Caroselli's Christmas Baby

by Michelle Celmer

  “The question is, can he keep me in line?”

  Nick grinned. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

  “I suppose you noticed your parents are talking,” Tony said.

  Nick shot a glance their way. “Yeah, but your dad seems to have it under control for now.”

  Terri could see that he was still nervous.

  “I haven’t seen your mom in a couple years,” Rob said. “She looks great. Very…hip.”

  Nick’s mom had always had her own unique style, so it was no surprise that she had substituted the typical conservative mother-of-the-groom dress for a long, flowing 1970s–style number that she could have picked up—and very likely did—at the vintage resale shop. In contrast, his dad looked like the typical executive in his thousand-dollar Italian suit. It’s no wonder their marriage failed. Two people couldn’t have been more different.

  Terri glanced up at the clock and realized they were on the verge of running late. She gave Nick a nudge and said, “Our ride is going to be here soon.”

  “Again, gentlemen, thanks for coming,” Nick said, and after another round of handshakes and hugs, with his arm firmly around her waist, they walked over to his parents. Tony Senior had left to stand by his wife, Sarah, leaving the two of them alone again.

  “There’s the happy couple,” Nick’s mom said with a bright smile as they approached.

  “We’re getting ready to leave,” Nick told them. “We just wanted to say goodbye.”

  “Can’t wait to get the honeymoon started, huh?” Nick’s dad said, his booming voice making Terri cringe inwardly, as did his overly enthusiastic hug.

  “Dad,” Nick said in a tone that stated back off. But Leo ignored him. It wasn’t that she disliked Nick’s dad, she just didn’t know him very well. And yes, he intimidated her a little, too. A far as she could tell, Nick had always been his polar opposite—at least in every way that mattered. Which is probably why they didn’t get along.

  “Thanks, Mr. Caroselli,” she said when he let go.

  He laughed heartily, drawing the attention of the entire room, and boomed, “You’re my daughter now! Call me Dad!”

  She actually preferred Mr. Caroselli, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

  Nick’s mom—whom she had been calling Mom for the better part of twenty years—took Terri by her hands and squeezed them hard. “I know I’ve said this a dozen times in the past couple weeks, but I am so thrilled for the two of you. You are exactly what this guy needed.” She smiled and gave Nick’s jacket sleeve a playful tug. “Everyone in the family knew you were prefect for each other. I’m so happy that you both finally figured it out.”

  Terri braced herself against a jab of guilt. Though she liked everyone in Nick’s family, his mom held a very special place in her heart. She had been the surrogate mother that Terri had desperately needed as a young woman.

  She had taken Terri for her first bra, explained menstrual cycles and feminine hygiene products. And when Terri was finally asked out on her first date at the geriatric age of sixteen, Nick’s mom had talked to her about the virtues of waiting, not necessarily for marriage, to have sex—she was far too progressive for that—but at least be until she was love. Then she took Terri to the clinic for birth control pills six months later when Terri decided she might take the leap sooner rather than later.

  Nick’s mom kissed him on the cheek, and gave Terri a hug, squeezing so hard it was difficult to breathe for a second. Her hugs were always warm and firm and full of love. She was so petite and fragile-looking, Terri was a little afraid to hug back too hard, for fear that she might crush her. But Terri had never known a tougher woman. Tough enough to stand up to—take no crap from—her brawny, loud and opinionated ex-husband. And when her second husband’s dark side had emerged, and he took a swing at her, she swung right back. When all was said and done, she spent a few days in the hospital, but he spent those same days in jail with a broken nose and some deep scratch marks on his face so he would, as she phrased it, always have something to remember her by.

  “Thank you so much for your help with the wedding,” Terri said. “It was perfect. I couldn’t have done it without you and Jess and Mags.”

  “Oh, honey, it was my pleasure. Any time you need my help, all you have to do is ask. And no pressure, but I throw a mean baby shower.”

