Dating by Design Series Box Set

by Jennifer Peel

  “Thank God, you look like your mom.” He kissed her head before returning with her to sit next to his wife. They made the cutest family.

  Nick took my hand now that it was free.

  “How are you feeling, Meg?” I asked.

  “It feels good to breathe and eat normally again. I swear she lived in my ribs the last few weeks.”

  “Well, you look great.”

  “Thank you.” She yawned.

  “We should probably let you get some rest.”

  “I’m sorry. This little one,” she gently swiped the dark hair on her baby’s head, “has her days and nights mixed up.”

  Nick and I stood together.

  “Congratulations again,” Nick offered.

  Zander and Meg both went to stand up. Nick and I motioned for them to stay seated.

  “You all rest, we can see ourselves out.”

  “Ooo, wait,” Meg said. “Did you hear Kenadie and Jason are expecting?”

  “We saw Nan last night at dinner with Jack. It was all she could talk about.” I grinned. Little did she know she would have something else to talk about soon. I’d helped Jack pick out an engagement ring for her last week. He was waiting to pop the question until her older son Dylan could fly out next month. He wanted all her kids there for the occasion.

  “How long are you in town?” Zander asked Nick before we could leave.

  “Just for the weekend,” Nick replied.

  Meg gave me a commiserating look. She knew how hard it was on both of us to be apart so much. But it was the way it had to be for now. Nick was busy casting for Narcissistic Tendencies. And I didn’t feel good about moving to California without a solid commitment. Like the kind Jack was making to Nan. Nick hadn’t even said he loved me yet. I hadn’t either, but only because I was waiting on him. He acted like he loved me, but he’d never articulated it.

  Our drive back to my place was mostly a silent affair.

  Nick held my hand and caressed it while he drove. “You okay over there?”

  “Yeah,” I spoke into the window.

  “You look good with a baby in your arms.”

  I sighed wistfully.

  “You still want one?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. So much.

  “You know, I can help out there.” His tone bordered on teasing and volunteering.

  I turned toward him, not sure what to say. I wanted nothing more than to have a baby with him, but it wasn’t something I felt like I could say at the moment.

  He flashed me his half smile. “I know you want to be married first.”

  I did. Was he ever going to offer that? We talked often of our future, and we were always together in it. But we always skirted around the topic of marriage. Even Skye was asking me about it lately, wondering if that was going to happen. She told me she already thought of me like a mother. Oh, how I loved that girl.

  “Do you want to pick up Skye before we head to my place?” She and Liam were “hanging out” at Janelle’s house. Skye wasn’t sure what their relationship status was, but over Christmas break, Liam, in a surprise move, asked her on a date while Skye was visiting me. Nick had joined us for half the time. Skye was doing a good job of playing it cool when it came to Liam. I was proud of her.

  Nick brought my hand up and kissed it. “I want to spend some alone time with you.”

  “I would be amenable to that.”

  Time alone meant a fire burning low in my fireplace, wine, my head in his lap while he stroked my hair and read Les Misérables to me. We were only a third of the way through. Normally I felt content in these moments, but I fidgeted and tossed about a bit tonight.

  Nick lowered his tablet and looked down at me. “Is something bothering you?”

  I thought for a second. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you too,” he said blandly before going right back to reading.

  I was bothered even more. I didn’t listen to a word Nick said, which was unfortunate because he spoke the French names so beautifully. I sighed and blew out large amounts of air.

  Nick lowered his tablet again, this time with his signature smile. “Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to talk about?”

  I gazed up into those eyes of his I loved so much. I loved the rest of him too. These past several months had been the best of my life. I hated the separations, but we talked every day, and every other weekend we saw each other most of the time. Our time together was filled with art museums, jazz concerts, cooking together, long walks on the beach, helping Skye with homework, and giving advice about boys and the best tampons. Nick was so grateful I always knew the right ones to buy. There was lots of laughter. Nick even joined in most of the time. And on the weekends Nick came here, he usually tried to help my dad with some harebrained project, like installing toilet seats that automatically lowered.

  “Nick, how do you feel about me?” I braved asking.

  He ran a finger down my cheek. “I’m quite fond of you. Why do you ask?”

  That was sweet, but not exactly what I was hoping for. I bit my lip. “Well . . . I mean, we’ve been together for a while now.”

  “Yes, we have.” A flash of amusement lit up his eyes before he turned back to his tablet again.

  “And you’re happy?” I couldn’t let this go.

  “Very.” He didn’t even bother looking at me. “Can I proceed?”

  I was getting more frustrated by the second. “No.”

  He set his tablet down on my side table. “No?” He was more than amused now.

