The Complete Series by Rina Gray

Author:Rina Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Published: 2016-06-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Seated across the six-seater dining room table from Pops and Martha, Nathan bit into the fall-off-the-bone baked chicken his stepmom had cooked.

She hadn’t touched her food, while Pops took kid-sized bites. Both were unusually quiet, but their judgmental stares were as deafening as an ear-piercing scream.

Nathan dropped his fork and inhaled. The citrusy aroma from the orange-yellow roses in the center of the table permeated the cloud of irritation lingering above his head. “I’m guessing one of your gossiping poker buddies told you about last night.” Grabbing a glass of iced tea, he gulped.

“Well, now.” Martha played with her tennis bracelet. “Lonny did mention that you won handedly. And then . . . well, then you kissed some groupie in the audience who yelled something about having your babies.”

Nathan nearly spat out the sweet tea at her scandalized tone. Tiana would lose her mind if she heard the rumor.

Pops leaned forward and cleared his throat. “Now son, I know you’re a young man with certain needs, but can’t those needs be met inside the bedroom?”

Nathan bristled at the berating tone. At thirty-one, he was well over feeling ashamed of kissing his woman.

“Pops, I—”

“Hold on, son. I’m not finished.” His father cut in and raised a hand for silence. “It’s about time you settled down. You aren’t getting younger, and neither am I.”

“Pops—”

“Now, I’m not saying jump into a relationship and get married right away. Not with a woman who shouts things about having kids in public. But I thought you and that nice coworker of yours were finally getting along.” His father’s brown eyes looked concerned.

“That groupie, as Martha so lovingly called her, was Tiana, that nice coworker of mine. And she did not ask to have my kids. Her best friend shouted that Tiana should have my kids. I presume as a joke.”

Martha’s eyes beamed.

Leaning back against his seat, Pops grinned. “You laid one on her, did ya?”

“That’s right. I went right up to her and claimed what’s mine.”

His father chuckled. “I bet she was fit to be tied. What did she say?”

Nathan’s grin slipped. Picking up his fork, he scooped up the wild rice and gravy and shoveled the food into his mouth.

Martha shook her head. “Oh, goodness. He’s done something ill-advised.” She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. “You know you aren’t going to like what he has to say.”

Pops waved his hand in a come-on gesture.

Nathan swallowed his food and stalled with a big swallow of tea. “I haven’t spoken to her. She left after the fight, and I went home.”

“So now you’re hiding out here with your tail tucked between your legs?” His father’s amusement died. “You said it yourself—Tiana is high strung. She’s probably driving herself crazy about what happened.”

“I’m not hiding out. I’m giving her time. If I’d immediately given chase, her hackles would be up.” He shook his head. “No, I’ve gotta get her to feel like she’s not pressured. Tiana likes to examine every detail before she makes a decision.

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