《Nick鈥檚 Obsession (The Billionaire鈥檚 Obsession 3)》


 Chapter 1 Em鈥檚 Crazy Jealousy(1)

    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡±


    The ride to Nick¡¯s apartment or rather our apartment since Nick would get upset if I didn¡¯t refer to it as that had been quiet. We had a nice lunch with Nick¡¯s friend Zoey. She was nice, had a history with both Evan and Nick, but not romantically. I could feel there was something going on between her and Evan, but she wasn¡¯t talking about it. Neither was Evan. When I watched Nick and Zoey interact I felt a pang of jealousy, I knew it was stupid considering I was five months pregnant with his baby and I was the one going home with him, but still, I couldn¡¯t push the feeling away.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Nick was engrossed in his phone, always working. He made time for me so it never bothered me. I knew what I was getting myself into when I chose him. I didn¡¯t regret my decision either. Nick understood me, made me feel like I couldn¡¯t breathe when he looked at me and when I looked into his eyes I knew it was the same for him. Yet that stupid little emotion called jealousy wasn¡¯t going away. I needed reassurance and I needed it now.


    ¡°You¡¯ve known Zoey for a while right?¡±


    My question still didn¡¯t make him look up from his phone, ¡°Hm, we didn¡¯t speak to each other for a while, life got in the way, you know.¡±


    ¡°But you followed her career?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do keep an eye out for people I care about.¡±


    I shifted in my seat, ¡°So you care about her?¡±


    That caught Nick¡¯s attention, but how could it not? I wasn¡¯t being subtle about what I was asking anymore. The look in his eyes told me he didn¡¯t appreciate it either. I couldn¡¯t help how I was feeling right now though. I could me it on the pregnancy, saying my emotions were all over the ce, but I was sure that even if I wasn¡¯t pregnant I¡¯d still ask those questions.


    He narrowed his eyes on me, ¡°What are you trying to ask me, Emily?¡±


    He knew what I was trying to ask, he knew exactly where I was going with this, yet he still wanted to hear me talk about it. Maybe he was hoping I wasn¡¯t going there at all. Especially since I met Zoey in person and had a lovely time with her.


    ¡°Did you ever¡­ with her?¡±


    He was silent for a while, his eyes never leaving my face. He pocketed his phone which told me I had his full attention now. He grabbed my hand and tightly held onto it.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ve only ever been just friends.¡±


    He told me it straight out, never blinking either. He wanted the thought out of my head, but I was paranoid. I was fully aware of it right now. Maybe it was the fact that Zoey looked amazing, had a mouth on her and made Nickugh. There weren¡¯t many people out there who got that side of Nick.


    ¡°You two seem to get along really well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Em, we get along, but we¡¯ve never gone there.¡± His eyes sparkled amusingly, ¡°She is like Evan to me and you know I¡¯ll never go there with Evan.¡±


    Now he was just making fun of me. I was d he couldugh about it because I certainly couldn¡¯t. I was serious about Zoey. She was a nice girl who was so confident in herself, I could totally imagine them dancing in a club and Nick getting a bit too personal with her. I could picture them together, both ambitious and always on the move.


    ¡°Em, you¡¯re imagining things that aren¡¯t there.¡± He pulled me back to reality, obviously seeing right through me like always, ¡°Zoey and I never went there, I swear. She always has been just a friend.¡±


    I knew he wasn¡¯t lying to me, maybe my emotions were all over the ce. I felt Nick softly tracing the back of my hand with his thumb, trying to soothe me. Just that simple touch of him calmed me down more than his words did.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you would never go there with Evan.¡± I tried to lighten the mood between us and by the looks of it, it was working, ¡°You two are really intense together. Who knows!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not funny.¡± His dancing eyes told me a different story though.


    ¡°You never know maybe you have just one ss too many and so does Evan. You two stare at each other, your heart beating, your lips parting and before you know it-¡±


    Nick leaned in captured my mouth with his and shut me up, his kiss harsh and wet. Instantly my fingers gripped his hair, loving every second of his dominating kiss. Before I could get really into it Nick pulled away, his eyes flickering to the front of the car. Miles was being professional, ignoring us while we had our private moment. We weren¡¯t alone though and the thought of Miles listening to us, hearing our kiss made my cheeks burn up. Thank god Nick stopped me before things would have gotten out of hand.


    ¡°Like hell, I¡¯m ever going there with Evan.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but tough, ¡°I know. I was just messing with you.¡±


    His eyes got serious again, ¡°But all joking aside, we¡¯re good, right?¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    I smiled at him, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re good, Nick.¡±


    His eyes warmed, making me take in a sharp breath when he ced his hand on my belly and focused his eyes on our baby, ¡°You good too, little man?¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t going to respond, Nick.¡± Iughed at him both our smiles dropping from our faces when our baby kicked, very hard, which made Nick¡¯s eyes shot up to mine.


    We were quiet for a while, both keeping quiet as if we were afraid to let go of the moment. Matthew didn¡¯t stop moving though. He was active now, letting his presence known. Sometimes I felt him move and sometimes I couldn¡¯t tell if it was him or just my body. The doctor told me not to worry though, Matthew was doing fine.


    ¡°Guess he got you there, Em.¡± Nick smiled, leaning in to kiss me.


    ***

 Chapter 2 Em鈥檚 Crazy Jealousy(2)

    Nick was ordering dinner while I changed into morefortable clothing. He stayed home with me, working from hisptop in the living room while I caught up on my favorite series. Sometimes interrupting him to talk about it. He always listened even though he had no idea what I was talking about. Nick didn¡¯t like many series, he did like the ones with the superheroes and thankfully those were my favorite too.


    Walking back to the living room I took a seat on the couch, unpausing the video so I could go back to watching my superhero series. This one was about a girl being so strong she survived nearly everything. She was awesome, looking great in her jeans and a simple tee. Nick¡¯s eyes traveled to the screen as well when I peeked a nce at him. Yeah, he definitely liked this one as well. Too bad there was only one season so we wouldn¡¯t bond over it for long.


    ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± He ended the call and took a seat next to me, reaching for hisptop which he had abounded on the coffee table, ¡°They¡¯re here in forty.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°You want a snack?¡±


    I smiled at him, ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡±


    We sat there, Nick with hisptop on hisp while he asionally typed up an email and me with my eyes fixed on the screen. I was so into the episode that I jumped when the doorbell rang. Nick beside me couldn¡¯t hold hisughter in and burst out,ughing at my expression.


    ¡°That scared the hell out of me,¡± I whispered, pressing a hand to my chest as I tried to calm myself down.


    Nick put hisptop aside, ¡°I can tell.¡±


    He was stillughing, making me re at him, ¡°Hey! I could have gone intobor, you wouldn¡¯t think it was funny then.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only five months pregnant, Em, I¡¯m pretty sure the chances aren¡¯t that high yet.¡± He got to his feet and kissed my head, ¡°It¡¯s cute though. You¡¯re cute.¡±


    I let my annoyance go since he was being sweet again. Nick got our food while I tried to see what he was doing on hisptop without touching it. I was being the snoopy girlfriend and I wasn¡¯t good at it because Nick was back in the living room clearing his throat.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asked me, a big paper bag in one hand while the other was on his hp.


    I was caught in the act and there wasn¡¯t anything I could say to excuse my behavior. When I noticed how amused Nick looked I knew he wasn¡¯t angry with me. Not really. He ced the bag on the table and walked past me, reaching for hisptop to ce it on the table as well.


    ¡°Were you spying on me?¡±


    I so was! I wanted to hide in the corner, but I knew Nick wouldn¡¯t let me.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I admitted in a small voice, ¡°I was just curious.¡±


    He folded his arms across his chest, ¡°Is that all?¡±


    My eyes flickered back to his, ¡°Of course it is. What else would it be?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe you were checking up on me because you¡¯re still not sure about Zoey?¡±


    I could hear by the tone he used that he was joking. Letting go of my embarrassment I leaned back against the couch and shed him a smile.


    ¡°Okay, fine I was stupid jealous but I promise I wasn¡¯t checking up on you. I was just curious what you were doing.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    He settled on the couch next to me again and reached for the paper bag, obviously done with the subject of me snooping on him. He was taking out the food, handing me my egg noodles with chicken, corn, broli, bean sprouts and tofu in sweet and sour sauce. I loved it. He had the same only his sauce was spicier. We also ordered soup and bubble tea.


    Nick handed me my chopsticks, ¡°I was going through the stats of the club in Tokyo. Reading through the ideas of my marketing team and Chris¡¯ report.¡±


    ¡°Things I wouldn¡¯t be interested in?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯d find it all that interesting.¡±


    We were enjoying our food while Nick put hisptop away, giving me his full attention. We were having a great time when the doorbell suddenly rang again. This time I didn¡¯t jump two feet in the air though. Smirking Nick walked past me to get the door. Hearing the rucking in the hallway I couldn¡¯t help but smile when Evan¡¯s voice traveled into the living room.


    ¡°Hey, Emily.¡±


    He took a seat next to me and reached for my bubble tea, taking a sip from it, ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°You guys having a night in.¡± He stated and nced at the screen, ¡°I love this series.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡±


    Nick wasn¡¯t so lenient with Evan¡¯s presence though, he gave Evan a stern look as he folded his arms across his chest again. He always did that when he was about to scold someone. He did the same to me but I didn¡¯t get scolded though.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Evan?¡±


    ¡°I was bored.¡±


    My heart melted for him. Evan loved going out, he loved the scene and partying like there was no tomorrow. Since Nick and I were together he went out less and less. I think we were changing his ways too, for the better, at least I hoped. When I nced at Nick I saw that his eyes softened as well. He dropped his arms, rounding the table to take a seat beside his friend.


    ¡°Fine, you can stay.¡±


    We finished the episode when I couldn¡¯t keep my words to myself anymore, ¡°I met Zoey today.¡± I felt Nick¡¯s eyes on me, but I ignored him, ¡°She¡¯s a nice girl.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she totally is.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him, ¡°So why would you fuck it up?¡±


    ¡°Emily!¡± Nick warned me.


    He always called me ¡®Emily¡¯ in his stern voice when he wasn¡¯t pleased with me. Right now he was definitely not pleased with me, but I wasn¡¯t going to stop. He knew I always told people what was on my mind. Right now Evan and his threesome in a bathroom stall were on my mind.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Evan didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was asking.


    ¡°Evan, at the club. You had a bathroom stall threesome, freaking the hell out of Zoey.¡±


    His frown told me he still had no idea what I was talking about. It made me wonder if he had been so drunk he didn¡¯t even realize what he had been doing that night. I needed him to realize what he had done, maybe he could fix things between him and Zoey. I knew there was something between them and I didn¡¯t want them to ignore it. Evan did me that favor now I could return it.


    ¡°Zoey isn¡¯t over it. I don¡¯t know what you did or what you said to her but that night is still on her mind. You freaked her out.¡±


    ¡°Evan-¡± Nick stopped himself when his friend suddenly got to his feet.


    ¡°I gotta go, thanks, Em.¡± He kissed my head and was out the door as quick as he pushed through it.


    Nick gave me a look, but I just brushed him off, ¡°They needed a push in the right direction.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right about that.¡±


    I hoped that too because if I did push them and it wasn¡¯t going to work out Nick would be pissed. He wouldn¡¯t show it, but I knew he¡¯d me me for ruining their friendship. He cared about Zoey and he loved Evan, Evan was his Brandon after all. I really hoped Evan and Zoey could work things out, for everyone¡¯s sake.

 Chapter 3 Hurtful Words(1)

    Sitting at my vanity which was a present from my boyfriend, because he knew I loved doing my hair and make-up when I was in that kind of mood, I was blow-drying my hair. Evan left that morning together with Zoey, heading to Tokyo for work. We wouldn¡¯t see him in three months which made me miss him already. He was always around, always annoying Nick and entertaining me. I knew we could stay in touch via email and text, but it wasn¡¯t the same as always having him around. We always joked about Evan being our adoptive child and right now it did feel like our child left the house.


    ¡°Emily!¡± I think I heard Nick shout my name, but as I nced over my shoulder I didn¡¯t see him so I continued drying my hair.


    I was fluffing up my hair, actually liking the Hollywood style of it when I definitely heard Nick scream my name this time.


    ¡°What?!¡± I called back, confused why he was so loud this early in the morning.


    ¡°Get over here!¡±


    It annoyed me that he called me over like I was his pet, he never did that before. I knew something was wrong, seriously wrong for Nick to raise his voice at me. Turning off the blow dryer I put it on my vanity, ran my fingers through my slightly damp hair and left the bedroom. As I walked over the living room I tightened my robe around my waist, getting ready for whatever was awaiting me.


    Entering the living room I froze as my eyesnded on a man I hadn¡¯t seen or spoken to for a very long time now. When I moved to New York I called him every day, giving him updates on my life. That became less and less when I started my job at the club and met Brandon. He made me realize that sharing the same DNA doesn¡¯t necessarily make people a family. Brandon had always been there for me, he never made me feel like I was a burden to him. Max, the man who was ring daggers at me did make me feel like that. So I stopped contacting him altogether, thinking he didn¡¯t mind that. Guess I was wrong.


    ¡°Max?¡±


    ¡°Emily.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a brother, Emily.¡± Nick stated, making me shift my gaze to him, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you never mentioned him to me.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want Nick to be that angry at me, especially over Max. I hadn¡¯t seen him in months or spoken to him in months for that matter. Max didn¡¯t matter to me, I knew that was harsh, but it was reality. I didn¡¯t love him the same way I loved Brandon, I struggled with that for a while, but then I let it go. I let Max go. So him standing in our living room wasn¡¯t appreciated.


    ¡°I never mentioned him because Max and I aren¡¯t close.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± I didn¡¯t want to hurt Max, but it was how I felt about our rtionship, ¡°I¡¯m closer to Brandon than Max. We haven¡¯t seen each other or spoken to each other for months. So I more or less forgot about him.¡±


    Max snorted, ¡°You forgot about me?¡±


    ¡°Emily.¡± Nick was scolding me, he didn¡¯t do it yesterday but he was definitely doing it now.


    I stared at Max not feeling anything as I looked at him. I mean if you hadn¡¯t seen your family for a long while you were supposed to be excited, affectionate, but I didn¡¯t feel any of that. Max could be any other guy in the room and ncing at Nick I could tell it pissed him off. He wasn¡¯t having it which made me wonder why. My rtionship with Max had nothing to do with him, with us.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s not exactly like we were having tea parties every Sunday afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Emily.¡± Nick warned me once again, he turned to look at Max, ¡°Listen, you¡¯re in town now and I I¡¯ll be straight with you, I don¡¯t feelfortable with you leaving like this. So how about you go back to the hotel get settled in and we¡¯ll meet up for lunch?¡±


    It was my turn to scold my boyfriend who thought he could make ns without my approval. I wasn¡¯t okay with that. I also didn¡¯t understand why he cared so much about Max. He never met the guy!


    ¡°Nick, I don¡¯t think-¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talkter.¡± He told me, not even bothering to look at me. He was solemnly focusing on Max and it really pissed me off.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Max¡¯s look softened for my nosy boyfriend, ¡°My number is on the card.¡± He handed Nick his business card, ¡°Text me the time and ce. I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    Nick showed Max out, being very friendly with him. I didn¡¯t care if he was friendly with Max or not, what I did care about was the fact that he was making ns without my consent. I didn¡¯t like that, I never liked that. I¡¯m pretty sure I made that clear to him once. This time he couldn¡¯t sh me a smile and think it was over and done with. I folded my arms across my chest and waited for Nick to return. When he walked into the living room his look told me he wasn¡¯t letting this go either. He was just as pissed.


    ¡°What the hell was that all about?¡± He asked me, thankfully not raising his voice at me this time.


    ¡°Excuse me? You¡¯re the one who needs to exin things. Why did you make ns without discussing it first? I really don¡¯t like that, Nick.¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    He looked at me like I just told him aliens were invading earth, ¡°He is your brother. You don¡¯t just ignore your family for months and then act like they¡¯re aplete stranger when theye over to check on your wellbeing. So again, what the hell, Emily?¡±

 Chapter 4 Hurtful Words(2)

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your concern how I interact with my family and for the record Max and I were never close. He was too busy setting up hispany while I tried to live my life here. When I first moved here I called him a lot, informing him about things, but he never cared. Then the calls became less and less and he didn¡¯t care then either. Because we never were close enough to care about each other¡¯s lives. When I got attacked I considered calling him, but I knew he¡¯d make a big deal out of it so I didn¡¯t. I told Brandon instead.¡±


    ¡°Emily.¡± Nick sighed, ¡°You should have called him. I know you think of Brandon as your brother, but you can¡¯t change the fact that Max is your actual brother and despite what you think he actually does care about you. If he didn¡¯t he wouldn¡¯t have shown up today.¡±


    ¡°Well, it took him long enough to actually give a crap about me again.¡± I narrowed my eyes on Nick, ¡°I wonder why, maybe because I¡¯m in a rtionship with you? Have you stopped to think about that? He had plenty of opportunities to show up, but he shows up now? Don¡¯t you find the timing odd?¡±


    Turning on my heels I walked back to the bedroom to finish up getting ready for the day. I didn¡¯t feel like doing my hair and makeup anymore. I shrugged my robe off, slipped my panties and bra on and searched for something to wear. Not feeling like dressing up either I grabbed a simple long ck dress, threw it on and slipped into some ts.


    ¡°He is your brother.¡± Nick had followed me, obviously not done with the conversation, ¡°You don¡¯t treat your family like that.¡±


    ¡°Just because we share DNA doesn¡¯t mean he is my family.¡±


    ¡°It actually does mean that.¡± Nick threw back at me, ¡°He is worried about you.¡±


    I hated that he kept saying that to me. He met Max like five seconds ago so why the hell was he on his side? He didn¡¯t know Max at all, he knew me for months. It red my annoyance hearing him talk like that about my brother.


    ¡°I¡¯m so d you like Max.¡± I told him snottily, ¡°Then you can go meet him for lunch by yourself.¡±


    He grabbed my wrist when I tried to walk away from him, ¡°You¡¯re going too, Em.¡±


    I tried to pull away from him but he wouldn¡¯t let me, ¡°No I¡¯m not.¡±


    He tightened his grip on my wrist, ¡°Yes, you are.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t letting it go so instead of keeping the loop going I turned around and faced him, ¡°Why do you need me to go? What does it matter? You can tell Max I¡¯m doing fine and send him off.¡±


    He released my wrist but didn¡¯t back off, he was all up in my space, ¡°I need you to show and have an actual conversation with your brother. I need the woman who I¡¯m having a child with to not turn her back on her family.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± I knew this wasn¡¯t about Max anymore, it was something different that nagged at him.


