Love Lessons (2 page)

She arched a brow.  “I want to know what you have in mind, Nate.” 

Naked Nate.  Naked Nate on a plate.   

Good God, she really needed to grow up or get laid.  Or fall in love.

“You give me one week, and I’ll teach you all about love,” he paused and pointed at her comic strip. “So your Kate will know it when she sees it.”

“You know Kate’s not real, right?” she said.  Then again, who was she kidding? Nate, of all people, likely knew the character in her strip was based on her pathetic love life.  And Kate just happened to be her middle name.

His eyes bored into hers, then crinkled at the corners. “Yeah, whatever you say, Gracie.  Now do you want my help or not?” 

She gave him a skeptical look, wondering how he could possibly help her.  “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”  He paused and angled his head, his gaze moving over her face. “You do trust me, right?”

“Of course,” she answered without hesitation.  Nate was the one man—the only man—she’d ever trusted. 

“Okay, then.  Leave it up to me.  You know I’ll take good care of you.”

She nodded, and even though she had no idea what he was up to, if she wanted to learn about love and keep her job, she had no choice but to put herself in his hands.

And let him take care of her, with his hands. And maybe even his tongue.

Oh, God.

He leaned in, so close she could feel his breath against her ear, and whispered, “We’ll start tonight.  I’ll message you the details.”

As a fine shiver moved through her, she couldn’t help but consider what she was getting herself into, and more importantly, if it involved Nate getting naked.  

Nate watched a pretty pink color stain Gracie’s cheeks before he pushed off her desk to make his way back to his office.  Either she was really excited about his proposal, or he’d just embarrassed the hell out of her.  Knowing Gracie and how hard she was to embarrass, he was opting for excited. Opting? Who was he kidding? He was
hoping
for it.

He dropped down into his leather chair and tried to keep the party in his pants to a minimum.  But Jesus, talk about fate landing in his lap and giving him the perfect opportunity to finally get closer to the girl he couldn’t help but compare every other female to.  Gracie.  She was sweet, sexy, funny as hell…and refused to go out with him.  

They’d met a little over a year ago when they both came to work for the Deerfield Gazette and moved into apartments across the hall from one another.  They were friends, good friends, but he’d always felt something more, and in an effort to feel her out, he’d often teased her about going on a date.  But she always came back with some witty comment on how she had enough fodder for her comic strip.

Damned if this wasn’t the perfect chance to get her to go out with him, to show her how a woman should really be treated.  After watching his folks for years and seeing how they treated one another with kindness and respect, he knew gifts like candy and flowers were nice gestures in a relationship, but real love was about thoughtfulness and putting the other person’s needs first.  And if things didn’t turn intimate after the week was over, if Gracie still didn’t see that he was bat-shit crazy about her and reciprocate those feelings, then this little experiment wouldn’t jeopardize their friendship. He’d pass off every move he made as helping her cause, because he valued what they had between them too much to ruin it.

He peered out from his partition wall and caught a glimpse of her moving down the hall, that luscious, curvy ass of hers all wrapped up in a sexy pencil skirt, swaying enticingly with each step.  He raked his fingers through his hair as he turned his attention to the way her long dark hair swished against her silk blouse—a blouse that did little to hide the way her hard nipples poked against her lace bra.  Oh yeah, when the cold air had breezed in through the crack in her window frame, he could see the beautiful outline of her pale buds.  A low groan caught in his throat, and he tugged at his collar as his temperature jumped a few degrees.

“Something wrong?” Audrey asked as she stuck her head into his cubicle.  She looked at him over those silver-rimmed glasses, her lips pinched. 

He straightened and coughed into his hand.  “No, why?”

“You look like you’re in agony.”  She gestured toward his laptop.  “Is that piece giving you trouble?”

He glanced at the article on his screen.  “Not at all.  It’s coming together great.”  Jesus, how could an article on the winter activities at the resort cause anyone grief?  Not much happened here in Deerfield, nothing he considered newsworthy anyway, which was why he was currently covering the winter festivities and upcoming Valentine events at Stone Cliff.  But looking at his article did give him an idea on where to start with Gracie. 

