Chapter 68

Olivia

For a moment longer than it probably should have, Nathan’s thumb lingered on my cheek where he had brushed the flour away.

As though coming to our senses at the exact same time, however, he quickly pulled away and I cleared my throat.

“Want some pie?” I asked, turning away and walking to the fridge in order to hide my red face. I opened the freezer and dug around until I found a container of vanilla ice cream, which I had bought a few days prior.

“Sure,” Nathan replied. By the time I turned back around to face him, he was on the other side of the kitchen and was avoiding my gaze like the plague.

But even then, I could see how his mouth watered every time he glanced at the pie, and my apprehension turned to amusement.

A few minutes later, we had between us two plates of bright red, gooey cherry pie topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream. The aroma of the sweet cherries and the buttery, flaky crust filled the air in the kitchen, reminding me of the little bakery that we used to frequent as kids.

“Here you go,” I said, smiling as I set his plate down in front of him. “Enjoy.”

Nathan didn’t waste a second before he dug into the pie. Upon taking his first bite, his eyes practically rolled into the back of his head and he dropped his fork on the plate, letting out a groan.

“Is that a good noise or a bad noise?” I asked, my fork hovering in front of my mouth.

“It’s an amazing noise,” he replied, scooping up another big bite of pie. “This is fucking delicious. I knew you liked to bake, but I didn’t know that you could bake like this.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, I popped my own forkful into my mouth, and I had to agree with Nathan; it was warm, just the right amount of sweetness, and perfectly gooey in the middle. The vanilla ice cream was just an added bonus.

Nathan seemed to savor each bite with delight, while he shoveled the pie relentlessly into his mouth like a vacuum at the same time.

“Seriously, Olivia, where did you learn how to bake like this? You made this from scratch, too? I remembered making some cookies and cakes out of boxed mixes with you as kids, but that was it.”

I shrugged, savoring another bite of the pie. “A lot has changed since I last saw you,” I said, feeling my chest ache a bit as I remembered how long we had been apart from each other. “I had lots of time to practice.”

“Can I have a second slice, please?” he asked, his lips tinged with the pinkness from the cherries as he pushed his plate toward me with a mischievous grin.

I laughed and plopped another slice onto his plate along with another scoop of ice cream, and watched in awe as he shoveled that down, too.

“Wow,” I said as he asked for a third slice, which I gladly gave to him. “You must be hungry.”

Nathan nodded. “It’s just so good,” he mumbled around his mouthful of pie. “And I’ve been running around all day.”

“Is that why your car was here?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Nathan replied. “The Alphas have challenged me to run my errands on foot. They say it’s good for the mind, the body, and the soul. My dad says I need the discipline.”

I paused just as I was about to pop the last bite of my cherry pie into my mouth. “Discipline?” I asked curiously, lowering my fork. “Why?”

Nathan shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. Punishing me for speaking out at that one meeting, maybe. I never know with them.”

Internally, I couldn’t help but think that the Alphas were taking advantage of Nathan. But he seemed to be taking it all in stride, and so I decided not to say anything else about it.

As I cleaned up the pie plates, I felt a semi-related pang of guilt wash over me. I remembered our last conversation, where I had been so heartless about the baby.

Here he was, running around on foot to run errands for the approval of the Alphas, while he was worrying about my health at the same time, and I was being cruel to him for no reason.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to face Nathan once more.

“Nathan,” I began, my voice tinged with remorse, “I want to apologize for what I said before. I know it was harsh and insensitive. I didn't mean to dismiss your feelings or belittle your role in the baby's life.”

Nathan's expression softened, his eyes reflecting a mix of understanding and sadness.

“It's okay,” he said quietly. “I know you were just being honest. It's not my baby, and I can't change that fact. But I still want to be there for you and for the baby as a friend. I care about both of you.”

Tears welled up in my eyes as his words touched my heart. I blinked them away and sniffled, feeling a mixture of gratitude and confusion.

“I appreciate that, Nathan. I truly do.”

A silence hung between us, the air heavy with the weight of unspoken words. Nathan, perceptive as always, took a step closer to me.

“There’s more you want to say, isn’t there?” he asked quietly.

For a few moments, I could only stare unblinkingly down at the floor. There was a lot that I wanted to say; there was a lot that I knew I could never say. But I couldn’t hold all of it in forever. Some of it had to seep out eventually.

“Sometimes, I don't know how to process everything,” I finally muttered, still staring down at the floor as I felt Nathan’s presence in front of me. “I wish that the baby’s real father would step up and take responsibility. It's hard for me to navigate these emotions.”

As the words flooded out, I quickly realized that this was the first time that I really talked about it since I initially found out that I was pregnant. It felt like a weight was lifted off of my chest.

Nathan reached out, his warm hand finding mine and offering me some comfort. I felt surprised by his touch, and looked up to meet his gentle, blue-green gaze. His eyes brought me back to the day that we visited the hidden pond in the woods.

“I understand, Liv,” he said. “It's a complicated situation, and you have every right to feel the way you do. I can't take away the uncertainty, but I'll be here to support you in whatever way you need.”

Emotion overwhelmed me, and a few tears spilled down my cheeks. Nathan pulled me into his arms, holding me gently. His embrace offered solace and a sense of security amidst the storm of emotions swirling within me.

“I hate him,” I muttered into Nathan’s chest as a sob overtook me.

Nathan said nothing. Instead, he simply stroked my back, letting his hand run down the length of my hair and stop at my waist. I felt his chin rest on the top of my head, and he began to sway back and forth with me in his arms while I sobbed into his shirt.