With Me in Seattle Bundle One (60 page)

Except Nate.

“What?” I snap.

Nate links his fingers through mine and clenches tightly beneath the table, making me look up at him.  His eyes are laughing. “Don’t sweat this,” he murmurs.

“Boys, leave your sister alone,” Mom warns.

“We’re not doing anything,” Will murmurs with a sulk, and I bust out laughing.  What are we, five?

Across the table from Nate and I, Luke is leaning over, whispering in Natalie’s ear, and she’s smiling softly.  God, they’re disgusting in public.  But so in love.  I need to stop worrying about Nate and my family.  This party is for them.

“Presents!” I jump up and down in my seat and clap my hands.

“Jules.” Nat frowns and swallows hard.  “Can I just say thank you all so much and open them at home?”

“No.” I pout. “This is the fun part.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Luke jumps in.  “There’s a lot here.  It’ll take all afternoon.”

“I don’t mind,” Stacy agrees, and there are nods and agreements around the room.

“Well, hell,” I mutter.  “Okay, but will you just open mine?  ’Cause I want to see your face when you see it. 

“Okay.” Natalie smiles, and I clap again. 

My present isn’t on the table with the others. It’s too big.

“I’ll be right back.”

I run through the house and out to the garage, and thank God that I have that upper body strength Nate’s dad mentioned last weekend, because this mother is heavy.

I manage to get back to the tent, and Nate jumps up to help me when he sees me come through the door.

“Christ, why didn’t you ask me to help you?”

“I’ve got it.”

“Jesus, Julianne, you’ll hurt yourself.  Give this to me.”  Nate wrestles the large wooden sign out of my hands, and I notice the grins of delight on the faces of my family as we walk around the table to Natalie and Luke.

“Okay, turn it around.” 

Natalie gasps, and her hand flies to her mouth as she reads the words that I painted on the rough wood.  I know she has a thing for old barn doors, and inscriptions, and I decided to give her both.

I had the door cut down to three feet by four feet, and I sanded and stained it, and painted the inscription in dark gray and pink, the colors Natalie chose for the nursery.

“Read it,” I murmur.

“
No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you.  After all, you’re the only one who knows the sound of my heart from the inside.”

“Jules, where did you get this?” Luke asks.

“I made it.” I shrug and grin.

“You made this?” Nate asks, surprised.

“Yeah, I can be crafty if I need to be.”  I flush and smile at Natalie.  “Do you like it?”

She’s started crying again, and I hope that’s a good sign.

“Oh, it’s perfect.”  She stands as quickly as possible, which isn’t terribly fast, and I walk around to hug her.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Caleb!” 

I turn around at my mom’s excited voice and find my brother glaring at Nate from the doorway.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Chapter Thirteen

“Caleb!” I turn to march toward him, but Nate stops me with a hand on my shoulder.  His eyes are locked on Caleb’s, ice cold, but his face is completely expressionless.

If this is how he looked at his opponents in the ring, I’m surprised they didn’t turn and run and cry for their mommy.

“I’m Nate McKenna.”  Nate steps forward and extends his right hand. 

Caleb doesn’t take it. He just keeps staring at Nate.

I frantically look around the room for help, but everyone is just watching the show, wondering what’s going to happen next.

“Why are your hands on my sister?”  Caleb doesn’t move, his face also expressionless.

Fuck, I was afraid of this.  Of all my brothers, Caleb has always been the most protective.  He’s a Navy SEAL. He can kill someone and make it look like natural causes. If you look “testosterone” up in the dictionary, there should be a photo of his handsome face rather than a definition.  He’s the same height as Nate and roughly the same build. 

He’s scary.

And he loves me.

Not a good combination.

“Caleb,” I try again, but Nate puts his hand up to make me stop, and I frown at him. 

“I am Julianne’s date today,” Nate states simply.

That’s a good way to put it.  I like it.

Caleb doesn’t seem to.

“I think we should take this outside.” Caleb turns toward the door, and Nate follows.

“With pleasure.” 

“STOP!” I scream and both men turn to me.  “This is not about you, Caleb.  Stop being a testosterony asshole.” 

He frowns and starts to yell back at me, but I walk over to him and kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear, “Stop.  I love him.  He’s a good man.  If he fucks up, you can kill him.”

