Their Second Chance
Page 12
“Oh, Nick—”
He shook his head and cut her off. “You don’t seem to understand how much you mean to me. You’re my life. My everything. If something happened to you, I’d be lost.”
She caressed his bristly jaw and pulled him to her for a kiss. It was soft and over fast, but the emotion delivered overflowed her heart with love. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Good. I won’t let you.”
She didn’t think she could handle another nine months of what she’d just been through either. Her pregnancy had been difficult to say the least, but the reward was worth the price.
The room door opened. Bella strolled in with a smile. “Look who’s awake. How’s mommy doing today?”
She smiled. “I have some pain, but I feel better than I have in the past months.”
Bella nodded. “I know.” She sat down on a chair across from Nick. “Here’s the thing,” she glanced back and forth between Ari and Nick. “I don’t know what would happen if you tried to have another baby, Ari.”
She frowned. Christ. Bella was way ahead of them. She’d just gotten out of one pregnancy. The last thing she could think of was another.
“So what are you saying?” Nick asked before she could.
“I think you should reconsider any thoughts of trying to conceive again. This was a difficult and dangerous pregnancy. And while each one is different from the last, I don’t know how Ari’s body would react to going through this again.”
“I understand.” She kissed Kayden’s head. “We don’t need to have a biological child to be parents again.”
Nick lifted her hand to his lips and nodded. “That’s right. As long as we’re a family, it doesn’t matter how we get there.”
Nick and Kayden had fallen asleep in Ari and Nick’s bedroom. Ari took that time to clear some of the clutter from their impromptu visit from friends. After two weeks of quietly getting to know their son, Ari was on the mend and little Kayden owned both his parents. Tricia had arranged a gathering for baby Kayden and Ari. Gift bags and baby toys littered their living room. She’d just reached the front of the house when someone knocked. She opened the door to find Grace standing there.
She didn’t know how to handle seeing Grace after their last argument. Bella was sure it had been the cause for her blood pressure to rise to a dangerous level and cause her to go into distress.
“Hello, Grace.”
“Ariana, may I come in?”
She hedged for just a second before stepping back and allowing her to enter. She was still Nick’s mother, and no matter what Nick said, it would hurt him if she and Grace couldn’t find a way to deal with each other.
Grace walked around the toys and gifts all over the living room. She turned to Ari with a look of pain Ari had never seen before.
“Grace, are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry,” she choked out. “I never meant to hurt you. I just didn’t really think you wanted your marriage with Nick to work out.”
Her chest squeezed around the feelings of inadequacy Grace had always brought out in her. “Why wouldn’t I, Grace? I love Nick with all my heart.”
Grace nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You were so involved in your career. I was raised to believe that family came first. So it was clear that if you put your job ahead of Nick that must mean you didn’t really love him.”
Oh boy. Generational gap for sure.
“Please, sit down.” She hoped it would help Grace relax a bit. She moved a baby blanket from a sofa and faced Grace. “I was born to a family that believes we must work hard to succeed, Grace.”
“I understand.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think you do. Your family has been successful for…forever. So when I wanted something, like to go to college, I had to get scholarships. I had to work hard. I had to sacrifice things to move forward. It wasn’t easy. But having Nick by my side helped me deal with it.” She swallowed hard. “I knew we came from different backgrounds, but that didn’t matter, because when we’re together all that matters is making each other happy. Nick’s drive helped me focus on what I wanted. I wanted to be independently successful.”
Grace frowned. “But you’ve done that already. I didn’t think you would ever put the career to the side and focus on your family.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. My family has been my priority from the beginning. But just like Nick wanted to be a success in his own right, I wanted to be on equal footing with him. It wasn’t about who had the most money. It was about knowing I could bring something of value to this relationship too. I would give up my company in a second for Nick if I had to. But he loves me enough to never ask me to do that.”
“I’m sorry, Ariana. I didn’t realize what I said had such an effect to the point it sent you to the hospital.” She glanced down at her hands. “The last thing I would want is to hurt you or Nick. Seeing him at the hospital, looking so lost, it made me realize I need to understand you are the woman he loves and nothing will ever change that.”
Hearing Grace speak of something she hadn’t witnessed made the time in the hospital even more difficult to cope with. Nick had suffered while she’d been asleep. He’d been hurting for the pain she’d been in and nothing could ever change that.
“I love Nick. I always will.”
Grace stood and sat next to her. “I am so sorry for causing you pain and distress. Please forgive me. I can only hope you understand I was only thinking of Nick’s happiness. But now that I see his happiness is you, I won’t ever interfere again.”
