Heart of Conviction: Nathan (Conviction Series Book 1)

by Aly Nichole

  I turned to Nathan, who was holding Hailey and an overnight bag. “For fucks sake, I’m bringing the crew, so prepare.”

  Mickey snorted. “I’ll ride with him.” He slapped Nathan on the back. “Text me later.”

  Nathan nodded. “Grab a bag, Angel.”

  We arrived at his condo, and I tried not to feel intimidated. The entire building screamed wealthy and entitled. He had a security person at the front desk with a special key to get to his apartment.

  “I have guest rooms. You can share our spread out.” He walked us in.

  “I don’t want to inconvenience you,” I murmured.

  Nathan pulled me into his chest. He rubbed his hands up and down my back. “You’re not. I feel relieved having you here.”

  I heard the sincerity in his voice.

  “We’ll share tonight, and tomorrow we can see where we are at.” I inhaled his scent of cinnamon and something else.

  I honestly did not know what we were going to do tomorrow. I knew Nathan had a point. I didn't want to go back with the possibility they could just come back. And the look on Trey’s face. Nathan showed us the room and where the bathroom was.

  “It’s going to be okay. I got you.” He squeezed me tighter.

  And for the first time, I believed it.

  My family was with me when they handed the still bundle over to me. I heard clicks from behind me.

  My vision blurred, and my cheeks dampened. I looked down at her tiny face, almost see-through. She was too small for this world. I failed her and her mother.

  Ira knelt next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “She’s beautiful.”

  I sobbed. “She’s perfect.”

  “What would you like her name to be?” A nurse asked me.

  My body shook, and I could stop the tears streaming down my face. “Felicity Jane.”

  My hands were behind my head, and I stared blankly at my ceiling. I was wide awake and fucking worried as fuck about the sexy as sin lady sleeping in my guest room.

  If it weren’t for my brother and Princess, I would’ve committed murder yesterday and end this bullshit. I needed my girls to be safe.

  Outside my door, I heard little feet shuffling by. I smiled, I had them in my home and they were safe. I needed to focus on that.

  I grabbed my phone and texted Patty to reschedule my appointments. Only emergency calls are to be sent to me. I knew it was odd, this was twice now I rearranged my day and I was sure my staff would have a field day.

  I left my room and followed the sound of little feet padding through the kitchen.

  Hailey had a fluffy dog pressed to her chest. Her eyes were wide, taking in my modern, sleek kitchen.

  My chest tightened, watching her. It felt so right to have her here. Jesus. I cleared my throat. “Want some breakfast, princess?”

  Hailey turned to me and gave me a toothy grin. “Do you have pancakes?”

  “It just so happens I do.”

  Hailey helped me get the mix and bowls. I wasn’t paying attention to what she was babbling about. My mind was a million miles away.

  My Angel’s brother left her to deal with bullshit. All she wanted to was help him and where the fuck was he now.

  I needed to get a grip on myself. Anger would not solve this. I looked up at the clock and it read eight-thirty. Ira was going to be here around ten after. I knew he had moved a lot of meetings around to come here and talk. I knew I could have either my aunt or uncle take over, but selfishly I knew Ira was better and wanted the best for Sade.

  I helped Hailey into a chair and set a plate full of syrup and pancakes in front of her.

  She blinked up at me. “Do you have kids?”

  My stomach dropped, and a flash of the bundled pink blanket popped up. I blew out a breath and thought about how to phrase it. “My child is in heaven with her mommy.”

  “You couldn’t save them?”

  I flinched at her innocent words. Fuck. After fifteen years, it still hurt. The pain never goes away. It numbs, sure, but it won’t disappear. I blinked hard, trying not to let the emotions take over. “I was a kid myself. But that’s why I became a doctor. I wanted to save other people’s kids.” Logically, I knew there was nothing to save my daughter. When the car struck us, the placenta detached, and it took a long time to get to the hospital. But as a teenager, logic didn’t work for me. I blamed the doctors and vowed to let no one feel my pain.

