Chapter 2
Nick
I sit on the bed, run my hand through my hair, and listen to the shower run. That was harder than I thought—to see her face when what I was saying without directly saying it registered. She didn’t even want to look at me.
I open the door to the bathroom and see her through the shower door with her back to me.
She doesn’t hear me come in. She looks so small, like she’s a teenager again.
Like the first time I realized she wasn’t a little girl anymore.
I love the feel of her skin underneath my hands.
The way it feels against my tongue, soft and warm.
I hate I’m the one hurting her. I want to hold her in my arms and tell her I can make it all go away, but I can’t.
I strip my clothes off and climb into the shower behind her. She jumps when her back presses up against me. I put my hands around her to let her know I have her. She’s safe with me.
I feel her body relax against me. Her skin feels good against mine.
I want her, and my body wants her. I can’t help it.
My body instantly reacts when I’m near her, but I didn’t come in here for that.
Standing against me, her head comes to my chest. I tower over her, watching the water run down the soft curves of her body.
I wish she were the one carrying my child.
“Can I hold you? I just want to hold you,” I say softly against the water beating down on us.
We stand like this for a long time. We don’t need words when we’re in each other’s arms. The sound of my phone breaks through the calm and the soothing sound of the running water.
Fuck. “Babe, I have to get that. I’m waiting for an important call from a client.
” I let out a deep breath. Cat turns around in my arms and looks up at me, her breasts brush my chest; the feel of her body against mine has been driving me crazy.
I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted.
I grind my teeth as I look down at her beautiful face, glistening wet.
“Go ahead, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Can I give you a kiss?”
She reaches up on her tiptoes, and I meet her halfway.
“I said I would take the case. I’m not going to go back on my word. I’m not my father. I always repay my debts. After this we’re finished.”
Cat is standing by the door when I hang up the phone.
“Sorry, I thought you would be finished.” She’s still in the oversized white bathrobe she had on earlier. It looks absurdly big and ridiculously cute on her.
“Come here.”
She walks into my office with her hands behind her back. I walk around my desk and sit on the end in front of her. There’s about five inches of space between us. “You can come closer.” She stares at me with her lips slightly pursed. “What’s wrong?”
“As much as I like this bathrobe, I can’t wear it the entire weekend. I feel extremely underdressed next to you.”
“You could always take it off. I wouldn’t mind at all.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t, but I don’t think so. I need some kind of armor to protect me from your… less than honorable advances.”
“Who ever said I was honorable? When it comes to me being with you, I’m a desperate man.” She smiles when I pull her between my legs and put my hands on hers behind her back.
“Oh, I believe you. I have firsthand experience with your less than honorable practices at making me do things I wouldn’t ordinarily do.”
“I seem to remember you loving every minute of it. Would you like me to remind you in real time?”
“No, my memories are very vivid.”
I frown to show my disappointment. “That’s a shame; I was more than ready, willing, and able to perform that task for you”—I lean back and spread my hands down across the desk— “with a little assistance, of course.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you won’t be getting any assistance from me until I’m properly attired.”
“I’ve already taken care of it. When you were in the shower there was a delivery for you.”
“How could there be a delivery for me? I didn’t order anything and no one knows I’m here.”
“I like to think ahead. Go into the living room.” She turns around suspiciously. “Go ahead.” I follow her into the room. Four bags are lined up against the window. She looks over her shoulder at me, kneels down in front of the bags, and looks through them.
“Did I do good?” I ask.
“Yes, you did. You took a risk—what if I didn’t like these clothes?”
“Your style has changed, but underneath you’re still a jeans and tank top kinda girl.
Besides, I have great taste in clothes; even better when it comes to knowing what my woman looks good in,” I say smugly, and she rolls her eyes at me.
“As much as I would enjoy watching you walk around here naked all day, I figured you might object to that.”
“You figured right. Did you figure on underwear too?”
“Yes, but I don’t know why you would need it.”
“I would rather my crotch not be rubbed raw in my jeans.”
“That would be a good reason.”
“There better not be all thongs in this bag. I do not want to walk around all day with a piece of string stuck up my ass like a super wedgie—that’s not my idea of comfortable.”
“When you put it like that no, it doesn’t sound too comfortable.”
“I’m not opposed to wearing a thong when the situation calls for it, but jeans don’t call for it.”
