A smile played at his lips, and lowered his head to gently kiss me. This time when he broke, he tensely said, “I need to talk to you about something.”
I became panicky as he continued. “It’s going to be tough when we don’t get to see each other every day at work. So I got to thinking of solutions for that. I need you Julianne. I need to see you, to be with you, every day, to hold you in my arms every night. Our brief time apart showed me that. I am so in love with you. So, I want you to move in with me.”
I felt like I didn’t even need to think about my answer. “Of course. Yes! I would love to move in with you!” I kissed him firmly on the lips. Tears of joy and excitement began to run down my face as I realized how serious our relationship was, even though so much had happened so quickly.
I was shocked and relieved. I didn’t know where he was going with the way he began the conversation, but I was thrilled with the outcome. I had never lived with a guy before – except Travis, for a few weeks in college – but never romantically. I was positively euphoric at the idea of living with Nick.
He broke from me first, beaming. “I can’t wait. When can you move in?” he asked.
I grinned from ear to ear, utter joy permeating every fiber of my being. “My lease on my apartment is up at the end of next month, so it’s good timing. I have to give notice thirty days in advance, but I can start moving anytime.”
He picked me up and twirled me around excitedly. He put me back on the ground and kissed me. “I can’t wait. You are going to love living with me,” he smiled.
I knew I would. Everything was going to be perfect. He was so sexy and so perfect and so all mine. I was thrilled that things were going to work. My broken heart was back in one piece again.
Chapter Nineteen
When we woke up the next morning, the reality of what was going to happen actually set in. I was moving in with Nick. I looked over at him, still asleep, resting peacefully against the pillow, and I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips. I thought about how I was going to wake up next to him every single morning. I watched him breath evenly in and out as I thought about our future together, fantasizing about being with him forever. I rested my head back down on my pillow. I heard Nick take a deep breath and then stretch out. He was awake.
“Good morning,” I smiled as he opened his eyes to take in the day.
A sleepy grin spread across his face. “I had a dream last night. About you.”
“What was I wearing?” I rolled my eyes.
“It wasn’t like that. It was about work.”
“Oh,” I said, not hiding my disappointment.
“No, baby, it was a good dream. It was about my new job. But you were there with me. You were on my team, and our relationship didn’t matter. It was perfect,” he said, reveling in his dream.
“That’s sweet. Too bad it would never work,” I said, a little wistful once again that he was leaving McMillan.
“Why couldn’t it work?”
“Well, because if they have a dating policy like McMillan, we wouldn’t be able to work together.”
“But what if they don’t?” he asked, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. “What if I told Brennan about our situation, and I also told him what an asset you would be to the company?” He rolled over so that he was on his side, arm propped up on his elbow.
“He’ll just think you’re getting me a job cause I’m your girlfriend. I can deal with where I am for now,” I said, thinking back to Tom Davidson’s conversation with Nick – a conversation I wasn’t supposed to know about, but one that hurt me, not to mention my self-confidence at work, nonetheless.
“Seriously, Julianne. If you are even a little interested, this company pays well, and it’s closer to home. I mean our home, here, since you’re moving in,” he put his arm around my waist and kissed me on the cheek.
“I want to keep working with you, but isn’t that a lot of time together?” I asked. “A lot of couples have a hard time adjusting to moving in together, but we would be working together, too. We would literally be together all the time. Would you be okay with that?”
“Oh yeah, baby. I would be okay with that,” he smiled, leaning toward me and pressing his erection into the side of my leg. “Wouldn’t you?”
“I would love that, Nick, but I don’t want it to create issues for us.”
“It won’t. You’ve got so many great ideas in that gorgeous head, and I don’t want you working for the competition. I want you on my side, with my company. Don’t you think we’d get into more arguments about work if we were at competing companies?” he argued. He was damn convincing. This was sounding better and better.
“Don’t get too worked up about it until we’re sure that it is even a possibility. Like I said, if you have to sign an agreement like the one you signed for McMillan, us working together won’t even be an option.”
“We’re putting together a team; that much I know. You will come highly recommended, both from Davidson and from me,” he said.
I looked over at him. “From Davidson?” I asked.
“Yeah. He knows how good you are.”
“Are you sure?” I pried, not wanting to let on that I knew what Davidson really said about me.
He nodded. “Breakfast?” he asked, changing the subject.
I decided not to call him on it, but the whole idea of Davidson thinking I was a good worker was stuck on my mind. I knew what he said about me, that I was basically disposable in favor of Nick, but I was eavesdropping when I heard that. I decided to wait it out to see what happened on Nick’s last two days of work. Maybe I would catch another conversation that I could call him on.
“Breakfast sounds great,” I said. “You cooking?”
“I was just going to ask you that,” he chuckled, kissing me on the forehead.
I headed home later that afternoon to start packing my stuff to get ready to move in with Nick. He had things to do in order to get ready for his new job while closing out his old one. Plus he had to make room in his house – and closet – for me.
