“I wasn’t going all that fast,” Natalie murmured, then added, “thank you Jeff, you saved my life.”
Jeff looked uncomfortable. “Don’t mention it, I’m just sorry I couldn’t do anything about your car.”
Natalie started. “My Volvo? How bad is it?”
“Let’s just say I hope your parents have insurance.”
This last bit of news was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and before Natalie could stop them tears were running down her cheeks. She tried to gulp back a sob but it escaped and she hid her face in her hands. She felt Jeff shift on the couch and awkwardly start to pat her back. “Shhh it’s okay. It’s just a car… I’m sure your parents will be much more relieved that your safe than anything else.”
“It’s not just that,” Natalie sniffled.
“What then?” Jeff asked softly, still rubbing her back.
Between gulps of air and little hiccups, Natalie blurted out the whole story of the surprise trip she had planned for her and Nathan and the discovery of his betrayal. She didn’t know why she was confiding all this to someone who was practically a stranger, but the more she talked, the more it felt as if some tremendous pressure inside her was finally being released. Jeff listened silently and sympathetically, and Cujo, perhaps sensing feminine distress, laid his head in her lap. The sensation was oddly comforting, and Natalie began to pet the dog gently. When she was finished, Jeff shook his head.
“Listen sweetie, I’m sorry this happened to you – that Nathan sounds like a real prick – but believe me when I say you’re better off with a small heartbreak now than if it had taken you much longer to discover how he really is. Just think, what if you had wasted your time for two, three more years and then found out he was cheating? It would have been a useless way to have spent your life. And you are far too intelligent to do that.” He hugged her impulsively.
Natalie gave him a watery attempt at a smile. “Thank you Jeff, you’re probably right. I think deep down I knew he wasn’t right for me, that’s why I waited so long to… well, that’s why I waited. Now I’m really glad I did.”
Jeff nodded. “Well, enough of this for now. You must be getting hungry. I’m not sure if you’ll like anything I have here to eat, but maybe I can find something-”
“Do you like pasta?” Natalie interrupted.
“Love it,” Jeff answered. “Why?”
“That cooler you brought in for me, it has all the ingredients for spaghetti in it. Plus marshmallows to toast for dessert. I was going to cook it at my cabin, but I can’t think of anything I’d like more than to make some for you. It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me.”
“Well, it sounds great, but are you sure you want to cook? I don’t mind doing it at all.”
Natalie was already off the couch and retrieving the cooler. “Just show me where the pans are.”
Jeff gave her a short tutorial of the kitchen and having nothing else to do but wait, he opened a bottle of sparkling wine and sat back down on the sofa. As he sipped he snatched glances at Natalie, who was bustling around the stove as if she’d used it all her life. From the safe vantage of across the room, he allowed his gaze to wander to her bottom. He admired how her jeans hugged that curvy little asset, and the way they tapered with the flow of her legs. Her hair fell to her shoulders in a dark-brown wave, but he could just see the glints of copper whenever flickering light from the fire hit it. Her face was heart-shaped and he thought she had the prettiest hazel eyes he had ever seen. The swell of her breasts was quite enticing, and so deep was he in his reverie he didn’t hear her when she first said his name.