Chapter 33 Kat
Things have been surprisingly normal the last week since Des handled Carter.
It’s strange; I’d thought I would be more put off now, with the threat of them being found out looming over our heads, but I’m not.
With Carter and Trevor both gone, I feel like I can breathe again, and I’m not sure why exactly, but I really do believe Vince that they know what they’re doing.
The snow continues to fall, and I’m pretty sure I’ve got a bug, but that doesn’t stop Addy and me from spending most of our days outside before we come in for hot cocoa.
The same hot cocoa that Oli made me last week—I’d made him teach me how to make it because it was so good I needed it more often than I was comfortable begging him for it.
“You two are going to turn into mini marshmallows with how many you put in those cups.”
Addy falls into a fit of giggles as Nathan scoops her up out of the chair and presses a kiss to her temple before dropping onto the stool she’d just occupied.
Without missing a beat, she goes back to her cocoa and marshmallows as if we aren’t even here.
“How was work?” I ask because even after weeks, he makes me feel giddy and nervous.
“Boring.” According to Des and Alex, Nathan had been a bit of a workaholic, well, always, and while I saw a bit of that in the beginning, it’s definitely changed.
They’re all home as often as they can be, which is great but also makes me feel bad.
“What’s that look for?” He tucks a finger under my chin and lifts my head until our eyes meet.
I didn’t even realize I’d looked away.
“I, um,” It’s on the tip of my tongue to lie. To tell him nothing’s wrong, but something tells me he won’t accept that.
I lick my lips and take a deep breath, finding comfort in the warmth of the mug in my hands.
“I feel bad.”
He cocks a brow at my admission but doesn’t say anything, and I know he’s waiting for an explanation.
“It’s just that you all have so much to do, and I’m constantly getting in the way of it.”
He releases me, standing and placing Addy back on her stool before pulling me up into his arms. I just barely register fast enough to release my mug before I’m standing chest to chest with him. He spins us around and sets me on the counter, moving to stand between my legs.
I struggle to breathe as I look up at him towering over me, feeling him pressed against me.
He leans in impossibly closer, bracing his hand on the cabinet that my head now rests against.
“We always have things to do, such is the nature of our business. But I need you to look at me and really understand the words I’m about to say, Kat.” It takes me a second to center myself enough to look past his lips and think beyond his erection pressed against me, but I manage, somehow.
“Before you, I worked too much, we all did, but me most of all. I should have been here for Addy more often, should have been more involved in her schooling, and been building memories with her.” His voice is tight, and his jaw clenched, and I can’t stop myself from reaching out to rest my hand on top of his that rests on the counter beside me.
Taking a deep breath, he continues. “I thought I was doing what was best by securing her future, and while that is important, our company could go under tomorrow, and we would still be set for life. I was running, restless, looking for something I didn’t even realize I needed.”
“Someone I didn’t even realize I needed.”
Nathan isn’t soft with many people, but there’s no other way to describe him right now as he stands before me.
“I never want you to feel guilty for teaching us to do more than just work, for making us a family.”
Damn it, when he says it like that, it sounds a whole lot better.
“We’re home because we want to be, we work because we have to, and anything we put off can wait. You and Addy are the most important things, above money, above the company.”
My heart is pounding, each word hitting me like a shot of adrenaline. The smile on my face is making my cheeks ache, but I can’t stop it.
“Understand?”
“Understood.” He hardly lets me get the word out before he presses forward, his lips molding to mine in a way that makes me think soulmates might be real after all.
“Ew! Gross, get a room!” Des says as he walks into the room, and I roll my eyes. Nathan doesn’t pull away, but he does pull his hand from under mine.
“Oh, that’s five dollars for the jar, Daddy!” Addy says with a giggle, letting me know where Nathan’s hand just went.
This time, he does pull back, turning to find Addy happily sipping her hot cocoa, coloring a page in the coloring books we had bought on our most recent trip out.
“I didn’t say a bad word, Princess.”
“That means a bad word, though, so it still counts.” She shrugs and continues to color, not the least bit concerned with what Nathan has to say.
Nathan seems to contemplate for a moment before he pulls out a five-dollar bill and drops it on the table.
He fishes out another one, holding it up between two fingers, and she peeks up at him. “I’ll make it ten if you tell me how you know what that word means.”