When I got home, my answering machine said that I had two new messages. That’s weird, I thought, since usually people just called my cell phone. I checked my cell, and I had no missed calls.
The first message was from Tom Davidson. He wanted to speak with me first thing in the morning. That one made me a little nervous. But it was the second one that shook me to the core.
“Hey, it’s me,” Travis’s voice began. His tone sounded exhausted and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I heard more than sadness, almost like defeat. “Um… So I hate how we left things. I don’t want you to be mad at me for talking to Nick, but he deserved to know what happened. Anyway. So, the real reason I called is to let you know I’m going to live with my friend Dan for awhile in San Diego. I just need something different. I have to get away from all of this… uh… this shit. So… well, anyway. Later.” I heard the click of his phone and my answering machine beeped, letting me know it was the end of the message.
San Diego? A million thoughts ran through my head. Ultimately, he was leaving because of me. I couldn’t stand that I was the one uprooting him, making him feel like he had to change his whole life. He had lived in Arizona his entire life, and now he was leaving because of me.
I had to talk to him. At the very least, I had to make peace with him, maybe try to convince him to stay. Maybe even return the beautiful diamond necklace to him. I grabbed my car keys and headed over to his apartment.
A few minutes later, I found a parking space outside of Travis’s apartment. I didn’t see his car in the lot, but I knocked on his door anyway. There was no response. I stood there for a moment, and then his neighbor walked by, heading to his own door with his keys in one hand and a bag of groceries in the other. I knew that he and his neighbor were friendly with each other, so I hoped that maybe he had some information. “Looking for Travis?” he asked.
“Yes, have you seen him?”
> “Sure did. He packed up the U-Haul and pulled out about two hours ago. He’s on his way to California.”
“He’s gone?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Sounded like it was because of some girl. He’s been down the past few days; sounded like he just needed a change. A fresh start. I think this will be good for him. Anyway,” he opened the door to his apartment. “See you,” he said, and closed the door.
“Bye,” I breathed as I walked back to my car, my heart broken all over again, not because I was in love with Travis, but because my best friend just walked out of my life and didn’t even have the heart to say goodbye. I got into my car and shut the door. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. I picked up my phone to call Travis, hoping I could at least talk to him and try to convince him to come back.
His phone rang four times and went to voice mail. I hung up without leaving a message.
I called Nick. He picked up right away. “Hey sexy. Miss me already?” he answered.
I started crying. I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t form words; just sobs came out. I hated that Travis and I weren’t talking. It felt like he was no longer part of my life when he had been my best friend for just about my entire life. And now he just… wasn’t. And I couldn’t handle that; not with the roller coaster of emotions I had been through in the month leading up to that moment.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” Concern was evident in his voice.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Travis moved to San Diego,” I managed.
Nick was silent for a minute.
I continued to cry while he remained quiet. Finally I calmed down enough to speak: “Say something.”
“What do you want me to say? I wish I could say I am sorry about it, but baby, he’s caused us nothing but problems.”
“Nick, he’s my best friend.”
“I know, baby. But things change. I’m sorry you’re upset, but—”
I cut him off.
“You’re sorry I’m upset? Things change?” I was practically yelling into my phone. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t get an ounce of sympathy out of Nick. I was hurt that Travis would just pick up and move, and I called Nick for a shoulder to cry on, not to hear that “things change.”
“I have to go,” I said, cutting off the call. I didn’t need this from Nick.
I turned the key and started the engine of my car. I took another deep breath, angrier than hell at both Travis and Nick. I was angry at Travis for running away like a coward, and I was angry at Nick for not being sympathetic to the loss of my best friend. I craned my neck to be sure there weren’t any cars and I backed out of my space. I put the car into drive and drove to the exit of the parking lot.
As I was making a left turn out of the lot, something caught the corner of my eye. I turned to look, heard a screeching noise and then a crunching sound, and then everything went black.
Chapter Twenty
Something was beeping. I didn’t know what it was; it just kept beeping. Why wouldn’t it stop? It was driving me crazy. I opened my eyes to see what the hell that noise was.
“She’s awake,” I heard my mom’s voice. Mom? What the hell is she doing here?
The whiteness of wherever I was seemed to be blinding. I blinked a few times before everything came into focus. Even in focus, everything was slightly out of focus, and my head was absolutely pounding.
“Where am I?” I asked, finally seeing my mom. My voice was a hoarse whisper, and I was totally confused.
“Sweetie, you’re in the hospital. Everything is going to be fine,” she soothed me.
In the hospital?
“What happened?” I asked.
“You were in an accident. You got a little banged up, but you’re going to be okay,” my dad came into view as he spoke. He looked relieved. “I’ll go get the nurse.”
The pounding in my head was getting worse. I brought my hand to my head to rub my temples, only to notice that there was gauze wrapped around my head and a cast on my left wrist.
“How long have I been here?” I asked.