Audrey gave a slow nod.  “Good.  I expect it on my desk at the end of next week.”

As soon as Audrey left and he saw Gracie walk back to her cubicle, Nate turned his attention back to his laptop and messaged her privately. 

Be ready at seven. 

Where are we going?

The resort.

Why? 

Wear something warm.

You know I can’t ski.

Just trust me, okay?

He listened as she tapped on her keyboard and then came back with
, I really have no idea how skiing is going to help me with my comic strip.

Do you always have to be doubtful?

You’ve seen my track record, right?

Oh yeah, he’d seen the kind of guys she went out with.  Douche bags—every last one of them.

You just haven’t been with the right guy, Gracie.

She stopped typing, and he could hear the wheels on her chair squeal.  He looked around his ugly orange wall and saw her staring at her computer, like it had a live virus and she was about to catch it.  When she started to turn his way, he pushed back in his seat so she couldn’t see him watching her. 

A long moment passed, then she finally wrote back. 
Are you saying you’re the right man?

The right man to show you what love looks like, sure. 
He rubbed his palms together in anticipation, determined to open her eyes and show her firsthand how good they could be together.  He knew he couldn’t come right out and tell her.  Gracie had a cynical streak a mile wide, and he was going to have to navigate it carefully. No, he needed to take it slow and get her to open her eyes and see him as something more than her pizza and movie pal before he made a move. 

Okay, I guess if anyone can, it’s you.  Considering you’re in love every other week.

He stared at his computer a moment longer, surprised by her comment. Is that what she thought?  Jesus, she had it all wrong.  Sure, he dated—a lot—to keep his mind off the one girl he really wanted.  When he did go out, he spent the majority of the night wishing he was with Gracie and that they could move from the friend zone and really give a relationship a shot.     

He decided to change the subject. 
What’s for dinner?

Your night to cook, remember?

Right. Let’s eat at the lodge, then.  You’re on a deadline, and it will give us an earlier start.

Wow, you’re going all out for me.

Nate frowned at the screen.
Was there sarcasm in that text?

No way.  I’m just thrilled you can help me. Honest!

It’s what friends do.

Okay, meet you at the apartment later.

She signed off when Audrey stepped into her cubicle.  For the rest of the day, Nate went over his article, made a couple phone calls, then left the office to talk to a few vacationers and compile some quotes on Stone Cliff.

Night fell early over the mountain town in the dead of winter, and instead of heading home, he made his way back to the office.  Their apartment wasn’t far from their work building, and normally, Gracie liked to walk home, but it was cold and the zipper on her jacket was broken.    

He pulled open the front door just as she was exciting the building.

“What are you doing back?” she asked, dark lashes blinking over those almost too big brown eyes as she lifted her chin to meet his glance.

Instead of answering, Nate looked over her navy blue pea coat, noting the way it was open at the neckline.  He reached out and fussed with her zipper, which wouldn’t budge past her breasts—lovely, ample breasts with taut nipples his tongue tingled to lick and tease.  He coughed to hide his arousal. 

“You need to get this fixed,” he said.

“I know.”  She touched his forehead.  “Are you getting sick?  I heard you coughing earlier today, too.”

“I’m fine,” he lied.  Hell, he wasn’t fine, and it was getting harder and harder to be around her without touching her, kissing her, making her his once and for all.  He tugged on the bottom of her jacket and gripped the zipper harder.  “Damn thing,” he grumbled and jiggled it, but his fingers slipped from the sliver of metal and brushed over the lush slopes of her breasts.  He heard her suck in air, and when he glanced up, she had that pink tinge on her face again.

Looking for a distraction, he pulled off his scarf and wrapped it around her.  He was about to tuck it into her coat but thought better of it.  “Uh, you better do that.”  As she adjusted it and covered her exposed flesh, he frowned.  “Where are your gloves?”