He doesn’t even get to finish the offer before her hand is in the air, finger pointed right at Des.
Aw, poor Des.
He throws up his hands in a way of surrender and turns to meet Nathan’s gaze.
“Come on, Dad, I flip Alex off all the time. It’s not like I’m teaching it to her on purpose or something.” Des attempts to explain, but Nathan waves him off.
“Don’t you dare try to corrupt her! It’s bad enough you already corrupted my woman.”
“Your woman?”
“Boys.” They both stop and turn to me, Des with his signature shit-eating grin, and Nathan with one that lets me know exactly where Des got his.
“Addy, your brother is here to play princess dress-up with you.”
I watch Des’s gaze move from me to Addy, eyes wide, before he glares at Nathan.
Something tells me that’s not why he was here, but he is now, as if he could ever say no to her. She’s off the stool, hot cocoa forgotten as she races toward Des, grabbing his hand and yanking him from the room.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I say with a laugh as Des disappears around the corner.
“No, it wasn’t, but he is the one who told us to get a room.” He leans in until our foreheads meet, and I let my eyes fall closed, drinking him in.
“Now we can.”
Without warning, he grabs me and tosses me over his shoulder, making me squeal in surprise before I start smacking his butt that now sits directly in my face.
“Let me down, you Neanderthal. I can walk.”
His hand comes down on my ass hard enough to make me yelp and stop my squirming and fussing.
Cheater.
I’ve never owned more clothes than I do now, mostly thanks to Des, Nathan, and Alex, but even still, I struggled to find a dress for tonight. Most of them are way over the top or lacking in the fabric department, if you know what I mean.
In the end, I went with a black dress, because when in doubt, a little black dress has yet to steer me wrong.
The fabric is soft and hugs my body like a second skin without feeling suffocating, and it reaches almost all the way to the floor.
It’s sleeveless, with thin spaghetti straps and a straight neckline that shows off some cleavage but not enough to be gaudy in a high-end restaurant.
The slit, on the other hand, had me second-guessing if this was the right choice, but in the end, I decided it was worth the risk.
Hopefully, they like it.
I leave my hair down, paired with simple diamond stud earrings that are fake but still pretty, and the necklace Nathan gifted me that definitely isn’t fake.
With the cold winter weather having set in, there was no avoiding a coat, not if I wanted to actually make it to the restaurant as me and not a popsicle.
Alex stands at the foot of the stairs waiting for me with my coat over his arm like the perfect gentleman, but his eyes tell another story, and I’m happy to know I made the right choice.
“Mommy looks like a princess,” Addy tries to whisper to Vince as she tugs on his pants, getting his attention. Even he’s dressed up more than usual, and when he turns to look my way, I swear I almost swallow my tongue at the sight of him in a tie.
“A queen.” Alex corrects, and she smiles and nods her agreement.
He holds out my coat, and I move to slip it on.
It’s long enough that my legs won’t freeze, and despite it not being big and puffy like my old one, it’s somehow warmer.
It’s soft with a fur neckline. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask how much it cost, but I swallow it down.
I’ve found it’s easier if I don’t know, at least not right now.
The ride to the restaurant is quiet as Addy watches out the window in awe of the Christmas lights, and I fight the urge to fidget, feeling out of my depth as Alex devours me with just his eyes.
It’s just starting to get dark, but as always, the city is bustling with people, maybe even more than usual, as people shop and enjoy the holiday spirit in almost every window.
“I’ll meet you in there,” Vince yells as Alex helps me from the car. Apparently, they’re allowed to open the door.
“Head inside so you don’t freeze. I’ll grab Oli and Nathan and be back before you can miss me.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and then one to Addy’s before he’s gone.
Lavo’s.
It’s been a little while since I’ve been here, almost a year, actually.
That one night changed everything, my whole life in a way I never would have thought possible.
“Mommy?” Addy pulls me from my walk down memory lane, and I remember we're standing outside in the cold.
“Sorry, honey.” I offer her a smile and head toward the door, her hand wrapped in mine as she follows after.
Alex went up to the club to grab Nathan and Oli. He called Des, and he said he’d meet us here since he’d been headed home from the office already. He’s probably already here since the office is much closer than the house; at least that’s what Vince is counting on since he had to park the car.
Even if he isn’t, this is their restaurant, so I feel safe here.