with the back of her hand. “You
’
re not supposed to agree with him!” she rebutted, shaking her head
with mock hurt.

I gripped her hand and pulled her to me. “I
’
m agreeing with him if it means he
’
s going to stop trying to kill me with his
eyes.”

George coughed the words ‘kiss ass
’
, and I couldn
’
t help but laugh. This was the first time I had ever tried to
impress a girl
’
s family, and as it
turned out, I had done a pretty good job of it. I could literally feel the
happy dance building up inside, I was about ten seconds from pulling my shirt
over my face and running around the parking lot with my hands in the air.

Rosie
grinned and
pressed her lips to mine, kissing me softly. I smiled against her lips and wrapped
my arms around her tightly. George cleared his throat loudly again. “Yeah,
kissing needs to be under five seconds. Also, the hands need to stay above the
belt, please. I mean, hello, a parent is standing right here,” he said, waving
at himself in example, laughing.

Rosie stepped out of my embrace. “I
’
m going to see if I can get your mom to let go
of DJ,” she said, winking at me as she walked back into the little hall,
leaving me with her dad.

I smiled awkwardly at him. “So, that was
just a test then, right?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck, trying to
alleviate some of the tension that had built up in my muscles through the day.

He nodded and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah,
sorry about that.”

I sucked my teeth with my tongue. “But I
passed though, didn
’
t I? You didn
’
t just say that I did because she was there, I
actually did pass?”

 He smiled, gripping my shoulder. “You
passed, Nate.”

Pride bubbled in my chest. I smiled at him
gratefully. That was another major relationship hurdle I had overcome.

His smile faded as his eyes locked on mine,
and I knew it wasn
’
t over yet.
“You might have passed the test, but I still need you to know that if you hurt
my daughter or my grandson, then I
’
m going to have to kill you,” he warned, looking at me fiercely.

“I understand that completely. I won
’
t. I really like them both,” I assured him,
not looking away from his eyes, showing him
just how much
I meant it.

He nodded. “
Well, I
’
m sorry I gave you such a hard time. It
’
s just, after what the prick did to her, I don
’
t want to see her hurt again. When you have
kids, you
’
ll understand.
”

I nodded in acceptance. George really didn
’
t need to apologise, I knew he loved his
daughter and was just trying to look out for her.

“I
’
m not like Josh, I promise. You don
’
t need to worry about that.”

He smiled and gripped my shoulder. “I can
see that. You seem like a good guy, and from what Rosie tells me about you and
your relationship, I don
’
t think I
have much to worry about at the moment,” his grip tightened on my shoulder,
“but if you mention that asshole
’
s
name in front of me again, I
’
m
going to have to punch you in the face
.
”

“I
’
ll remember that
,
”
I said solemnly.

“Good man. One last thing for the night
then. Do me a favour and keep that thing in your pants. I don
’
t need any more grandkids for a couple of
years, okay?” He nodded down at my crotch. “I wouldn
’
t want to have to chase you down and cut it off.”

I laughed sheepishly. In time, we would
probably become quite good friends, once I earned his complete trust. “Even if
I did knock her up, I
’
m a pretty
fast runner; I don
’
t think your
old man legs could keep up with me. My manhood is safe
.
”

He slapped my shoulder affectionately, grinning.
“I may be an old man, with old man legs, but I could still take you on the
sporting field. You got nothing on me there,” he boasted, puffing out his
chest.

I noted the challenge in his voice and
threw my arm around his shoulder, deciding to make light of this whole
situation. “Whatever you say, George. Let
’
s just start over, huh? You like golf?” I asked, as we walked back
into the function room.

“Actually, yeah, I do.”

“Awesome. I
’
ll pick you up at nine tomorrow morning. Boys
’
golfing day it is then. Me, you, and DJ. Loser buys lunch.”

He nodded in agreement, clapping me on the
back affectionately as we headed back inside to find the girls and DJ. I was
now about to enter into the arduous task of wrestling DJ from my mother
’
s ‘Nanna clutches
’ –
she wasn
’
t going to let
the kid go willingly.

Chapter
Thirty-Two

“And you’re sure you can’t come with me
somehow?” I checked for the hundredth time.

“I
’
ll be there in spirit,” Rosie replied, shrugging sadly.

I sighed dramatically. This was all Josh
again. He had failed to pick up DJ this weekend, ruining our plans to go out
with friends tonight. My sister, Paige, and her best friend Coraline were in LA
for the weekend, so we were supposed to meet them out for a drink. But no, Josh
had to go and cancel a couple of hours ago, saying he was ‘too sick with the
flu
’
to come and get his son. Too
sick my ass, we both knew he was lying but no one said anything about it. 

