Nicole was stunned speechless. She wanted to take her mother at her word, grab Ice, and leave. But her father would only have him arrested again, and this time, there would be no getting him out. Her eyes nervously darted between her parents. “If I leave with him, Dad will have him picked up by the cops…”
“Damn straight I will…”
“He won’t.” Her mother’s voice cut her husband off. “Being married to the top attorney in the state, I’ve picked up on a few things. Like when you’re young and dumb, you get married without prenuptials signed.”
Patrick’s eyes narrowed toward his wife. “What the hell are you talking about, Carina?”
“I’m saying I want a divorce, Patrick. You let our daughter leave here and now with this man, and you promise to leave them alone and it’s all yours.”
“It’s all mine now.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“After twenty years with no prenup, half of all you have is mine. What do you say, Pat? Be all alone with your money, or be all alone with only half of your money. Either way, we will be gone.”
The room went silent as her parents stared at each other for a long moment. Tears leaked from Nicole’s eyes as she watched her mother willingly give up everything she had for her.
“What’s it going to be, Patrick?” Carina’s voice sounded soft but strong as she spoke. Nicole saw the anger and hurt in her father’s eyes as he walked past her to get to the door. Grabbing ahold of the handle, he paused for a moment as if he had something to say. Without looking up at them, he pulled the door open to walk out. “Get the hell out of my house. All of you.”
As soon as the door closed, she raced over to her mother, throwing her arms around her waist and laying her head against her shoulder. Tears fell from her eyes to soak the side of her mother’s dress. Carina Phillips, small mousy woman she is, had just stood up against one of the dangerous sharks in the tank…and won.
“I can’t believe you did that for me. I love you, Mom. Don’t worry about anything. You and I will stick together, okay?” she promised pulling her head away.
“Thank you, honey. But I’ll be just fine. Besides, you have someone who needs all your time and attention right now.” She motioned toward Ice.
He walked toward them, placing his hands on Nicole’s shoulders, but it was her mother who he addressed. “Ms. Phillips. I don’t think I can thank you enough for everything. For making it possible for us to be together. I mean…”
Holding up her hand she stopped him. “Make my daughter happy, and we’ll call it even. I’ll give you two some time to talk.” Her mom left them alone in the room.
Ice turned her to face him. Lifting her face up to meet his, he lowered his mouth to hers, pressing into her until she softened against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he deepened their kiss. Pulling away slightly, he looked down into her soft gaze. “I’ve missed you, little one.”
A smile crawled over her lips. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you too.” She stretched up on her tiptoes to brush another kiss against his mouth.
“Did you mean it when you said you loved me?” His breath whispered across her moist lips.
She nodded her head but didn’t pull away. “Yes, I did. I love you. I know you don’t want me to, but I do.”
A moan rumbled from the back of his throat. “Thank God you like to defy me, because I’m so in love with you too, baby girl.”
She let out a squeal before pressing her mouth even harder to his. Opening to him, they hungrily attacked each other with their mouths and tongues. Minutes of heated kissing passed before Ice tore away from her. His heavy hooded eyes matched hers. “Let’s go home, baby. Let’s go home were you belong.”
Epilogue
“Baby girl. I swear, if you don’t get your butt out here, I’m going in there, and I will bend that beautiful little ass over my knee.” Ice hollered his threats to an empty hallway. The only answer he received were giggles coming from the open doorway at the end of the hall.
Not wanting to be late, he marched down the hall and stopped in the doorway of his bedroom. Looking in, he watched as Nicole all but laid over the top of her suitcase in the attempt to zip the damn thing. Watching her struggle should have made him even more irritated due to the fact she waited until the day they were leaving to pack. But watching her now, he wondered how he could ever be mad at all. She was too damn cute when she struggled.
“Really? We’re going to be there for three days. Do you need that size of a suitcase? What the hell you got in there?” He moved toward the bed to help hold the zipper for her.
Once it closed, she turned her smiling eyes up to him. “It’s Vegas. I have no idea what I’m going to need until I get there. What if it’s a hundred degrees? What if it rains? Women need to travel prepared for anything, you know.” She moved in, closing the space between them, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I also had to pack a few dresses for all those photos. I can’t be seen in the same dress both nights. What would the press think?” she said, teasing him. He could have cared less what the press thought of her.
