Love Me Now (Encounters #4)

by Fifi Flowers

  Caroline and Phyllis were chopping and slicing and directing me to help with extra chores to pull together a dinner complete with their traditional dishes; prime rib, potatoes au gratin, garlic green beans and a butter-leaf salad with goat cheese, dried cranberries and candied pecans. I was happy to assist them while getting to hear many of their family stories. I was sure that if we had been in the Granger family home photo albums would’ve been brought out. Listening to them had me missing my mother and I found myself biting my lip to still my emotions. Thankfully, they had a lot of funny stories that had me laughing instead of crying.

  Glancing away from them, I had a clear view of the male company present chatting away about sports. Rob, apparently, had some insider information about players since he worked as a sports attorney and had quite a few big time players. Not being a sports person, I had no idea whether they were talking about football, baseball, or hockey—totally foreign to me. My own father was never into many sports so they were never on our television, he preferred to be outside participating rather than watching. I remembered him teaching Sugarbug, only three years old, to ride her tricycle that was a special delivery from Santa.

  “Look at Nicolette!” My dad yelled until I walked outside to find them. And there I spotted Sugarbug wearing her candy cane pajamas out in the driveway sitting on a tiny red and white three-wheeler with black handles complete with red and white plastic streamers on the ends. Of course, it had a silver bike bell on it which I think she liked more than trying to pedal.

  Her clapping hands and stumbling feet had me quickly grabbing my phone to record the moment for Nick:

  Merry Christmas, Nick. Look what Sugarbug got from Santa. It was quite a surprise to me… as much as it was for her. But there it was sitting outside with a big bow on it with a tag from St Nick.

  I didn’t know why I was surprised, every year—since Nicolette had arrived—my father always went behind my back and my mother’s and purchased something extra and always spectacular for Sugarbug from St Nick. But every time it hit me and turned me into a crying mess. I knew he meant well and I did my best to hide my tears.

  “Thinking about Nick?” My mom’s voice sounded behind me.

  “Always. It’s hard not to looking at a mini version of him. Besides, it’s his birthday…” My voice trailed off as tears slipped down my cheeks as she giggled and called out to me.

  “Mommy! Mommy! Can my coosins decorate a cookie for Santa? Sierra said that Santa is delivering presents to our kistmas tree for her and Colton. Uncle Rob sent an email to the North Pole.” Sugarbug was very serious. How could I deny her request? I always had extra undecorated gingerbread cookies in the freezer during the holidays.

  “Of course. Let me whip up some frosting for all of you. You can make a new one too if you want to, Sugarbug.” I knew that she would be telling them how to decorate if she didn’t have her own.

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!” She clapped her hands, jumping up and down before stilling her excitement long enough to instruct me. “Red, green and white frosting! Pleeeease!”

  I have to say that I loved the distraction. Baking always calmed me, made me feel happy. And watching three little faces paint three brown gingerbread men—two of which were turned into girl cookies with bows and skirts—I was smiling from ear to ear.

  “You look happy,” I heard in a sexy male voice.

  “Who isn’t happy while decorating a gingerbread cookie?”

  My innocent question garnered a groan and two strong arms to wrap around me. “I do know that I will never look at icing in quite the same way.” His raspy comment was anything but innocent and followed up by kisses to the side of my face that had Nick’s three year old nephew wrinkling his nose in our direction. I laughed and dislodged myself from the delicious man that had me wishing we were back in his cabin at the ski resort.

  A house full of active people kept my mind from wandering off as the festivities continued: First, with us all crowding around the dining room table enjoying a holiday meal. And then with all of us settled down by the Christmas tree eating dessert—Nick’s birthday cake—and letting the kids open a few presents that were from each other. And to my surprise, Sugarbug had picked out a few toys for her new cousins when her grandparents took her for an outing. Little did she know that they didn’t need to be shipped like others that Nick had sent off to his sister’s family weeks ago. Three boxes that they opened came in handy—Christmas pajamas—and thankfully they all wanted to put them on right then and there.

  With things winding down, Caroline and Rob snuck out to their rental car to bring Santa packages into the laundry for Nick and me to assemble in front of the tree for each kid. It was obvious that the little ones were starting to get tired by their yawns and eye rubbing, so we quickly got the Santa cookie plate set up with the three gingerbread people, a large glass of milk, and reindeer oats complete with glitter. Then before they headed out, back to their hotel, Nick read them T’was the Night Before Christmas—a tradition with his family, and mine ironically.

  With everyone gone, Nick and I tucked one exhausted Sugarbug into bed and then made our way down to clean up the kitchen. His mother and sister had tried to take care of the dirty dishes, but we shooed them out the door. They had done all of the cooking, I didn’t mind cleaning up. So with Nick’s help we returned the kitchen to its original state in no time before turning into helper elves for Santa.

  It was nice to have someone to help put things together, not that I didn’t have Gracee or my parents, but to have a co-parent felt different… better. And for once, I wasn’t going to be recording the experience, and he would laugh along with me as I did my best to be on the lookout while arranging Sugarbug’s presents. It seemed to me that he was getting a bit choked up as I told stories of almost being caught and of having a hard time getting her to go to sleep. Nothing worse than trying to keep my eyes open, while building a dollhouse that had far too many parts and instructions, in the wee hours of morning.