Caleb pulls back and looks into my eyes, then his face softens, and he tugs on my ear.  “Okay.”  He looks back at Nate, then to our brothers, who seem to give him some kind of weird subliminal message that I’ve never been in tune with, and then extends his hand to Nate.  “Caleb.”

Nate takes it and grips it firmly.  “Pleasure.”

Caleb laughs.  “Right.  Sorry I’m late, guys.  I’ve been packing.”

“Where are you going?” Natalie asks, tears in her eyes again.

Jesus, she never turns off the waterworks these days. Is this what pregnancy does? Makes you a slow-moving, emotional wreck? Ugh.

“I can’t tell you that.”  Caleb smiles at Natalie and hugs her close, rubbing his hand over her belly.  He always did have a crush on her.  “I’m afraid I won’t be here when the bambino gets here.”

“Oh.”  Natalie looks at me and back at him.  I know how she worries for all of us.  After losing her parents so unexpectedly a few years ago, she always worries.  “Please, be careful.”

“I’ll be fine.  Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be excited to come home and meet…what are you naming her, anyway?”

Natalie and Luke look at each other and grin.  “We’re not telling,” Luke responds.

“Fuck that, I won’t be able to be reached for a good three months, so tell me.” 

Nate and I take our seats. He kisses my cheek, and I rub his thigh under the table.

“Watch your mouth!” Mom yells, and Caleb rolls his eyes at her. He’s so gonna get it.

“It’s a surprise.” Caleb frowns at Nat, and we all laugh.  “No one is allowed to get on the phone and call TMZ, got it?”

“Whatever. Spill it,” Will calls out.

Natalie looks at Luke, and he grins and nods his agreement to tell us.

“Her name is Olivia Grace.  Grace is for my mom.”  She rubs her belly and smiles, and I feel tears start to roll.

“Hey, you okay?” Nate asks and wipes my tears off my cheeks.

“Yeah, Natalie’s hormone issues are contagious.”  I laugh and dab beneath my eyes with a napkin, careful not to smudge my makeup.  “It’s a beautiful name, sweetie.”

***

“So, Nate,” my father begins from the table next to ours, and Nate swivels in his chair to face him, “what is it that you do?”

I cringe inwardly. Of course this question was going to come up. Natalie and I share a look before I look back to Nate, who smiles at my father.

“I work with Julianne.”

“What do you do there?” my dad asks.

“I’m a senior partner, sir.”

Dad nods and narrows his eyes at me. “So you’re her boss?”

“Yes,” Nate states, his eyes not leaving my dad’s.

The whole room has quieted now, and everyone is listening to the exchange. Dad’s not being a jerk, but we all know this is the official inquisition.

Nate laces my fingers with his and squeezes gently, reassuring me.

“And what, exactly, is going on between you and my daughter, son?” Dad leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, his handsome face neutral but his eyes narrowed.

Without missing a beat, Nate states in a strong, sure voice, “A mutually respectful and loving relationship, sir.”

Wow.

“Damn,” Matt mutters, and I look around the room to see the girls grinning and the boys looking at Nate with respect on their handsome faces, and a wide smile blossoms on my lips.

My dad continues to eye Nate, sizing him up, then nods once and grabs his beer. “Okay then.”

Dad winks at me, and I wink back, and we all return to our lunch, chatter breaking out again amongst my brothers.

“So, Jules, I get to surprise you now.” Natalie wrestles her way out of her chair, smiling at me, and I look around the room, confused.

“Huh?”

“Well, it was your birthday this week, and we didn’t get to throw you a party, so we’re celebrating now.” Natalie smiles smugly and walks into the house, Luke and Will following her, and I look around again to find everyone grinning at me.

“You’re all in on this?” I ask.

“Honey, you didn’t think we forgot your birthday?” My mom grins at me, and I frown.

“You all sent me flowers and texts and called me.”

“Those aren’t presents, kid. That’s just what you do on someone’s birthday,” Will states as he walks into the room loaded down with gift bags.

Holy shit.

“This is Nat and Luke’s party,” I state firmly and shake my head.

“Jules, shut up,” Natalie murmurs and leans down to kiss my cheek on her way back to her seat.

I look up at Nate, who is grinning delightedly at me. “Did you know about this?”

