THIRTY-DAY FIANCÉ

by Leanne Banks

  Ben plastered an innocent expression on his face. "Hey, you called me."

  "You ambushed me."

  "My wife is a shrink," Joe interjected with a slight grin. "She would call this an intervention."

  Nick groaned.

  "Olivia Polnecek," Ben said in amazement. "Bully Butch's littler sister. How did you two get engaged?"

  "Long story," Nick said, taking another drink of beer. "One I was hoping to forget tonight," he added darkly. "It wasn't a real engagement."

  Stan cocked his head to one side in confusion. "So you weren't really involved?"

  Nick's stomach started turning again. "I didn't say that." He looked at their expectant faces. "You don't want to hear this story," he told them.

  Ben leaned back in his seat. "And miss the tale of how Nick got involved with the sister of the guy who once broke his nose?"

  Three beers later Nick finished his story. "So she said she loves me and never wants to see me again." The knowledge still felt like a stake in his heart.

  "Makes perfect sense to me," Stan said, rolling his eyes. "Do you want her back?"

  Yes. The answer came, unequivocally, but he wouldn't say it out loud. He was still fighting the idea that he needed Olivia. Fighting it, and losing. "I got used to having her around. I got used to having her in my life."

  "You were fine before you met her," Joe said.

  Nick nodded. It was almost hard to remember life without Olivia, but he sure as hell hadn't thought anything major was missing. He hadn't laughed as much, he recalled. He hadn't felt as much. God knew, he wished he weren't feeling anything now.

  "And now you're not," Joe said.

  He thought about going back to the way his life had been before Olivia. The notion made him sick.

  "Stick a fork in him," Ben said, apparently reading his face. "He's done. In love with Butch Polnecek's sister."

  Nick frowned and shrugged. "I never believed in love. Not for me, anyway."

  "I didn't, either," Joe said.

  "Me neither," Ben said.

  "Ditto for me," Stan said.

  Nick's gut twisted again.

  "Admitting is half the battle," Ben admitted. "We go down kicking and screaming."

  "And come up smiling," Stan said.

  "If you get her back," Joe added. "I can tell you from personal experience that winning a woman back after you've screwed up requires complete dedication. If you don't love her, if she's not as important to you as oxygen, don't bother. You don't need the hassle," Joe said as if his road to love had been a little rough.

  Olivia was a messy, emotional woman, the kind Nick had always avoided. Not once during his time with her, however, had he wanted her out of his life. Not once had he wanted less of her. He'd always wanted more.

  She had the unique ability to make him feel powerful as a man and loved as a human being. Just being with her made him feel as if his world was right. He had the conviction that she would always look out for him, even if he didn't. Did he really want to give her up? His heart squeezed tight. Could he really give her up?

  "Sometimes," Stan said, "surrender is the first step to victory."

  "I love her," Nick said, and the words were so freeing he felt light-headed. "I want her."

  His longtime friends looked at him in silence.

  "I need a plan."

  Ben laughed and lifted his beer in a toast. "That's the specialty of the Bad Boys Club."

  * * *

  Olivia's family had opened their gifts and just finished eating Christmas dinner when the doorbell rang. She was removing the dishes from the table while her mother and sister-in-law put the kids down for a nap.

  The last few days had been difficult. She had hoped being with her family would soften the loss she felt from leaving Nick. Instead, her brother's young children made her think of the babies she might have had with Nick. The mistletoe her mother hung in the kitchen reminded her of Nick.

  Futile thoughts, she realized, but she couldn't escape them. She missed him, and she was scared to death she would never truly get over him.

  "Hey, Liv," Butch called. "Somebody's here to see you."

  An itchy feeling of apprehension grated at the back of her neck. It wasn't Nick, she assured herself. If her threat of siccing her father and brother hadn't put him off, then she was certain her declaration of love had. She still winced when she remembered that conversation and the stunned look on his face.

  "Just a minute," she said, and rinsed a china plate, then put it in the sink.

  "Nick Nolan, I'll be darned," Butch said, shaking his head as Olivia rounded the corner to the den. Her stomach dipped to her knees.

  "How did you meet Olivia again?"

  Nick's gaze met hers, and she saw a determination that made her quiver. "Long story," he said. "Merry Christmas, Olivia."

  "Merry Christmas," she uttered over the lump in her throat. In a tweed sport coat and jeans, he stood with an easy confidence that matched his clothes. He looked so good it hurt to meet his gaze. An onslaught of secret dreams she'd buried rushed through her mind. Heaven help her, she'd missed him.

  Beyond her own panic, Olivia sensed her brother's discomfort. Her father's curiosity was palpable. "Nick lives in Richmond," she explained. "He's a successful attorney."

  "How about that," her father said, taking Nick's measure. "I remember you were a brainy kid. So you and Olivia bumped into each other in Richmond."

  "Yes," Nick said with a wry half grin. "Olivia has been living with me the last month."

  Olivia's heart stopped. She stared at him. Oh, no, he hadn't said that. She hadn't heard him correctly. The combined stunned silence of her father and brother, however, had the effect of a ton of falling bricks.

  Butch cleared his throat. "Did you say my sister has been living with you during the last month?"

  Olivia heard the protective tone of his voice and cringed. For the most part Butch had reformed his bullying ways, but he was still overprotective in a few areas. Since Olivia's disastrous engagements, her love life was one of them.