  “I wish it had been me designing her dollhouse.”

  “Me too,” I said quietly and then added, “but be careful what you wish for. I see some things that require assembly. Your sister and her husband are the ones getting off easily.”

  I laughed pulling out boxes that contained several pieces that made a pirate ship for his nephew. Most of the toys weren’t two difficult to put together, but two of Colton’s robotic figurines when placed next to each other spoke to each other. We fell over laughing wildly listening to their conversations and then we remembered that Sugarbug could catch us and placed the toys out of range of each other. Done with all of the toys but one, I told Nick what my father had done for Nicolette the first four Christmases of her life. Then I pulled out the last tag my father had made, now laminated, to be used again and again. It was in that moment that both Nick and I had tears in our eyes; his for missing out on time with Nicolette and mine for missing my parents. Together we fell into each other’s arms as he pulled me up against him, and held on tight, whispering words about our individual sorrows.

  “Do you mind if I carry on your father’s tradition?” I shook my head against his massive chest. “Good, because I went shopping and I’d like to surprise her and you since I now know about that tradition.”

  How did I get so lucky? How did I find a man as loving and caring and giving as my father… my parents? God, they would’ve loved him so much. And though I believed that they were watching over me and Sugarbug, it wasn’t the same. When I saw Nick earlier talking with his own father, I could see him interacting the same way with my dad. My mom would’ve gotten a kick out of Nick’s family conversing at the dinner table. I could hear her remarking about the food and making sure that everyone left room for one of her marvelous desserts. Even the recipe I used for Nick’s annual cake was created by her on Nicolette’s first Christmas. It had been her idea to start that tradition. I knew she had me baking to still my tears after I watched my dad give Sugarbug her first surprise gift, a stuffed
wooly mammoth. Another constant reminder of Nick that still sits along with other plush animals in her room. Sadness and happiness surrounded me knowing that we no longer needed a reminder of Nick while we still needed reminders of my parents for Nicolette… and me. It was nice that my father’s surprise would continue, taken over by Nick. I had to say that I had missed seeing what toy would magically appear outside or under the tree.

  With a gentle kiss to the top of my head, we broke apart to complete a few final touches. Finished with the toy-land display, it was nearly midnight. Time to close off the living room thanks to two large wood pocket doors that were usually hidden in the walls. I liked that they allowed me to see the element of surprise on Sugarbug’s eyes as I opened them and watched her run to see if Santa had eaten her cookies, drank the milk, and taken the small baggy full of reindeer food for Rudolph and the rest of the herd. I always wondered when she would mention that glitter shouldn’t be eaten—not to worry, I was ready with an explanation of how it was magical glitter that helped them fly better. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say—I didn’t want her to think that it would make her fly too. So far, she had just been happy to feed Santa’s reindeer.

  Moving to the back of the house to shut off the family room lights, and go off to sleep land ourselves since an early morning filled with screaming kids was inevitable, I made a little detour. As a reward to Nick for being a good sport—taking a big bite out of each cookie and drinking all of the milk—I grabbed a couple splits of champagne, two glasses, and a handful of raspberries. After depositing them into the bottom of each flute, I filled them up with bubbly, and walked up to Nick standing by the tree. And then right in time, I toasted to his birthday at the stroke of midnight.

  “Happy birthday, Nick,” I said softly, raising my glass to him.

  “This is the best one ever,” he said wearing a dazzling smile.

  “Then we should drink to many more just like this.”

  “I’ll drink to that as long as I’m with you.” He brought his glass to mine and then we sipped the champagne with a pink cast thanks to the raspberries and dim lighting.

  My tummy was instantly fizzling and I was sure it had nothing to do with the bubbly and everything to do with the handsome man standing in front of me. So quiet, I could hear my own heart beating wildly in my chest. I was aware of my erratic breathing, speeding up the more I gazed up into his brilliant blue eyes that seemed to sparkle as he looked down at me. It was his mouth moving that broke our stare, though I wasn’t sure what his first few words were.

  “…two best presents ever, you and Nicolette, but I’d like two more.”

  The word more was what snapped me out of a trance and had me laughing as I replied. “Greedy, aren’t we?”

  It appeared that Nick wasn’t joking as he didn’t return my laugh, but remained serious as he continued. “I just know what I want, I want you to marry me,” he said, slipping down on one knee, pulling out a jewelry box from his pocket, and flipping it open to show me a beautiful diamond ring.

  Stunned, I stood quietly looking at the man that had captured my heart seven years ago and gave me the most wonderful daughter ever. Seeing him down on his knee didn’t seem real, and I wondered if I was going to wake up at any moment. I knew that he said he loved me, but when did he buy the ring? Did he buy it because of the house? Because of Nicolette?

  “I know what you’re thinking. I can tell by your eyes that a million questions are running through your brain? But don’t be mistaken by them, I’ve had this for years. I’ve taken it with me every year up to Mammoth on my ski trips… my trips to find you and make you mine. I knew that if I found you, I would never let you leave me again, not without a full commitment. So what do you say, will you marry me? I love you even more than the first day that I saw you speeding by me contemplating murder.” Both of us grin and then his serious look was back in place. “You asked me the other night to love you now and I’m asking you to love me now, Sugar.”

