by Tiana Cole
“Bastian…do you have feelings for me?” I asked suddenly. The unexpected question caught him off guard, and he looked at me with a strange, perhaps quizzical, expression on his face.
“How could I not?” he smiled as he sat next to me and affectionately stroked my cheek. “You're the woman I'm going to marry. The same woman who agreed to help me when you didn't have to, I might add. Not to mention how amazing you feel in bed, or how unbelievably sexy you are.”
“I was just wondering,” I replied sleepily. “I think you're pretty too, you know.”
He chuckled and stood to take my shoes and pants off, then grabbed his laptop and climbed into bed next to me to work while I slept. I fell asleep within seconds to the sound of his fingers typing away feverishly.
* * *
An hour later we were on our way to the airport, and I couldn't stop tapping my fingers against the armrest nervously. Bastian was driving my Jaguar while his driver followed behind us in his Mercedes. I was going to let Jay and his wife drive my vehicle while they were here since Bastian insisted his driver would be on-call to take me anywhere I needed to go. This way, Jay wouldn't have to rely on cabs while he was visiting, and it would also give him a chance to drive the Jag that he'd bought for me anyhow.
“Please relax, Jessica,” Bastian sighed for the hundredth time as we neared LaGuardia airport. His voice was suspiciously calm, and I looked at him in wonder.
“How are you not even a little bit nervous?” I asked almost incredulously.
“If you blow this, your brother won't want you ending up in jail,” he shrugged, “so I'm sure he'd figure out some way to oust only me. If that happens, they'll arrest me and deport me back to Greece.
I guess that wouldn't be so bad, really. If it's just me getting busted, I doubt I'd get disbarred. Really I'd only be out of a job until I could start up my own firm in Athens,” he explained. “My mother is there, the weather is nice year round, and I'm sure I could find a nice Greek woman to marry and start over with.
Meanwhile, you'll have the Senior Partner position here still, my name will inevitably be dropped from the company, and I'll get a nice bit of money out of it,” he went on calmly, and I jealously found myself heated by the thought of him finding a 'nice Greek woman to marry.' The guy could be a total ass at times, but I’d seen another side to him and my growing feelings were hard to ignore.
I took a deep breath and attempted to relax as Bastian had repeatedly suggested. Instead of getting busted by my brother, I thought about how nice it would be to see him, his wife, and my adorable nephew, JJ. They were the only remaining family I had, and I'd missed them dearly.
Bastian pulled up alongside the airport entrance and I dashed inside to find my brother. LaGuardia was a bustling place, so I was lucky to spot Jay and Tasha within minutes. They were pulling their wheeled suitcases while JJ held his dad's hand, and the boy seemed to be firing a million questions at him. I hadn't seen them in a few months, but they looked pretty much the same with the exception of JJ having sprouted a bit.
Jay was just as tall as Bastian, but broader shouldered and not as muscular. His complexion was more caramel than mine, but he shared the same light brown eyes. He was a handsome man with chiseled features, and always made sure he was well dressed and equally well groomed. Tasha, on the other hand, was half French and half Haitian with lighter skin and thick, black hair that fell to the small of her back. She was gorgeous in every sense of the word, with her light blue eyes, pouty lips, and high cheekbones. JJ would grow to look almost exactly like Jay, except for his blue eyes and lighter skin tone. He had curly black hair, and a smile that would melt any heart on contact.
JJ noticed me first and let go of his dad's hand, calling my name and running towards me with a big smile. He nearly gave Jay and Tasha a heart attack until their eyes followed his trail and they saw me. I laughed as JJ hugged my legs, and scooped him up to rain kisses on his chubby little cheeks.
“I missed you, auntie Jessie!” JJ glowed, practically choking me as he hugged me tightly around my neck.
“I missed you, too, JJ!” I gushed. “You've gotten so big! Soon you'll be just as tall as your daddy,” I joked, and JJ loosened his hold on me so he could flash me a proud smile.
“I told papa that I'm gonna be tall like him when I turn three!” he boasted, and I laughed as he held up three adorable fingers. He was surprisingly articulate for his age, and I wondered if it was because he was already bilingual at two-and-a-half years old.