He moved his hands around her waist and locked them together at the small of her back. “Did you grab the important dress?” He raised an eyebrow at her. The smile on her face fell, and she dropped her arms and took a step back.
“I can’t wear it. I look like a cow in it.” She looked down at her extremely pregnant belly. At seven months, her stomach was already huge. He teased her daily, telling her there must be two in there instead of one.
He gripped her chin and brought her eyes up to his. “Baby, you’re beautiful.”
“You have to say that. You made me this way,” she teased.
“And I’ll do it again as soon as this one’s born.” He tried to keep a sober face at her horrified look.
“Like hell. This is all you get, buddy.” She playfully smacked his arm.
The plan had been for Nicole to start dancing again once everything got back to normal. That had been before they found out they were expecting the baby. Nicole’s views on dancing changed, and she confided in Ice that she wanted to be a mom more than a dancer. She wanted to be involved in their child’s life. She didn’t want to struggle to balance work and motherhood. Ice made enough money fighting that she didn’t have to work.
He still wasn’t making top dollar, but he made enough to keep their little family comfortable. Once they got back from Vegas, they were signing papers on their new house.
“Come on, love. We have a plane to catch. I hope the freeways aren’t backed up because you’re making us late.” He pulled her heavy suitcase off the bed. “Is that a yes to the dress? Did you pack it?” He set her bags by the door before turning back toward her.
“Yes. I packed the dress. I’ll look like a beached whale, but you don’t care.” She grabbed her purse from the bed and was about to huff past him, but he stopped her. The one thing he wouldn’t miss after the baby arrived were all the pregnant mood swings.
“Baby girl, I don’t care if you wear the dress or not. As long as you walk down that aisle to me on Sunday, I don’t care if you walk it naked.” A smile grew over his lips. “Matter of fact. Let’s do it naked.”
Her head tilted to the side, and she rested a hand on her hip. “My mom will be there, and so will the rest of our friends. I’m sure they would all enjoy seeing me waddle my naked ass down the aisle.”
Ice shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll enjoy seeing your naked ass waddle. Now that you mention it…That won’t work at all. I’ll get crazy jealous knowing all those other men get to see what’s mine.” He reached for her again, dragging her up against him, making sure he made enough room for her considerable size belly.
“You didn’t seem to mind men looking at me when I was dancing at Big Dogs.”
He leaned down trapping her lips under his. “That’s because I had convinced myself that I didn’t want any women in my life unless they were one-night stands. And to be honest, i
t drove me crazy watching you on stage in front of all those men. I wanted you all to myself even then.”
Nicole circled her arms around his neck, leaned on her tiptoes, and placed another kiss against his lips. “You had me then, you have me now, and you will have me for the rest of my life.”
A throaty groan ripped from his lips as he smashed his mouth against hers. They didn’t have time to crawl back into bed right now, but he wanted to. They needed to get to the airport where their friends and family were probably already waiting to fly out with them. Instead, he pulled his lips away from hers and looked down into her stunning smiling face.
This woman was all his. And that couldn’t make him any happier.
They were two months away from meeting their little baby boy—whose parents were still arguing over his name. If Mommy won the argument, their boy would be named Lucas Niall O’Malley. But if Daddy won, his name was still going to be Lucas Niall O’Malley. He just didn’t want to tell Mommy that yet.
He was one day away from his fighting debut in Vegas. But more importantly, he was two days away from marrying the love of his life. His life had changed so much in the last three years. He had come from the streets, owning nothing and having no money. Now, with a hell of a lot of hard work, trust, a little touch of luck, and the overwhelming love of this woman in his arms, Niall “Ice” O’Malley was the richest man in the world, and he couldn’t be happier.
About the Author
Brandy Schmitt lives in the tip of the Pacific Northwest where she happily manages the demands of her career and family on a daily basis. Loving her surroundings, she thrives on using them as backdrop for her stories. Her writing has dipped into many different genres that include historical, paranormal, contemporary, and spicy erotica. When not writing, she can be found enjoying a book from her favorite authors list, or trying to keep up with her husband and teenage daughter.
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Visit Brandy at
www.brandyschmitt.com
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To chat with Brandy Schmitt and other Wild Rose Press authors of erotic romance, join us at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/thewilderroses.
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