The great dad routine had lasted a grand
total of five weeks after I gave him the money for DJ
’
s ticket. Exactly three weeks after Cameron
’
s christening, Josh
‘forgot
’
to turn up when he was supposed to. He left
DJ and Rosie sitting there on
a
Friday night, waiting
for him to arrive, with not even a phone call to explain. She had called him
after an hour, and it turned out that he was away for the weekend with some
friends, and had neglected to tell her about it. Of course, DJ was upset at
first when the regular phone calls stopped, but after a week or so he bounced
back and seemed to get over it. No doubt it was doing some psychological damage
deep down though.

I hated Josh with a burning passion, and
the feeling was certainly mutual. Every time we were in the same room I
struggled to control my hands so that they didn
’
t choke the life out of him.

On the up side, Rosie and I had been
together for a grand total of four and a half months now. Every single day was
more incredible than the last. It was like she was weaving some sort of spell
over me, almost like I wasn
’
t
quite in control of myself when I was around her. All I could think about were
her and DJ. They were the most important things in the world to me. 

By any man
’
s standards, Rosie was probably the best girlfriend that had ever
lived. She supported me in everything I did, listened to me, encouraged me,
made me feel better when I had a shitty day, and she didn
’
t even mind when I went out with my friends. All my life I
’
d thought that girls went all crazy possessive
bunny boiler once you made a commitment with them. I
’
d always thought that they didn
’
t let you out, that they didn
’
t like you to talk to other girls, that they wanted to be around you
twenty-four-seven. Clearly, I couldn
’
t have been more wrong about that.

“
I don’
t suppose I can come back here after going out?” I asked, wincing,
knowing I shouldn
’
t ask. I just
really wanted to spend the night in the bed with my girl. I hated sleeping on
my own and, whenever my shift pattern would allow, I stayed at hers. If Josh
was standing in front of me in that moment, I would kick him in the balls for,
yet again, ruining her night. Rosie had been talking to my sister on the phone
all week, planning this night out, but now she couldn
’
t even go.

She smiled and tapped her finger on my
nose. “You have your sister and Coraline staying at your place. You need to go
home and host.”

I groaned and let my head drop onto her shoulder,
nuzzling my face against the side of her neck. She made that sexy little purr,
and my excitement jumped up a level. Just as I playfully sank my teeth into her
delicate little neck, a heavy lump dropped into my lap, making me grunt from
the shock and groan because DJ had just jumped on my balls. I pulled away from
Rosie and winced.

“Careful, Kid. You don
’
t want a brother or sister?” I joked, shifting him on my lap so that
I was more comfortable.

He frowned, looking at me with an adorable
confused expression on his face. “Huh?”

I smiled and shook my head, knowing I
shouldn
’
t have said that in front
of him. Rosie didn
’
t seem to mind
my commitment comments or anything though. Clearly we were both headed in the
same direction. She knew I was totally crazy about her. I hadn
’
t let the three little words slip out again
since that accident at my parents
’
house, but I wanted to. I was just scared of how they would be
received. I wasn
’
t sure if I had
her completely hooked yet, so I was going to let her say it first. She was,
after all, the one that said it was all too fast and that she needed time.
Therefore, I was letting her have time
to
figure it out
herself.

Of course, my wise best friend told me I
was being stupid and that I should just tell her that I was totally and utterly
in love with her, but I was too much of a pussy for that. Under all of my
bravado, I obviously wasn
’
t as
confident as I always thought I was.

I turned back to Rosie, smiling sadly. “Why
don
’
t you go out with Paige
tonight and I
’
ll sit DJ?
” I offered for the hundredth time. We
’
d already been through everyone asking them to babysit him for the
night, but no one was available at short notice.

She smiled and sighed, looking at me so
softly that it made the skin on my arms prickle. I loved it when she looked at
me like that. It was kind of like she was just marvelling
at
something, but I had no idea why she would be.

“I
’
ll go next time. Tell Paige that I
’
ll catch up with her tomorrow, okay?”

DJ smiled.
“Is Auntie
Paige gonna come play with me tomorrow?” he asked.

That kid
was
as much
in love with my family
as
they were with
him. Even Lisa adored him. I
’
d
never seen anyone wrap Lisa around their little finger, but DJ had managed to
do it almost instantly. We
’
d been
to my parents a couple of times since the christening.

“She might do, Kid. Why don
’
t you call her cell phone nice and early in
the morning and ask her,” I suggested, chuckling darkly. I was working tomorrow
lunchtime, and Paige was probably planning on spending the day in bed to sleep
off the hangover she was sure to accumulate tonight. 

DJ grinned and nodded, pointing at the
train set that was scattered all over their lounge floor. “Wanna play trains?
You can be the red one,” he suggested, raising his eyebrows hopefully. 