  “Nick . . . I . . . I . . . love you,” I breathed out, somewhat annoyed. Though it felt incredible to finally say it out loud.

  “It’s about time.” He was practically laughing.

  I sat up, upset. That wasn’t the response I was looking for. “What do you mean it’s about time?”

  He smirked. “I mean, it took you long enough.”

  Oh. I could play his game. I straddled myself across his legs and leaned in, my lips hovering above his.

  “I like this arrangement better.” He moved in for the kill.

  I backed away. “No touching my lips until you tell me how you feel.”

  “I already told you how fond I was of you.” He leaned in again.

  I pressed my finger against his lips. “No deal, buddy.”

  He removed my finger and kissed it. “I’m not your buddy, Kate.”

  “Then what are you?”

  He rested his forehead against mine. He let our emotions simmer between us until they boiled. Our torrid love letter scripted another line. “I’m the man who wants to take pleasure cruises with you,” his hand crept up my shirt and rested on my bare abdomen, “and have babies with you.”

  “You do?” Tears stung my eyes.

  “I do.” He brushed my lips. “I love you, Kate. I think I’ve loved you from the very first time we touched. I haven’t said it because you’ve been skittish in the past.”

  I laughed. “That’s one way to put it.”

  He caressed my cheek and held me with his enigmatic eyes. “Do you think you could handle a lifetime full of magic?”

  Crackling currents of electricity ran through me. “I think I could manage that.”

  “I was hoping you would say that.” His hand moved from my abdomen to between the couch cushions.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Give me a second.” He dug a little farther until he pulled out a small, intricately carved wood box. He held it between us with a genuine smile. “Open it, Kate.”

  When did he put that there? You know, I didn’t care.

  The tears didn’t wait, they trailed down my cheeks while I opened the beautiful box. I smiled, recognizing the ring. Jack had asked me what I’d thought of it when I’d helped him pick out Nan’s ring. I told him if I could pick any ring in the world, I would choose the vintage heirloom ring with the stunning round diamond.

  Nick gently took the ring out and placed it on my finger, kissing it once it was in place. “S
hare my name, my life, and my daughter with me?”

  My twenty-year-old shouted inside yes! The more demure, older me took a moment to revel in it before I answered, “I would be honored to.”

  I pressed my lips to his, soaking in our connection. It was the most beautiful moment of my life.

  Nick took my face in his hands. That smile was back in his eyes. “Are you going to use the same vows you wrote in your notebook?”

  “No, but I promise to passionately kiss you every day, and if you’re really good, I’ll let you steal the covers too.”

  “Kate, with me around, you’re never going to need the covers.”

  Oh my.

  Epilogue

  “Our next guest hardly needs an introduction. We all loved him on the hit TV show On the Edge, and now he’s making waves on the big screen as a director and writer. His film, Narcissistic Tendencies, is currently up for two Golden Globe Awards—Best Motion Picture-Drama, and Best Screenplay. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Nicholas Wells.”

  The crowd went wild. If only they could see the sight before my eyes. The faint glow of the TV light flickered in our bedroom. Nick was propped up against his pillows beside me on our bed with our son, Nicholas Jr., or Nicky as we loved to call him, curled up on his daddy’s bare chest, soundly sleeping.

  Our oldest baby was next to me clutching her phone and sleeping restlessly. She and Liam had just broken up and she was heartbroken. His reasoning was they should explore other relationships. From a parent’s point of view, that was a wise choice, but I hated seeing our daughter’s heart ache. My heart ached too, thinking that she wouldn’t be here much longer to invade our bed. She was graduating in five short months. She had yet to decide where she was going to school, but I was angling for in state. Nick and I were constantly touting all the good schools in California she could attend.

  “You looked good,” I whispered to Nick.

  He stretched out his arm, inviting me to snuggle in next to him. I did so with tired pleasure. It was way past my bedtime, but ever since Nick was on the press junket, I’d been staying up late to watch every talk show he and his cast had been on promoting Narcissistic Tendencies. I was so proud of him. The movie had made it to number one the third week after it was released in November. It was considered a sleeper hit. The word of mouth and critical acclaim had been amazing. He was home now for Christmas. The show we were watching had been recorded earlier in the week.

  Nick kissed my head. “I’ve missed you. I want you and the kids to come with me next week when I go to New York to promote the film.”

  “Our parents will still be here.” They all insisted on being here for Nicky’s first Christmas, and my mom and Nan were worried about me being all alone with a baby and Skye, so they had been here for two weeks already taking over every aspect of our lives from cooking to cleaning. It was fun to watch them debate about whether meat was good for you or not. They both agreed to disagree, so my mom was making a tofu turkey while Nan was making the real deal for Christmas dinner. Poor Dad would have to eat Mom’s, and he would be the only one.