“Just overnight. The doctor said you had a pretty bad hit to the head, so they gave you some medication to help you sleep,” my mom answered.
“Does Nick know?”
“Honey, we didn’t know how to get a hold of him or Travis, so I assume neither of them know. We thought about calling your office to let them know, but we didn’t have the number there, either,” she told me. “I guess giving your parents your vital numbers doesn’t seem so dorky now, does it?”
“I’ll make you a list when I get out of here.”
Then it all came back. Travis leaving for San Diego, my call to Nick, who offered me zero sympathy, and feeling so upset that I wasn’t paying attention to the road as I was driving.
“What about my cell?” I asked. “All my numbers are in it.”
“It was wrecked in the crash. It flew out the window and broke,” she said.
“How did they find you?”
“An old insurance card in the glove compartment had dad’s name and phone number. The last name matched to your driver’s license, so they called us.”
“God, Nick must think I hate him.”
“Speaking of Nick, when are you going to introduce us to him?” she smiled at me. It was her patented distraction technique, but it worked.
“As soon as I get out of here,” I mumbled.
The nurse came in. “Let me take her vitals and we’ll get the doctor in here. If he gives the all clear, you might be able to go home tonight. But you’ll have to take it slow for awhile. You broke your wrist in the accident, and you hit your head pretty hard. We stitched up your arm, but you’ll heal. And you’ll have a cool scar,” she smiled as she took my blood pressure. Just what I wanted: a cool scar.
After the doctor came in and gave me the all clear and some instructions for taking care of myself, I was released. I felt shaky and dizzy, but I was ready to be home. More than that, I was ready to see Nick. The doctor told me to stay home from work for at least a week, and he even gave me a note. My parents wanted me to stay with them, but all I wanted was just to go home. They drove me to my apartment, informing me on the way that my car was totaled. I told them that Nick would stay with me and take care of me. That’s when my mom asked me again when they were going to meet him, and I decided that night would be the night.
I walked into my apartment. It looked the same as I had left it: in bad need of some vacuuming. My mom immediately started cleaning while my dad helped me settle into my couch. He brought the phone and some orange juice over to me. He also informed me that I had eight new messages. I decided to listen to them later just in case there was any risqué business on there from Nick.
I dialed Nick’s cell number. He answered on the first ring: “Julianne? Are you okay?”
“I was in an accident. I’m okay.”
“Oh my God, baby. It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Can you come over? And do you mind meeting my parents?” I rambled.
“I’ve been so worried. Julianne, I love you. I love you so, so much. I’m so sorry about what I said about Travis.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for you to apologize later,” I smiled into the phone. “And I love you too. Bring clothes and stuff because you’re in charge of me for a few days,” I instructed.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
My head was feeling better, but it was likely because of the painkillers that the doctor prescribed. They made me feel drunk. My parents ordered a pizza and waited on me hand and foot as we waited for Nick to arrive. They asked me a million questions about him and I fessed up that we were planning to live together. Their immediate reaction was to look at each other and then frown at me; but ultimately they knew that I was an adult, and they said that if he made me happy, they were happy for me. Soon enough, there was a knock at the door. My dad opened it and introduced himself to Nick, who made his way in with an overnight bag and a beautiful bouque
t of flowers. He set his bag down, shook hands with my dad and hugged my mom, then came to me. He set the flowers on my coffee table and kissed my forehead. Just seeing him immediately made me feel better, even more so when he was so close to me and overwhelming me with his presence and that wonderful scent.
“I was so worried about you,” he said, kneeling on the floor in front of me. I glanced at the flowers; they were gorgeous. His hazel eyes looked into my baby blues and searched mine to make sure that I was really okay. When he found that I was, he kissed me again, this time on the mouth, and then he held me close for a moment. Eventually he looked up at my parents.
“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but it is great to finally meet you,” he said warmly.
“Julianne tells us that she is moving in with you,” my dad blurted out.
“Yes, sir. We want to be apart as little as possible. I live half an hour way from here, so it just seemed to make sense for us.”
“That happened awfully fast,” my mom chimed in. I was mortified.
“Well, Mrs. Becker, you have a beautiful, talented, and intelligent daughter. How could I not fall for her?” he smiled. Damn, he was smooth. And sexy.
“Call me Pam, please. And you can call the Mr. over there Ron.”
“Thank you, Pam,” he said. Just then there was another knock at the door: the pizza.
Nick got up and headed to the door. “Please, allow me,” he said, pulling out his wallet to treat.
My mom flashed me a smile of approval; so did my dad. It was going well and I could tell that they already loved him. Who wouldn’t? He was sexy and smart, and apparently he was treating for dinner.
My parents and Nick got plates and napkins and fumbled around my small kitchen to get dinner together. Nick brought me a plate of all of the best crusty pieces.
As we were eating, Nick brought up Travis. “Julianne, Travis should know that you were in an accident. I can call him for you if you don’t feel up to it.”
What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3) Page 146