  “We’ll get right on that,” Nick said, shooting Terri a glance that was so hot and steamy, she could practically feel it sizzle.

  “So,” Nick said, looking warily between his parents. “This is…different.”

  “What? That we’re talking?” his mom asked.

  “That you’re not screaming at each other, and no fists are flying.”

  Another hearty laugh burst from his dad, propelling his head back. “Water under the bridge, son. No hard feelings, right, Gena!”

  Nick’s mom smiled. “We were just saying that it’s time we put the past behind us. That our whole problem was that we’re just two very passionate people.”

  That was definitely one way to look at it. Although Terri always thought that is was simply that they didn’t like each other.

  Nick winced. “I have to admit, you’re creeping me out a little.”

  “I would think you’d be happy,” his mom said.

  “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t want to see you bury the hatchet. I’m just afraid it’s going to wind up protruding from someone’s back.”

  “Not to worry, son,” his dad assured him. “Everything is fine.”

  “Well, we’ve got to get upstairs and change,” Nick told them. “Thanks again, Mom, for all your help.”

  “You two have fun on that honeymoon,” his dad said with a wink that unsettled Terri more than a little bit.

  His mom kissed and hugged them both. “Text me when you get there so I know you’re safe. And have a good time.”

  Terri was forced to endure another overenthusiastic hug from his dad. As they were heading up the stairs Nick said, “Sorry about that. I know he can be obnoxious. And you don’t have to call him Dad if you don’t want to.”

  “He means well,” she said. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so she would probably force herself to call him Dad since it was only going to be for a short time.

  They were running behind schedule, so Terri was thankful that she’d laid out her travel clothes ahead of time. There was nothing she hated more than being late, a virtue hammered into her by her aunt, who was intolerant of tardiness. Not that being on time had ever earned Terri any love and attention. In fact, back then, bad attention seemed favorable to being ignored, so she had been late a lot as a kid.

  As they reached the top of the stairs and turned, a woman Terri had seen downstairs earlier, but hadn’t yet met, was walking toward them from either the study or the master suite.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, looking embarrassed. “I was looking for the bathroom but I must have made a wrong turn.”

  “It’s the other way,” Nick said, gesturing in that direction. “Second door on the left.”

  “Thanks. Your grandfather’s house is really beautiful. My mother’s descriptions don’t do it justice.”

  “Terri, this is Rose,” Nick said. “She was recently hired and her mom used to be Nonno’s secretary.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Terri said, shaking her hand. “Thanks for coming today.”

  “It was an honor to be invited,” she said, but the smile she wore didn’t quite reach her eyes. She seemed almost…nervous, as if they had caught her doing something underhanded.

  “Well, we have a plane to catch,” Nick said.

  “Have a great honeymoon and a safe trip,” she said, then headed swiftly down the stairs, bypassing the bathroom altogether. Call it intuition, or maybe she was just paranoid, but Terri had the feeling this woman was looking for something. And it wasn’t the bathroom.

  Nick gestured Terri into the spare bedroom where they’d left their things. She was about to voice her s
uspicions, but Nick closed the door and the next instant, he had her backed her against it, pinned with the weight of his body, his lips on hers.

  Oh, man, could he kiss, and as much as she wanted to keep kissing him, they had to go. After a moment she laid her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away. “You know we don’t have time.”

  “I know,” he said. “But getting you naked is pretty much all I’ve thought about since last night.”

  His words thrilled her, and she liked the idea of him taking her right here, up against the door.

  “Don’t you think it would be nice if our first time wasn’t rushed?” she asked. “And happened in bed?”

  Nick gestured over his shoulder. “There’s a bed right there.”

  “Nick—”

  “Okay, okay,” he said backing away. “But the second we get to Aruba, Mrs. Caroselli, you’re mine.”