    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that if you can easily turn your back to someone who you grew up with, treating him like aplete stranger what makes me or our child any different?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t believe he said that. I actually felt him stab me with a knife and twist it. The pain was spreading across my body, making it hard for me to breath. Whoever said words didn¡¯t hurt was a fool.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re saying that.¡± The words were barely a whisper but the pain that shed across Nick¡¯s eyes told me he heard me, ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    The words left my lips before I even realized what I said. I regretted it the minute I said it though. Not being able to deal with it a second longer I dashed out the room, hearing Nick¡¯s footsteps behind me but I didn¡¯t turn around, not once. I grabbed my bag from the living room and headed out the door.


    ¡°Emily!¡±


    I didn¡¯t stop once, I kept walking ignoring the tears streaming down my face. I was about to reach the elevator when Nick grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around to face him.


    ¡°Things were getting out of hand.¡± He didn¡¯tment on me being a total bitch to him, maybe he was letting it go because he knew it was only because of emotions running high, but I couldn¡¯t let it go, ¡°Let¡¯s go back inside, calm down and talk about it. We¡¯ll tell Max-¡±


    ¡°I need space.¡± I told him my eyes on his leather shoes instead, ¡°I¡¯m going to meet Brandon and take a minute. You do whatever you want. I just can¡¯t right now.¡±


    He ced both his hands on my shoulders, holding tightly onto me, ¡°We had a fight, it got intense. I know it scared you, but we¡¯ll get through it. We just need to calm down and discuss it. We¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    I nodded, finally meeting his eyes. He looked worried, pain spread across his face. Seeing that look on his face gripped my heart, only making me regret my words more.


    ¡°I know, but I really need space right now.¡±


    He held my gaze for a while before he let go, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll give you space, but do me a favor to ease my mind, let Miles take you to Brandon¡¯s and also pick you up whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±


    I could do that. I knew Nick would always worry about me.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°See youter.¡±


    I closed my eyes when he leaned in kissed me. Normally his kisses made me burst with happiness, this time his kiss hurt. It was like he was trying to mend things. He didn¡¯t have to though. It was me who was the one who went out of line.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I whispered when I pulled away, ¡°See youter.¡±


    I stepped into the elevator when it arrived and turned around to look at him, ¡°We¡¯ll be okay, Em.¡± He told me before the door closed.


    Sighing I closed my eyes and leaned back, this was our first major fight and I hated it. I hated that I told him that, I really wished I could go back in time and take it back. The thing was you could never take back what you said. It would be between us forever. I knew Nick brushed it off as if it didn¡¯t happen, but I knew better. The mind was a tricky thing. He¡¯d remember it.N?velDrama.Org is the owner.

 Chapter 5 Calm Before The Storm(1)

    Pushing through Brandon I kicked off my ts and gotfortable on the couch,ying down on my side while I held onto one of the gray,fy pillows. I could hear Brandon close the door and walk into the living room, feeling his eyes take me in.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He took a seat beside my feet, putting my bag on the coffee table, ¡°Did you have a fight with Nick?¡±


    It was probably written all over my face. I never liked having a fight with Nick, we rarely had one since we got serious about each other. So this fight which got out of hand really got to me.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°You want to talk about it?¡±


    He didn¡¯t push me which I appreciated it. Right now I wasn¡¯t emotionally stable, I was fully aware of that. Nick didn¡¯t push me because he knew and Brandon didn¡¯t push me either because he was also aware of how I got whenever I was in one of those moods. Both men knew me well which brought the memory of Max back. I wasn¡¯t changing my mind about him. Just because we shared DNA didn¡¯t mean he was my brother. He didn¡¯t know me. He didn¡¯t know my likes and dislikes, he didn¡¯t know my hopes and dreams. He didn¡¯t know the Emily who thought Nick was her whole world.


    ¡°Max is back.¡±


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t Max your brother? I¡¯m pretty sure you mentioned him once to me.¡±


    ¡°Max is my brother.¡± I confirmed, ¡°I mentioned him to you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t move when he ced his hand on my leg, letting me know he was there for me.


    ¡°Did you and Nick fight about Max?¡±


    I stiffened which told Brandon enough. He gave my leg a pat before he got up and took a seat on the floor, leaning back against the couch while he turned on the TV. He stopped changing the channel when he found a si. We stayed quiet for a while, watching the episode together. It put a smile upon my face which Brandon must have seen.


    ¡°Em, talk to me.¡±


    I sat up which made him narrow his eyes on me when I was slower than usual. cing my hand on my stomach I leaned back against the couch and put my feet up on the couch as well.


    ¡°Nick and I had a fight about Max. He was pushing me to have lunch with Max and I didn¡¯t want to. Then he started to question me and I said something which I can¡¯t take back.¡±


    ¡°Did you call him a jerk? Because I¡¯m sure he hears that more often, he must be immune to it now.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Bastard?¡± He narrowed his eyes on me when I remained quiet, ¡°I¡¯ll high five you if you called him a dick.¡± He sounded amused which lightened my mood quite a bit.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Then what did you say, Em?¡±


    ¡°I said fuck you,¡± I said in a whisper, ashamed I had to repeat what I told Nick.


    Brandon¡¯s stare burned on me, but I didn¡¯t dare to look at him, afraid he¡¯d judge me.


    ¡°Emily, I¡¯m sure Nick is over it.¡±


    I shifted my gaze to him, ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    He leaned closer to me, ¡°Did you apologize?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s all good. He was pushing you, things got out of hand. The thing is you knew you went too far and you apologized for it. You¡¯re here beating yourself up over it because you hate yourself for what you said. I think Nick knows that and if he doesn¡¯t dump him.¡±


    I smiled giving his shoulder a push, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    The rest of the morning I watched sis with Brandon, he also made me breakfast which made him my most favorite person on the entire. Pancakes with syrup, I loved it. He helped me feel better and when I was confident enough to face Nick again I left Brandon¡¯s and headed home.


    ***


    Entering the apartment, my eyes followed the light peeking through from the living room. Kicking my ts out I headed to the living room, my eyesnding on Nick sitting on the couch with hisptop on hisp. His gaze shifted to me, his eyes softening while a smile spread across his face. He did forgive me just like Brandon told me.


    ¡°You okay?¡± He asked me, breaking the silence first.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good.¡±


    cing my bag on the one-seat I took a seat next to my boyfriend and leaned my head against his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He kissed my head, ¡°You already told me that, it¡¯s all good, Em.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t letting it go that easily though, ¡°I know, but it really cut me deep when I said that to you. I hated myself for it.¡±


    He ced hisptop aside and cupped my face in his hands, making me look at him, ¡°I know that. Like I said things just got out of hand. I¡¯m not holding a grudge, Em. If I can let it go, so should you.¡±


    ¡°I just want you to know that I didn¡¯t mean it-¡±


    ¡°Stop apologizing for it.¡±


    I nodded and let him pull away. Nick reached for hisptop again and went back to work, that didn¡¯t mean I lost his attention though. I think he needed to use his work as a shield because when he told me he still had lunch with Max he pissed me off again.N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t care if you like Max, don¡¯t force me to do what you want.¡± I narrowed my eyes on him, ¡°I¡¯m not going to be the perfect sister because in your mind that¡¯s how it works.¡±


    This time he didn¡¯t push the subject which I was grateful for. He actually let the subject go, we talked about our ns for dinner. Nick was cooking tonight, making something simple. I asked for chicken soup and he actually made the best chicken noodle soup I ever had. After dinner, Nick showed me the pictures of Evan which were all over the inte. It seemed that Evan was having a good time. When my eyesnded on a picture of him together with Zoey I knew my n had worked. They weren¡¯t all over each other, but her warm smile told me they were okay. She didn¡¯t resent him anymore which was a good thing.

 Chapter 6 Calm Before The Storm(2)

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± Nick announced putting hisptop away, ¡°Are you good?¡± He asked me when I started to collect our dishes to put them away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m good,¡± I told him.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    I knew he wasn¡¯t just referring to my pregnancy, he was asking where my head was at. Things were good though. After our quiet night in, catching up while avoiding talking about my brother and Nick¡¯s sudden obsession with our rtionship everything was good again.


    Nick left the room while I started cleaning up. Rinsing the dirty dishes I put them in the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Once everything was sparkling again I retrieved my bag from the living room and headed to our bedroom. I could hear the water running so I knew Nick was already taking his shower. I dumped my stuff from my bag out on our bed to reorganize it. Putting my phone on the bedside table. I was so into my little project that Nick¡¯s phone vibrating loudly scared the crap out of me. Taking a deep breath I released it to get rid of the tension. Walking around the bed I grabbed his phone off the bedside table. My breathing caught in my throat when I realized he missed a call from Max. The phone vibrated in my hand letting me know he got a text right after. I was curious to know what Max texted him, but I wouldn¡¯t snoop, not this time. So being a good girl and respecting my boyfriend¡¯s privacy I ced the phone back and cleaned up my mess on the bed. Putting my bag away I went into our closet to slip out of my dress and wrap myself up in my silk robe.


    After Nick finished his shower I took one as well and settled in bed with him, trying to get asfortable as possible, it was hard with Matthew being a bit active but I managed to ignore it and actually fall asleep.


    ***


    Waking up the next day I startled myself realizing I had slept till noon. I only did that when I still had my shifts at the club, but since Nick and I were blessed with Matthew I stopped working at the club. I didn¡¯t havete shifts anymore so it wasn¡¯t eptable for me to sleep in like that. I knew I had no responsibilities so technically I could, but I didn¡¯t allow myself to do that.


    Doing my morning routine I went to the kitchen to prepare brunch, putting my phone between my shoulder and ear to call Nick. I knew he was at his office, but I didn¡¯t like the fact that I hadn¡¯t seen him or even heard from him. When he worked at the office he started bright and early. Sometimes I woke up together with him, getting ready for my day even though I didn¡¯t have to and other days I stayed in bed, but awake and watch him get ready. I always knew when Nick left the apartment to start his day so it threw me off my game because I didn¡¯t today.


    ¡°Hey, Nick.¡±


    I heard the smile in his voice, ¡°Em, you finally up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you should have woke me up.¡± I finished making my toast with strawberry jelly and held my phone normally again.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t wake you, you looked so peaceful.¡± He was silent for a minute before he continued again, ¡°You had a rough day so I wanted you to rest.¡±


    That was my Nick, always worrying about me and making sure I was okay. Smiling I took my te with me to the living room and gotfortable on the couch, turning on the TV to watch some random show.


    ¡°I¡¯m good today,¡± I told him.


    ¡°I can hear that.¡± I heard movement in the background so I knew my boyfriend had yet another busy day at the office, ¡°Em, I need to go. I have a meeting, but I¡¯ll be back home for dinner. Do you want to eat in?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll cook tonight.¡±


    I finished up my toast and made myself a fruit sd while munching on fruit I cleaned up the apartment. The kitchen was good since I did that yesterday but since I had nothing nned today I figured I could doundry and iron some things. I reorganized my movie collection and when it was nearing five I left the apartment to do some shopping. I had everything I needed for dinner and was about to meet Miles outside the store when I ran into Sacha. She decided toe home with me since she had a day off and Brandon was at the club. She called Brandon to let him know toe over at Nick¡¯s apartment for dinner. We prepared pasta with tomato sauce and a chocte cake for dessert. Later that night Brandon and Nick joined us and we had an amazing night in together.


    After dinner we yed a board game together, watching Brandon and Nick try to beat each other, behaving like little kids. I loved seeing them like that, they were having a good time despite wanting to be better than the other. In the end, Nick won which was no surprise, we figured he¡¯d win. We called it a night after that, walking Brandon and Sacha out. Brandon opened the door ready to step out when he faced Max who decided to show without letting us know first. Brandon nced over his shoulder meeting my gaze, I shrugged a shoulder in return. I told myself to stay calm. Reading the situation Sacha dragged Brandon away with her, wishing us a good night.


    ¡°Max.¡± Nick greeted holding the door open to his newly made friend, ¡°Come in.¡±


    Max didn¡¯t move though, he stared at me as if he waited for me to say something first. Then I realized he was waiting for me to ask him toe in. At least he wasn¡¯t forcing the situation likest time.


    ¡°Yeah,e in, Max.¡±


    His gaze softened after I said that and stepped inside the apartment, following us into the living room.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time we talk, Emily,¡± Max told me once he took a seat on the couch.


    When I didn¡¯t protest he knew I wasn¡¯t against that. I felt Nick¡¯s hand on my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze before he left the room, giving us the privacy we needed.

 Chapter 7 Emily鈥檚 Issues(1)

    Yesterday I had a conversation with my brother, things didn¡¯t go as he nned, but I stayed polite and saw him out when we wrapped it up. When I joined Nick in the bedroom he looked curious about our conversation, it told me he didn¡¯t eavesdrop on me even though I would have done it on him, probably. But I didn¡¯t feed his curiosity either. I pretended the conversation didn¡¯t even happen, taking a long bath to soak. He was patient with me, not asking me about it, waiting for me to bring it up first. I appreciated that. Nick always pushed his own agenda, but since we got together he became much more understanding. As Evan would say, more human. I didn¡¯t think that was true though, I think Nick always had been very caring, he just didn¡¯t feel like people deserved that side of him.


    ¡°Em.¡±


    I was getting dressed for our breakfast date out, focused on doing my make-up while Nick tried to get my attention.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Em.¡±


    Putting my powder brush down I nced over my shoulder, ¡°What is it, Nick?¡±


    His lips curled up when I met his yful gaze, ¡°Your bra is showing. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to go out with your neon colored bra showing.¡±


    ncing in the mirror I blushed realizing he was right. Pushing my top up, I also fixed my straps, shifting my gaze to my boyfriend.


    ¡°I do love your neon colored underwear, but I¡¯d appreciate if I¡¯m the only one seeing it.¡±


    He sounded amused, it definitely brought back memories. Back then I didn¡¯t think Nick found it all that amusing to see me rushing, shing him my bra because I waste for my first ss. If he hadn¡¯t pointed it out I¡¯d have gone out in public like that.


    ¡°I never knew that.¡± Getting up, grabbed my jacket and shrugged it on, ¡°You looked kind of pissed when you showed up at my front door unannounced.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow at me, ¡°I wasn¡¯t pissed about your bra choices.¡± I smirked when I noticed his eyes wandering to my chest, ¡°It had more to do with the fact that some asshole tried to get money out of me and getting away with attacking a woman.¡±


    I let out a shaky breath, hating that my mind went there again, ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about that.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I didn¡¯t want Nick to apologize for those drunk guys either, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to bring that up.¡± He stepped to me, grabbed my chin and made me look in his smoldering blue eyes, ¡°I¡¯m always here for you, Emily, no matter what.¡±


    I knew that promise had a deeper meaning to it. He wasn¡¯t just referring to that one night those drunk guys attacked me. He wanted me to know whatever was buried in my past, he¡¯d still be here. I needed to know that because things were that pretty. I thought I could start over, have a new family, a family I chose. That wasn¡¯t how things worked though. My past caught up with me, Max showed up and started things. Nick got along well with him, so I wasn¡¯t sure about what I could share with my boyfriend. Things weren¡¯t supposed to be that way. I was d Nick reassured me he¡¯d be there. Always.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk over pancakes.¡±


    Nick¡¯s eyes danced with amusement as he let me go to retrieve my bag, ¡°I¡¯m not eating pancakes for breakfast. I think I¡¯ll go with bacon and eggs this time.¡±


    Pushing the strap of my bag onto my shoulder, I held my hand out to him, smiling when he took it, ¡°That¡¯s fine. You can have your bacon and eggs and I¡¯ll drown my pancakes in syrup.¡±


    Nick made a face at that, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I do have to be at the office around noon.¡±


    We went to the small restaurant around the corner, Nick was close with the guy because he usually had dinner there. He didn¡¯t visit the restaurant as frequent anymore, but they were still friends. I loved the ce since it felt homey. It was a good ce to have breakfast and talk about the things my brother told me yesterday.


    ***


    ¡°So?¡± Nick asked as he sipped from his coffee.


    I stabbed a strawberry, raising the fork to my lips, ¡°He wanted to talk about my dad.¡±


    Eating the strawberry I watched Nick process what I told him which only added to his confusion, ¡°You have a dad?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re too old for the stork story.¡± I nced down at my belly, ¡°Otherwise we need to have the awkward conversation about where babiese from.¡±


    Nick red at me, ¡°You¡¯re so funny, Ha Ha.¡± He was back to pissed off Nics Woods again, ¡°You know what I mean. So Max came to look for you because of your dad? Are there more family members I need to know of? Maybe your whacky aunt shows up tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just Max and dad?¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°And your mom?¡±


    The fork slipped from my fingers, ttering loudly against the floor. It caused a few people to stare, but I didn¡¯t care. I didn¡¯t want to tell Nick about my family, but I told him we would talk. We couldn¡¯t go backward in our rtionship, not when little Matthew Evan was on the way. I needed to push myself to talk about it. It was Nick, he wouldn¡¯t judge.


    ¡°She has been out of the picture for years.¡± I told him, shes of my mom walking out on using back to me, causing my heart to beat faster and my breathing to actually hurt, ¡°She met a younger guy and left, never heard from her since.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s only been Max and your dad?¡±


    It confused me how Nick talked over it like I hadn¡¯t even said it. I guess he did it because he knew how sensitive the subject was to me. I was ten when she did that, but Max and I never mentioned her. She was a sensitive subject in our house, especially when my dad got drunk andined about her. He was ambitious, the same as Nick, but strict and very traditional. He was fucking proud of Max, never shutting up about him. I was the one who walked away and never looked back. I wasn¡¯t worth it, he didn¡¯t contact me. I had to make the first move so I didn¡¯t bother. I wasn¡¯t Max so dad didn¡¯t care. He would never admit it, but I¡¯m pretty sure he was d I was gone. I reminded him too much of my mother, so not having to look at me helped him move on.

 Chapter 8 Emily鈥檚 Issues(2)

    ¡°When I finished high school I searched for a school away from home, like a few states away from home. Dad firstined about it, but he was d I left. I stayed in touch with Max in the beginning then that stopped. He didn¡¯t try to reach out either, things were fine the way they were.¡±


    ¡°And I messed it up?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t you.¡± I thanked the waiter who picked up the fork and gave me a new one, ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to get your hopes up. Max has his own agenda.¡±


    Nick narrowed his eyes on me, ¡°What does Max want?¡±


    ¡°He wants me to go to Florida and talk to dad.¡±


    Nick didn¡¯t say a word, he finished his coffee, giving me time to catch my breath while he processed things on his own. He was a smart guy, without much info he could piece things together. I knew he was also good at reading me.


