by Cleo Jones
Nia tried to busy herself with some leftover housework in order to take her mind off where he could be, but by the time 10 o’clock hit, she could no longer deny the fact that she was worried. It wasn’t until midnight that she finally heard his car pull into the driveway, and she was concentrating so hard on her notes for an upcoming exam that she almost didn’t hear that he wasn’t alone. It wasn’t until she heard a woman’s voice that she was finally pulled from her thoughts, and she immediately made a quick dash towards the stairs to avoid the awkward encounter she knew was coming. Unfortunately, she tripped on the fourth step, twisting her ankle and rendering herself immobile in the process.
Smooth.
Blake heard the commotion from the foyer and raced into the living room to make sure everything was all right, freezing in place when he found Nia clutching her ankle near the stairs. “What happened?” he questioned in a frantic tone, immediately crouching down beside her to search for any other injuries.
“I’m fine,” Nia told him. She started to explain that she’d tripped, but she fell silent and gasped as soon as she noticed her sister lingering in the doorway.
“You always did have two left feet,” Deidra said with a smile, kneeling down beside Nia and pulling her into a hug. The two remained in that position for what felt like an eternity. It wasn’t until Nia let out a yelp of pain that they finally parted.
Blake bent down to pick Nia up before she could protest, carrying her into the living room and setting her down on the couch. “Just a sec,” he said, disappearing into the kitchen and returning a few seconds later with an ice pad. Nia allowed him to nurse her wound, relishing in his touch as she caught up with her sister. When he was sure the swelling had went down, he gave her a painkiller and a glass of water to swallow it down with before retiring to his room to give the women some alone time.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Nia spoke up, turning her attention back to her sister. “Wait…why are you here?”
Deidra hesitated, glancing back towards the stairs. “Blake flew me out,” she admitted, keeping her voice low in case he was eavesdropping. “It’s his birthday present to you.”
Nia’s shook her head in disbelief. “But that doesn’t make any sense…we haven’t even been getting along lately…”
Deidra snickered. The sexual tension between Blake and Nia was undeniable, but watching them attempt to sidestep it would certainly make for an entertaining visit. “I bet I could guess why,” she teased, giving her sister a knowing look.
“I doubt it,” Nia muttered, but deep down, it couldn’t have been any further from the truth. Whether she liked it or not, Deidra always could read her like a book.
Chapter thirty-one
Blake found Nia sitting in the living room with her head in her hands when he returned from taking Noah to the movies the following Sunday. “What’s wrong?” he questioned, immediately concerned.
“Nothing,” Deidra spoke up for her. “We just got done watching a really sad documentary. Did you guys have fun at the movies?”
Blake hesitated, looking down at Noah, who simply shrugged. He seemed a little bit off to Nia, but he bolted upstairs before she could ask him what was up. “Do you mind if I talk to you in the kitchen?” Blake questioned as soon as he was gone, giving her a look that said it was serious.
Nia nodded, informing Deidra that she’d be right back before following Blake into the other room. “I had to discipline Noah,” he blurted out as soon as she entered. “He wandered off after we got out of the theater. I couldn’t find him for a good 20 minutes. It scared the hell out of me and I just…I lost it on him.”
Nia frowned. “You lost it on him? How?”
“I screamed at him…told him how much he’d freaked me out…”
Nia softened then. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You did the right thing. He knows better than to wander off by himself.”
“Still…” Blake groaned and rubbed his face. “I shouldn’t have been so harsh with him. He won’t even talk to me now.”
Nia laughed. “Welcome to the more undesirable realm of being a parent,” she said, giving him an amused look. “You can’t always be his friend. A big part of being a parent is putting your foot down when it’s necessary.”
“It’s not funny,” Blake stated, pretending to be hurt. “He looked so…”
“Betrayed?” Nia finished for him, laughing once more. “Yeah, I’m sure he was, but he’ll get over it. He always does.”
Blake couldn’t believe his ears. This was definitely not the reaction he’d prepared himself for. “I thought for sure you were going to be pissed…”
“Well I’m not,” Nia said, reaching out to touch his arm. “I’m actually kind of glad that you finally got to discipline him. It’s important that he knows that you can’t be taken advantage of.”