  Seven

  Keeping his hands off Terri while she changed into jeans and a T-shirt, seeing her in her bra and panties, was the worst kind of torture, but Nick knew that if they were going to make their flight, the fooling around would have to wait. On sheer will he managed to restrain himself, but the image of her standing there mostly naked was emblazoned in his mind.

  They arrived at the airport with an hour to spare, only to find their flight had been delayed due to a line of storms that spanned the entire southeast. As a result, they spent the next four hours stuck in the terminal playing solitaire on their phones, and sharing a less-than-gourmet meal at a fast food restaurant. When their flight was finally called, and they did get in the air, the ride was so bumpy neither of them could sleep. Terri sat beside him the entire five hours, her white-knuckled hold on his hand so tight that he had to let go every few minutes to shake the blood flow back into his fingers.

  When they finally landed in Aruba, because of the flight delay, they had to wait another hour for their ride. By the time they reached the resort, and were shown to their suite—which was as luxurious as the description on the website, and about the only thing that had gone right so far—the sun was rising.

  After a tour of all the amenities that at the moment Nick didn’t give a damn about, he gave the bellboy a generous tip, hung the do not disturb sign on the door, then closed and locked it. “I thought that guy would never leave.”

  “It’s official,” Terri said, looking as beat as he was feeling. “I’ve been up for twenty-four hours.”

  So had he. He’d been known to pull all-nighters at work, then function reasonably well the next day. Maybe the stress of the past two weeks had finally caught up with him, or the miserable flight had worn him out, because his body was shutting down. Though he wouldn’t have imagined it possible, he was too exhausted for sex. “Maybe we should take a nap.”

  Without hesitation Terri walked straight to the bedroom, yanked back the covers on the king-size bed and flopped facedown onto the sheet. She sighed and said in a sleepy voice, “Oh, that’s nice.”

  Nick climbed in next to her and stretched out on his back, felt the mattress conform to his body as he relaxed.

  Terri scooted close to him and cuddled up to his side, one arm draped across his chest, her breasts nestled against him. He’d been anticipating this day for two weeks, and now he was too damned tired to move.

  “I want to jump you,” Terri said, “but I don’t have the energy.”

  “Me, neither,” he said. “Can we at least sleep naked?”

  She was quiet for a second, then sighed and said, “As nice as that sounds, I don’t think I have the strength to take my clothes off.”

  He imagined all the movement getting undressed would require and said, “Come to think of it, neither do I.”

  “You know, I never imagined how stressful it could be planning a wedding, even with so much help. It was really nice, but I’m kinda glad it’s over.”

  “I’m sorry if it wasn’t your dream wedding.”

  “I was never one of those girls.”

  “What kind of girl?”

  “The ones who start planning their wedding when they’re barely out of diapers. I’ve always been more interested in finding the perfect man.”

  “Well, I’m sorry I couldn’t be that, either.” For a fleeting moment, he almost wished he could be. Because for him, she would be as close to the perfect woman as he would ever find. The problem was, he had no desire to be any woman’s perfect man.

  “You’re helping me fulfill my dream of having a child,” she said. “That’s pretty huge.”

  If he wasn’t so damned tired, he would be helping her fulfill that particular dream right now, but he could feel himself drifting off. She was still talking but the words weren’t making it through the fog in his brain. He tried to keep his eyes open, but they refused to cooperate.

  He finally gave in and let them close, and when he opened them again he was in bed alone. He looked at the time on his watch, surprised that he’d slept for over four hours.

  He sat up, looking around the room, taking in the decor that he’d been too exhausted to notice earlier. The tropical theme was typical for the area, and could be a little too touristy for his taste, but here it was done well. He could smell the ocean, hear the water rushing up to meet the sand.

  He rolled out of bed and went searching for Terri. Her bag lay open on the sofa, but she was nowhere in the suite. He opened the French doors that led out onto a small portico, then a narrow stretch of private beach. The air was warm but dry, and the sun so intense he had to shade his eyes. Guests sunned themselves in lawn chairs and swimmers dotted the crystal-clear blue water. Farther out was everything from sailboats and luxury yachts to commercial cruise ships.

