by Sierra Rose
I closed my eyes and opened my mouth, prepared to do exactly that, but the soft sound of Nick’s breath echoed in my ear, indicating that he was asleep already. Even as he rested, he clutched me to his chest like a little boy with his beloved teddy, his muscular, perfect body finally succumbing to the overwhelming exhaustion of the day.
Tomorrow. I’ll tell him tomorrow...or maybe the day after that.
Chapter 6
When I awoke just a few hours later, the early afternoon sun had already painted the room a magical shade of bronze. Everything seemed to be illuminated in a golden glow, from the paintings on the walls to the crystal chandelier on the ceiling, right down to the beautiful man beside me. Nick was still passed out cold, but that didn’t stop me from doing my very best to wake him up.
“Hey,” I whispered, fighting back a grin. “You awake?”
It was an obvious question with an obvious answer, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. It was a brand new day, and our three months were up. The merger was signed, we were back in the Big Apple, and he had just confessed his love for me for the very first time. I wasn’t about to let him hibernate through all that.
I knew Nicholas Hunter, was keenly aware of his rather sordid track record with the ladies. From what I knew of him and what everyone in the world seemed to know of him, I was fairly certain that he’d never said those three words to anyone in his entire life, not once. For that reason alone, I could not believe he’d said it at all. And to little ol’ me, of all people!
My eyes danced with uncontainable delight as I replayed the moment over and over in my head. It was dark when he uttered it, so I didn’t really have a visual to go with it, but that didn’t stop me from imagining it to blissful perfection in my mind’s eye. I would forever remember the way he tensed slightly beneath me, as if he had to make a quick decision. I would always recall the way his muscles relaxed slightly when he made up his mind, the way his arms tightened back up again as he cradled me against his chest and said those magical words. It was perfect, absolutely fucking perfect.
Unless he didn’t really mean it.
My soaring heart came to a screeching halt as I considered that horrible possibility for the first time. It really wasn’t like it was that unlikely. I mean, I did just say it to him, right before that. What was he supposed to do? Just leave me hanging after all we’ve been through together for the last three months?
A cold chill swept through me, a million doubts nipping at any shreds of hope and self-confidence I had. Yes, he said it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he really feels that way, Abby. Don’t be a gullible idiot, the logical, cautious part of me scolded. After all, he didn’t respond the same way when I said it on the beach in Peru. He just...ignored it then. He was tired. Maybe it was an echoed response.
The thought stopped my heart cold, and I rolled onto my side, staring up at him with sudden dread. To anyone watching, I would have looked like a lunatic. On the outside, nothing had changed, but suddenly, that brand new day didn’t seem so magical and sunny.
The worst of it was that I didn’t know how to determine it for sure. It wasn’t as if I could come right out and ask him. Maybe I’ll just wait and see if the subject comes up again, naturally. No use forcing things, right? I reasoned.
Wrong! Quit being such a chicken-shit, would you? my head admonished. You’re carrying his baby, for fuck’s sake! You have to know if he meant it!
“Nick...”
He stirred slightly but didn’t open his eyes.
“Nick, are you awake?”
Still, he said nothing.
“Nick!”
The third time I said his name, with a bit more panic and volume in my voice, there was a shift in his breathing. His biceps tightened, then relaxed again as they gathered me up against his chest. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he finally muttered, though he didn’t bother to open his eyes yet.
I hesitated, squirming nervously against him, figuring it was best to ease into the awkward conversation gently, the way one would slowly slip the body into a cold swimming pool, one tiny toe at a time. “It’s, uh... Hey, do you wanna get some breakfast?”
He shook his head and yawned widely before surrendering to sleep once more.
Of course he doesn’t. He only went to bed a few hours ago, after you made him chase you halfway around the world. Forget the breakfast. If you keep bugging him, he’s going to slap you not so over-easy!
They were wise words, even if I knew Nick would never actually attack me. Unfortunately, they weren’t enough to stop me.
“Are you sure?” I asked again, well aware that I was venturing ever closer to that line. “I could make us something.”
He shifted a little under the sheets, spilling his golden hair across his face. “I’m fine, but the kitchen’s well stocked if you’re hungry. Help yourself.”
“You look very handsome this morning,” I said, trying a different strategy.
“Um...thanks, babe,” he said, still not opening his eyes.
I leaned even higher up on his chest, till my face was just a few inches from his. “Very handsome,” I teased. “You know, we should really consider one of those in-bed photoshoots the next time they ask you to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.”
“Okay, if you want to.”
“They’re usually really specific with that sort of thing,” I babbled, picking up speed now that I was back on familiar ground. “They always come to the table with all these preconceived ideas, but I’m sure if we present a clear vision of what we want, they’ll be quick to accommodate us because...”
I trailed off, realizing he wasn’t responding to me at all and that his breathing had resumed its slow rhythm. Just like that, the man was out like a light.
“On that note, how would you feel about going to spin class with me? I know the whole stationary movement thing really isn’t your style, but ya never know. At any rate, I think it’d be hilarious to see you in a little spandex singlet.”