“Jess!” I heard my brother's voice sound as he and Tasha rushed to meet me. We all paused for a group hug that lasted a few moments longer than it should have since JJ didn't want it to end. He was definitely well into his terrible twos, that much was clear.
“I'm so glad you made it!” I beamed sincerely, my anxiety temporarily lost by the sight of my beautiful family. “How was your flight?” I asked as I gestured for them to follow me outside. I still carried JJ, who refused to be put down, and he clung to me tightly.
As my nerves began to unravel again, I tried to appear as natural as possible by maintaining eye contact with my brother and his wife while and acting as nonchalantly as I could. I felt the panic rise when we stepped outside and saw Bastian leaning against my car. He was talking on his cell, but ended the call in a hurry when he saw us and greeted my family with an enthusiastic smile. My heart raced in my chest as I realized this was it. There was no turning back now.
Chapter 9
Bastian
I got off of the phone with my mother as it was taking entirely too long to explain to her that I was getting married. Jessica and her family were walking towards the car anyhow, and she was carrying a little blue-eyed boy who was studying me with the same scrutiny as Jessica's brother was. His wife was also staring at me with open curiosity, and I hoped she'd help in eventually softening Jay towards me.
“Guys, this is Bastian, my fiancé!” Jessica announced when they reached the curb. “Bastian, this is Jay, Tasha, and little JJ.”
“Wow, such a beautiful family!” I greeted with a kind smile. “It's so great to finally meet you!”
I shook Jay's hand eagerly, and when Tasha offered hers I dismissed it with a playful smirk and kissed her on the cheek instead. JJ glanced up at his dad, who was still deciding what to say, then turned his attention to his mother who was smiling at me with genuine curiosity. Unsure of how to react, the little boy chose to hide his face in Jessica's hair.
“It's nice to finally meet you, Bastian,” Jay grinned politely. “I've heard a lot about you. First as 'The Kraken,' and now as my sister's fiancé,” he joked, and Tasha elbowed him discreetly…though I caught the movement.
“Jay, would you lighten up?” Jessica groaned and rolled her eyes.
“It's okay,” I chuckled. “I know this is really sudden, not to mention a bit strange. Rest assured, I'm no longer the office tyrant,” I joked. “This one's managed to soften me up a bit,” I smiled as I motioned at Jessica, “and I sure do love her for it.”
As I spoke the words, I was surprised to find them filled with such sincerity. I didn't feel like I was lying to these people, and noted once again that I truly had developed genuine feelings for the girl. I stole a glimpse at Jessica, and she shot me a small smile before trying to coax JJ into showing his face.
“Well, it's good to hear you say that in person, and not just hear it from my sister over the phone where things didn't exactly add up,” Jay replied, and I nodded in understanding.
“I'm a very decisive person, and know what I want when I see it,” I glanced at Jessica again who rolled her eyes good naturedly. “I can't let Jess get away from me,” I smiled, and caught Jessica's slight surprise when I called her by her nickname. Both Tasha and Jay were focused on me, though, and they didn't see her slip.
“Bastian, you'll have plenty of time to convince Jay of your intentions with his baby sister later,” Tasha chimed in. She nudged Jay, and he finally seemed to relax some. “We're not allow
ed to be parked outside like this, and I see airport police just noticed us,” she said as she nodded towards an approaching cruiser. It slowed, and the officer inside asked us to kindly move along. After apologizing and assuring him that we'd be on our way, he passed us to presumably relay the same message to another vehicle parked farther down.
“You guys can use my car while you're here,” Jessica spoke up. “This way you don't have to rely on cabs and the subway.”
Jay looked at her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow as I unlocked her trunk so they could place their luggage inside.
“You're going to let me drive your car?” he asked with a hint of disbelief, and Jessica rolled her eyes as she so commonly did.
“Hey, you're the one you got it for me,” she reminded him, then joked, “But if you wreck it… you're buying me another one.”