She patted Grace’s perfectly manicured fisted hands. “I forgive you on one condition.”
“What?”
“That you spend more time with us now. I’m not the enemy. We’re all family.”
Grace smiled through her tears. “I will. I promise.”
Kayden’s cry broke through the quiet house. “In that case, let’s go get the little guy so he can spend some time with his grandmother. What do you say?”
“Thank you, Ariana.”
“It’s okay, Grace. I’m a mom too. I also want the best for my boy.”
She’d known Grace hadn’t tried to be deliberately mean. She had wanted Nick’s happiness. It was why it was easier for Ari to forgive her. She wanted Nicks’ happiness too. And she knew if she distanced Grace, Nick and Kayden would end up hurt in the process. All they had was each other. And family came first. Always would.
Ari watched Nick stroll down the street with Harley’s leash on one hand, and Kayden on the other. Their little boy was a miniature version of Nick. He stumbled on his chubby little legs and glanced up at his father. Nick smiled, said something, and picked up their son. Kayden immediately dropped his head into the curve of his father’s shoulder and held on to Nick’s jacket.
When they reached the door, she held out her hands for Kayden, but instead Nick passed her Harley’s leash.
“I got him.”
He cuddled Kayden closer, patting him in the back with care.
The father and son had a beautiful bond. She hoped the news she had would mean a new bond for their family. While Kayden was their second chance at the child they’d wanted so badly and hadn’t been able to have for years, she wanted Kayden to have the love of siblings.
She followed Nick into Kayden’s room. They watched the little boy grab his favorite blue blanket, the one Grace had gotten him at birth, and snuggle with a brown teddy Ari’s mother had gotten him.
“We got accepted.”
Nick’s head jerked up. His surprised gaze searched her face. They’d applied for adoption when Kayden was six months old, knowing the process was long. They knew there were no guarantees they’d get accepted, but they were in a financial situation they felt comfortable with the expense if only to try to adopt a child to give Kayden a sibling.
Six months ago, they’d gone to an agency. After meeting and falling in love with a one-year-old little girl, they had been waiting to hear if their request
for adoption had been accepted.
“We did?” He stared at her in shock.
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “We did. Kayden is getting a little sister.”
They’d hoped to adopt to expand their family and give another child a home. It’d been a long and difficult journey, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. They didn’t need to have another biological child to have a larger family. They only needed to give another baby the love and devotion they gave Kayden.
He held her tight in his arms. She thought back to their past five years. Tears gathered in her eyes. No longer of desolation or pain for the past they had lived. These tears were of survival. They’d been through a lot, but they lived through it. Together. No matter how many hardships they’d had to endure, as long as they communicated and held strong as a couple, nothing could ever break them up again.
Sometimes, love was enough.
Karen Lutz – You inspired me for so many years to be the best I can be as a mother, friend and employee. I have no words to thank you. You pulled me out of dark holes so many times and encouraged me with your words and friendly smiles. I can only say thank you from the bottom of my heart because there truly are no words for me to tell you how very special you are to me. You are loved.
Rachel Firasek – Thank you for being one of my biggest inspirations. Thank you for taking me on and teaching me so much about what makes a great writer. I am so thankful I get to work with an amazing author and editor like you.
Betas for this book- Julie Duran-Fernandez, Tonya Rupell, Michelle Wilson, Teracia Loretan, Sheri Spell and Theresa Esterline. Thank you so much for your lovely words of support and encouragement on a story I was unsure of but loved with all my heart. You ladies made my job of putting the book out there so much easier!
For my Street Team – You all ROCK! Keep up the great work. I love you all and know I have the best team ever! I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate you all!
Hi! I'm Milly (AKA April Angel) I love to write sexy stories. They're usually either paranormal or contemporary with a large dose of heat. My paranormal stories can be anything from wolf-shifters (my favorites) to witches, demons and anything in between. My contemporaries are usually anything from soldiers to corporate romances.
I was born the prettiest part of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. Currently, I live in New York City with my hubby, the bossy kiddo and our little dog "Needy Speedy". Don't ask.
When I'm not working some really long hours at the day job, or hanging out in the awful life-sucking invention known as Facebook, messaging my bestie in the UK or shopping with my sis Julie, then I can be found watching scary movies. Buuut when I'm not doing that, I'm usually writing because the voices won't shut up.
I am addicted to shoe shopping, chocolate (but who isn't, right?) and Dunkin' Donuts coffee.
Come on over and visit me! I love to meet new readers!
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Their Second Chance
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