  But honestly, they didn’t have anything to worry about; I was managing fine. Nicky was an angel baby and had been sleeping through the night since he was two months old. Now at six months, he was the happiest kid in the world as long as he was fed, dry, and constantly paid attention to, which was no problem. I almost felt bad thrusting another Wells man on the world with his enigmatic blue, blue eyes and his already killer toothless smile who, like his daddy, already knew if he flashed it he would get his way. He was so adored, we fought about whose turn it was to hold him. Nick got dibs tonight since he had been gone for several days in a row.

  “They can still be here. I want you with me.” Nick ran his fingers down my bare arm.

  I took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay.”

  “I know what I’m asking of you, so thank you.”

  Being Nick’s wife was wonderful. Being Nicholas Wells’s wife was sometimes difficult for me. I hated the spotlight, and I was surprised how many people there were trying to thrust me into it. I could hardly go to the grocery store without someone stopping me or taking my picture. And the number of requests I had from magazines and news organizations for interviews and pictures of our children was ridiculous. Now we had to have security with us at times when we went out as a family, like next week in New York. All this while I was worried about leaking breasts and if I’d packed enough diapers.

  The late show host interrupted my thoughts with his laugh. “Rumor has it this movie is a love note to your wife. What I want to know is what kind of man writes his wife a love letter about a narcissistic psychotic killer?”

  The audience roared with laughter. That had been a big talking point, and each host had gotten plenty of mileage out of it. It didn’t matter, Nick and I knew exactly what it all meant, and Nick was tight-lipped about his personal life. All he would ever say was, “I owe my wife a great deal, and without her, this movie would have never happened.”

  As much as we tried to keep our family life private, a picture of Nick holding Nicky when he was only a few weeks old at the studio flashed on the screen. The audience gave a collective, “Aww.”

  It really was a sweet picture. Nick never looked so attractive as when he held our baby, like right now.

  “And here’s Nick showing off his domestic skills,” the host quipped. “How’s it being on diaper duty at your age?”

  “It’s great at any age,” Nick responded.

  I was glad to hear that and thought maybe this was a good time to discuss a little matter. “How would you feel about extending diaper duty for a while?”

  Nick muted the TV. “What do you mean?”

  I made circles with my finger on Nick’s bare chest. “Well . . . remember last month when I surprised you at your office for lunch?”

  “Yes,” he groaned with pleasure. “I’d like a repeat right now. I’ll put Nicky in his crib and you get Skye into her room.”

  “Hold on, tiger, we’ll get there.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  I kissed my son’s head and breathed in his scent. I smoothed his baby soft caramel hair. Such love filled me.

  “Not at all. You gave an Academy Award winning performance, and to show for it, we are going to have another little trophy next year.”

  “What?” Nick sat straight up, startling our son and daughter.

  Nicky started to cry while Skye sat up like a drunken sailor, swaying and incoherent. “What’s going on?” She fell back on our bed and was out again.

  I took Nicky out of Nick’s arms and gently lulled him while Nick stared at me wide-eyed. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. I was more than sure and surprised. We weren’t planning on another one so soon.

  Nick shook his head and blew out a large breath. “How are you feeling?”

  “Same as last time—good, but tired.”

  While the news sunk in, he ran his hands through my hair and over my bare shoulders, taking me in with his eyes and touch. “I love you, Kate Wells.” He only used my full name when he was trying to convey the depth of his feelings for me.

  It still took my breath away when he said it. “I know.”

  “You probably should get some rest.”

  “I will later.” I gave him my best wicked grin. “I’m a huge fan of your work.”

  If you enjoyed the Dating by Design Series, here are some other books by Jennifer Peel that you may enjoy:

  Return to Sender

  My Not So Wicked Stepbrother

  My Not So Wicked Ex-Fiancé

  The Sidelined Wife

  How to Get Over Your Ex in Ninety Days

  Honeymoon for One - A Christmas at the Falls Romance

  Trouble in Loveland

  Paige’s Turn

  Best of My Love

  For a complete list of all her books, click here.

  About the Author

  Jennifer Peel didn’t grow up wanting to be an autho
r—she was aiming for something more realistic, like being the first female president. When that didn’t work out, she started writing just before her fortieth birthday. Now, after publishing several award-winning and best-selling novels, she’s addicted to typing and chocolate. When she’s not glued to her laptop and a bag of Dove dark chocolates, she loves spending time with her family, making daily Target runs, reading, and pretending she can do Zumba.

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  To learn more about Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.jenniferpeel.com