“But how are you going to get around?” he laughed. I was helping Tasha fit their bags into the trunk, but saw Jessica gesture to me from my peripheral. We had to fit one of the bags in the back seat, but there was still plenty of room for JJ's deconstructed car seat to fit.
“I'll be using his car,” Jessica informed her brother, pointing to my Mercedes parked across the street. My driver sat behind the wheel, casually sipping his coffee and more than likely listening to talk radio, which he seemed to do whenever he was waiting.
“Fancy,” Jay chuckled.
“Perks of dating a billionaire,” I heard Jessica quip as I helped Tasha ready JJ's car seat. With the car packed and ready to go, Jessica had to pry JJ's arms from around her neck and practically bribed him into riding with his parents. He definitely loved his auntie Jess, and didn't want to leave her.
“I'll see you in just a few minutes so we can have dinner, okay?” Jessica reassured the boy after he was seated safely in his car seat. She gave him a kiss as Jay and Tasha climbed into the front seats, and once Jay had set his phone's GPS, we waved them off and crossed the street to my waiting Mercedes.
“That went well,” I said as my driver pulled away from the curb and headed back to my place. We were all going to eat out at a favorite restaurant of mine, but I knew Jessica's family would want to freshen up first after their long flight.
“Yeah, I think it did, too,” Jessica agreed. “If Jay had suspected anything, he would have let you know upfront,” she continued with confidence while smiling at me in relief.
“Your nephew seemed to have missed you a lot. Do you like kids?” I asked. She nodded, her eyes softening as she thought about the little boy, and I wondered if she wanted children of her own.
“Yeah, JJ is great,” she replied. “That's my little man.”
“So do you want children?” I blurted, and she looked at me in surprise for a moment.
“Well, yeah, one day. You aren't asking me if I want kids with you, are you?” she scoffed.
“Why not with me?” I questioned, a bit offended by the tone of her reply.
“With our arrangement…how can we have a baby?” Jessica gestured between us as if the answer were obvious. “Two years after we get married we'll be divorced,” she reminded me.
I fell silent at her response. What was I doing asking her questions about children? She was right—I needed to stop being so clouded when it came to our relationship. She studied me for another second and started to say something, but her cell phone rang and the moment passed. I gazed out the window as Jessica answered what sounded like a business call. She was working a case of her own, and seemed to be handling it quite well. I knew that if things didn't go according to plan and I did get deported, the firm would be in good hands with her and Nick.
When we arrived back at my place, there wasn't much time to talk and erase the awkwardness between us since we had to get ready to go right back out again. Jay and Tasha were impressed with my penthouse, and Jessica and I entertained JJ while they quickly showered and dressed. I dismissed my driver and took the wheel of my Mercedes with Jessica in the passenger seat, and her family followed behind us in her Jaguar as we zipped across town to my favorite Italian restaurant, Scutto's. Jessica spoke first, finally breaking the silence that had fallen between us.
“Since when do you call me 'Jess?'” she asked with a curious grin.
“I couldn't call you 'Jessica.' It's too formal,” I chuckled. “You're my fiancée, after all.”
“So do you have a nickname?” she smirked mischievously.
“My name's already a shortened version of 'Sebastian,'” I answered, shaking my head. “You can't shorten Bastian any more than that.”
“How about 'Bassy?'” she suggested, and I looked at her in disgust.
“About about no?” I shot back.
“Okay, how about just 'Bass,' then?”
“Do I look like a fish to you?” I joked.
“Okay, okay,” she laughed. “What about 'Tio?'”
I simply shook my head, and Jessica chewed on her lip as she tried to think of even worse possibilities than the few she'd already come up with.
“Bao!” she burst, and I couldn't help but laugh.
“As in what? Beowulf?” I asked.
“Scott Baio,” she teased with a giggle. I was a tad surprised she even knew who that was considering her young age.
“Just stop before you embarrass yourself even more,” I chuckled. She stuck her tongue out at me and I burst into a hearty laughter. “I wish we were home right now,” I growled. “I'd make you do a lot more interesting things with that tongue.”