    ¡°So your mom cheated on your dad and left with the guy. I imagine you look like your mother so you reminded him for her all the time. His reluctance made you think he didn¡¯t care, that Max was the only kid he cared for so you left. You stayed in touch with Max and I¡¯m pretty sure Max told your dad how you were doing, keeping him updated.¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°That¡¯s the short version.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s been months though. So why is Max suddenly pushing you to go see your father?¡±


    I yed around with my food, feeling awful for being the way I was. I should care, but I told Nick before. I didn¡¯t care much for them. I had my own family now, they were people who were actually close to my heart.


    ¡°He is sick.¡±


    Nick thought I was awful too, he didn¡¯t voice it but his eyes told me that much, ¡°Emily.¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m awful for not wanting to go see him?¡±


    Nick leaned back against his seat, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re awful. You were the one living with Max and your dad, of course, you know best how the situation was. The things they made you feel is not something I can ever imagine. But he is family, Em, I can¡¯t make you do something you don¡¯t want to do. But just really think this through. You might regret not going to see him five years from now.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but pout, ¡°Why are you so perfect?¡¯


    He smirked at me, ¡°No clue, some people are just born this way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s funny, Ha Ha.¡± I threw his words right back at him which made him chuckle, ¡°You should head to the office, I don¡¯t want you to miss your meeting.¡±


    Nick reached out to me, holding my hand tightly in his, ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll think about this.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I promise.¡±


    Nick paid the bill and walked me back to the apartment. I thought he¡¯d leave straight away, instead, he pushed me inside the apartment, wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. His kiss was wet and harsh, pushing his tongue right in my mouth. I didn¡¯t know what turned him on like that, but I wouldn¡¯tin. Dropping my bag on the floor I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself up against his firm chest. My belly got in the way, but Nick didn¡¯t seem to care. He ran his hand through my locks and gripped it, tilting my head back as he deepened the kiss. Pulling out of the kiss Nick trailed his lips down my throat, my breathing hitching in my throat as I felt his fingers slip inside my shirt. Closing my eyes I focused on his soft kisses and the feeling of his fingers leaving a hot trail against my sensitive skin. A gasp left my lips when I felt him push my jacket off my shoulder and made my bra strap snap.


    ¡°Nick!¡±


    He pulled away, chuckling at me as he leaned down to pick up my jacket and bag, ¡°Just a little something to get me through my day.¡± He handed me my things, the grin never leaving his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m d my bra is able to do that.¡± I muttered, shrugging my jacket back on, ¡°Now if you excuse me I¡¯m missing my meeting with Evan. We have lots to discuss, your obsession with my underwear is one of the topics.¡±


    ¡°I love that your taste never changed. Another confession, I couldn¡¯t get that neon pink bra out of my head the entire day. I¡¯m d I was the only one to witness that.¡±


    That made the butterflies in my stomach go nuts, ¡°You¡¯ll forever be the only one to see me in my crazy colored underwear.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the n,¡± Nick confirmed on a serious note.


    The change in his voice made me question what was going on in his head, I was about to ask him about the sudden change, but he suddenly stepped forward and kissed my head. Turning on his heels he left, leaving me with questions and confusion. I¡¯m pretty sure he walked away because he wasn¡¯t ready to be questioned. I hated being left like this though. Not wanting to worry on my own I kicked off my shoes, headed to the bedroom to grab myptop and installed myself on the couch to rant to Evan. Evan always made time for me. It was good to see his face again and hearing his voice. I told Evan everything. I told him about my past and Max suddenly showing up. I also told him about Nick being all weird about it and him leaving me so confused a few minutes ago. That¡¯s when Evan told me something which threw me off my gamepletely. I didn¡¯t think about it because we discussed this before. We both agreed to let our rtionship stay the way it was.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that maybe he changed his mind, maybe he does want to make things official.¡±


    ¡°Things are official.¡± I reminded Evan, ¡°We signed papers and everything.¡±


    ¡°Emily, I know a lot of women would have jumped at the thought of Nics Woods wanting to marry them. Why does it make you want to jump off a building?¡±


    ¡°Because marriage ruins everything.¡±

 Chapter 9 Nick鈥檚 Proposal(1)

    I knew Evan hadn¡¯t discussed my concerns with Nick, because my boyfriend seemed to be in a good mood. He was in the kitchen, preparing us dinner while humming a song. I didn¡¯t know which one, but it sounded good. I didn¡¯t want to bring up my concerns either, knowing his good mood would drop. But I couldn¡¯t keep quiet either, that wasn¡¯t who I was. I liked to discuss everything with Nick and I knew it was the same for him. We talked about everything without restraint and it definitely helped our rtionship. There was that one little thing I kept to myself which was called Max, but I honestly forgot about him myself. Nick couldn¡¯t hold that against me.


    Standing in the doorway, I smiled when Nick nced over his shoulder, his whole face lightening up with a handsome smile just for me, ¡°You okay, Em?¡±


    I ced my hand on my stomach, ¡°Yes¡± I returned his smile, ¡°It¡¯s nice hearing you sing.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m not really singing, I don¡¯t even know which song that is.¡±


    ¡°It sounds good.¡± I shrugged, ¡°I talked to Evanst night.¡±


    Nick¡¯s eyebrows drew together, ¡°That¡¯s good I suppose.¡±


    I leaned my shoulder against the doorpost, ¡°I mentioned the things you told me and he figured that you said those things because you were thinking of marriage.¡± I remained silent for a while, trying to search his eyes but those deep blue eyes didn¡¯t give anything away, ¡°Are you thinking marriage, Nick?¡± I asked him carefully, fearing the answer he¡¯d give me.


    He turned his back to me again and stirred the sauce, ¡°I did wonder about marriage, I think that I might want that in the near future.¡±


    Him admitting that to me made me feel like I stepped into an ice bath and couldn¡¯t get out, shivers ran down my spine while my breathing picked up, ¡°I thought we were okay with how things were between us?¡±


    Nick let the wooden spoon sit in the sauce and turned around again, his eyes locking onto mine while he folded his arms across his chest. Hisfy charcoal gray sweater tightened around his shoulders and biceps, making my eyes trail down his body. I couldn¡¯t go there with my thoughts though, not when we were having a serious discussion about our future. Yet I couldn¡¯t control my feelings. I wanted my boyfriend. I always wanted Nick, he was the one who had control, I just gave in to my desires without thinking about the consequences. He enjoyed teasing me, making me go insane with want for him while he refused to give me what I wanted till I was a mumbling mess and came with him just running his fingers down my body. Nick controlled me when it came to our sexual rtionship and he knew it. Never did he make me feel cheap or unwanted though. He was always very considerate.


    Nick ignored my lustful look and continued with our discussion, ¡°We¡¯re having a child together, things couldn¡¯t be more serious than this. I¡¯m certain about us so the next logical step would be marriage. I know we both agreed not to go there before, but now I¡¯m reconsidering it. I want to be able to call you my wife. I want a paper that officially states that.¡±


    ¡°So you want the big wedding with the bridesmaids and grooms? The big white dress and my father walking me down the aisle?¡±


    He looked offended by me, ¡°You don¡¯t have to sound so disgusted by it. Are you not certain about us?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am certain about us.¡±


    ¡°So why is it so wrong of me to think about marrying you in the near future? Why can¡¯t I imagine you walking down the aisle in a beautiful dress?¡±


    I was distracted again because he closed in on me, cing his hand on my arm. Nick knew how I got whenever I was in that mood, yet he didn¡¯t hold back. He slowly trailed his hand down and wrapped his arm around my waist instead, pulling me close to him. I was pressed up against his chest, his soft sweater feeling like I was rubbing the softest towel ever over my face. It smelled really nice too which at this point just annoyed me. His sweater pissed me off. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be soft and nice smelling when I was having a serious discussion with my boyfriend.


    ¡°Marriage scares me.¡± I quietly admitted to him, leaning my head against his chest as I ran my fingers down his back, gently caressing his soft sweater, ¡°I love this sweater.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°Yeah, I can tell.¡± He wrapped me up in his arms and held me tightly to him, ¡°We¡¯re not like your parents. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll fall in love with an eighteen-year-old and leave your family behind and I can promise you that no other woman has my interest. You¡¯re the only one who I think about when I wake up and when I go sleep. You¡¯re also the only woman who can make my heart race faster with just a look. You¡¯re the one I love, Em.¡±


    ¡°I want you.¡±


    Turning to the stove he turned it off, the minute he turned around to face me again, I cupped his face in my hands and pressed my lips against his. I loved the feel and taste of him, yet I didn¡¯t feel close enough to him. Nick always mentioned how obsessed he was with me, but he had no idea about how I felt about him. Clutching the front of his shirt I tried to pull him even closer, but as I was deepening the kiss, pushing my tongue in his mouth Matthew decided to interrupt us by being active. He always moved around at this hour. Nick pulled away from me, a smile spreading across his face as he ced his hand on my stomach to feel Matthew move.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°Marry me.¡±

 Chapter 10 Nick鈥檚 Proposal(2)

    ¡°You¡¯re relentless,¡± I whined.


    He trailed his eyes up, meeting mine, ¡°Marry me, Em.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him, ¡°Nick-¡±


    His eyes burned with an intensity which made my breathing hitch in my throat, ¡°Marry me.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but if I¡¯m marrying you I want a big, over the top wedding. With bridesmaids and grooms, a big fucking cake and a white dress so big I can barely fit in a car.¡± I took a deep breath, a mischievous n forming in my head and I med Evan for me bing like this, he was the original evil mastermind after all, ¡°And I im Evan.¡±


    His lips curled up, ¡°You can¡¯t im Evan, he is mine.¡±


    ¡°If you want a wedding Evan will be my man of honor.¡±


    Nick pulled away from me, his eyes glistering with amusement, ¡°We¡¯ll revisit and revise. I¡¯m sure we can find a better solution.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not backing down, you want the big over the top wedding you¡¯ll also need to make apromise.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only demanding to have Evan to make me pay for making you change your mind about the whole marriage thing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m making apromise, why can¡¯t you?¡±


    Nick seemed tired of the discussion, letting out a long, tired sigh, ¡°We can share Evan.¡±


    If we shared Evan he¡¯d have much more to do, I knew Evan wouldn¡¯t mind nor would hein because he loved us both, but I didn¡¯t want to put so much on his shoulders. The guy didn¡¯t deserve that.


    ¡°We can¡¯t, the poor guy would get buried in tasks. Probably going insane by the time we are actually saying or vows.¡±


    Nick nodded, ¡°Fine, you can have Evan.¡± He didn¡¯t look pleased about making thatpromise, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you can¡¯t ask Brandon, but fine. I¡¯ll ask Chris instead.¡±


    ¡°Brandon will give me away.¡±


    I walked out the kitchen knowing Nick wasn¡¯t okay with that. I heard his footsteps following behind me as I walked into the living room to grab myptop. When I spun around I nearly smacked right into my boyfriend. He ced his hands on my shoulders to keep me steady, but I also assumed to keep me in ce as he shared his thoughts with me.


    ¡°You have a perfectly healthy brother.¡± He reminded me, ¡°But your father is still alive as well. It wouldn¡¯t be right not to let either one of them give you away.¡±


    ¡°So instead of letting someone who knows me better than anyone else give me away to a man who is my other half I should ask a stranger to do that?¡±


    Nick tightened his hold on me, ¡°They¡¯re not strangers. They¡¯re your family.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Can we please not go there again? I already shared with you how I feel about that.¡±


    He released me and stepped aside to let me pass, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let it go anytime soon, Emily. I don¡¯t want you to have any regrets. I¡¯ve told you that before too. You¡¯ll regret it when something happens to your father and you didn¡¯t listen to hisst wish. You think you¡¯ll be okay now, but years from now, you¡¯ll regret it. Trust me.¡±


    I wanted to walk away at first until I heard thest part of his preach, ¡°You¡¯ve been through that?¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°No, but Evan has. He changed since then, he pretends he is okay, but he is not. He is never going to forgive himself for not visiting his mom when he had the chance.¡±


    My hands shook as I heard the pain in Nick¡¯s voice. He was right beside Evan when it happened. I had to tighten my hold on myptop because I knew it would slip between my fingers if I pushed Nick to tell me more.N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    ¡°What happened to his mom?¡±


    ¡°She had some mental issues. She hadn¡¯t been right for a long time and Evan was tired of taking care of her. His father remarried and took his hands off her, he didn¡¯t want anything to do with the woman. Evan was the only one she had left, but with time it just got too much for him so his visits to the home became less and less. Then there came a time that she asked of Evan toe to see her, that she needed him, but he thought she was having a fit. Then she took her own life and Evan never forgave himself for not listening to her request.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why he is partying all the time? He just wants to forget?¡±


    ¡°He has far more issues than that.¡±


    ¡°He hates being alone too.¡±


    I knew that because whenever Evan had nothing nned he came hanging out with us. Nick mentioned that Evan rarely spent a night on his own. I never thought anything of it until now. I bet he couldn¡¯t be on his own because then the guilt came in waves, drowning him.


    Nick ced his hand on my arm, his eyes narrowing on me, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to have any regrets.¡±


    He didn¡¯t want me to be like Evan, unable to move forward.


    I nodded, ¡°Okay. How about we visit him next weekend together and head to Tokyo afterward?¡±


    I didn¡¯t need to specify to Nick what I meant, because he caught on. I loved that about him, with just a look he knew where my mind was at. Maybe marriage wasn¡¯t such a bad thing, not when you were married to the person you trusted with your life.


    Nick couldn¡¯t keep a straight face, ¡°You want to hug him now, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I red at my boyfriend or fianc¨¦ rather, since he did propose to me and I apparently epted it.


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Nick grabbed my hand when I wanted to walk away, being pouty and annoyed that he pushed me so much today. I knew he only did that for me, but I couldn¡¯t be happy about it now. In the future I¡¯d be grateful to him for pushing me, I was aware of that. So I didn¡¯t pull away when he tried to pull me back to him. So I let him spin me around and pull me closer to him, his lips lingering against my temple.


    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange a flight to Tokyo. You should contact your brother and discuss if it¡¯s a good time to see your father. We¡¯ll stay the weekend and head to Tokyo on Monday. Then you can hug Evan and tell him he¡¯s loved.¡±


    ¡°I do love him.¡± I murmured into his chest, leaning closer to him as he pressed his lips against my hair.


    I heard rather than saw Nick¡¯s smile, ¡°You should be d I don¡¯t get jealous when ites to Evan.¡± I heard the soft chuckle he tried to hide, ¡°Much.¡±


    He let go of me and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking dinner. I sat down on the couch and send an email to Max. I didn¡¯t want to hear his voice, I wasn¡¯t ready for that after I decided to see our dad when I protested so much the other day. I knew he wouldn¡¯t gloat but something inside me just wouldn¡¯t let me pick up the phone. I¡¯m sure a man like Max checked his mail frequently. If Max replied back telling me it was a good time, Nick and I would be on a ne heading to Florida to see my dad. Just the thought of seeing him again made all the stress and anxiousness crawl up inside me. Nick would be right beside me so I hoped everything would work out okay.

 Chapter 11 Moving Forward(1)

    Nick left it to me to contact Max and discuss our trip which I did, but I wasn¡¯t looking forward to the most awkward lunch in history. I was sure Max wouldn¡¯t gloat, he never did before. I just hated that in the end, he got what he wanted because he had Nick on his side. I was also aware that talking about sides here was freaking childish of me, but I just didn¡¯t give a fuck. I felt like I had the right to be a little bit pouty and grumpy.


    Entering the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Max, I easily spotted him. I greeted the hostess who asked me if I was meeting someone or if I needed a table for one. Making small talk with her I stalled a bit to prepare myself for the awkward conversation I was going to have with my brother. I could feel Max¡¯ eyes on me like I thought, he didn¡¯t judge. Walking past the hostess I headed to his table, taking a seat across him.


    The ce was busy since it was lunchtime, but Max still got a good table by the window. I suppose Max did fit into the category of sessful, good-looking men. I mean I was grumpy about the fact that I was giving in to his demands, but I could still admit that my brother fit into the same category as Nick, Evan, and Chris. He didn¡¯t have a wife yet, but I also assumed that it was his choice, he just didn¡¯t find the right girl yet.


    ¡°Thank you for meeting me, Emily.¡±


    If he was being polite I couldn¡¯t snap at him so instead, I shed him a smile. I wasn¡¯t apletely horrible person when someone showed me kindness I showed them kindness in return. At least I tried not to let my emotions get the better of me.


    ¡°No problem.¡± Reaching for the menu I flipped it open, using it as a shield so I didn¡¯t have to look at him, ¡°I assume since you didn¡¯t reply to my email immediately that it¡¯s okay for us to visit dad over the weekend? We¡¯re heading straight to Tokyo after so we need the confirmation.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Nick opened a business up in Tokyo. I think I read about that somewhere.¡± Max sounded more like he was talking to himself which I didn¡¯t mind at all, ¡°It¡¯s fine though. Are you going to stay at dad¡¯s ce or a hotel?¡±


    ¡°A hotel.¡± I quickly told him, I might have agreed to finally meet my dad after years, I wasn¡¯t ready to stay two nights in his house. That was a bit too much.


    ¡°Do you have the schedule or does Nick have it?¡±


    ¡°Nick.¡± I ced my menu down, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I figured we could head back together.¡±


    I guess that worked out for everyone, it also meant that Max was finally leaving New York. I didn¡¯t own the ce, but I loved the fact that we all had our own town which we lived in. I couldn¡¯t have Max around in the city I loved. It would ruin things, mostly because I knew Nick wouldn¡¯t let the guy stay out of my life.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Nick would love that.¡±


    A genuine smile spread across Max¡¯ face, ¡°I¡¯m really happy for you, Emily. Nick is an amazing guy, but I¡¯m sure you know that. He has his life figured out, you know. Intelligent and well taken care of. It¡¯s not so bad either that he is a genuinely nice guy.¡±


    I knew Max wasplimenting Nick and he didn¡¯t mean any harm with his words, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. It was then that I realized that it probably had a lot to do with my emotions being all over the ce and me not being in control of them. That frustrated me more.


    ¡°I¡¯m not together with Nick because he is well taken care off.¡± I told him, my voice slightly raising, ¡°You¡¯re right about him being a genuinely nice guy. When Nick gives a crap about the people around him he never lets them down.¡± I ced a hand on my swollen stomach, just the thought of my now fianc¨¦ brought a smile upon my face, ¡°He is amazing.¡±


    I felt Max¡¯ eyes on me, ¡°When are you due?¡±


    ¡°In four months.¡±


    ¡°Are you and Nick going to make things official?¡± He asked me, his eyes lingering on my bare finger.