After another beat of silence, a hand suddenly reached downward and grabbed me right between the legs. As Nick finally opened his eyes to study me for a moment, I let loose with a breathless shriek. His expression betrayed no emotion until his lips twitched up in a wry grin. “Someone’s a bit of an eager beaver this morning, huh?”
It was impossible to answer that; in fact, it was impossible to even think straight when he was holding me there, and it was all I could do to close my gaping mouth. “I’m not... I mean, I didn’t...” I mumbled.
With a mocking frown, he propped himself up on his other arm and cocked his head to one side as his grip tightened, effectively immobilizing me. “I’m sorry? What was that?”
This time, it was me who failed to respond.
The silence stretched on and on, but Nick was in no hurry. Actually, he seemed to enjoy the fact that he’d stunned me into speechlessness. A few seconds later, he increased the tantalizing torture by toying with his fingers.
Don’t get distracted now. There’s a question you need to ask!
“Nick, wait. I actually...” My eyes snapped momentarily shut as his thumb grazed me, sending an electric shockwave through my body. “There’s something I...”
He picked up speed, wearing an arrogant and victorious smile as he watched me flounder.
Just do it, Abby! Get it together!
“I need to ask...” My teeth clamped down hard on my lip as he slipped a finger inside, then two, then three. “I need to...”
A quiet moan escaped my lips as my head fell back against the pillow. What I needed to ask and what I needed at that moment were two very different things. In the end, the desires of my body won out over the demands of my head. My legs parted automatically beneath the sheets in silent invitation, but Nick didn’t need to use anything more than his hand.
I knew from experience that I wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure for long. My breath caught in my chest, and I was just seconds away, but somehow, for some reason, that was whe
n I finally blurted my question: “Did you mean it last night, when you said you love me?”
The hand vanished immediately, and Nick looked down at me in shock. “What?”
And that confirms it. Why the fuck did you wake him up for this? Why the fuck couldn’t you just leave it alone? Why the fuck couldn’t you have just waited two more seconds?
My skin flushed and simultaneously paled as I did everything in my power not to look at his astonished face. “I was just wondering...”
After a few seconds of more heavy silence, I peeked up through my lashes and realized that it was now him who was stunned to the point of no words. Nick’s eyes were as wide as saucers, but they weren’t looking at me; rather, they were fixed somewhere on the pillow behind my head, his pupils dilated to the size of the average black hole.
Panic set in, but the publicist in me roared to life, reminding me of Rule No. 1, damage control. “Because you don’t have to be,” I said.
He turned those enormous eyes my way.
As quickly as I could, I backpedaled. “I mean, it would be wonderful, but love’s not... Well, it’s not exactly something we can control. I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”
He blinked slowly, then stared at me with a truly unreadable expression. “Pressure me?”
In all likelihood, he had never heard those words in his entire life, and the reality of that sent a burning blush to my cheeks. I continued talking, digging the hole deeper and deeper, wondering all the while why I couldn’t just shut up. “No, I just mean... You didn’t have to say it just because I did. I didn’t want you to say it if you don’t really—”
That sentence was cut short by a sparkling bout of laughter echoing suddenly in the air between us, brightening the room and everything in it before settling in Nick’s lovely eyes.
“Is that why you woke me up?” he asked with an affectionate smile. “To ask whether or not I’m in love with you?”
Rule No. 2: Deny, deny, deny!
“No,” I answered stiffly, pulling defensively out of his grip. “I woke you up to see if you want to have breakfast...and possibly go to spin class.”
He burst out laughing again, gathering me tighter in his arms. “Abigail Wilder,” he said, kissing the top of my head, “what am I going to do with you?”
“Um...eat and spin?” I stuttered, wondering if that question was a yes or a no.
“Of course I’m in love with you.” He chuckled again, his eyes twinkling. “What the hell do you think has been going on here?”
I blushed again, but this time, I met his gaze with a shy smile. “I don’t know. I mean, there’s a difference between loving someone and being in love, between dating someone and actually falling for them.”
Add a baby into that equation, and things start to get pretty complicated, something inside me reminded me.
A sudden kiss interrupted those thoughts, a kiss so warm and soft and sweet that I had to open my eyes to make sure it was really happening.
“I assure you that I know the difference, and I know I am in love with you, Abigail Wilder.” His breath tickled my cheeks as he gazed deep into my eyes. “We both know I fell a long time ago.”
A warm flutter stirred in my chest, and I grinned in spite of myself. Then, just as quickly as the smile came, it melted away from my face, and I gave him a sarcastic roll of my eyes. “All right, all right. You don’t have to keep saying it. I mean unless you want to.”
A shrieking explosion of giggles burst out of me as his fingers dug into my sides. There was a flash of golden hair, and in the next second, he was on top of me, pressing me into the mattress as he alternated between tickling, kissing, and declaring his love. “Body and soul,” he said before another kiss. “Head over heels,” he said, then kissed me again. “And whatever other cheesy fucking way you want me to say it.” He pinned my wrists above my head and kissed me long and slow, his eyes glowing liquid blue in the afternoon sun. “I love you, Abby. I’ll say it as many times as you’re willing to hear it.”