“I
’
m red!” Rosie stated, jumping off the sofa, diving for the red
locomotive.

I sighed dramatically, faking exasperation.
“Momma likes to steal all the best things.”

“Agreed. I stole you, after all, didn
’
t I?” she replied, winking at me. I laughed
and scooted off the sofa, holding DJ on my lap as I settled onto the floor next
to her. The three of us setting up the track on the floor like a proper little
family.

“On three,” Paige slurred, nodding down
at the shot in her hand.

I rolled my eyes. She was drunk already,
and we
’
d only been here for a
couple of hours. She was one of those drinkers that got drunk quickly, then
sobered up, then got drunk again. Usually I found this hilarious
;
tonight though, not so much. She was flirting with every guy in the
bar, and I could feel the stress building up inside me. If one more guy looked
at my little sister with those ‘I-want-to-fuck-you
’
eyes, I was going to have to jam my fingers into their eye sockets
and pull them out. Sometimes I hated being a big brother.

“One…
Two
…” Paige counted.

“Three,” I chimed in, knocking back my shot
in one large gulp.

So far, the night was fun. I hadn
’
t let loose and been wasted for a long time,
usually I stayed relatively sober so I could make the most of my girl
’
s drunken flirting. I was definitely enjoying
myself tonight. While Seth was flirting and trying his luck with a load of
girls, I had my arm around Coraline
’
s shoulder as we laughed and joked around. The music was loud, you
couldn
’
t talk without shouting in
each other
’
s ears.

I took a glug of my drink, laughing as some
of it missed my mouth and dribbled down my chin. Coraline laughed and wiped it
for me with her hand. That was my cue to stop drinking before I puked. I
’
d already made a fool out of myself enough for
tonight – the drinking games were not working in my favour. My eyes were
slightly unfocussed; everything seemed hilarious to my drunken brain.  

Coraline put her cheek against mine,
leaning on me heavily, almost making me stumble. “It
’
s such a shame Rosie couldn
’
t come tonight. She
’
s so
hot,” she shouted in my ear.

I grinned proudly and nodded in agreement.
“That she is.”

She giggled wickedly. “If you two break up,
I
’
m making a move. Once you
’
ve been with a woman, you never go back!”

I laughed at her statement.
“Don
’
t even think about
making a move on my girl. I
’
m
gonna marry her one day. I don
’
t
want no lesbian messing things up for me,” I joked, tickling her, making her
giggle and thrash around. I
’
d
known Coraline forever and felt just as close to her as I did one of my
sisters.

“Aww, Nate Peters, talking about marriage.
I never thought I
’
d see the day!”
Coraline chirped, hugging me tightly and planting a sloppy kiss on my cheek.

I
had to agree
. I
personally never thought I would see the day either, but Rosie was something
special. I was marrying her as soon as she said the three words to me. My
genius plan was to let her confess her love for me, and then I was going to
drop down on one knee and propose. Ashton thought it was a terrible idea, he
said I needed to do something romantic – but I knew that Rosie would like it.
She liked it when I was goofy, for some reason unbeknown to me, she liked that
I had no idea how to be romantic. Whenever I tried to plan something romantic,
something always went wrong, and we
’
d end up laughing about it all night. That was how I knew she was
the one for me, because she just understood me completely and accepted me for
who I was.

I
’
d sworn Ashton to secrecy. He
’
d promised me that he wouldn
’
t tell Anna how totally and utterly pussy whipped I was. I couldn
’
t have it get back to Rosie. After the beach
house slip up and how horrified she
’
d looked when I
’
d
accidentally said the words, I knew that I needed to let her make that step
first. The look on her face had almost given me a heart attack; I couldn
’
t go through that again.

“Shouldn
’
t you be eyeing up gay women, not straight, attached ones?” I
teased, winking at Coraline as she pulled back, swaying on her feet. I
tightened my arm around her shoulders, keeping her steady.

“I should,” she agreed, “but I like the
challenge.”

I laughed.
“Yeah, I
enjoyed chasing Rosie too,” I admitted.

“Now,
she
’
s
a challenge,” Coraline stated, nodding
over my shoulder. I turned and saw Emma walking towards me with a seductive smile
on her face. I smiled back in greeting. I hadn
’
t slept with Emma for a long time, a few weeks before I met Rosie,
but we were still friends.

She stopped at my side, slipping her arm
around my waist, hugging me tightly. “Hey, Nate!” Her ha
nd
slipped down to my ass, squeezing as she smiled at me suggestively.

My brain was a little too slow working
things out, but I knew that I didn
’
t like her touching me. I pulled back and shook my head. “I
’
m married,” I slurred.