    It wouldn¡¯t do any harm to inform Max, we already told the good news to the most important person in our life, Evan. We didn¡¯t talk to Chris yet, but we¡¯d see him Monday night, probably, so he could wait. Brandon still needed to be informed, but I wanted to do that in person too. I was going to meet him right after my lunch with Max, heading to the club to check in on him.


    ¡°Nick proposed.¡± I told him, ¡°And I epted so I guess we¡¯re making things official.¡±


    Max¡¯ brows shut up, he looked sincerely happy for me which actually made a smile spread across my face, ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯m happy for you.¡±


    We ordered our food and discussed the details about my visit this weekend. Our conversation was much moreidback and lighthearted than thest conversation we had. It made me remember the times when I called Max, those calls had been the same. It made me wonder if it was me who made a big deal out of nothing.


    Max was busy trying to make a living, trying to make a career. I didn¡¯t know Nick when he was building up his empire, but I could only guess how many hours he put into it. It made me feel like a bitch, though I already knew I wasn¡¯t always a nice person. But when people hurt me I could turn into an ice-queen, it might not be the best trait I had. Thankfully Nick could deal with it.


    ¡°Max.¡±


    He met my gaze after he handed the waiter his credit card, ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You spent a lot of time into building up yourpany, right?¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    His eyebrows drew together, he needed to think about it before he answered me. I could see him adding up the numbers, thinking about how much time exactly he spent into building up his empire. I didn¡¯t need to know more. It was me who had been the selfish bitch here.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I told him t out, knowing I owed him an apology after all this time.


    He was confused when I suddenly apologized, ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± He sounded unsure, preparing for a battle, though I wasn¡¯t going to yell at him or throw usations at him.


    ¡°It was me who decided you didn¡¯t care anymore.¡± I took a deep breath, mustering up all the courage I had buried inside me as I admitted to him and myself that I was the one who was wrong here, ¡°It was also me who started to let go of you. You were putting a lot of hours into yourpany and I couldn¡¯t see it, or maybe I did see it, but I just wanted all your attention. Being really selfish about it.¡±


    Max¡¯ lips curled up, ¡°You¡¯ve grown a lot, Emily. It takes a lot of courage for someone to admit that they¡¯re wrong and apologizing for it. I¡¯m d you¡¯re doing okay.¡±


    I nced down at the table, shifting ufortably in my chair as I epted hispliment. It was true, I did grow a lot ever since I met Nick and his friends. Oveing hardships were what made a person grow stronger.

 Chapter 12 Moving Forward(2)

    ¡°I guess I have.¡±


    Max helped me out of my chair and walked me to the car where Miles was waiting for me, ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re going to see dad. I know it¡¯s not something you¡¯re looking forward to, but it will be okay. I promise.¡±


    I turned to look at him, ¡°Nick will be right beside me so I¡¯m sure it will be okay. Thanks for lunch, it was lovely.¡± I admitted to him, ¡°If your schedule is freeter this week we could do dinner at our ce Thursday night.¡±


    Max smiled at me, ¡°Sounds great, Emily, I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    He opened the door for me while I climbed inside the car, gettingfortable in the backseat. I nced at Max and waved at him once he closed the door. He waved back at me, looking more at ease than a few days ago. I guess it was because of me he was looking so uptight and angry. My good mood today affected him too, I was d we could move forward without holding grudges.


    ***


    Entering the club Brandon¡¯s girlfriend Sacha waved at me, her whole face lighting up.


    ¡°He is in the office.¡± She called to me, looking giddy with herself.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what they had been doing in his office. I once witnessed them having a good time on top of the counter she was standing behind, like hell I wanted to witness it again. Trying to banish all the images of them banging out of my mind I knocked on his door and waited for him to call out. I stepped inside once he did and closed the door behind me. We had a lot of catching up to do and by the looks of it, I had Brandon¡¯s full attention.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°Em.¡±


    I smiled, taking a seat across him on the one-seat, ¡°Not buried in work today?¡±


    ¡°I managed to get a lot donest night.¡± He got off his desk chair, walked around his desk and took a seat next to me on the empty one-seat, ¡°So what¡¯s been going on? You sounded stressed a few days ago yet today you look good. Happy.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the big news.¡± My lips curled up to a big grin which made Brandon a bit wary of me, ¡°I¡¯m engaged.¡± His eyes trailed down to my hand and trailed up again to meet my gaze, ¡°Nick was nning to ask me, but I didn¡¯t give him time to do the whole romantic pop the question thing.¡± I told him, knowing he was wondering where the hell my sparkling engagement ring was.


    ¡°Sounds like you.¡± Brandon¡¯s eyes danced with amusement, ¡°So you¡¯re getting married?¡±


    I nced down at my fingers, ¡°Yeah, I guess I am.¡±


    Brandon reached out to me, making me look up to meet his gaze, ¡°That¡¯s big news, Em. Congrats.¡± He leaned back in his chair, ¡°You guys are already solid, this is the most logical step, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It was to Nick, not so much to me.¡±


    ¡°But Nick convinced you to take that step anyway.¡± The look in his eyes changed, he looked more serious, ¡°You might not believe me, but I¡¯m d you¡¯ve met him. He changed you and for the better, but you¡¯ve changed him as well. You two helped each other grow. I could actually picture you walking down the aisle to marry him.¡±


    That meant a lot to me. Brandon and I had been through a lot and I was d our friendship survived the blow. Brandon had been in love with me, at least he thought he was. Nick and I getting in a rtionship had been hard on him, but now he was the one telling me he approved of us. That he imagined me walking down the aisle to marry Nick. I knew Brandon well so I also knew when he was being sincere. So his words made me cry. I didn¡¯t mean to, buttely, I was more emotional than usual and now I just let the tears stream down, not giving a damn. Brandon reached out to me, wiping the tears away.


    ¡°You¡¯re being silly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± I muttered, ¡°You saying that to me means a lot to me.¡±


    Brandon pulled me off my chair and pulled me in hisp, holding me tightly as he let me cry, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re totally being silly here.¡±


    Once I calmed down Brandon and I walked out of his office to get a drink. Sacha poured me a ss of water while Brandon got himself a coffee to get him through the day.


    ¡°You feeling better?¡± He asked me, sounding amused.


    I sipped from my water, ¡°A lot. I can¡¯t help it okay.¡±


    He smiled at me, ¡°I know. You think it¡¯s a good idea to go to Tokyo?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I still have four months to go.¡±


    His eyes lingered on my swollen stomach, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to meet the little guy.¡±


    I clutched the cold ss in front of me as the topic of family came back, I had to tell Brandon what was on my mind. It was why I came to meet him in the first ce.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pay my dad a visit this weekend.¡±


    That made Brandon¡¯s mood drop, I didn¡¯t even have to look up to see it, ¡°I thought you said you were never going back there.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I did say that.¡± I confirmed, ¡°But I¡¯ve been talking with Nick about it then I talked to Max about it and I figured that I might have to push some grudges aside to move forward in life.¡± I looked up to meet his gaze, ¡°I¡¯m bing a mother, I shouldn¡¯t let my child think it¡¯s okay to live that way. Life is way too short to keep upset about things that happened years ago.¡±


    Brandon stared at me for a long minute, his eyes searching mine. His face was void of any emotions, it even felt like I could hear the wheels in his brain turn. He was analyzing me and I feared for the worst. I didn¡¯t expect his face to light up and his lips to curl up in a grin.


    ¡°You¡¯re all grown up, Em.¡± I was tearing up again seeing the proud look in his eyes, ¡°You¡¯ll be a great mom to that little boy.¡± He reached for my hand and gently squeezed it, ¡°I love you.¡±


    I wiped my cheeks, trying to get rid of the tears as I smiled back at him, ¡°Love you too, Bran.¡±

 Chapter 13 Love Confession(1)

    After checking in I got in my seat beside Nick, Max was sitting in the row next to Nick. The two of them talking nonstop, they were bonding and I didn¡¯t know if I liked that or not. Max had no ulterior motive when it came to my rtionship with Nick, but it was odd seeing them get along so well. Max was my older brother, but it felt like Nick was the one who knew him better like they have known each other for years. Shifting in my chair I let out a tired sigh which caught Nick¡¯s attention. He shifted his gaze to me, his eyes narrowing on me. Probably worried about my health.


    ¡°You okay, Em?¡±


    His eyes trailed down to my stomach, making me ce a hand over it, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I reassured him, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see Evan again.¡± I told him quietly, my face lightening up when Nick ced his hand on top of mine, ¡°I¡¯m still worried, you know?¡±


    Nick trailed his eyes up again, his piercing blue eyes warming up, ¡°I know, you care about him as much as you care about Brandon.¡± Nickced his fingers with mine and tightened his hold on me, ¡°Evan and I needed you in our lives. I don¡¯t even mind sharing him at this point.¡±


    I giggled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry he¡¯ll always be your Evan.¡±


    ¡°Good, because I don¡¯t feel like getting too close to Brandon. No offense.¡± He leaned in to kiss me, trying to soothe the pain he thought he inflicted by telling me that.


    ¡°None taken.¡± I told him leaning in for another kiss, yet my fianc¨¦ pulled away, ¡°What?¡±


    He nced over his shoulder before he met my gaze again, ¡°Your brother is right there.¡± He whispered, making me frown, ¡°We can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Max is aware I¡¯m not staying a virgin till our wedding night.¡± I muttered sarcastically, ncing down at our hands which were still resting upon my swollen stomach, ¡°Matthew being the big hint, I assume.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± He leaned in, lowering his voice even more, ¡°But it¡¯s still odd.¡±N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    ¡°Never pecked you for the shy type, Nick.¡± I pulled my hand away and leaned back against my chair, ¡°Good to know that even you have a weakness. Maybe we should ask for separate rooms at the hotel, you know, so my brother won¡¯t get the wrong idea about us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Em.¡± Nick sighed, trying to pull my hand back in his but I wasn¡¯t having it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood anymore.¡± I told him closing my eyes and trying to get some rest before we wouldnd and face all the drama, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± I warned him.


    I could feel his eyes lingering on my face, but I wasn¡¯t giving in. Nick was being silly about not wanting to kiss in front of my brother. I was living together with Nick, having his baby and marrying him in the near future, I¡¯m pretty sure my brother was aware of the type of rtionship we had. Nick kissed me before, I knew it was a quick kiss just to let me know he didn¡¯t mean to harm me. But when I tried to kiss him again he stopped me, probably worried things were going to get heated. Things always got like that between us. I guess he didn¡¯t want to embarrass my brother, so it wasn¡¯t unreasonable of my fianc¨¦. Sighing, I opened my eyes and nced aside, meeting Nick¡¯s gaze. He pouted, making me melt for him.


    ¡°I get it,¡± I told him, my annoyance slowly fading away.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be the end of me.¡± His eyes dancing with amusement, ¡°Your mood goes up and down.¡± Reaching for my hand, he raised it to his lips and kissed my pulse, ¡°But you always find your way back to me. I want you to know that I recognize it and I really appreciate it. I¡¯ll try and do better too.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how but our light and teasing conversation suddenly turned very serious. I couldn¡¯t look away from him.


    ¡°Things are good.¡± I told him when he released my hand, ¡°There is no need for you to worry about our rtionship, I feel like we¡¯ll always find our way back to each other no matter how intense things get between us.¡±


    His lips curled up to a genuine smile, ¡°I love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too,¡± I whispered back.


    ***


    Max let us settle in our hotel room while he went to my father¡¯s house first. I¡¯m sure he needed to prepare my father for my arrival. I didn¡¯t know if the two of them stayed in touch while Max visited us in New York, but I assumed they did. If they didn¡¯t, dad would get the surprise of his life to see me together with Nick, knocked up and engaged.


    ncing down at my hand I stared at my empty finger, I suppose he wouldn¡¯t know about the engaged part since people wouldn¡¯t actually know without us telling them about it. Clenching my fist I tried to shake the feeling of disappointment off. It didn¡¯t bother me before so I wouldn¡¯t let it bother me now either.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to fresh up, you want to eat lunch first before we leave?¡±


    Nick walked into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar to continue his conversation with me. I heard him move around, not wanting to be creepy about it I focused on getting my toiletries out so I could freshen up after him.


    ¡°We should. You want room service or should we eat downstairs?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat downstairs, we can leave right after,¡± Nick called back.


    After he freshened up I headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Putting my clothes back on I redid my makeup and hair and met Nick in the bedroom.


    ¡°Ready,¡± I told him.


    We had dinner at the hotel¡¯s restaurant, Nick was keeping the mood light because I knew he wanted me gentle and warm when I met up with my brother and father. It was important to him that I¡¯d get along with them. His concern came from the right ce so I would just let him lead me. If things didn¡¯t go the way he wanted to we¡¯d leave Sunday night to head to Tokyo to meet up with Chris and Evan. This whole ordeal would be forgotten and we¡¯d move on. All of us.


    ¡°Max told me your father is an investor.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he is.¡±


    ¡°Why did you start working at the club?¡± Nick¡¯s tone was light so I knew he wasn¡¯t judging, he was just curious, ¡°Your dad could have paid for your education while you focused on graduating.¡±

 Chapter 14 Love Confession(2)

    ¡°We weren¡¯t close, you know this.¡± I did tell him about my family¡¯s history when there was no going back anymore, ¡°I wanted my independence, I wanted to achieve something to show my dad I could move forward in life without his help, I guess.¡± I stirred my spoon around in my mushroom soup, ¡°If I didn¡¯t make that decision we never would have met.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± He agreed, ¡°I guess making that decision also shaped you in the person you are today.¡±


    ¡°Right, so I don¡¯t have any regrets when ites to taking a job to provide for myself. I never had the intention of asking my dad for money. I wanted to get away from him if I took the money I would have been tied to him no matter what town I moved to.¡±


    ¡°Life would have been easier, but thank god you were stubborn as hell.¡± He reached over the table and rested his hand upon mine, brushing his thumb over my bare ring finger, ¡°How about we go ring shopping tomorrow?¡±


    He didn¡¯t want to push me because he was afraid of my reaction. I was against getting married so I couldn¡¯t me him for being careful about that.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ***


    Holding tightly onto Nick¡¯s hand I let him walk me to the big mansion. As I nced up at him I noticed the look of awe on his face. He knew my father had money, he didn¡¯t expect to see this though. I knew a lot of people were intimidated by the house, I never thought Nick would be one of them. He nced down to meet my gaze, raising a sharp eyebrow at me.


    ¡°You grew up in this house?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    He let his eyes wander to the massive mansion again, ¡°A lot of people would call you a fool for leaving all this behind to be a bartender to pay your students loans while you attended college.¡±


    ¡°Money doesn¡¯t motivate me.¡± I told him, ¡°If it did I wouldn¡¯t have made things hard for you.¡±


    He smirked, ¡°Guess so.¡±


    ¡°Admit it you liked the fact that I put up a challenge. It was different and it made you realize that not everyone out there is going to use you to get ahead in life.¡±


    He tightened his grip on my hand, ¡°I realized that when I first met you.¡± He admitted to me, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to be the guy who fell for a girl at first sight. I always called it bullshit. Falling in love, at first sight, meant you fell in love with someone because of appearances and not personality.


    ¡°So you were searching for someone whose personality intrigued you?¡±


    He smiled at me, ¡°You find that hard to believe? You blurt things out without thinking, making every situation more interesting. You¡¯re on fire when you get angry and you put up a good fight. When you care about someone you let them in your heart and protect them with everything you got. Why wouldn¡¯t I want to marry that girl?¡±


    I did have a problem with keeping my words to myself, sometimes the most embarrassing things slipped, causing the situation to be rather intense. Nickplimented me about that before even though it was also an insult. Then I met Zoey and I knew I wasn¡¯t the only one with that problem. It made me wonder if Zoey made things interesting for Evan. If things got too interesting for that guy she¡¯d walk into something she wasn¡¯t prepared for. The same happened to me. I fell hard and fast for Nick. Our rtionship developed quickly, worrying the people around us. Brandon tried to keep me grounded, but I didn¡¯t let him. I let Nick take my hand and lead me to where we were now, standing in front of my father¡¯s house to mend things.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure people can give you a hundred reasons why not to marry that girl.¡± We stopped in front of the door and faced each other, ¡°But I can give you one reason why you should, and that reason shatters the others to dust.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°Oh really?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, it will.¡± I leaned closer to him, releasing his hand only to press both palms against his firm chest, ¡°That girl loves you more than anyone else ever did.¡±


    Smiling Nick leaned in and pressed his lips firmly against mine, slipping his tongue in to deepen the kiss. He grabbed the back of my head and tilted my head back. He kissed me long and hard until we were both out of breath. Clutching his shoulder for support I tried to push his tongue back in his mouth to dominate the kiss instead. He wouldn¡¯t let me though. I felt him smirk in the kiss, his other hand trailing down my body, pressing firmly against my bum. He pushed me into him, letting me feel that hard body of his. His heath making me feel like I was on fire. We were so caught up in each other we didn¡¯t hear the front door open until it was toote.


    Max cleared his throat to catch our attention, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but if you both need some privacy you can head up to one of the guest rooms.¡±


    We pulled away from each other, Nick looking as flustered as I was. I fixed my hair while I tried to pull myself together. Nick ran his fingers through his hair to fix it as well and straightened his jacket while he cleared his throat.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± He told my brother firmly, ¡°If you could lead the way.¡±


    It made me smile that Nick didn¡¯t apologize. He didn¡¯t want to kiss me too intensely when we were in the ne because of his respect toward my brother. He didn¡¯t seem to mind it as much now though. I suppose it was because of my eternal love confession. I told him I loved him often, but I suppose he would never grow tired of hearing it. Meeting my father now wouldn¡¯t be so bad at all. I¡¯d be able to push through it because my mind would wander to my intense moment with Nick, knowing he was right beside me. He wouldn¡¯t let me fall, he¡¯d catch me and push me forward again. Why wouldn¡¯t I marry a guy like that?

 Chapter 15 Trouble is Coming(1)

    Entering the living room my eyesnded on my father sitting on the one-seat, a ss of water in front of him while his eyes shifted from the TV to me. It surprised me, taking me off guard when his eyes softened and a smile spread across his tired looking face. Never did I think my father had a weakness until I saw him today. It was disarming, I couldn¡¯t step forward and approach the man who lowered his guard.


    Nick beside me held tighter onto my hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. He was letting me know he was right beside me, that I didn¡¯t have to face this on my own. It gave me the push I needed to step forward.


