Chapter 172
KATE
I woke up alone in Nathan's bed and took a shower, wondering how I would deal with that woman. My bags were already in his room; he must have brought them, but where was he?
Mary knocked on the door.
"Good morning!" She was wearing one of Ben's shirts.
"Good morning! Stephan will love to see you dressed like that," I joked, and she passed by me, entering.
"I wonder why he's still single. Lisa is so dumb for not accepting to go out with him."
"He's a Ryan, and she hates Ryans."
"Ah, Ben and Nathan went for a run earlier," she said, taking a seat in an armchair.
"Seriously? Who goes for a run on the last day of the year?"
"As long as Ben keeps that toned abdomen, I won't complain. Anyway, what happened yesterday? I thought I heard Nathan yelling. I wondered if you two were having sex or fighting. I bet with Ben that it was wild sex," she said, making me laugh.
"You have no idea."
"What? Did I win the bet?"
"That woman was really plotting something."
"What did she do?" Her eyes widened in anticipation of an answer.
"She barged in here and grabbed Nathan when she saw me coming."
"I knew it! What a bitch!"
"Yes, you were right. Thanks for the heads-up."
"What did you do?"
"I trust Nathan, so I told her that nothing she tried would work."
"Just that? Is she still here? He didn't kick her out?" she asked indignantly.
"Nathan would never kick her out in the middle of the night, not in this place."
"I can't believe it! He should have kicked her ass out. And now? What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. What should I do?"
"Tell her to go to hell? If you don't, I'll have a conversation with Nathan myself."
"Don't do that. We're fine. Calm the lioness inside you."
"She can't just do something like that and continue to be here as if nothing happened."
"I'll talk to him. I just don't want more fights between us because of other people."
"Okay. Shall we go downstairs for breakfast?"
"Shouldn't you wear something?"
"True, I don't want your brother-in-law falling in love with me; after all, I'm unavailable," she said, getting up with a smile. "Be right back." She left, and I mentally thanked her for entering my life.
I waited for Mary to knock on my door, so we could go downstairs together. I told her about the boat trip Nathan promised, and she was excited.
Nathan's parents were in the kitchen, smiling at each other and chatting about something while cooking. The sight made me wonder if Nathan and I could be like that one day. My heart warmed.
Ellie was sitting on the living room couch, playing video games.
"Good morning, El! How about a game later?" I asked as I headed toward the kitchen.
"Good morning! I'm ready to kick your ass!" she said, taking off one side of her headphones.
Mary and I sat on the stools at the kitchen counter after greeting Nathan's parents.
"Do you need any help?" I offered.
"Not necessary, dear. We made toast, pancakes, and eggs. What would you prefer?" Mr. Ryan asked, serving the table with a smile.
"I think I'm getting spoiled," Mary said.
"Kate, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nathan's mother asked.
"Of course."
She led me to a small room with bookshelves and an incredible view of the bay, and we sat on the couch.
"Dear, I want to apologize for what happened. I'm so ashamed. My son told me what Mia did. I never imagined she would be capable of something like that. I didn't think about how it could affect you two, and I see I made a big mistake. Please forgive me. I talked to her as soon as Nathan told me and asked her to leave. I don't know how she could take advantage of the affection he had for her to do something so horrible."
"It's okay, Mrs. Ryan. Nathan and I are fine. Believe me, we've already overcome much worse. What she did wasn't your fault."
"I feel so naive now." She held my hands. "And you keep calling me Mrs. Ryan; it's just Loren, my dear. You're already part of this family, and I want you to feel comfortable talking to me about anything."
"Thank you."
When Nathan and Ben returned, Ellie and I were playing video games on the couch after having breakfast. Mary was sitting in the kitchen, chatting with Stephan and his parents.
They both entered through the kitchen door, dressed in heavy sweatshirts, stealing all my attention. They were laughing about something. Mary looked at me and winked. She must have been thinking the same thing as I was. How lucky we were; the two men looked like models, tall with perfect smiles, not to mention what was under those clothes.
Nathan kissed his mother before standing behind me on the couch.
"I'll take a shower," he whispered in my ear, as if it were an invitation, before heading upstairs. I held back from following him. Apparently, Ben did the same, but Mary went upstairs right behind him.
Later, in the morning, Nathan showed us almost every room in the house after they both had breakfast.
Two couples I found out were Nathan's aunts and uncles arrived before lunch. They lived in nearby towns and came to celebrate the new year with family. We were about to head out for the boat trip, so we made brief introductions.
Mary's eyes were shining when we boarded at Glandore's pier. Mine must have been too. We were amazed by the beauty of the bay. The sea stretched below us to the horizon, so blue that it seemed magical, especially with all the green hills around. The sun was shining in the sky.
We sailed away from the village and enjoyed the afternoon, talking and discussing life. I never imagined that I would experience something like this with Nathan. That afternoon, in the future, would be one of the most important memories I would have.
We were sitting on the stern of the boat, my back resting against his chest and his arms around me.
"A penny for your thoughts," he said, kissing my shoulder.
"I never imagined that one day we would experience moments like this."
"Oh, baby, this is just the beginning. I want to travel the world with you and give it all to you."
"I already have my whole world right here." I turned my face to give him a passionate kiss.
Later that night, after dinner, we were all in the field outside the house, waiting for the New Year and the fireworks that would explode in the bay.
Less than five minutes remained until the New Year, when Nathan pulled me to sit in a corner away from the others, on the grass. He seemed nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to give you something that I should have given you on the day we went to that restaurant, but I couldn't." I felt a flutter in my stomach, and my hands began to tremble. He took a black box from his pocket. "I know you would say it's too soon for something more, especially since we've just been through some very difficult things. But I bought this thinking of reaffirming the true commitment between us. We don't need it, but I wanted to do it." He opened the box, and there were two rings with identical designs, made of white gold with small diamonds encrusted around them. I tried to hold back the tears.
"Nathan..."
"It's just a symbol, you can't say no, because you're already mine." He held my hand and put it on my finger, kissing it. I took the box and did the same, putting it on his finger.
"Thank you..." I said, tears streaming down my face.
"There's one more thing. I hope you say yes to this."
"What?"
"I want you to come and live with me."
Oh, God! Live with him? Wasn't it too soon for that? My reason said yes.
"If you need some time to think..."
"Yes," I said, ignoring my reason and following my heart.
"Yes?" He looked confused.
"Yes, I accept. Yes! Yes! Yes!" I threw myself into his arms as he smiled. He kissed me, laying us down on the grass. And the fireworks exploded at that exact moment, announcing the New Year.
"I love you, Miss Collins," he said, looking deep into my eyes.
"And I love you, Mr. Ryan," I said, pulling him into another kiss as the fireworks still exploded in the background.
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