All the air rushed out of me, and I froze in the heat of his adoring gaze.
Tell him. Now’s the time.
I knew, but I just couldn’t. I had never been happier than I was in that moment, and I couldn’t bear to watch it all crumble away beneath the cruel attack of the unspoken truth. Instead, I lowered my eyes quickly to his chest before looking up with a distracting grin. “I can’t believe you just grabbed me like that.” My skin flushed red hot just at the memory, and I shook my head, wearing an incredulous smile.
He raised a single eyebrow, looking delicious enough to eat. One hand snaked beneath the sheets to nudge my thighs apart as he set out to finish what he started. “Does this make me whipped, huh?”
Shit! I knew that joke would come back to bite me.
“You know I was just kidding, right?” I leaned into the mattress as far as I could, gazing up with a nervous grin as he towered over me. “I don’t actually think you’re—”
I shrieked aloud as his head disappeared beneath the sheets to assault me, letting out a playful growl. My head rolled back in mindless ecstasy, and I gasped for breath before I shrieked once more.
Chapter 7
Just a few hours later, we were finally ready for breakfast. The sun had already begun to set over the western horizon, but that didn’t stop us from setting up on the front porch with two plates of pancakes and bacon. The maple syrup was not far behind.
Nick drenched his plate in a lake of sugary goodness.
I smirked. “Sugar craving?”
“What? I can stop at any time.”
I giggled and took a large bite of bacon, watching him discreetly out of the corner of my eye. It was still hard to get used to that side of him. He was so playful, so affectionate, so unrestrained, and so down-to-Earth that the general public never would have believed it if I told them.
During my two years of working with him, I’d discovered that Nick was fun and friendly, but there were certain lines the two of us never would have thought of crossing, certain things we never would have even thought, let alone said. There were certain walls we never would have let down, even with each other. Now, all of that was rapidly changing.
The man sitting beside me didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He just sat there, with bare feet, bed-tousled hair, and a shirt that was slightly too big for him, rolled up at the sleeves. He grinned like the proverbial kid in the proverbial candy store as he snacked happily on a ridiculously tall of very soaked pancakes, and I was absolutely smitten with him.
“You need to put that lusty stare of yours away,” he teased, flashing a sideways grin. “I have a girlfriend now, and she wouldn’t approve. Or should I say wife? Supposedly, we eloped in Peru.”
I rolled my eyes and watched as he lifted his hand to wave at a couple who’d stopped to gawk at him. When they whipped out a camera with a pleading request, he stood obediently and leaned between them, wearing a practiced smile and balance his sticky plate in the other hand.
A faint grin spread across my face as I watched the couple take shot after shot, both grabbing the back of his loose shirt as if it was somehow acceptable to manhandle him. They seemed to be making frantic lists of which friends needed to see the photos, the evidence of their star-struck encounter. The wife, ignoring her husband, even stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss Nick on the cheek.
It wasn’t until I heard Nick say my name that I realized they were talking to me.
“I’m sorry? What was that?” I set my plate down and stood, wearing a smile that I hoped was more gracious-looking than it felt. “You want me to take one of the three of you?”
The couple chattered quickly, in Portuguese, shaking their heads.
Nick flashed me a crooked smile. “They want a picture of the four of us—them, me, and...my wife.”
Wait. Wife? Wow, the entire world thinks we’re married.
The smile froze on my face, and for a split second, I wondered what it would be like for that
to be true.
“Abby?”
When I glanced back up, all three were just staring, waiting for me.
“Oh! Yeah...of course.” With a feeling of slight trepidation, I joined them on the sidewalk, slipping automatically under Nick’s arm as the camera flashed in front of our eyes.
The couple was literally overjoyed; in fact, I’d never seen anyone so grateful for a simple picture. They were so effusive that they caught the attention of other passersby. Before long, a bit of a crowd had gathered in front of the secret brownstone.
I took my cue from the master and stood for picture after picture, smiling as genuinely as I could for each fan and posing with endless patience as a stream of strangers spoke to me in some languages I didn’t even understand. Some of them screamed for me, tugging without restraint on my coat and hair.
By the time Nick and I were able to escape the entourage and make our way inside, the sky was darkening. Our plates of pancakes had gone cold and were forgotten on the stairs. We kissed swiftly, then waited for the crowd to dissipate before Nick went back out to hail a cab.
We were expected in the Hamptons the next morning, and that was not an appointment either of us could miss. His father would expect us right on time, and we both knew that if we were late for that very important date, he would have our heads quicker than the Queen of Hearts would have taken Alice’s.
Chapter 8
“It says here that the estate was built in the early 1800s by a guy who later helped with the renovations on The Louvre. It’s one of only three private residences in the entire world to which he lent his talents, and it is listed as the most coveted location in the eastern seaboard.” I pushed my sunglasses up into my hair and gazed down at the brochure in my hand. A black and white sketch on the front, in that art nouveau style, made it impossible to tell what the thing really looked like. “It also says it’s been featured in numerous films, even served as the wedding location for a princess of Spain. Did you know all of that?”