    ¡°Hey, dad.¡±


    He got up, meeting Nick and I halfway as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek, ¡°Nice to see you, Emily.¡± Pulling back his eyes traveled to my swollen stomach, ¡°That¡¯s a surprise.¡±


    I nced aside, meeting my fianc¨¦¡¯s eyes, ¡°This is Nick, my fianc¨¦.¡±


    My dad shifted his gaze to Nick who held out his hand, ¡°Nice to meet you, sir.¡±


    It made me bite back a smile when I noticed my dad eying Nick, analyzing him. He was making sure this guy was right for me and when the skin around his eyes softened I knew he approved. Nick passed the test. But even if he didn¡¯t I would still marry this guy. He was right for me, that was all that mattered.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Nick.¡± My dad shook his hand, ¡°Call me John, sir is a bit too formal don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°John.¡± Nick corrected himself.


    ¡°Take a seat.¡± My dad suggested as he took a seat on his chair as well.


    Nick sat closer to dad, knowing that even though I didn¡¯t snap at my father anything could still happen. Just with little gestures like that, I knew Nick would always do what was best for me. He rested his hand on my knee while he faced my father, a small smile spread across his face.


    ¡°Love the house.¡± Nick¡¯s eyes scanned the room.


    ¡°A little too big for an old guy like me, but I couldn¡¯t sell it.¡± I could see the shift in his eyes, the sadness quickly overpowering the happiness he felt a minute ago, ¡°Memories, you know.¡±


    Nick nodded, ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡±


    I was keeping quiet while my dad and Nick talked about his business and dad actually looked interested in what Nick was telling him. As I observed him closer I wondered if dad always had been like this, but I just didn¡¯t see it? That I didn¡¯t try harder to ept the situation and move on. That I should have been a little more understanding because the love of his life left him for some eighteen-year-old.


    ¡°You okay, Em?¡± Nick asked me, snapping me back to reality.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I told him, shing him a small smile, ¡°Just thinking.¡±


    Max entered the room, ¡°What do you guys want to drink?¡±


    Nick got up, ¡°Coffee, what do you want?¡± He turned to look at me.


    ¡°Water is fine,¡± I told him.


    Nick spun around and faced my brother, ¡°I¡¯ll walk with you to the kitchen.¡±


    Nick was giving my father and I some time to talk things over, I was aware of that. While the boys walked out together, talking about some good coffee ces in New York. I shifted my attention back to my dad and awkwardly shifted, trying to get asfortable as possible.


    ¡°You graduated a few months ago?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡±


    ¡°Proud of you, Emily.¡±


    If I wasn¡¯t confused about my father¡¯s sudden change in behavior, I was now. He never expressed his feelings toward me and I wasn¡¯t a mind reader. If he wanted me to actually understand him he had to use words. It was the same for Max. Max and I were able to move past our little hurdle so I¡¯d try to handle this situation the same. Dad was sick, I could tell by looking at him. Holding grudges wasn¡¯t going to help anyone. I was d Nick pushed me to do this.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°When is the baby due?¡± His eyes shifted from mine to my stomach.


    ¡°In four months.¡±


    The sadness that brimmed in his eyes made me tense up, my heart squeezing painfully.


    ¡°Hope I can meet the little one.¡±


    It was hard not to burst out in tears. It had nothing to do with my father being sick and wishing he could live to see his grandson, it had everything to do with realizing another human being was dying and wanted to live, but they had no power over that. Even breathing hurt. I shifted in my seat again, clearing my throat as I forced myself not to cry.


    ¡°Hope so too.¡± I whispered, ¡°A lot of people are waiting to meet Matthew so I hope he won¡¯t keep us waiting.¡±


    ¡°A boy.¡± My father nced over his shoulder, ¡°Hope he turns out like his father, Nick seems like a good guy.¡±


    I agreed, ¡°Nick is a good guy.¡±


    My dad shifted his gaze back at me, his lips curling up to a smile, ¡°He is the reason why you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°He is.¡± I wouldn¡¯t lie about that, ¡°He made me realize it¡¯s pointless to keep grudges. We can¡¯t change the past but we can change the future.¡±


    My father narrowed his eyes on me, it was like he was trying to get inside my head. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve made him feel helpless a lot of times, made him wish he was a mind reader.


    ¡°That boy, I owe him a lot.¡±


    I smiled, blinking away the tears which threatened to fall even though I told my body not to respond to anything. It was obviously not working since I was crying. Brushing the tears away, I froze when my father reached out to me, holding my hand in his.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to make you cry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just very emotional right now,¡± I mumbled a weak apology.


    My father saw right through me, his pale eyes dancing with amusement, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the past, I¡¯m d you¡¯re here because I was wondering how to tell you this.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what?¡± He pulled away and nced at his feet, looking conflicted, ¡°Dad?¡±


    ¡°Your mother visited me a while ago, demanding I handed your contact information to her.¡± He didn¡¯t look happy talking about this and I couldn¡¯t me him, ¡°I told her we didn¡¯t stay in touch and she left angrily, making a scene.¡±


    ¡°Why does she want to talk to me?¡±

 Chapter 16 Trouble is Coming(2)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Dad¡¯s eyes told me a different story though, ¡°Heard the gossip about her though. She is on her own and short on cash.¡±


    I put one and one together easily, ¡°She knows about Nick.¡±


    ¡°I figure this is about that boy.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Dad, he has a name.¡±


    ¡°I know he does.¡±


    ¡®But you¡¯re going to keep calling him ¡®that boy¡¯? Thought you liked him.¡±


    Dad leaned back in his chair, ¡°I do, and I owe him the world since he brought my daughter back. Made you ept Max again. But he is also that boy who knocked up my daughter without marrying her first.¡±


    ¡°Marriage wasn¡¯t on our agenda at all.¡± I confessed to him, making my dad look surprised for once, ¡°Nick is the one who changed the game and when he made up his mind about something he doesn¡¯t back down until he gets what he wants. He wanted to marry me so now we¡¯re getting married.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let that boy walk all over you.¡± Dad warned me, ¡°You stand your ground firmly if you don¡¯t agree with something let him know.¡±


    ¡°Dad, Nick wouldn¡¯t do anything to hurt me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought when I married your mother.¡± The bitterness clear in his voice, ¡°Just keep your guard up, don¡¯t charge into things without your mind being in the game.¡±


    I think my dad was giving me lessons about life here and I was paying attention. He wasn¡¯t my favorite person for a long time, but I knew he became sessful for a reason. Unlike me my dad always thought his words through, he didn¡¯t make a fool out of himself. I was theplete opposite of him. It was hrious.


    ¡°About mom-¡± I went back to the subject which made him be a grumpy old man because I knew that woulde back to haunt me, ¡°You think she¡¯lle to New York?¡±


    ¡°That might be a possibility.¡± Dad reached for his ss and took arge gulp, ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to ignore her or stay away from her. That¡¯s your decision to make. I just want you to keep in mind that she left us without ncing back once. She didn¡¯t stay in touch with her own children even though I never denied her the right to see you-¡±


    ¡°She is a selfish person.¡± I cut my dad off, ¡°I always thought you hated me because I reminded you of her.¡±


    ¡°Emily.¡± Dad ced his ss on the coffee table and reached for my hand, holding it tightly in his, ¡°I could never hate you. I¡¯ve to admit that you do look a lot like her, but you aren¡¯t her. I know you¡¯re a better person. You made the first step here, didn¡¯t you? You swallowed your pride and came to see me even though you didn¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Dad, Nick is the better person here. We both know if he wasn¡¯t in my life I would have turned my back to Max and you-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that. ¡± He squeezed my hand tightly, ¡°I think that you would have figured things out with or without him. You¡¯re sensitive and you care.¡±


    Giving my dad¡¯s hand a squeeze in return I shed him a sincere, big smile, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°So now stop being silly and tell me about your life in New York.¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    I settled in and told my dad everything. We needed to catch up and since we had nothing between us anymore the mood was a lot lighter and we talked freely. It was fun and I was actually smiling a lot, not regrettinging to see my dad at all.


    ***


    Nick and I were getting ready for bed, both in a pretty good mood after spending time with Max and dad and eating amazing food. I was settling in bed, shifting to my side as I eyed my fianc¨¦. He nced down, raising an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He looked exasperated with me, ¡°Emily, there is no need to thank me. I did what I felt was right. You¡¯re the one who finally made the decision. It¡¯s all you, so we drop this subject, okay?¡±


    I smiled, ¡°Okay.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Max warned me about your mom.¡± Nick started.


    I pushed my finger against his lips to make him stop talking, ¡°Things are good right now, can we pretend that everything is fine for a bit longer. We¡¯ll have a fun day tomorrow. Ring shopping and spending time with dad and Max and then we¡¯ll see our friends in Tokyo. When we get back to New York we¡¯ll worry about her.¡±


    Nick sighed and rolled to his side as well, brushing my hair back, ¡°I¡¯ll give you that.¡±


    Nick leaned in and kissed me, softly, as if he didn¡¯t want to break me. Putting my hand up against his chest I pressed my lips harder against his. He brushed his fingers over my neck before he grabbed onto the back of my head and deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue in my mouth. It was always me who made the first move, always wanting Nick so much I couldn¡¯t control myself. It was exciting that Nick was the one who couldn¡¯t control himself.


    He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, pressing me gently against his firm body. Trailing my hand down his chest I pushed it under his shirt and felt the heath of his skin. A moan left my lips, swallowed by his kiss. We both pulled away to catch our breath when Matthew let his presence known again.


    Nick sighed, ¡°Guess Matthew is awake again.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°He is always active around this time.¡± Nick wrapped me up in his arms and kissed my head, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°This is fine too.¡± He whispered, ¡°I¡¯m okay with just holding you.¡±


    Closing my eyes I leaned my head against his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of him, ¡°Love you.¡±


    Chuckling Nick kissed my head again, ¡°Love you too.¡±

 Chapter 17 Outing Them(1)

    ¡°Are you getting used to Tokyo?¡± I asked Zoey, ¡°I loveing here, but it¡¯s always quite a change. And I need to get used to things, you know. Learning things all over again.¡±


    ¡°Some things are quite different.¡± She agreed, ¡°It would help quite a lot if I spoke thenguage and could read things properly. I get confused at the supermarket, a lot.¡± She confessed with a sigh, ¡°But this isn¡¯t permanent. We¡¯re going back home in a few months.¡±


    ¡°You miss it?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°I do miss my apartment.¡± She confided in me, ¡°Also, I¡¯m a New York girl, you know.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°I understand.¡±


    She leaned back against her chair, ¡°There is also a lot I need to take care of privately when I get back.¡±


    I didn¡¯t question her because she didn¡¯t want to tell me. Zoey and I weren¡¯t close enough to share personal things like her having a rtionship with Evan. I didn¡¯t mind it either. Everyone had that one person in their life they shared everything with. Brandon was mine, Evan was Nick¡¯s person and I¡¯m sure Zoey also had that kind of person.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s tough to do it over the phone or via email.¡±


    Zoey agreed, ¡°Some things you need to take care of face to face.¡±


    I¡¯ve been through something like that just a few days ago. Meeting my dad after so many months and making things right. I knew exactly what Zoey was talking about, so I agreed with everything she said, knowing from experience she was right.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    We talked some more about her life in Tokyo so far when Nick and Evan suddenly announced they had to leave. They pushed that upon us without discussing it first. Chris was tagging along with them, I figured Zoey had to leave too, but Nick told her she didn¡¯t have to attend their meeting. I suppose they wanted a guy talk. They were probably going to the club first to talk business and afterward discussing their women problems. Whoever said men don¡¯t gossip was so wrong about that. They did, they just didn¡¯t refer to it as gossip.


    I shifted my gaze to Zoey, ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay with me. If you need to take care of things, go right ahead. I understand.¡±


    She shook her head at that, ¡°No, I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other better. Maybe explore the city together?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±


    Nick reached for his wallet, handing me some cash, ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself okay? If you¡¯re tired just admit it and take a break.¡±


    Taking the money I put it away in my purse, ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll be fine, Nick. You guys can go and do your thing. Zoey and I will be on our way too soon.¡±


    Zoey faced my fianc¨¦, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take good care of her.¡± She promised him.


    ¡°I can take care of myself.¡± I reminded them.


    Zoey looked at me, ¡°I know that, but caveman here isn¡¯t going to leave until he is sure his pregnant fianc¨¦e is going to be safe and sound while he is away.¡±


    Nick¡¯s eyes gleamed with amusement, his lips twitching as he stared Zoey down, ¡°Caveman?¡± He asked, ¡°Guess when you¡¯re dating one it¡¯s easier to pick up on things like that.¡±


    We all fell silent, knowing Nick just outed his best friend and Zoey. To get back at her for trying to make fun of him. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d never do it again. Nick was the only one who could do that and get away with it as well. Pressing my lips together I tried hard not tough or even smile because of the looks of utter shock that were disyed on Evan¡¯s and Zoey¡¯s faces.


    ¡°Ready to go?¡± Nick asked, stepping to me and kissing my hair, ¡°See you at home.¡±


    ¡°Have fun,¡± I told him, watching the guys leave.


    Zoey needed a minute to put herself together, but once she did we rushed out, ready to explore the city and bond a little. We didn¡¯t mention the elephant in the room, Nick had already done that. We had fun though and I didn¡¯t mind spending more time with Zoey. She was cool and greatpany. I didn¡¯t have many female friends, but I think Zoey and I were getting on pretty well. Maybe soon we¡¯d be friendly enough to have movie nights in and gossip moments like the guys had.


    ***


    Nick and I had dinner together in our room, both too tired to be social and have dinner at the restaurant. We were propped up against the headboard with a pillow behind our backs, sitting side by side while eating dinner. I was sipping from my miso soup which I enjoyed very much, Nick was finishing off his udon noodles.


    ¡°This is so good!¡± I told my fianc¨¦ who chuckled, ¡°I had a very big lunch with Zoey, but who can say no to Miso and noodles?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure there are a lot of people who¡¯d disagree with you on that one.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the crazy ones!¡±


    Nick shook his head at me, ¡°I¡¯m d you had fun.¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡± I asked curiously, ¡°Did Evan get pissed at you?¡±


    ¡°No, Evan knows this was going to happen. It just surprised them we caught them before they were ready to admit things to us. They¡¯re still figuring things out, but he tells me they¡¯re both thinking of making things official.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s not official yet?¡± I asked confused.


    ¡°I guess neither one of them wants to say it first.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at that, ¡°Are they both too proud? They¡¯re wasting time.¡±


    Nick¡¯s lips twitched, ¡°I told Evan that, so maybe I convinced him to make the first move.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°I hope you did.¡±


    We finished dinner, freshened up and settled in bed. Like always Nick held me close while I drifted off. This felt like our own little peaceful moment. I knew once we were going back home that peaceful moment was gone. My mom wasing to see us and I dreaded it. I knew it was easy to tell her to fuck off, but facing her would bring back memories I really didn¡¯t want to get unleashed from the box in my mind.

 Chapter 18 Outing Them(2)

    We arrived at our hotel quitete, but Chris and Evan were there to wee us. I released Nick¡¯s hand and crossed the lobby quite fast and wrapped my arms around Evan, pulling him in for a hug. Beside us Chris chuckled, muttering something about feeling left out. We ignored him both, focusing on our little moment.


    ¡°I missed you,¡± I told him because that was exactly how I felt.


    Evan squeezed me gently, ¡°Missed you too, Em.¡±


    Pulling away I smiled, holding onto his hands, ¡°Looking good, Evan.¡±


    His eyes scanned me from head to toe, his lips curling up to a smirk, ¡°Is that a ring I spot?¡± He raised my hand to view it up close, his eyes shifted to Nick, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me about this, Nick.¡±


    ¡°It took a while to convince Em to marry me.¡±


    Evan dropped my hand, looking very proud, ¡°That¡¯s my girl. Making him work for it.¡±


    Nick rolled our suitcases with him and stopped beside me, ¡°Since when did Em became your girl?¡± He asked, but we all knew he was joking, ¡°And as my friend, you¡¯re supposed to be on my side. Telling her she was being a fool for not wanting to marry me.¡±


    Evan stepped forward and brought Nick in for a man hug. They didn¡¯t care about people staring, it was cute to see their little bromance. While they were pping each other¡¯s back and catching up quickly I greeted Chris.


    ¡°How have you been?¡± I asked.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°Good.¡± The gleam in his eyes told me he as telling the truth, ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you to Hikari soon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to meet the girl who stole your heart.¡±


    Chrisughed at that, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± He was being cautious, but that was a good thing after he fell hard for a girl who didn¡¯t feel the same about him, ¡°But we¡¯re getting serious about our rtionship. So you know, maybe it¡¯s heading that way.¡±


    ¡°Taking your time.¡± I nodded, ¡°That¡¯s a good thing.¡± I nced at Nick.


    We fell hard and fast, which could have been disastrous. We could have been hurt so bad neither one of us could move forward. Our rtionship turned out to be real though, which was a blessing. Not a lot of people found the one they wanted to spend the rest of their life without having any regrets.


    ¡°Where is Zoey?¡± Nick asked, scanning the room.


    ¡°At home.¡± Evan told him, ¡°She had to catch up with work.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk tomorrow then.¡± Nick didn¡¯t seem too upset about that, ¡°How is she doing?¡±


    We all knew that question meant a lot more than it sounded at first. Nick was asking something personal, but I knew Evan wouldn¡¯t answer it. Not when we were all present. Evan¡¯s eyes actually shifted to me before he nced back at his friend.


    ¡°She is fine.¡±


    The look he gave Nick told me enough. They¡¯d talk when I wasn¡¯t there. No matter how close Evan and I were, the bond Nick and Evan shared was something between them. In the end, Evan was Nick¡¯s best friend who¡¯d have his back no matter what. I was d Evan would at least share his burdens with Nick. I think sometimes you needed someone to confide in to keep you on the right track. When I started out with Nick I had Brandon. He disliked Nick for personal reasons, but he also reminded me not to rush things. I didn¡¯t listen to him, but his voice was definitely always in the back of my mind.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let you go to check in and get some rest.¡± Evan told us, ¡°We¡¯ll meet up tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Nick confirmed.


    We bid our goodbyes and headed off to check in. Once everything was settled we went to our hotel room, freshened up and got ready for bed. I was finding afy position to sleep in when I felt Nick¡¯s warm hand press against my stomach. I smiled when I felt Mathew¡¯s little kick. It wasn¡¯t as harsh as usual.


    ¡°For once he isn¡¯t as restless this time at night.¡±


    ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± Nick asked, getting all worried.