  I felt Sade from behind me. I wonder how long she was listening to our conversation, and I looked over my shoulder. Her cheeks tinted pink and her eyes were wet. She was in an enormous shirt and tiny shorts, showing off her sculpted pale legs.

  Sadie gave a small wave and took a seat next to her daughter.

  “I bet your kid is really happy to know you save other kids now,” Hailey stated simply.

  This was why I loved working with children. They say what they mean and there is no malice behind their words.

  “Morning.” Sade greeted me.

  “Morning, I made pancakes. Would you like some?” I walked over to the oven, where I had some tucked away to keep warm.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  I leaned against the counter after placing a plate down for her. Angel, god, she was something. Her hair was in a messy bun and her oversized shirt molded around her perfectly.

  Sade’s tongue peeked out, licking the syrup from her lip, and my poor cock twitched.

  “I’m all done. Can I go watch TV?” Hailey squeezed her stuffed animal to her chest, and her bottom lip popped out.

  I snorted and looked at Angel. “I’m okay with it.”

  “Yeah, go ahead,” Sade answered.

  I cleaned my kitchen. I was counting down in my head. There wasn’t a chance in hell she wasn’t going to ask me about my daughter. And the calm settled over me. I hoped she asked me. Fuck, I wanted her to ask me.

  I turned around to face her.

  She was nibbling her bottom lip, and her eyes were burning a hole in my table.

  “Angel, you okay?”

  Her eyes met mine. “I feel so rude asking, but—”

  “It was a car accident.” I swallowed hard and took a seat across from her. “I wanted to get her some maternity clothes, and I was attempting to talk her into a used car. She didn’t want charity. It made her feel weird that her fifteen-year-old baby daddy had that kind of money to throw around.” I rubbed the back of my neck and thought about that day. We were fighting so hard and the damn car sputtered and died in the middle of the road.

  “Wow, fifteen,” she murmured.

  I shrugged and gave her a half-grin. “I told you I was a little shit. I did a lot of stupid shit and made a lot of drama. But when T — Trisha told me she was pregnant, all I could think about was how I would be the best dad. I would never be like my sperm donor.”

  “Were you injured?”

  I bowed my head and my fingers tapped against the wood. “Yeah. I snapped my leg in half. I had to have shoulder surgery. But everything was minor. I was lucky.”

  “I’m sorry, Nathan.” Her voice was full of sincerity.

  My knee bounced, and more words spilled from me. “It’s still hard for me. I— I don’t know if I truly loved Trisha. She was nineteen in college, and I was just a stupid kid that had a fantasy life planned out. But I would like to believe we would have been happy.” I had to. I still pictured it—the life we could have had. But also the guilt because I wouldn’t be a respected physician in my field. I wouldn’t be who I was now if they were still here.

  She reached over and placed her hand over mine. “You would have been an amazing father.”

  My body vibrated with the urge to spill how much she meant to me. I wanted more with her. I craved to be hers. The rock she leaned on. I wanted to be the man by her side as she raised these fantastic children. I wanted to be their dad. “Sade, I like you more than a friend.”

  “Me, too.”

  My heart raced inside my rib cage, and desire burned through my veins
. “You’re my girl, Sade.”

  Sade’s cheek turned a cute shade of pink. “We haven’t even gone out on a date.”

  I smirked and kissed her wrist. “We’ve had family dates, but I’ll take you out. I’ll wine and dine you. I’ll show you. You’re mine.”

  “Where is my future sister-in-law and partner in crime!” Red slammed with me with a hug.

  I rolled my eyes at her theatrics. “She’s probably finishing up a bath.”

  Ira had my nephew up on his shoulders, and my little niece was looking at Hailey from behind him. Slung over his shoulder was his bag, and it was filled with folders and papers.

  “I hope she’s ready. I have a lot to go over and some decisions to be made if we want to get the paperwork started.” He set Beck, his son, down on the floor.