  “I’ve always wished for a miracle, Nick… that one day we would find each other again.” I paused to take a deep breath. “Yes, I love you Nick. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “Good,” was all he said, sounding a bit choked up as he slid a sparkling solitaire diamond ring onto my finger that fit perfectly. Then standing up, he placed both of his hands on either side of my face and gently slid his lips over mine; teasing me, taunting me, and I melted into him as his arms moved to draw me in closer, deepening our kiss. I wanted him so badly, more than ever before.

  “Yes, you can have your second wish,” I moaned against his lips, pushing my body into his hardness.

  “Well… that’s only part of it.” He uttered before pulling back to look at me with a big smile on his handsome face. “I want to make a baby. I want to watch your tummy grow. I want to hear you call me every name in the book while you deliver our next little bundle… bundles of love. Then I want to see every new adventure, every new accomplishment that comes with growing up firsthand. I love that you made videos for me so that I didn’t miss out with Cupcake. And I won’t miss another moment with her. God, I love her so much! I love you so much! I want to expand our family.”

  “Well… then we better get busy.” I smiled back at him and he instantly scooped me up into his big, strong arms and headed up the stairs to our bedroom, peppering my face with a million kisses as he moved. Part of me thought to protest, to tell him that I could walk, but who didn’t dream of being swept off of their feet and carried off into the sunset by a hunky man? So I kept silent with my arms wrapped around his neck and enjoyed his lips greeting me until he settled me on my feet behind our closed door.

  Feeling a bit nervous for some reason, my body literally shivered. Why was it so different? We had been practically naked the night before, kissing until our lips were a shade of deep red and swollen. And though it had been years, this was not our first time being completely intimate together, but it was something else. My mind was fully involved, assessing every moment, every move, every sensation. Before when we had been together we were young, without a care in the world, rushing forward seeking pleasure. And though pleasure was a goal to be reached, of course, things were moving at a slow and methodical rate. Maybe the best way to describe our situation was that we were two people so filled with emotions that we wanted to take our time and savor the moment as if it were our first time. Or maybe it was that we were fully committed to starting a new lifetime together that made it seem so different.

  And so being so uncertain with my mind racing in so many different directions, I let him take the lead. Facing each other, he pulled his t-shirt up and over his head and I followed suit. I loved how he gasped as if he’d never seen me nude before as I reached behind me and unclasped my bra, allowing it to fall to the floor. With the room bathed in moonlight, we had the perfect view of our body parts on display as we continued to remove our remaining garments. Eager to appease our tingling anatomy, we stepped closer to one another and Nick totally took over, and I loved every minute entwined in his loving arms.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nick…

  How was this possible? How had we reconnected? What had I done so right to finally be rewarded with Victoria? Was seven the lucky number? Seven long years of waiting and searching the slopes in hopes of the caramel-candy-haired woman plowing back into my heart. Finding it a bit unreal and wonderful all at once that I had found her and gotten her to agree to spending the rest of her life with me, I spent a few minutes taking in the stunning vision before me. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “So are you,” my Sugar softly moaned as my hands skimmed over her skin; so soft, so warm, I wanted to caress every inch.

  Leading her to the bed, she climbed up and crawled to the middle—what a sight as she moved. Once she settled herself in the middle, lying down on her back, her hands reached out for me. Happily, I joined her and moved into her arms, scooting my hungry body up next to her. Feeling her fingers weaving their way through my hair a
nd massaging my scalp, she had me spellbound.

  Biting her lip gently, tugging, licking, toying with her until she uttered breathless words, begging for me to kiss her. Fulfilling her desire, I captured her lips and felt her mouth open enough to flick her tongue against mine. I groaned at her playfulness and suddenly our gentle kisses were intensified and I felt my heart racing while my dick grew painfully hard. If I were to move on to the main event it would’ve been over in a matter of seconds. And I had no intension of rushing to the finish line. My intent was to take my time. We had both waited so long, it needed to be a memorable night to celebrate our engagement. More importantly, I hope that it would end with my seed implanted in her womb.

  Pushing that goal to the back of my brain, my lips reluctantly left her perfect ones and connected with the warmth of her neck. Inhaling as I nibbled and licked, her scent of cinnamon cake and flowers was delicious and had me wanting to taste the rest of her. Trailing my tongue down over her delicate collar bone, my tongue delighted in circling her right nipple over and over before sucking it between my lips.

  Sugar pushed into my mouth and moaned my name. Knowing that she liked that, I moved to the other one and gave it the same preferential treatment while kneading the lonely one with my hand. Watching her squirming and panting with her mouth agape, I continued until she gasped words that sounded a whole lot like more. That was my cue to move on down her gorgeous body with my lips. Trailing my hand along with several open mouth kisses over her rib cage, down her soft abdomen, I moved further south to the promise of candy land. I already knew how amazingly sweet she would taste even without the addition of vanilla frosting.