She rolled her eyes at him.  “I’m twenty-three, you know.  I can take care of myself.”

“If you could take care of yourself, you’d be wearing gloves.  You might come from out east where the winters aren’t as cold, but you’ve been here a whole year, Gracie.  You should know by now you need gloves.”  He pulled his off and shoved them over her hands.  “Let’s go,” he said, gesturing toward his truck, which was still running.

“What about you?” she asked, the big gloves flapping as she waved them in front of her face. 

“I’m good.  The truck’s warm.  Besides, I grew up here. I’m used to the cold.”

They both jumped into his truck, and a few minutes later, he pulled up to their apartment building and parked in his assigned spot.  It wasn’t much of a place, but it was all either of them could afford as they worked to pay down their university bills.  He climbed from his seat and followed her inside.

“I’ll grab a shower and be right over,” he said as she started to unravel the scarf.  “I think you should wear your black bomber tonight.  It’s warm and the zipper works.”

“Yeah, good idea.”  She handed back his cold weather gear.  “I’ll put on some coffee.”

“I won’t be long.”

“Okay, I’ll leave the door unlocked.”  She unzipped her coat as the heat in the hall fell over them, and he glimpsed her hard nipples through that silk blouse as she nodded toward her place. “Just come over when you finish your shower.”

He swallowed hard, because after glimpsing those lovely nubs, he was pretty confident he was going to come when he was
in
the shower. 
Jesus.
      

Grace started a pot of coffee and then hurried to the shower.  She wasn’t looking forward to hitting the slopes, but she was interested in seeing what Nate could teach her about love.  And she was still holding out hope it involved him getting naked.  A sound lodged in her throat.  A half laugh, half groan.  Honestly, who was she kidding?  Nate didn’t think of her that way.

She stripped off her work clothes and climbed into the hot spray, which felt glorious against her cold skin.  She washed her hair and body, staying under the spray until the water turned cold. 

She pulled back her curtain, and steam filled the room as she wrapped her towel around herself, knotting it at her breasts.  Wondering if Nate was there yet, she padded down the hallway, not bothering to dress.  He’d seen her in a towel numerous times, and it had never once pulled a reaction from him.  Like she’d said, asexual friend. 

“Hey,” she said when she found him in the kitchen, doctoring their coffees.  God, he looked good.  Dressed in a fitted, blue pullover sweater that brought out the color in his eyes and a pair of jeans that hit all his spots just right, especially the one below his belt, he looked even sexier than ever.  She liked him in his work wear, but she liked him out of it every bit as much. 

He handed her the coffee and went back to stirring his, barely sparing her a glance. 

She took a sip.  “Mmmm, good.”  She leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

“You should get dressed,” he said, staring into his mug like it held all the answers to the universe.

“Oh, what’s the hurry?  It’s still early.” 

He coughed.  “Yeah, but I’m starved,” he said. 

“Are you sure you’re not getting sick?”  She stepped up to him and once again put her hand on his forehead. 

He breathed deep as her arm lingered in front of his nose, then puckered his mouth like he’d just taken a shot of Buckley’s cough syrup or something equally distasteful. 

“Vanilla,” he murmured, almost under his breath.  

She brought her arm to her nose and breathed in the scent of her new body wash.  Was it that bad?  “You don’t like it?” she asked.  “I thought I’d try something new.”     

“No, I like it.”  He coughed again.  “I just think you should go get dressed.”  She turned to go, and he said, “Wear something warm.”

“Fine,” she said and made her way to her room.  Honest to God, he was like a mother hen, always worried about her, probably because he was the oldest of four and always bailing his brothers out of trouble.  Taking care of others just seemed to come natural to him.  She pulled on her jeans and a big sweater.  When she went back to find Nate, he was in her living room, shaking her Paris snow globe and watching the little white flakes inside fall over the Eiffel Tower.

“Still want to go?” he asked, holding the globe up and looking at her through it.

“Yeah,” she said dreamily as he put it back on the bookshelf beside her small drafting table.  “Someday.”