  I looked over to Hailey, who was peaking over the couch, eyeing my niece and nephew. “Hey Hailey, this is Beck and Lia, and I bet they would love to play.”

  “Uncle Nate has the coolest toys in the one room,” Lia stated.

  “Okay.” And they were off into the spare room to play.

  Red opened my fridge and, as usual, made herself at home.

  Red was my best friend. When Ira went off to Harvard, she stayed here and went to state. She stayed by my side and helped me with my grief. Red never let me fall too far and made sure I owned my shit. And we had to give each other shit.

  I looked at my brother, and he was shuffling things around. “Tell your wife to get out of my shit.”

  My brother snorted. “She’s your friend. You tell her to get out of your stuff.”

  My Angel graced us not much longer after Red pillaged my fridge, and Ira had his work scattered on my table.

  “Sade, you remember Ira, and his better half, Red.” I introduced them to her.

  She gave a brief wave and sat in the chair next to me. I wrapped my arm around the back of her chair. Now Sade knew I was hers and she was mine. I was going to show it as often as possible.

  Ira went through his papers and explained all his legal crap. I couldn’t understand anything he was saying.

  “So you’re going to file a restraining order?” Sade questioned. Her nose scrunched up and her fingers tapped rhythmically against her stomach.

  “Yes.”

  She nodded her head. “And what are the chances of me getting sole custody of my son?”

  Ira tilted his head back and forth. “I think I have a good chance of getting you that. It will take some work, and you will have to document every encounter you have with Trey if he breaks the restraining order.”

  My Angel’s body deflated and leaned toward me. “Okay. Thank you, Ira.”

  Ira was never good with compliments. He nodded and shuffled his papers around. “You’re family now, and we protect what is ours.”

  Sade’s mouth popped open, and I laughed.

  “That’s right, Angel. You’re a Valentine now.”

  I never intended to stay past one night with Nathan, but he insisted I stay with him until I found a new place.

  And for the first time in a long time, I felt safe, and it caused me to feel spoiled. Since staying with Nathan, I didn’t worry about people hanging around the building or if I had an unwanted guest waiting for me.

  It wasn’t just the safety that had me spoiled. Nathan had breakfast ready every morning before he left. He constantly showed me affection and gave Hailey a hundred percent of his attention. He took care of us.

  I opened the door and sighed, relieved I was going to have a quiet evening. I was supposed to look at an apartment, but Nathan had two patients go into labor. It meant it was going to be a low-key evening. He gave his all to his patients, and it was one of his best qualities.

  A bubble bath in Nathan’s tub sounded amazing. My thoughts drifted to Nathan. I wondered if I wore something sexy that I could get Nathan to make a move.

  As he promised, he took me out on a lavish date, and I crashed when we got home. We made out like teenagers almost every night, but it never went past that. I was horny and dammit, I wanted a piece of my man.

  All plans I had made flew out the window when I spotted Liam Valentine lounging on the couch. What was he doing here? I lifted my phone. There weren’t any texts from Nathan.

  He looked up and smiled. “No need to worry. I thought I could take you to look at the apartment since Nate was tied up.”

  I twisted my mouth. Nathan was looking forward to checking out the building to make sure it was, as he put it, good enough for his girls. “I don’t want to put you out.”

  Liam’s smile had my heart sputtering. The man was as dangerous as his son. “It’s not putting me out. I made time to show the apartment since I own the building.”

  My mouth popped open. He owned the building. There was no way I could afford it. The Valentine buildings were the best of the best. “I couldn’t possibly afford an apartment in one of your buildings.”

  He stood, dwarfing me by two feet. Liam’s gaze sweeps over me. “I wouldn’t offer an apartment if you couldn’t afford it. I have a three-bedroom, I think would suit you or you could always stay here with Nathan. He would probably prefer it.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek and ignored his comment about Nathan. My brain couldn’t unpack that yet. I had to focus. “Mr. Valentine—”

  He cut me off. “I’ll be honest. I know how independent, strong women work.” The corner of his mouth pulled up. “I’m surrounded by them. You’re going to argue. And you’re going to say how you can’t accept something like this. I own the building, and I say what the rent is. Meaning your rent would be three-fifty, plus utilities.”