  He didn’t see Terri anywhere, and figured she had probably gone for a walk, or maybe down to the pool.

  He stepped back inside, thinking he would call her cell phone, until he noticed it sitting on the table by the couch.

  He would take a shower instead, and if she wasn’t back by the time he was finished, he would go looking for her.

  He grabbed what he needed from his suitcase and stepped into the bathroom. The opened toiletries on the shower shelf, and wet towel hanging on the rack, told him that she’d already been there, and the remnants of moisture still clinging to the tile shower wall said it hadn’t been that long ago. Too bad she hadn’t woken him; they could have showered together.

  He imagined how she would look, all slippery and wet, those long gorgeous legs wrapped around him, pressed against the shower wall. He wondered if that was a position that qualified as deep penetration. And decided right then that they would have to try it and find out.

  He had just stepped out of the shower and was toweling off when he heard the suite door open.

  “Nick!”

  “In here.” He fastened the towel around his waist and exited the bathroom. Terri stood by the bed, dressed in nothing but a white bikini top that seemed to glow against her sun-kissed skin, and a pair of frayed, cutoff denim short shorts that showcased her slender legs, making them look a mile long. Her hair hung loose and damp around her shoulders, and the only makeup she wore was a touch of lip gloss.

  It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen her dressed this way before. But those other times, he hadn’t really seen her—not the way he was now. He had the feeling it was the same for her, because she hadn’t peeled her eyes from his chest since he’d entered the room.

  “Good nap?” she asked, her eyes finally lifting to his. They had a hazy quality that said she was already turned on. And knowing she was, thrust his libido into overdrive.

  “Yeah. How long did you sleep?”

  She shrugged. “A couple hours.”

  “You should have woken me.”

  “That’s okay. I want you well rested.”

  He would ask why, but the way she was sizing him up, he was pretty sure he already knew. “So I guess this is the official start of our honeymoon.”

  “Then I guess it would be a good time to mention that I’m not wear
ing any underwear.”

  Damn. “What a coincidence, because neither am I.”

  Her gaze dropped from his chest to the towel and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “Show me.”

  * * *

  Terri watched as Nick gave the towel a quick tug, then let it drop to the floor. She looked him up and down, shaking her head. There was no getting around it—physically, the guy was perfect. “Wow. That is so not fair.”

  “What?”

  “No one should look that good naked.”

  “And I’m all yours,” he said, walking toward her with no modesty or shame, wearing that I’m-going-to-eat-you-alive look.

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  “Ready to make a baby?”

  A baby. They were going to have sex, and try to make a baby.

  Her heart gave a sudden, violent jerk as the reality of what she was doing, and who she was doing it with, hit her hard. Was she really ready for this? “We’re going to make a baby,” she said.

  “Yep.” He stopped in front of her and made a twirly gesture with his index finger. “Turn around.”

  “Together,” she added, turning.

  “That’s the idea,” he said, and with a quick tug, untied her bikini top. “Of course, we could do it alone, but that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”

  Though she’d never been particularly shy about anyone seeing her naked, as her top fell away, she had to fight the urge to cross her arms over her breasts. What was wrong with her? For two weeks she’d been preparing herself for this, thinking about this exact moment over and over. When it came to sex, she always knew exactly what she wanted, and she’d never been shy about asking for it. So why, now, did she feel like a virgin, about to make love for the first time?

  He must have sensed something was wrong, because he asked over her shoulder, “Are you still okay with this?”

  “Of course,” she said, but it was difficult to sound convincing when her voice was trembling.

  “Are you sure? Because you sound a little nervous.” His arms slid around her and cupped her breasts in his palms, easing her backward against his wide muscular chest. His skin was still warm and damp from his shower. And even though it felt amazing, and she wanted more, her heart was in her throat.