Nia and Blake shared a silent moment then, but it ended when Deidra called out to her from the living room. She spent the rest of that night helping her pack to head home, eyeing her as she stuffed what little clothing she’d brought back inside her suitcase. “I really wish you didn’t have to go so soon,” she spoke up. “You only just got here…”
Deidra offered her sister a small smile. “I know, but I have to be back in DC on Monday for work. I’m just glad to see things are working out so well for you and Noah. It definitely puts my mind at ease.”
Nia nodded, but she didn’t say anything, and Deidra immediately stopped what she was doing to turn and look at her. “Stop fighting it,” she said, reading her sister’s mind. “Blake loves you, Nia, and I think it’s pretty obvious that you love him too…”
Nia shook her and looked out the window beside her bed. “It’s too late…I messed everything up…”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Deidra took Nia by the hands and forced her to meet her gaze. “It’s never too late. You just have to stop being so stubborn and take the leap.”
Deidra left for the airport with Blake shortly after her heart to heart with her sister, and she wasted no time in having another one with the man she was sure she’d one day call her brother-in-law. “Thanks again for bringing me out,” she told him when they pulled up to the terminal. “It felt so good to finally see them again.”
Blake nodded and reassured her that it was no big deal, and that he would never spare any expense when it came to making Nia and Noah happy. “Want me to help you bring it in?” he offered once he’d pulled her luggage from the trunk. “It’s a bit heavy…”
“Oh no, I’m fine,” Deidra said, waving a hand in the air. They said their goodbyes and started to part ways then, but she stopped in her tracks when something else occurred to her.
“What is it?” Blake questioned. “Did you forget something?”
“Yeah, just this,” Deidra said, stepping forward to give him a hug. Her next words were barely audible over all the sounds of the airport, but he heard them all the same. “Don’t give up on her. She needs you just as much as he does.”
Blake frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean…”
Deidra snickered and started to walk away again. “I’ll see you at Christmas,” she called over her shoulder. “Tell my sister I said not to forget the mistletoe.”
Epilogue
Nia and Blake had a hard time keeping their hands off each other throughout the rest of the week, and come Friday, even their son was picking up on the chemistry between him. He couldn’t stop smiling when Nia tucked him into bed that night, and his sly grin didn’t go unnoticed by her. “What?” she questioned, brushing her fingers through his hair.
“I don’t know,” Noah replied. He spoke coyly and avoided looking his mother in the eye. “It just seems like you and dad might be starting to like each other, that’s all…”
Nia failed to contain a smile of her own then. The remark was an innocent one, but it caused her heart to skip a beat all the same. “Maybe,” she admitted, not wanting to come right out and confirm his suspicions on the off chance that t
his was all just a great dream she’d eventually wake up from.
Nia planted a kiss on her son’s forehead and made her way out into the hall before he could get out another word. She was just about to head to her room when she turned around to find Blake crouched down on the ground in front of her, and she gasped when he flipped open the velvet box in his hand to reveal a beautiful silver band with a large diamond in the center of it. “Marry me,” he whispered, keeping his eyes steadied on hers in the darkness. “Make me the happiest man on earth.”
Nia stared at Blake at a loss for words. When her shock finally began to lift, she took him by the hand and led him into her bedroom, allowing all the sexual tension that had existed between them these past few months to finally erupt. They moved frantically, tearing at each other’s clothing and proceeding to make love well into the morning. It wasn’t until the sun began to peek its way through the blinds that she finally gave him an answer. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, allowing him to slide the ring on her finger.
Blake smiled. “It was my mom’s. She gave it to me before she died.”
Nia blinked back tears and stared at him for a moment before leaning in to kiss him again. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but there was only one that really mattered. “Blake,” she whispered, allowing her lips to graze his flesh as she spoke. “I’m pregnant…”
Blake hesitated, remaining completely still beneath her as he considered her words. “I know,” he finally admitted. “I’ve known for weeks.”
Nia gasped and looked up at him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Blake shrugged. “I didn’t need to,” he told her, caressing his hands down her body and resting one on top of her abdomen. “I knew you’d come around eventually...”
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