    ¡°No, he is still moving, but not hurting me as much as usual.¡±


    Nick nodded, ¡°It must be odd feeling someone move like that inside you. Can¡¯t imagine it.¡±


    I moved my hand, cing it over his, ¡°I promised my dad we would visit him after our trip.¡±


    Nick didn¡¯t judge, no ¡®I told you so¡¯ or anything like that. He just leaned in, pressed a kiss to my temple and held me close to him.


    ¡°We¡¯ll visit him as much as we can.¡±


    Nick knew my dad was sick so he wasn¡¯t against visiting him at all. He wanted me to spend as much time as possible with my dad before he passed. The thought hurt, knowing there was a clock ticking away. His time was slowlying to an end, that was inevitable for everyone. But actually knowing you were going to die soon was different. It made your time feel much more pressured. I hoped dad was still around to at least meet Matthew. Having his house filled with a child¡¯sughter again.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He kissed my temple again, ¡°No need to thank me.¡± He whispered, ¡°Night, Em.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°Night.¡±


    ***


    Like we agreed on we had a breakfast meeting with our friends at the hotel. I was sitting beside Nick, Zoey sitting right across me and Evan sitting right across my fianc¨¦. Chris arrivedte due to some urgent meeting he had with a client. It didn¡¯t matter that he waste, I was d he at least made it. Chris took a seat at the head at the table, Nick at his right and Evan at his left. I noticed instantly how awkward things were between Evan and Zoey. They tried really hard to ignore each other, but that was what gave it away. Whenever they brushed up against each other, they¡¯d share a look. It was always brief but I caught it and when I nced at my fianc¨¦ his look told me he caught it as well. There was definitely something going on between the two. To respect their decision not to announce whatever was going on between them yet, we both kept quiet. Pretending not to know.

 Chapter 19 Rescheduling The Talk(1)

    Nick and I were leaving Tokyo tomorrow so Chris set up a dinner date so we could meet his new girl, Hikari. She was a dainty looking girl, shy and very respectful. Different from Anna, totally different. Meeting her once told me Chris found the one. He was cautious about it, he told me he wasn¡¯t going to rush. I understood that after the pain Anna put him through.


    We were seated in a private room, a hot pot in the middle of the table while we had small tes filled with delicious foods around it. Picking up my chopsticks I let Hikari fill up my bowl with broth and chicken.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She smiled at me, ¡°It¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only been eating this trip,¡± I confessed.


    Chris chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s the best kind of holiday, is it not?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± I agreed, ¡°The thing is I need to work out hard after having the baby if I want my figure back.¡± Beside me, Nick shook his head, ¡°Well if it doesn¡¯t matter to you, I don¡¯t care about being chubby either.¡±


    ¡°I would be a jerk if I would hold it against you. You were carrying my child.¡±


    Leaning in I kissed his cheek, forgetting we weren¡¯t alone in the room. Chris smiled at us while Hikari looked down, avoiding looking at us. Apologizing I went back to my food, trying hard not to let Nick affect me. We chatted over delicious food while they had sake and I toasted with a cup of green tea. After dinner, I said my goodbyes to Chris and Hikari. Hugging Chris tightly because we were leaving tomorrow morning so I wouldn¡¯t see him in a while. He hugged me back and kissed my hair.


    ¡°It was good seeing you.¡± He whispered to me, ¡°I¡¯ll be in the states soon. I don¡¯t want to miss meeting Matthew.¡± He told me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡±


    Pulling away he walked me to my cab. I was going back to the hotel where Evan was waiting for me while Nick, Chris, and Hikari were going to the club. I didn¡¯t have the energy though, I wanted to settle in bed while watching TV. Evan told me he¡¯d join me so I wasn¡¯t going to be alone the entire night. I asked about Zoey, but he told me she was good. d she wasn¡¯t the jealous type because I knew not a lot of people would be okay with their boyfriend spending so much time with another woman. Pregnant or not.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ***


    Evan and I were propped up against the headboard of the big bed, focused on the TV show while asionally sipping our tea. It was peaceful, way better than the loud club Nick was visiting. I knew he had to because it was his freaking club. He needed to check on his properties asionally. Evan sighed when the girl who was supposed to be the love of the main character¡¯s life just walked out of his life. I had no details about the show because I didn¡¯t understand a word they were saying, but it looked like a really sad moment and seeing that girl cry made me cry as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a show, Em.¡± Evan sounded amused.


    I wiped the tears away, ¡°I can¡¯t help it okay, she is heartbroken.¡±


    Evan brushed myment off, ¡°They¡¯ll be together eventually.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I won¡¯t be here to witness it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if it happens while I¡¯m still here.¡±


    My eyes widened at that, ¡°You think this drama is going tost that long?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± He nced at me, ¡°Zoey is really into this though. She watches a lot of dramas and animes so I¡¯ll ask her. She¡¯ll update you.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±


    Evan eyes flickered to my stomach, ¡°Can¡¯t wait to go back home.¡± He admitted to me, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, this city is amazing and I love it here. But it¡¯s good to have you and Nick so close by. You know I could just pop up whenever I wanted and talk to you. Or annoy Nick. I miss that.¡±


    The tears were falling again and this time I didn¡¯t even try to hide it, ¡°Honey, I miss that too.¡± I admitted to him, ¡°But when you get back you¡¯re always wee. Zoey too.¡±


    He smiled at me, ¡°Thanks, Em.¡±


    I reached for his hand and held it tightly, ¡°Nick told me a bit about your family.¡± I confessed to him, ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but I do know it¡¯s messed up what happened. I want you to know that we¡¯re your family now, Evan. We¡¯ll always be there for you.¡±


    He squeezed my hand gently, ¡°I know, Em.¡± His eyes softened, ¡°It means a lot to me you¡¯d jump on a ne to see me to make sure I¡¯m doing okay.¡± He raised his hand and gently ran his knuckles over my cheek, ¡°It works both ways though, I¡¯m also here for you if you need me.¡±


    ¡°Any other man would have been furious seeing you two together like that.¡± We both flickered our eyes to Nick who stepped into the bedroom, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I know better.¡±


    ¡°Months ago you would have acted out on your jealousy.¡± Evan pulled away from me and got to his feet, walking to his friend, ¡°Probably smacked me in the face and told me to get lost.¡± He ced his hand on Nick¡¯s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, ¡°We¡¯ve both grown, haven¡¯t we?¡±


    Nick grinned at his friend, ¡°I guess we did.¡±


    Evan turned to look at me, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. We all should get some rest since we have an early morning tomorrow.¡±


    I sat up on my knees, putting a hand on my swollen stomach as I grinned at Evan, ¡°You going to wave us goodbye?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hug you too.¡± Evan snickered.


    ¡°Good. See you tomorrow.¡±


    Evan stepped to me and pressed a kiss to my temple, ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± He confirmed.


    Nick walked Evan out and minutester joined me on the bed, his eyes gleaming with amusement.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked him confused, ¡°You gonna ask me if something happened?¡±


    Nick shook his head, ¡°I know nothing happened. I just don¡¯t know when it happened that I could be this settled even when I saw my girl and my best friend is so close.¡±

 Chapter 20 Rescheduling The Talk(2)

    I leaned closer to him, brushing my lips against his cheek, ¡°I think it happened when we both realized we¡¯re in this deep. So deep we know we¡¯d never do anything to hurt each other.¡±


    Nick ran his fingers through my hair, his other hand gently resting upon my stomach, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    We freshened up after a few minutes of cuddling, made sure our suitcases were packed and we didn¡¯t leave anything behind and then got to bed. Like Evan mentioned we had an early morning since we needed to catch our ne.


    ***


    Nick had said his goodbye to Evan, hugging him while they both patted rather roughly in my opinion, each other¡¯s back. When they pulled away Nick gave Zoey a hug and stood beside our suitcases while he gave me time to say goodbye to our friends.


    I hugged Zoey first, it was a bit awkward since it was the first time we did that, but we bothughed it off.


    ¡°I¡¯m d things worked out for you,¡± I whispered to her when I pulled away from the hug.


    She flickered her eyes to Evan who grinned down at us, ¡°Me too.¡±


    Smiling I stepped to Evan and wrapped my arms around him while he did the same. He gave me a light squeeze, his chin resting upon my head.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°You can always call me Em, no matter the time. You know I¡¯m here for you.¡±


    Slightly pulling away, I titled my head back to look at him, ¡°Same. No matter what Evan.¡±


    He grinned at me, ¡°We¡¯ll be back home soon.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait.¡±


    I joined Nick and we headed to our gate to board the ne. It would be a long trip, but also thest long trip we¡¯d make. I was getting closer to being ufortably pregnant. No matter howfortable the seats were I couldn¡¯t stay on a ne for that long anymore. Evan and Zoey were almost finished with their project so thankfully we didn¡¯t have to make another long trip.


    Sitting in our seats Nick reached for me, his knuckles gently running down my cheek as he smiled. I smiled back at him, seeing the happiness in his eyes. He had fun and he was thanking me with such a gentle gesture. It felt different than when Evan did it. It made the butterflies in my stomach go nuts while my cheeks heated. My body wanting to be closer to him. We couldn¡¯t though, so I had to suppress the feeling. We hadn¡¯t been together ever since Matthew started being so active. We didn¡¯t talk about it, but I think it made Nick ufortable. Before I got pregnant we had sex regrly, as often as possible since we couldn¡¯tst long without it. Always wanting each other. I wanted to talk about it, but we¡¯d do it when we were at home. I didn¡¯t need anyone else listening in.


    ¡°Evan listened to you,¡± I told him quietly, needing a change of subject.


    He dropped his hand, ¡°I guess he did.¡± His lips twitched, ¡°But they were heading that way. I just gave him a push.¡±


    ¡°Guess you¡¯ll be his best man at his wedding.¡±


    Nick chuckled, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t talk weddings yet.¡± He looked back at me, ¡°You need to talk to Brandon though. You don¡¯t have a man of honor yet.¡±


    I brushed him off, ¡°Brandon will agree. He¡¯d do it for me.¡±


    Nick chuckled, ¡°Poor guy. I actually feel sorry for him.¡±


    ¡°Hey. I wanted Evan, but you became all possessive over him. Even more so then when you saw us in bed together.¡±


    Nick¡¯s grin widened, ¡°When you say it like that it sounds dirty.¡±


    I smiled in return knowing damn well what my words suggested. We started discussing our wedding, making a mental guest list. It was a fun morning and eventually, I drifted to sleep. I did feel Nick help me settle in. But everything after that was just a blur.


    ***


    Once we got home I took a shower while Nick ordered us dinner. I dried my hair and Nick took a shower as well, freshening up and getting intofy clothes which consisted of a ck tee and gray joggers. I finished off moisturizing my face, running my fingers through my neatly blow-dried hair and got up.


    ¡°Food got here a few minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to wait for me.¡±


    I walked with Nick to the living room, settling in while Nick ted up dinner, ¡°I just wanted you to serve me.¡±


    He chuckled handing me my te, ¡°Oh really?¡¯


    Smiling I nced down at the delicious food, green steamed veggies with grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. I knew people would call me crazy I craved this, but I just couldn¡¯t wait to dig in.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s boring to eat alone.¡±


    Nick settled beside me and reached for the remote control, ¡°I need to catch up with work after dinner.¡± He told me, ¡°So don¡¯t wait up for me, okay?¡±


    So no talk about our non-existent sex life. I knew Nick had an empire to take care of, he was cking off because of me. It made me feel bad for dragging him with me to deal with my family and also with my sudden urge to see Evan. Nick caught onto my sudden change of mood and ced his hand on my thigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, okay? My team took care of most of it while I was away. I just need to get some minor things done. It¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± He reassured me.


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure, Em.¡± He told me.


    We finished dinner and I went to bed, trying to catch some sleep though I couldn¡¯t. I had napped a very long time on the ne and now I was wide awake. Instead of going right to bed I reached for myptop and send Max an email. Updating him about my life like I did before I decided Max wasn¡¯t worth my time. I also texted Brandon to let him know we were back home and I wanted to meet up with him. He immediately responded telling me toe over tomorrow. I knew he¡¯d agree even though it was rather unusual. Even if I fixed things with Max I would never forget about Brandon. He was there for me when I felt like I was all alone. He¡¯d always be like a brother to me.

 Chapter 21 Precious Nick(1)

    ***


    Brandon wrapped me up in his arms the best he could, his eyes lingering on my stomach, ¡°Have you gotten bigger?¡±


    I stepped back, cing both my hands on my stomach, ¡°Maybe, just two more months or so.¡±


    ¡°Evan ising back soon.¡± Brandon handed me a cup of tea and took a seat next to me on the couch, ¡°You must be excited.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about Evan, though I adore him.¡± I turned to look at him and ced my hand on top of his, ¡°Brandon, I¡¯m getting married.¡±


    Heughed at me, ¡°Em, I already knew that.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, fair enough. But have I also told you that I want you to be my man of honor?¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± He looked confused.


    ¡°There is no else I trust more than you.¡±


    He took a while to respond but when he did he made my day, ¡°You just surprised me. I thought the bride usually ask one of her girlfriends to be the maid of honor. But I suppose I can understand why you asked me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have many girlfriends, to begin with.¡±


    Brandon raised an eyebrow at me, ¡°Good to know I¡¯m your only option left.¡±


    ¡°I wanted you to give me away.¡± I clutched my cup with both hands, ¡°But things are going well between my family and me, so I figured I might ask Max or my father to give me away. Doing it the proper way.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you just ask your father?¡±


    ¡°He is sick.¡± I told him quietly, ¡°Afraid he might not make it. If he does make it-¡± I took a deep breath, trying to get the words out without breaking out in tears, ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be too tired to make the walk. He isn¡¯t doing well. Tired most of the time.¡±


    ¡°I hope he makes it.¡± Brandon¡¯s lips curled up to a small smile, ¡°Watching his daughter marry the love of her life and meeting the grandson. I hope he gets to live through those things.¡±


    My throat tightened, my eyes stinging as I forced myself not to cry.


    Brandon wrapped an arm around my shoulders and snuggled closer, hushing me, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you want to cry. Just cry. I¡¯m always here to hold you.¡±


    Brandon took my cup away, cing it on the table in front of us and wrapped me up in his arms, holding me while I cried.


    ***


    For dinner, I preparedsagna with a green sd and a chocte cake. The apartment smelled delicious and when Nick came home he immediately freshened up, ready to dig in. We couldn¡¯t have dinner yet though, we still had to wait for Brandon to show up.


    ¡°I told Brandon I knew about him showing upter.¡±


    Nick sipped from his water, ¡°I figured you would.¡±


    ¡°I broke down after I told him about my dad, afterward we talked about everything and I just had to tell him about tonight.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, I just wanted to let Brandon know he can trust me.¡±


    ¡°He does trust you.¡± I assured Nick, ¡°He epted us.¡±


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t let us be together if he didn¡¯t trust me?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Now you¡¯re getting it.¡±


    Nick snorted, ¡°Even if Brandon didn¡¯t want us to be together I¡¯d still fight for you.¡±


    A few minutester Brandon and Sacha showed up. We had dinner on the couch, everything very causal between us. I liked that, I liked that they were like family. I also liked the fact that I got along well with Sacha. She was going to be part of Brandon¡¯s life. The way they looked at each other told me that much. So I was relieved Sacha didn¡¯t hate me. She also seemed to get along well with Nick. Even more so than Brandon. As I nced at my fianc¨¦ I could tell Nick enjoyed talking to Sacha. He wasn¡¯t pretending. It brought so much relief to me I couldn¡¯t describe the feeling.


    After dinner, we had dessert and watched our movie. It was getting close to midnight when Brandon and Sacha left. I freshened up while Nick cleaned up. While slipping into one of Nick¡¯s shirts I turned around and faced him when he entered the bedroom, closing the door behind him.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked, noticing the way I stared at him.


    ¡°I need you to take off your pants.¡±


    He frowned, ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t done it in a while.¡±


    That made his cheeks flush for the first time ever. Nick never seemed taken back when we talked sex, he rather liked it. I think the fact that his pregnant fianc¨¦e more or less demanded sex from him got him all flustered. He probably thought it wasn¡¯t something he could do either. I wasn¡¯t letting it go though. I needed him. The tingling between my legs driving me insane.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    I stepped to him and reached for his pants, undoing his belt, ¡°I need you, Nick. So much right now. I haven¡¯t been this wet, ever.¡±


    He stopped my hands, letting out a groan when I brushed up against his growing erection, ¡°Emily, I don¡¯t know about this.¡±


    ¡°You seriously not going to give me what I want?¡± I pulled my hands away, pressed them up against his firm chest instead and pushed him, pleased with myself when I made him fall on his back on the bed, ¡°I can be on top, it won¡¯t be a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Nighttime is Matthew¡¯s time to move around.¡± He reminded me.


    ¡°So what? I have to wait for another three possibly four months before I can be together with you again?¡±


    I startled him, linking my fingers with his as I watched him think about it. The look in his eyes told me he was considering it. The growing erection between his legs telling me he was game.


    ¡°Fine.¡± He whispered, ¡°But we¡¯ll take it slow. Tell me when you feel ufortable.¡±


    Smiling I let my hands wander, feeling up my fianc¨¦. It got him in the mood fast. He gave me what I wanted for a while, making love to me. It felt great being together with him again. It made me feel loved and beautiful. Though Nick never made me doubt his love for me. He always told me one way or another. I didn¡¯t know what I had done to deserve him, but I¡¯d hold on tightly. Never letting go of someone so beautiful. So precious.

 Chapter 22 Precious Nick(2)

    Getting dressed in a loose-fitting sweater dress, I pulled on some tights and shrugged on a leather ck jacket. Nick stepped into the bedroom confused to see me all dressed up and dolled up so early in the morning.


    ¡°You have ns, Em?¡±


    I ran my fingers through my curls, loosening them, ¡°Yeah,.¡±


    He walked past me, entering the bathroom to check up on his hair, ¡°Meeting Brandon?¡±


    Standing in the doorway I watched Nick fix his hair, his eyes flickering to me, ¡°Can I catch a ride with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He held my gaze for a minute, a smile spread across his handsome face before he focused back on himself, ¡°You look beautiful.¡±


    It always surprised me when Nickplimented me like that. I was marrying that guy, but I still blushed whenever he called me beautiful. Stepping closer to my fianc¨¦, I ced my hand against his back and leaned in, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.