“Good to know. Don’t worry, there is an assortment of every kind of underwear in there.”
“I’ll be back. I’m going to see if your fashion sense is as good as you think it is.” She picks up the bags, walks in front of me and stops. “Shoes? You didn’t think of that, did you?”
“They’re in the room by the closet.”
“You thought of everything, didn’t you?”
“I like to be prepared.”
“Of course you do.”
When she comes back, I’m very pleased. She’s wearing black leggings, a fitted burgundy sweater and wedge boots with fur around the ankles.
“How do I look?”
“I approve.”
“I knew you would.”
“You found the blow dryer?” Looking at her hair, I can tell she did.
“Thank goodness I did. My hair was starting to look like a frizzy curly kit.”
“I like your hair natural; it reminds me of the first time I ever saw you. You look cute when it’s like that.”
“When you’re a little girl it’s cute, when you’re an adult you can’t rock that look without a lot of products to tame it.”
“I’ll take your word for it. I know how women are about their hair.”
She sits facing me on the couch. I put my phone down and face her. “What do you want to do today?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
My eyes travel to her lips all the way down her body back up to her warm brown eyes. I give her a wicked smile.
“Besides that.”
“This outfit you have on makes you look like a ski bunny slash figure skater.”
“I was thinking the same thing when I looked in the mirror.”
“Then to Rockefeller center we go.”
“For what?”
“We can’t let this outfit go to waste, we’re going ice skating.”
“No, we’re not! I haven’t ice skated in years!”
“So?”
“So I don’t want to fall flat on my ass.”
“Don’t worry, if you fall, I’ll catch you. It’ll be fun.”
“Fun for who?”
“It’s like riding a bike; once you know how you never forget.”
“What if someone sees us together?”
“Like who? We’re skating, not having sex on the ice.”
“I’m supposed to be spending the weekend with my friend.”
“And you are. Two old friends who happen to be in the same place at the same time.”
“What a coincidence,” she says sarcastically.
“Yes, it is. Is there some written law that says you can’t be seen in public with me?”
“No.”
“Then case closed, let’s go.”
I grab her hand, pulling her off the couch; we put on our jackets at the door. Cat pauses with her hand on the door. “You didn’t think of everything, Mr. Prepared.” She holds her hands up and points at her head. “No hat or gloves.”
She keeps doubting me. I hold my index finger up for her to wait. I walk back in the room, come back out and hand her a white knitted hat and a matching pair of gloves. “I told you, I like to be prepared.”
Cat reaches up on her tip toes, grabs me by the front of my coat, and kisses me on the lips between each word with a smile. “Yes. You. Do.”
She lets go of me and races out the door before I can grab her back inside and kiss her senseless. Hopefully the rest of the day is this good.
“So are you ready?”
“Hell no!” she says, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck.
“Cat, you’re starting to choke me, and people are looking.”
“I should have never listened to you. I told you this would happen.”
“You’re overreacting; we’re not even out on the ice yet. Stop being a big baby.”
“Oh shut up, I am not!”
“Really! Look at the little kids skating around the rink. That one can’t be more than three. Now, let go and put your damn foot on the ice.” If I didn’t know it was going to upset her even more, I would laugh. Too funny!
“Fine, fine, fine! Are you laughing at me, Nick?”
“Who, me? Nooo. Why would I laugh at a grown-ass woman who’s afraid of a piece of ice?”
“If this grown-ass woman falls and busts her ass, I’m taking your ass down with me!”
This time I can’t help but laugh. This is like when we were kids. However, I shouldn’t have done that, because when she gets both feet on the ice she purposefully yanks on my arm, pulling us both down ass-first on the ice. “Ow! What did you do that for?”
“Next time you’ll think twice before laughing at me, you big baby.”
“I’m going to get you,” I say, scrambling across the ice to get her.
We probably looked like two fools on the ice, Cat scrambling to get up on the bars across the ice and me chasing after her, hands flailing in the air until I finally catch up to her.
I grab on to her coat by the waist, out of breath, and we fall back against the railing while other skaters fly by looking at us.
“You were right, this is fun.”
“I told you, now that you’ve made a spectacle of both of us, do you want to tone it down and let me show you how to skate?”
“Well, I guess so, since I wasn’t the only one out here making a fool of myself.”