  "It's not really the way it seems," Olivia said quickly, alternating her attention between Butch and her father. Her father looked as if he needed someone to whack him on the back to get him breathing again. "I was living next door to Nick and my house caught on fire, and he actually rescued me and burned his hands, then let me stay at his house until I could find another place—"

  Butch's face was turning red. He put his hands on his hips. "So you didn't try to take advantage of Liv?"

  Nick searched Olivia's gaze, and her respiratory system shut down at what she thought she saw in his eyes. "I can't say I didn't take advantage of the situation."

  She could tell the undertone in his voice was intended for her. Her stomach fluttered. Why was he here? What was he doing?

  Her father jumped to his feet "Why you—"

  "You sonova—" Butch yelled.

  "No!" Olivia cried, terrified Butch would break Nick's nose a second time.

  Butch took a swing.

  Nick's hand shot up, blocking the punch. "You did this about twenty years ago, Butch. You're not breaking my nose again," he said, giving him a hard glance. "I have more I need to say."

  "Then maybe you'd better do your talking, son," her father huffed, his mouth moving into a puckered scowl.

  Nick barely blinked. He turned to Olivia. "I want you to marry me."

  The room began to spin.

  Her mother and sister-in-law appeared at the doorway. Butch and her father looked totally confused.

  Afraid to hope, Olivia held back. How many times had she wanted Nick's love for her to be true? She shook her head, her family fading from view. In her eyes, she could only see Nick. "I've already played the role of your fiancée. I don't—"

  "I don't want you to be my fiancée, Olivia," he said, moving closer to her. "I want you to be my wife."

  Her heart was beating so fast she feared she might faint. "I don't … I can't…" She couldn't collect he
r thoughts.

  "I love you," Nick said.

  "Don't say that," she said, feeling the threat of tears. "Don't say you love me unless you really mean it. Don't—"

  Nick slid his hand to her cheek. "I love you, Olivia. I want us to be together all the time. I want to be your friend and your lover. I want to be your husband."

  She swallowed hard. "I didn't think you could ever love me," she whispered.

  "You were wrong."

  "Well, if you marry him, then it won't be a big deal if you drop out of school," her father interjected.

  Olivia immediately stiffened. The nagging fear that Nick might overwhelm her slid inside her like poison.

  "Olivia won't be dropping out of school," Nick said to her father, his gaze still on her. "Olivia is an incredibly intelligent woman," he said as if it were an indisputable fact. "She deserves a college education. She can succeed without me," he said wryly. "But I'll do whatever I can to help her. I want to be there for her as much as she'll let me."

  In that moment her heart broke free. Everything inside her clicked together. Tears streamed down her face. Her mind almost couldn't believe that she had fallen in love with such an amazing man, and he not only loved her, he was determined to help her make her dreams come true. She could trust Nick with her soul. Her mind was having a tough time accepting it, but her heart wasn't.

  The waiting in his gaze pulled at her. "I'll marry you. But you'll have a messy life," she warned.

  Nick took her in his arms and wiped the tears beneath her eyes. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

  * * *

  Epilogue

  « ^

  Three and a half years later Nick nearly burst with pride when his wife, Olivia Polnecek Nolan, graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Commonwealth University. She accepted her diploma and blew him a kiss. An hour later she lost her breakfast in the master bath.

  Worried, Nick paced outside the bathroom door while her family waited downstairs. They were planning to go to a celebration lunch. Olivia's family was so proud of her they could hardly stand it. Her father kept telling strangers how his daughter was graduating with honors, and her mother was making noises about going back to school herself.

  Olivia peeked out, wearing a wan smile.

  "Is it excitement, or are you sick?" he asked, concerned about her pale complexion. "Do we need to get you to the doctor? You haven't seemed yourself the last week."

  She moved to the edge of the bed and pressed the washcloth to her forehead. "It's partly excitement, but I suspect I'll be pitching my cookies more during the next few weeks."

  Nick frowned. She didn't seem troubled. He was. "Then I'll take you to the doctor."

  She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "I've already been to the doctor. I was just looking for the right moment to tell you."

  "Tell me what?" he asked in a clipped tone.

  She gave him an assessing glance. "I'm making you tense, aren't I? I'm sorry, sweetheart. There's really no reason to be tense," she said, then seemed to reconsider. "Well, just a little tense," she amended.

  "Olivia," he said, his patience fraying around the edges.

  "Would you sit beside me, please?"

  Nick took a deep breath and joined her on the bed. Her lips tilted in a weird, feminine smile that made him nervous. "Since we got married, I think there is something you have wanted, but you didn't want to ask me because you knew how important my education was to me. Whenever I asked you about it, you changed the subject. But every once in a while you gave me little clues. I promised you I would make your life messy, and it's about to get more messy."

  Nick saw the tears in her eyes and felt his heart clutch. He shook his head, remembering all the nights he'd bit his tongue and watched her go to sleep, all the times he'd looked with longing at his friends' children. He'd been so careful to keep it secret from Olivia, because even though the idea of having children with her promised a fulfillment he craved, she was most important to him. Olivia and her happiness.

  His throat tightened with emotion. "I thought you couldn't read minds."

  "I'm probably better with hearts."

  "Oh, Lord," he said, feeling his own eyes dampen. "You're pregnant."

  She nodded and came into his arms. "Yep. Looks like we'll be raising a Mighty Warrior Commando baby boy or—"

  "A Mighty Warrior Commando baby girl," he said. "Just like her mother." He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes, shining with love. "I never knew messy could be so good."

  * * * * *