    ¡°Love you.¡±


    His face lit up, ¡°You¡¯re being sweet this morning.¡± He told me, turning around and wrapped me up in his arms, ¡°It makes me want to keep you to myself.¡±


    ¡°We could do that.¡±


    Heughed, hisughter echoing through the bathroom, ¡°Unfortunately I have a busy day at the office. Dinner and a movie tonight?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He pulled away from me and exited the bathroom, ¡°I¡¯ll grab my jacket and we¡¯ll head out.¡±


    I grabbed a pair of ankle boots from the closet and met my fianc¨¦ in the living room. Holding onto the back of the couch I slipped on my boots and nced up meeting Nick¡¯s worried gaze.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    I brushed him off, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Meet you back here around seven? Or you need more time?¡±


    His frown told me he wasn¡¯t quite happy about that, ¡°You going to stay at the club?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Brandon¡¯s day off. I¡¯m going to spend my day with him.¡±


    Nick headed to the front door and held it open for me, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he want to spend his day off with his girlfriend?¡±


    His reluctance made me re at him, ¡°What is your problem?¡±


    He locked the door and followed after me, ¡°I¡¯m just asking a question.¡±


    I pushed the button to the elevator and turned to look at Nick who started to annoy me, ¡°No, you¡¯re subtly trying to tell me not to spend my day with Brandon. What I don¡¯t understand is why you don¡¯t want me to do that.¡±


    Nick didn¡¯t seem fazed by me, ¡°I just didn¡¯t know that talking to Brandon about the wedding would take all day. It surprised me that¡¯s all.¡±


    Once the elevator arrived I stepped in and still red at Nick who stepped in after me. He pushed the button to the ground floor and stood in front of me, not facing my re.


    ¡°Nick, you want me toe home after my talk with Brandon?¡±


    ¡°Just drop it, will you?¡±


    ¡°I just want to understand what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Nick sighed and spun around, facing me, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you, but you tell Brandon you were being relentless. That I had to tell you because you weren¡¯t dropping the stupid conversation.¡±


    Now I was worried, ¡°Nick, please just tell me what¡¯s going on!¡±


    ¡°Brandon wanted to surprise you tonight.¡± Nick gently brushed his knuckles over my cheek, ¡°Calm down. It twists my heart to see you so worried.¡± He reached for my hand and brushed his thumb over my engagement ring, ¡°Wanted toe over with Sacha and spend some time with you. He didn¡¯t think you¡¯d n to stay with him all day.¡±


    I let out a relieved sigh, ¡°You scared me, Nick.¡± I whispered, ¡°I thought we needed to have a serious conversation. Maybe postpone the wedding.¡±


    Nick shook his head at me, ¡°You can¡¯t threaten to postpone the wedding every time we¡¯re having an argument.¡± We stepped out of the elevator, Nick tightly holding onto my hand, ¡°I don¡¯t like that, Em. It rattles me.¡±


    I squeezed his hand, feeling bad that I made him fear our future. I wasn¡¯t going anywhere, even if we had a massive fight. Nick was always going to be the guy I wanted to spend my life with.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He leaned in pressing a firm kiss to my temple, ¡°It scares me, you know. Marriage wasn¡¯t your thing so when you say stuff like that something inside me just snaps.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Miles held the door open for us and Nick let me scoot in first. I waited for the door to be closed before I continued our conversation.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do it again, I promise.¡± I tried to win him over with a warm smile, ¡°Please, don¡¯t be mad at me. We were having a great morning.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay mad at you when you¡¯re being so cute.¡± He made sure I put on my seatbelt and also put on his own, ¡°So tell Brandon about the wedding, Tokyo, your family, whatever. Pretend you don¡¯t know about his surprise and when he and Sachae over tonight put on your best performance.¡±


    ¡°I can pretend, I do it all the time with you.¡±


    Miles who always ignored our conversation, pretending he wasn¡¯t there burst out inughter. Beside me Nick scowled and threw his head back, sighing in exasperation.


    ¡°Em! What¡¯s gotten into you this morning.¡±


    ¡°Hormones.¡±


    He titled his head to the side and red at me, ¡°Of course, me the hormones.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I rubbed a hand over my belly, ¡°Pretty soon I won¡¯t be able to do it anymore. So I need to get the most out of this.¡±


    He pressed his lips together, not saying what he was thinking. Considering the mood we were both in, I knew exactly what he was thinking. I punched his shoulder gently and pretended to re at him again. He wasn¡¯t fazed by it, only because he knew I was just messing around.


    ¡°I will make this quick and pretend I¡¯m totally shocked when Brandon and Sachae overter.¡± I leaned forward a bit, ncing at the back of Miles¡¯ head, ¡°Could you wait around when you drop me off at Brandon¡¯s? I¡¯ll just tell him about the wedding and save the rest forter.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll wait around,¡± Miles told me, still sounding amused by my earlierment.


    We talked about what to have for dinnerter and my choice of movie. I wanted a horror movie, but Nick reminded me that not everyone was a big horror fan. I never really talked about it with Sacha, but not wanting to force her to watch something which scared her to death, I opted for a family movie. Something light which everyone would enjoy.

 Chapter 23 Meeting Matthew(1)

    We watched the movie and around ten Evan and Zoey left. Nick let me settle in bed while he cleaned up like he usually did whenever we hadpany. I wasying on my side, facing Nick¡¯s pillow, waiting for him to join me.


    A few minutester Nick settled beside me and leaned in, kissing me gently against the lips, ¡°Evan told me he had fun spending time with you. Things went okay?¡±


    ¡°I napped a bit, it made me feel better.¡±


    ¡°He wants to be here with you until Matthew is born.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need a babysitter, Nick.¡±


    ¡°You tell Evan that when hees over tomorrow.¡±


    I knew Evan worried. We were important to him so I wouldn¡¯tin about him wanting to be beside me. I just didn¡¯t want to be a burden to them. Nick had a demanding job and Evan worked for him, overseeing his investments.


    ¡°Did you fire Evan?¡±


    Nick chuckled, ¡°No, I tried to a while ago, but he never stopped showing up. It¡¯s hard to get rid of him. I guess Evan is a part of my life and I need to ept that because he isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡±


    I smiled, knowing Nick was messing around. He didn¡¯t find Evan annoying at all, he loved the guy. I think if Evan ever decided he wasn¡¯t interested in working for Nick anymore Nick would chase him. The thought made meugh, causing my fianc¨¦ to raise an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°You and Evan are.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d we can still amuse you.¡±


    We talked until I fell asleep, I knew Nick did that to make sure I rested enough.


    ***


    Around four in the morning, I woke up in pain, knowing what was about to happen. I woke Nick and he immediately started to dominate the situation. All I had to do was sit back, breathe and let Nick control everything. I was rushed into the hospital while Nick called Evan to support us. Nick joined me in the room while he let Evan take care of informing my family. Evan had never met my brother or father, but I knew he was capable to inform them and reassure them I was alright. I trusted Nick and Evan with everything and it felt good not having to worry about anything but giving birth to Matthew. It felt like I was in thebor room for hours and hours, but ording to the nurse, it onlysted five hours which wasn¡¯t too bad at all. I was watching Nick hold onto a crying Matthew, a massive grin spread across his face.


    ¡°He is beautiful,¡± Nick told me.


    A tired smile spread across my face. I knew I looked like a mess, sweaty and tired. My body still aching, but I was too exhausted to do anything about it.N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He stepped closer to me, letting me see Matthew¡¯s red, crying face which wasn¡¯t particrly beautiful to me, but I understood what he meant, ¡°He¡¯ll clean up nicely.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help butugh which hurt so much.


    ¡°How is he?¡± I asked quietly.


    ¡°Healthy.¡± Nick told me, ¡°They¡¯re going to help you clean up and Matthew too. We¡¯ll let Evan and Zoey meet him afterward.¡±


    ¡°I love you.¡±


    He ced a hand on my shoulder, ¡°I love you more.¡±


    ***


    Later that morning Evan and Zoey met Matthew Evan Woods. Nick had been right about him cleaning up nicely. He was small and adorable and not crying anymore. He was sound asleep in Evan¡¯s arms, crawled up to a ball with his fists tightly clenched. The look on Evan¡¯s face made Zoey beside him restless. I knew how she was feeling, she probably wanted to jump him as soon as she could, like how much her boyfriend adored that little person.


    ¡°We should let Emily rest,¡± Zoey suggested to her boyfriend.


    She wasn¡¯t wrong, I did feel tired and wanted to get some sleep. But I didn¡¯t want to interrupt Evan¡¯s moment with Matthew. It seemed like our boy wasfortable where he was too.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can sleep through anything at this point.¡± I told her, ¡°Nick will keep youpany.¡±


    Nick nced at Zoey, ¡°I¡¯m going to retrieve Emily¡¯s bag from the lobby. Miles just brought it over. Watch over Emily for me.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Zoey sat in the chair beside me, ¡°We¡¯ll be okay. You can go grab her bag.¡±


    Evan held onto Matthew for dear life while Zoey kept mepany. I fell asleep while Zoey quietly talked to me, informing me about my family and news topics from this morning. I knew she did it to ease my mind, helping me feel more at ease.


    ***


    A few dayster I went home together with Matthew. Nick decided to work from home while I got my strength back. He also wanted to help taking care of Matthew while he got settled in. For the time being, we had his bass in our room, keeping him close. We had a room prepared for him but it felt better having him close.


    ¡°We¡¯ll move him to his own room in a few days,¡± Nick told me, as he carefully ced Matthew in his bass which was ced at the end of our bed.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird meeting him,¡± I told Nick who crawled into bed beside me.


    ¡°I think now it¡¯s even harder for me to get rid of Evan.¡±


    ¡°I like how much he loves him.¡±


    Nick smirked at me, ¡°Did you see the look on Zoey¡¯s face? I think she liked it even more.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll settle pretty soon too.¡±


    Nick gently held me, ¡°We should start thinking about moving out of the city, actually buying a family house. I¡¯m mean we¡¯re fine for now, but if we want to expand our family we don¡¯t have space.¡±


    I sighed, closing my eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s focus on our wedding first and then worry about the rest?¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± He kissed my head, ¡°Rest, Em. I¡¯ll watch over you two.¡±


    In three months we were getting married, I wanted to focus on that first before thinking about the possibility of having more children.

 Chapter 24 Meeting Matthew(2)

    Two monthster Evan and Zoey came back to the city, which made me happier than Nick¡¯s feet massages which became a regr thing since the pregnancy was bing exhausting. I realized I was bing more irritated. Nick didn¡¯tin, but I hated the pregnancy was doing this to me. I was uneasy with the extra weight and mostly couldn¡¯t sleep at night anymore. I was due any day now, but that day couldn¡¯te sooner.


    ¡°Evan wants toe overter, he¡¯s worried.¡±


    I was sitting on the edge of the bed. One hand on my stomach and the other clutching a cup of tea.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Nick nced at me, my response barely audible, ¡°You okay, Em?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bing really hard,¡± I whispered to him.


    He stepped closer to me, his fingers gently running through my hair, ¡°I know, Matthew is due any day now. I need you to be strong enough until then, okay?¡±


    I leaned into him, being careful not to spill hot tea on his suit, ¡°I just hate feeling like this. Not because of the uneasiness. More so because I¡¯m irritable and snapping every two seconds. I hate that I am like this with you.¡±


    ¡°Em, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°I mind.¡±


    He grabbed onto my shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze, ¡°It¡¯s thest few days of your pregnancy, I think I¡¯ll survive a few more days of getting yelled at.¡± Heughed, trying to lighten the mood between us, ¡°You¡¯ve carried him for nine months, Em, I think it¡¯s my duty to at least take some of your pain.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to ruin things between us.¡±


    He tilted my head back, making me look at him, ¡°We¡¯re solid, don¡¯t worry about us. Focus on feeling better and don¡¯t hesitate to tell me if you need something. Evan too. We¡¯re your family, Em, and we¡¯re here for you through the good and the bad.¡±


    ¡°I love you.¡±


    He smiled at me, leaning down to press a kiss to my head, ¡°Love you too.¡± He pulled away and reached for his jacket, shrugging it on, ¡°I¡¯m marrying you in three months. There is nothing that could change my mind about us. About building a future together with you.¡±


    He was saying all the right words, making me feel so much better. Nick helped me to my feet and walked with me to the living room. I settled on the couch while he refilled my cup. Handing me my cup he nced at his phone, a frown marring his beautiful face.


    ¡°I need to run, Evan will be here soon. I gave him a key so he can let himself in.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He looked at me, ¡°I¡¯ll be back before dinner.¡± He promised me.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Walking around the table, he leaned in and kissed me, ¡°See youter, Em.¡±


    ¡°Bye Nick.¡±


    He left the apartment, starting his day at the office. I was watching a si when I heard Evan¡¯s voice, calling yfully out to me. Smiling I watched the yful guy enter the living room and settle beside me on the couch. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and snuggled close.


    ¡°My girl is not doing so well.¡± He whispered, cing his lips against my temple, ¡°I hate this, Em.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± I whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be like this with Nick.¡±


    Evan snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Nick, he¡¯s fine. He¡¯d do anything for you. I just want to make you feel better, but I know there is nothing I can do about that.¡±


    I nodded, inhaling deeply and trying to focus on something else. Anything to take my mind off things.


    ¡°How is Zoey doing? She mentioned something about her upset parents.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re paying them a visit after we¡¯ve met Matthew.¡±


    ¡°Evan, you should focus on Zoey. Matthew and I aren¡¯t going anywhere.¡±


    Evan red at me, ¡°If you think I¡¯ll miss thebor you¡¯re crazy. Nick is like my brother and you¡¯re my girl. I¡¯ll be there for the both of you. Zoey and I will visit her parents once everything is settled. They¡¯re not going anywhere either. For now, they just have to ept the situation as it is.¡±


    We watched a few episodes of a new series Evan was into. Slowly I was drifting away so Evan took my cup of tea away and let me settle beside him.


    ***


    Like promised Nick came home before dinner and we ordered in. Evan and Zoey were joining us, Evan sitting beside me while Nick and Zoey were settled on the floor at the coffee table. Evan suggested we watch a horror movie since it was my favorite genre and Zoey loved it too. We watched a Japanese horror movie which started slow, focusing on the story rather than jump scares. I loved it. It lightened my mood, but I knew my nap from earlier had a lot to do with it too.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Zoey covered her eyes with her hands and nced at Nick, ¡°Is it over yet?¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Nickughed at her, ¡°Nothing happened.¡±


    ¡°But the music-¡±


    ¡°Is tricking you.¡± Nick took another mouthful of noodles and focused back on the screen, ¡°You¡¯re not even covering your eyes properly, you want to be scared.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s more like a habit.¡± She informed him, ¡°I do it without even realizing it whenever the music gets really loud.¡±


    It was fun listening to them argue, besides me, Evan seemed to find it amusing too. He plopped a few baby corn pieces into my bowl and focused back on the movie.


    ¡°The scary part is starting now,¡± Evan warned Zoey.


    ¡°But there is no sound?¡±


    ¡°You know it¡¯s a good horror movie when the move can scare you without needing loud noises.¡± Nick told her, he nced over his shoulder, meeting my gaze, ¡°You okay, Em?¡±


    He always asked that I appreciated it. Leaning more into Evan I nodded at him. I could feel everyone smiling at me, my good mood making them feel more at ease as well.

 Chapter 25 Controlfreak Nick(1)

    We were getting closer to our wedding date, just three more weeks and Nick and I would make things official between us. Matthew was close to hitting three months, his face slowly taking form. His eyes and nose reminded me of his father, those beautiful eyes always shining with happiness. What I adored most about little Matthew was seeing his eyes shining with so much adoration. He recognized our voices and his face always lit up when Nick came home at night and his father picked him up. I also started to notice that he seemed to recognize Evan, mainly because Evan wasing over whenever he could. Wanting to spend time with Matthew rather than Nick and me. It was cute, it also meant that I got the opportunity to get closer to Zoey, his girlfriend. I wanted her to feel part of our family and she reassured me I didn¡¯t need to put so much effort into it, she loveding over whenever she could. She loved our little family and wanted to be part of it too.


    Matthew wasying on his nket on the floor, ying around and making noises. Letting me know he was also in the room. Smiling I picked up my cup of tea and went through the list of things my wedding nner told me to check and either giving her green light to go ahead with it or tell her to revise. Zoey was sitting beside me, scanning through my guest list to make sure I didn¡¯t forget anyone. It was fun to have a girlfriend to talk about boys and weddings with. Brandon was there, but it was different with him. I couldn¡¯t tell him everything because in the end, he was still a guy, he had a dick and couldn¡¯t quite appreciate Nick the same way I could. Zoey, however, knew exactly what I was talking about.


    ¡°Your wedding nner is freaking amazing.¡± Zoey told me, ¡°You need to give me her number.¡±N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    My lips curled up to a smile, ¡°nning ahead?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± She told me, ¡°Evan is the guy I want to marry.¡±


    ¡°You two make a good couple.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re no Emily and Nick.¡±


    Iughed, myughter causing Matthew to stir and be even louder. It made Zoeyugh and shake her head at him.


    ¡°Trying to catch our attention?¡± She called to him, ¡°We know you¡¯re there, sweetie.¡± She got up and picked up the little boy holding him close to her while she kissed his hair, ¡°It¡¯s hard to ignore you.¡±


    I loved how the people close to us adored him, Matthew had a lot of people around him who loved him without restraint. He was blessed.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be a charmer like his dad.¡± Zoey told me, ¡°I¡¯m not sure women are ready for another Nick.¡±


    ¡°By the time Matthew is old enough to think about girls that way his father¡¯s good looks must have worn off.¡±


    Zoeyughed, the sound causing Matthew to ce his chubby hands on her face as he watched her. He looked fascinated by herughter making both of us smile.


    ¡°Please let me tell Nick that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell him myself.¡± I smiled at Zoey.


    Zoey sat down beside me again while she talked to Matthew, the little boy listening to her while it seemed he tried to respond with noises. It was cute.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to convince your parents to go on a honeymoon so uncle Evan and I can keep you to ourselves for a while.¡± She made Matthew face me, ¡°Tell your mommy to go have some fun. Uncle Evan and I will take really good care of you. We are your godparents.¡±


    Thest part was to remind me of their role in Matthew¡¯s life.


    I smiled and sipped my tea again, ¡°It¡¯s not me you need to convince. Nick is the one who decided we¡¯re not going on a honeymoon. I¡¯m okay with leaving Matthew in your care.¡±


    Zoey sighed and made Matthew face her again, ¡°Your daddy is such a control freak it¡¯s not even funny.¡±


    Sheughed when Matthew made a noise which sounded like he agreed with her. Zoey entertained Matthew while I went through all the things my wedding nner told me to check. Giving her green light, because she did everything right, I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, knowing Matthew was in good hands.