  Could I smack the arrogant look off his face? He was right. My pride wanted to argue and say no. My eyes looked down at my daughter, who was in her own world on the tablet. The baby would be here soon, and I needed a safe place for my kids and me.

  And despite Nathan continuously saying we could move in here, I wanted a place of my own. Whatever Nathan and I were, I didn’t want to ruin it by moving too fast.

  “Let me get on some different clothes, and we can go look.”

  I wanted to hit the man and his smug grin.

  The building itself was so close to my work that I could walk. It had the same security Nathan’s building had with special keys to the elevator and everything.

  I walked in a circle around the apartment. It was huge compared to my old one. The walls were beige and had basic furniture and appliances. It was still a lot better than what I had. The bedrooms were massive, with walk-in closets.

  Hailey was vibrating and skipped through each room.

  I turned to the smirking man. Liam’s eyes were twinkling with triumph. “If it’s not too much trouble—”

  “It’s not. I will let the building manager know, and you can move in whenever you are ready. If Nathan doesn’t persuade you to stay with him, that is.”

  I laughed. Deep down inside me, I wanted it, but it wasn’t the right time.

  “This weekend will be fine,” I said.

  Liam followed me with an excited Hailey when my phone rang, and Nathan’s goofy mug flashed on the screen.

  “Hey,” I answered.

  “Where are you guys?” His breathing was shallow and quick.

  My brows pulled down. “I’m with your dad. He’s showing me the apartment.”

  I looked over at Liam. His face was bemused.

  Air gushed through the speaker. “My dad. You’re with my dad?”

  I looked over at Liam, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. “Yes.”

  A beat went by, “That rat bastard.”

  I gasped. “Nathan!”

  “I told him I was working and didn’t know when I would get out. We would look another day.” My poor man. His father’s body was vibrating, and one hand was covering his mouth while the other was tapping his phone.

  I was sure Liam had used me to irritate Nathan. “I think that was the point,” I told Nathan. My eyes narrowed at Liam. I wanted to be m
ad and pull the mom face. Instead, I sat back to bask in the dynamic between father and son.

  Nathan huffed into the phone. “Oh, he thinks this is funny, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes, he’s laughing.”

  He grumbled unintelligible words before he said, “You eat anything? Or is my dad starving and forcing you to stay on your poor achy feet?”

  I snorted at his petty words. “I didn’t tell him I was hungry. I’m fine.”

  “Put me on speaker, please.”

  Puzzled, I did as he asked and hit the speaker button. Liam walked closer to where I stood, his eyes on the phone.

  “You are going to feed her and bring me back something too, you old asshole.”

  Liam’s head fell back as he barked out a laugh. “I’ll feed the beautiful young woman and her delightful daughter, but you can suck it up and order pizza, you ungrateful brat.”

  “Your beard has grey hair in it and it makes you look old.” Nathan snarked back.

  I snorted. I could not believe I was holding my phone so that they could snipe at each other.

  “Your mom enjoys my grey beard, especially when it’s between her legs.”

  I nearly dropped the phone. Nathan started cursing so badly I hung the phone up and tried to hide my red cheeks. I couldn't believe he just said that.

  “What would you and Hailey like to eat?”

  My mouth opened and shut a few times. He was acting like he didn’t just say something so highly inappropriate.

  Liam continued to talk. “I know this great Italian place, and it will really piss my son off if he doesn’t get any. What do you think?”

  What do I think? When I hung out with Nathan and Wyatt, I thought they were exaggerating about their parents, but I was wrong.

  But the only thing that I could think of was to answer him. “They have kid food?”

  “They sure do.” Liam smiled and winked at Hailey.

  Liam was a big softy. His threat to not get Nathan anything was an empty one. The man got Nathan’s favorite, handed it to me before he dropped Hailey and me off.