He shrugs. “Of course.”

Well, hell.

Will sets the gifts on the table and takes his seat. “Open them, kid.”

“Stop calling me that,” I mutter, my usual response to his nickname for me.

“No,” he responds with a grin.

I frown at the gift bags and look around at my family again to find everyone watching me. Finally, Nate chuckles and hands me a bag. “Open them, baby.”

I work my way through the gifts, delighting in the new silver bracelet from Luke and Nat, a gorgeous scarf from Isaac and Stacy, and a wide array of generous gifts from my whole family. By the time I’m done, I have tears in my eyes and a wide smile on my face.

“Thanks, guys. This is fantastic, and unexpected.” I loop my pretty new red scarf around my neck and slide the bangle bracelet on my wrist.

“We have one more thing,” Natalie says and smiles at me.

“What?” I ask.

“A full day at the spa, you and Natalie, after the baby comes,” Luke says with a smile.

“Nice! Thanks, I won’t turn that down.” I grin at Natalie, and she smiles back.

Suddenly, Nate places another small, gold gift bag on the table in front of me. I look up into his gorgeous gray eyes and frown.

“You already gave me a birthday present.”

“Julianne, everyone is giving you gifts today. Do you think I’d come empty-handed?”

“But…”

“Stop,” he murmurs and cups my cheek in his hand, making me look into his eyes. “I’ve already told you how I enjoy giving you gifts. Just open it.”

I hold his gaze for a moment and then look inside the beautiful gold bag. Nestled inside is a red Cartier box.

“Nate…”

“Just open the box, please.”

Inside is a beautiful, sparkling white and pink diamond tennis bracelet.

“Oh my,” I murmur.

“Holy shit, that’s beautiful!” Samantha exclaims.

“How lovely,” my mom breathes.

Nate takes it out of the box and fastens it around my wrist, then kisses my hand. I cup his face in my hands and kiss him, tenderly, and his hands glide down my back to my waist.

“Watch your hands, McKenna,” Caleb warns, making us all laugh.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

***

Well, no one died.  No one even got maimed. 

All of the guests have finally left, and it took only three cars to load up all of baby Olivia’s loot to get it back to Natalie and Luke’s place.

I close and lock the front door and go search for Nate.  The house is a mess, which I expected, and is another reason that I’m so glad I found Alecia.  She’s arranged to have a crew come in tomorrow to clean up and remove the tent and tables and chairs.

God bless her.

I find Nate in the kitchen, tossing paper plates in the garbage and stowing leftovers in the fridge. 

“We’ll be eating leftovers for a week,” I comment, as I walk into the room and help him finish sealing the containers and place them in the fridge.

“Did you have fun?” he asks with a grin.

“After you were introduced to everyone, yes.” 

Nate wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my hair.

“You didn’t have to worry about me.  I was fine.”

“I know, it’s just a nerve-racking thing.  My brothers are good guys, but they’re really overprotective, and I didn’t want them to be douche bags.” 

He smiles against my hair and leans down to kiss my neck. “They were fine, baby.”

“Well, I’m sorry about Caleb.”  Oh God, I love it when he kisses my neck like that.

“Caleb was protecting you.  I’d do the same.  No harm done.  Besides, he and I had a long talk before he left, and we’re good.”

“You did?” I turn in his arms and search his handsome face.  “I didn’t notice that.”

“You were doing girl stuff.” He smirks and brushes his lips on my forehead.  “Thank you for including me today.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?”

“Of course you did.”  He frowns and suddenly looks worried.  “If you didn’t want me here today, you should have said.”

“No.” I run my hands down his chest and back up to his shoulders, loving the way his muscles feel under my hands.  “I was just nervous.  I’m glad you met my family.”

“I want to learn everything about you, Julianne.”  He runs his fingers down my face and gazes deeply into my eyes.  “I plan to be around for a long time.”

“Oh.”  What else can I say to that?  He’s so much more than I ever realized.  He’s the controlled businessman, the playful bad boy, and he’s just so…sweet.

I wrap my fingers in his long, soft hair and pull him down to me, softly kissing him.  His hands roam my back before settling on my ass and pulling me tightly against him.  I moan and push closer, my breasts pressed against his chest.

“I think you’ve earned an award for good behavior,” I whisper against his mouth.