    ¡­


    Nick and Evan came home together, both of them in good spirits. Matthew woke up from his nap and seemed excited to see his dad, moving around so much Nick had to hold him carefully. He kissed his son¡¯s head and then moved to me, kissing my cheek.


    ¡°Missed you.¡± He whispered to me.


    I smiled at him, ¡°Missed you more.¡±


    Evan caught onto our quiet conversation and butted in, ¡°That is actually quite insulting considering I kept youpany for hours.¡±


    Nick shifted his gaze to his friend, ¡°Sometimes I feel like pushing you in front of a bus. That¡¯s how much I enjoy yourpany.¡±


    Zoey helped me set the table, amused by the usual banter of Nick and Evan.


    ¡°He is messing around. We both know Nick can¡¯t live without you.¡± I reassured Evan.


    My fianc¨¦ red at me, ¡°Don¡¯t tell him that. You¡¯re supposed to side with me.¡±


    We had dinner together, Nick and Evan entertaining us the entire time. I didn¡¯t know what brought on their excited behavior, but it was appreciated. While I settled on the couch with our friends after dinner, Nick was putting Matthew to bed. It took a while for Matthew to settle in, because fifty minutes into the movie we were watching Nick finally joined us, taking a seat beside me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and let out a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tuck him in when he is that excited. He kept making noises at me, squirming around and giving me a hard time changing his clothes.¡±


    ¡°I think Emily and you need some time to yourself.¡± Zoey was bringing up the topic of our honeymoon, I smiled as I quietly sipped from my water, letting her try and convince Nick, ¡°Like actually going on a honeymoon after the wedding.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll eventually do that, we can¡¯t right now.¡±


    Zoey wasn¡¯t letting it go, which I knew would annoy Nick. Maybe if she pushed him enough he¡¯d finally agree though.

 Chapter 26 Controlfreak Nick(2)

    ¡°Why not?¡± She asked, leaning forward, ready to tackle the subject, ¡°Evan and I are his godparents, don¡¯t you think we¡¯re capable of taking care of him? It kind of hurts thinking about it that way. Did you just pick us to be his godparents to humor us?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Nick frowned, ¡°I trust you two with my life, that¡¯s not the point.¡±


    ¡°Then why no honeymoon after the wedding?¡± She asked, ¡°Just a week away will do you both good.¡±


    Evan nodded, ¡°I agree with Zoey on this one, I think you both need a break after the wedding. Focusing on you. You¡¯ve been through a lot, I think it¡¯s time you two take some time to reload.¡±


    I turned to look at my fianc¨¦, knowing I could give him the final push, ¡°A week away does sound good.¡± I told him quietly, ¡°We don¡¯t have to go far, just a week to ourselves to reload sounds like heaven.¡±


    Evan leaned back against the couch, cing his arm around the backseat while Zoey snuggled closer to him. They werefortable enough around us to show some affection. They looked good together. I hoped things worked out for them, that eventually, Zoey could use that number to the wedding nner.


    ¡°Now you have to agree, your fianc¨¦e needs some quiet time alone with you,¡± Evan told his friend with a smug look stered on his face.


    Nick beside me shifted, his eyes shifting to my face, ¡°Just a week?¡±


    ¡°Just a week.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°I can agree to a week.¡± His eyes traveled back to Evan and Zoey, ¡°We¡¯ll discuss the details when I¡¯ve arranged the trip, but just to let you know I¡¯m going to call every day to check in.¡±


    Zoey scrunched her nose, ¡°Nick-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the best I can do, so you either take it or we reschedule our honeymoon.¡± His eyes shed back to me, ¡°I want to give Emily everything she wants, but I can¡¯t give her the honeymoon without feeling secure when ites to Matthew.¡±


    Zoey mouthed to me, ¡°Control freak.¡± Which made meugh.


    Nick was definitely a control freak, but I knew that when I decided to explore things with him. That side of him also oddly enough attracted me to him, I loved it when he got all caveman on me. I¡¯d never tell him because then he¡¯d know he¡¯d be able to get away with a lot. I knew people around me found that crazy too, but I didn¡¯t care. It was what made him the Nick I loved, I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way. Leaning closer to him I pressed a kiss to his cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can work things out.¡±


    We focused back on the movie and said goodbye to Evan and Zoey around eleven.


    ¡­


    Nick crawled into bed after his shower and rolled to his side, meeting my gaze.


    ¡°I need to tell you something.¡±


    The whole ¡®we need to talk¡¯ conversation always meant trouble, but I knew breaking up wasn¡¯t on Nick¡¯s mind so it didn¡¯t scare me, a lot. Instead, I remained silent while I let him continue.


    ¡°Your mother dropped by at my office today.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was her, but she did most of the talking and eventually I figured out who she was and what she wanted.¡± Nick sighed, ¡°She made it sound like she just wanted to see you, spend time with her daughter because she didn¡¯t get the opportunity to in the past. She didn¡¯t know I knew her story so I let her continue, but then she mentioned how she was d her daughter ended up with me and she wanted to get to know more about the wedding. It just felt odd and Evan agreed with me. That woman is off.¡±


    ¡°Max warned us about her.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    ¡°I just thought they were exaggerating, she is your mother.¡±


    ¡°Some women don¡¯t have the maternal instinct as they call it.¡±


    ¡°Only a survival instinct?¡±


    I smiled and snuggled closer to him, ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°I told her to back off.¡± He looked away from me, rolling to his back to stare at the ceiling, ¡°I should have discussed it with you first-¡±


    I ran my fingers through his dark locks, smiling, ¡°Nick, you¡¯ve always been there for me. I know you can make the right decision for us. I have no intention of meeting my mother, not wanting to get hurt by whatever she has to say because I know it¡¯s not sincere. She hasn¡¯t been in my life for years, with her I can definitely say it¡¯s about you and your billions.¡±


    Nick let his hand travel over my bare leg, letting his hand slip between my thighs. The soft touch made my body burn up with anticipation. Nick leaned closer, his lips brushing against my neck while his hand traveled further, pushing into my panties.


    ¡°I¡¯m d my billions is not why you want me.¡± He whispered, ¡°It¡¯s all about my body and the orgasms I give you.¡±


    I pushed against his shoulder,ughing quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t be that cocky, who says I haven¡¯t faked an orgasm or two?¡±


    He leaned up, his eyes narrowing on me, ¡°I can feel it when youe. You tighten around me, squeezing me so hard you make mee too.¡±


    ¡°Zoey called you a charmer.¡± I whispered, brushing my fingers over his lips which were pulled up to a smirk, ¡°If only she could hear you now.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯d still find me charming enough.¡±


    I cupped his face and pulled him closer, brushing my lips against his, ¡°Someone is amazingly arrogant tonight.¡±


    He chuckled, pressing his lips harder against mine. We kissed, his hand in my panties making me wet and needy. Letting my hands travel over his firm chest I slipped them underneath his tee and felt up his abs. I pulled away from the kiss, biting into his shoulder to keep my moans down when he slipped his fingers inside me, moving them around. He was slowly bringing me to the edge when a baby squeal caused both of us to freeze.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± Nick whispered in my neck, pulling away to nce over his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll get that.¡±


    He pulledpletely away from me, heading to the bathroom. I heard the water run, rolling to my side as I tried to calm my breathing down. I felt empty without him, but thankfully he was checking on Matthew so I could gather my thoughts.


    ¡°You okay?¡± He asked me as he moved to the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I told him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get yourself off.¡± He warned me, ¡°I want to get you there.¡±


    Smiling I agreed, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll keep my hands to myself.¡±


    Heughed, walking out and leaving the door ajar as he took care of Matthew. I stared at the ceiling, closing my eyes and listening to Nick and Matthew. Matthew¡¯s noises were slowly fading, I tried to stay focused on it, but along the way, I drifted away.

 Chapter 27 Happy Life(1)

    Getting married to Nick was not something I dreamed of doing when we first met. Marriage never appealed to me, but Nick changed my mind. Since he wanted a wedding I demanded we do the whole charade. Thankfully I didn¡¯t have to organize it because my fianc¨¦ was amazing and let me hire a wedding nner to organize it for me. No stress and no wedding drama, it made everything a lot more enjoyable for everyone. I was currently holding Matthew who was ruining my wedding dress while Nick was taking pictures with his friends. The guys were having a great time,ughing loudly, joking around and being the center of attention. Seeing that bright smile upon Nick¡¯s face made my day.


    ¡°Can I hold him?¡± Zoey asked, reaching for Matthew.


    Handing Matthew over I watched her smother him with kisses. Matthewughed, his babyughter reaching Nick who nced over his shoulder and met my gaze. It was odd how he could mess around with his friends and still notice little things about Matthew and me. Like he had a sixth sense when it came to his little family.


    ¡°It seems that Mister control freak isn¡¯t so grumpy about the honeymoon anymore.¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not so grumpy anymore.¡±


    Zoey¡¯s eyes traveled to her boyfriend, ¡°Evan went all out on buying Matthew stuff for his stay.¡±


    Iughed, actually picturing it, ¡°He knows he is only babysitting him a week, right?¡±


    Zoey nced back at me, ¡°He knows, but he keeps insisting that it¡¯s his duty as Matthew¡¯s godfather.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d Matthew has Evan and you in his life.¡±


    Me confessing that to her without warning made Zoey blush. She buried her nose in Matthew¡¯s dark hair, a small smile spread across her face.


    ¡°You¡¯re my family.¡± Zoey told me, ¡°I¡¯d do anything for you and Nick.¡± She gently hugged Matthew to her, who took the opportunity to grab her hair and tug it, ¡°And for this little boy.¡± She whispered, blowing him kisses which Matthew seemed to enjoy.


    I ran my fingers through his dark locks, ¡°Stop flirting with Zoey.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s you, I¡¯ll allow it.¡± Evan told Matthew, taking a seat beside his girlfriend, ¡°Isn¡¯t it time for bed yet, Matthew?¡±


    The loud squeal that followed told us all how Matthew thought about going to bed. The excited looking Matthew moved in Zoey¡¯s arms, reaching for Evan. It worried me that he suddenly moved like that but thankfully Evan was right there beside Zoey and took over. He took Matthew in his arms and kissed the little boy¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s join your dad and the guys.¡± Evan got to his feet and looked at us, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to get ready, Em. The car is waiting.¡±


    While Evan entertained Matthew, his girlfriend helped me slip out of my white dress. Once dressed in morefortable clothing for our flight, Nick and I said goodbye to our friends and family. My dad was staying in town together with Max, wanting to spend time with Matthew. Luckily Evan didn¡¯t mind at all and dly took it upon him to entertain them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about our deal, Zoey,¡± Nick warned his friend.


    Zoey rolled her eyes at him, ¡°I¡¯m keeping my phone with me at all times.¡± She reassured him.


    Evan wrapped an arm around Zoey¡¯s waist, leaning closer to his girlfriend who was holding a sleeping Matthew in her arms. He ced his hand against Matthew¡¯s back and flickered his eyes back to us.


    ¡°We got it, Nick. Would you just go already!¡±


    I pressed my lips together to make sure I wouldn¡¯tugh in my husband¡¯s face. Nick noticed and narrowed his eyes on me in warning. Without saying another word I climbed into the backseat of the car and scooted to the corner, making room for my husband. Nick eventually sat down beside me and ced his hand on my knee, giving it a squeeze.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re doing this.¡± He told me quietly.


    Taking hold of his hand I titled my head to the side and met his worried gaze, ¡°They¡¯re going to be fine, Nick. Evan loves Matthew and takes care of him like Matthew is his own son. Besides dad and Max are also staying in town. They¡¯ll be there when is needed.¡± I leaned closer to my husband, undoing the seatbelt to crawl on top of him.


    Nick quickly pressed the button to pull up the privacy screen and tightly held onto my hips, ¡°Em!¡±


    I brushed my nose against him, ¡°I need you to focus on me this week.¡± I whispered, ¡°Keep the worrying to a minimum so we can actually enjoy our honeymoon. Do you remember thest time we actually had sex? Because I can¡¯t. I need you to make mee, Nick¡±


    He threw his head back andughed, the same sincereughter as when he was messing around with his boys. It made the butterflies in my stomach go nuts. I figured my husband would always have that effect on me and I didn¡¯t mind at all. I loved the feeling of riding a rollercoaster.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been neglecting you.¡± He brushed his lips against the corner of my mouth, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    cing my hands on his shoulders I grinded against his crotch which made a delicious sounding from his lips, ¡°Apology epted.¡±


    He ced his hand on the back of my head and kept me in ce as he bit unto my lower lip, ¡°Stop teasing me, woman.¡±


    Giggling I pressed my lips firmly against his and kissed him with everything I had. Nick just leaned back against his seat and took it, let me show him how much I wanted him.


    ¡­

 Chapter 28 Happy Life(2)

    After spending a week locked up in a hotel we paid Evan a visit, ready to take Matthew home with us again. To our surprise, Evan and Zoey had prepared a wee back dinner for us. Brandon and his girlfriend Sacha were there along with my dad and Max. It was thoughtful and made me cry. Zoey pushed past Nick and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in for a hug.


    ¡°You¡¯re so silly.¡± Sheughed, ¡°It¡¯s what you do for family, right?¡±


    I loved that she kept reminding me about us being family. Zoey was probably the best thing that could happen to Evan, shepleted him. She also fitted in perfectly, keeping our group together. Pulling away Zoey headed to the kitchen and called over her shoulder.


    ¡°Come to help me move everything to the table, Em.¡±


    Brushing my tears away I followed after her, letting Nick settle in. Of course, Nick immediately took Matthew in his arms and smothered him with hugs and kisses. While on our honeymoon we had received tons of pictures from Evan and Zoey. Apparently, our little boy didn¡¯t miss us at all. He had the time of his life with them. He also entertained his grandfather and uncle. I was d dad was still around to witness Matthew grow up. Just the thought made me want to cry again, but Zoey scolded me.


    ¡°No more tears, please.¡± She told me firmly, ¡°You¡¯re getting soft on us, Emily. ording to Evan you were fierce and always told Nick off. Challenging him. I need that Emily back, she sounds freaking amazing.¡±


    ¡°I guess marriage and babies do this to you,¡± I told Zoey, taking hold of thest bowl and putting it on the dining table.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat, guys¡± Zoey eximed cheerfully.


    Nick sat down beside me with Matthew in his arms, the little boy was moving around beating his little fists against his dad¡¯s chest. When he spotted me he immediately reached for my hair, but I quickly moved, sticking my tongue out to him which made Matthewugh like it was the most hrious thing in the world.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a silly little thing.¡± I moved closer to him and kissed his chubby cheek, ¡°I¡¯ve missed you.¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    Nick met my gaze, ¡°It actually hurts knowing he didn¡¯t miss us at all.¡±


    Iughed, ¡°Yes, it just proves that Evan and Zoey take good care of him.¡±


    ¡°We just kept him busy.¡± Evan told us, ¡°Going around town, doing some shopping and showing him the touristy ces. Also having dinner with his grandfather and uncle.¡±


    I nced at my father, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we weren¡¯t around.¡±


    He brushed it off though, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Matthew was goodpany.¡±


    Nick leaned closer to me, pressing a kiss to my temple, ¡°Apparently no one missed us.¡± He whispered, but loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.


    Dinner was amazing and it seemed awfully short. Around ten we went home, putting Matthew to bed. I let Nick read Matthew a bedtime story while I unpacked and then got ready for bed. Once showered and dressed infy sleepwear I slipped under the covers and waited for Nick to join me. My eyes felt heavy and I felt myself drifting away when Nick joined me, kissing my temple.


    ¡°Thank you, Em.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t too far gone to realize his words were out of ce, ¡°For what?¡± I asked confused, rolling to my side to face him.


    ¡°For giving me everything.¡± He whispered as he gently brushed my hair back, ¡°I knew when I first saw you, being all sassy and shing me-¡±


    Iughed and yfully pped his shoulder, ¡°I didn¡¯t do that on purpose!¡±


    He covered my mouth with his hand and continued, ¡°That I¡¯d build a future with you.¡± I licked his hand which made him raise an eyebrow at me while he pulled away, ¡°If you want to y all you have to do is ask.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know that when you first met me, you liar.¡± I reached under the covers, cing my hands against his firm chest, ¡°You were worried about yourpany and along the way, you were thinking about banging me.¡±


    Heughed quietly, shaking his head at me, ¡°Always so crude, Em.¡±


    I reached lower and pressed my hand against his growing erection, ¡°Well, you¡¯re the one who makes me behave like this.¡±


    He rolled me onto my back and hovered over me, ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong I did fantasize about spreading your legs and taking you, but I¡¯m not lying about me knowing we¡¯d eventually end up here.¡±


    ¡°In bed?¡± I asked which made him yfully nip my lower lip.


    ¡°You¡¯re the worst.¡± He smirked at me, ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    I cupped his face, the yfulness fading away, ¡°I know what you mean, Nick. I was highly attracted to you, but along the way, I also knew that you were it for me.¡±


    His eyes heated as he heard me say that, he leaned in and kissed me. Before I could react he pulled away and brushed his thumb over my lips.


    ¡°So? You¡¯d admit that marriage isn¡¯t the most awful thing in the world?¡±


    Smiling I yfully bit onto his finger, ¡°I¡¯ll admit that I was wrong. Thank you for never giving up on me.¡±


    He grinned down at me, reached for my hands and linked our fingers together while he pushed them against the mattress.


    ¡°Since we¡¯ve set that straight, how about we focus on other things?¡±


    I wrapped my leg around his firm butt and pulled him closer to me, turned on by the intense look in his blue eyes.


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I whispered, leaning in to kiss him.


    He was about to kiss me back when a squeal made Nick press his forehead against mine and sigh tiredly, ¡°Maybe we should have done two weeks instead?¡±


    Iughed, ¡°You think?¡± Pushing against his chest, I made him roll off me, ¡°Go see what he needs.¡±


    Nick sat up and yfully red at me, ¡°Bossing me around now, are we?¡±


    ¡°You know what they say, happy wife, happy life.¡±


    Heughed and leaned in pressing a kiss to my temple before jumping out of bed and walking to the door. He nced over his shoulder and met my gaze.


    ¡°I love you, Em.¡±


    Smiling I sat up, ¡°I love you too, Nick.¡±


    He walked out and left the door ajar while Iid back down, grinning like an idiot as I stared up at the ceiling. I didn¡¯t regret a thing when it came to Nick. Hepleted me. He always told me how I was his obsession, but I didn¡¯t think it was true. Nick loved me, but he loved everyone around him. Cared deeply about his friends and family. It was me who was obsessed with him. I couldn¡¯t imagine not having him in my life. Thankfully it was something I never had to think off. Nick was all mine and he let me know it every day.


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