She smiled and leaned over the center console to steal a quick kiss. We continued to banter playfully as we sped across the city, eventually arriving at the restaurant. We were relieved to see we hadn't lost her family and that they were still behind us in her Jaguar. I leaned in for one last kiss before we exited the vehicle, but Jessica placed her hand on my chest and stopped me.
“Come on, there will be plenty of time for that on the honeymoon,” she smirked with a wink. She hopped out of the car and I joined her on the sidewalk where she slipped her hand into mine before giving me a quick peck on the cheek.
“Well, don't you two look cute,” Tasha's voice sounded as her and Jay met up with us. Tasha was carrying a visibly tired JJ in her arms.
“I guess I'm going to have to get used to seeing my sister kiss a guy all over again,” Jay exaggeratingly sighed while shaking his head.
I held the door for everyone, politely ushering them inside the restaurant, and since I was a regular the host found us a table rather quickly. It wasn't too fancy of an establishment, but the booths were comfortable and the pizza was definitely gourmet.
“So is this, like, the best pizza place in the city?” Tasha asked once we were all seated comfortably.
“It's a jewel,” I nodded. “You have to ask for pizza since it's not on the menu,” I explained. “They mainly serve classic Italian dishes, which are all great as well, but their pizzas are amazing.”
“Pizza?” JJ asked me shyly from his seat on aunt Jessica's lap.
“Any kind you can imagine!” I leaned in to answer him with a smile, my eyes wide and full of excitement. “They'll even make a chocolate pizza,” I whispered, and JJ's face lit up.
I was happy to see that JJ was warming up to me. Dinner went smoothly with Jay and I getting along just fine, and he didn't seem too bothered when Tasha and Jessica began talking wedding plans. JJ had no idea that his aunt was getting married, though, and became that much more curious about me when he found out.
He was still too young to fully understand the concept of marriage, but knew enough to take an interest in it. The dinner began with him seated in Jessica's lap, but by the time desert rolled around he'd switched to mine. He was an adorable boy indeed, quite well behaved, and not annoying in the least like I'd assumed he'd be given his age.
“Alright, well, we've got to head to our hotel,” Jay announced with a yawn when the evening wound down. “I have an early meeting, unfortunately. Bastian, we should hang out tomorrow evening if you're free.”
“Of course! Just let me know. I'm always free for family,” I replied with a welcoming smile, evoking a chuckle from Jay and Tasha. Jessica smiled at my corny comment and rested her hand on my back.
“Hey, you guys know you don't have to stay in a hotel the entire time you’re here, right? I'm practically living with Bastian now as it is, so my apartment's open for you,” Jessica offered nicely.
I had to temper my smile. It would be perfect if Jessica started living with me before the wedding. The sooner she adjusted to it, the more inclined she'd be to put her apartment up for rent while we were married. If she didn't have an apartment waiting for her to return to, she may just choose to stay with me. It would also make our marriage look that much more legitimate.
What are you, stupid? She'll have ten million dollars. She won't need her small apartment anyway. She'll buy a house on a tropical island somewhere, I scolded myself. I clearly wasn't thinking rationally. My growing feelings for her were clouding my judgment.
“Oh, stop,” Jay waved dismissively. “We're already using your car, we can't live in your apartment, too.”
“Okay, well, when you decide you'd rather save the money and not worry about housecleaning snooping around in your stuff, you let me know,” Jessica smirked. That would have been enough to convince me, and I saw Jay glance at Tasha who looked like she was weighing the options.
“We'll think about it,” Tasha replied with a polite smile. We said our goodbyes, Jessica yet again having to pry JJ from her, and we went our separate ways.
“That went well, I think,” I said when we were buckled up in my Mercedes.
“Yeah, a lot better than I hoped,” Jessica nodded, then added pleasantly, “I think my brother might like you once he gets over what a lousy boss you used to be and how crappy you treated me.”
“Yes, hopefully he gets right over that,” I remarked sarcastically.
“Just be a normal person when you two hang out tomorrow,” she shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “Tasha and I are going dress shopping, so JJ might have to tag along with you guys. I'm not sure yet.”