Chapter Three #2
He draws in a deep breath. “She can’t keep calling me Mr. Nick, either.” He laughs, and the tension between us eases.
“Come to her birthday party, spend some time with her and we’ll get there, okay?”
He nods. “Okay. But I’d like to see her sooner than that.”
He releases his hold on me and I step back, needing space from his heady scent and the effect his nearness has on my body.
I swallow hard. “What if you take that time to process the shock? Make sure you want to be in her life before you come barreling in, only to disappoint her if you disappear on her after the novelty has worn off?”
He visibly clenches his jaw but then nods. “I understand. You need time to adjust, too. But I need you to know she’s not a novelty to me. ”
“Were you always so astute?” I manage a shaky smile. “Maybe I do but I also need to know Leah can count on you. Be sure,” I say, aware of the pleading note in my voice.
“I am. But I’ll take the time.”
I am grateful that he’s given in.
“I’m going to get going. I think today has been stressful enough for us both.”
“You can say that again.” I nod in relief. “Umm, where are you living now?” I ask again.
He braces his hand on the doorknob. “I travel from hotel to hotel around the country, wherever the business needs me. Right now, I don’t really have a home base.” He shrugs. “But the rest of the family is in New York. Even Harrison moved there from L.A., so I’m here more often than not.”
“Living out of a hotel room,” I say. A person can’t get more transient than that.
How does he expect to have consistency with Leah, if he has a job that has him constantly traveling, and doesn’t have a real home? I’m not sure how I feel about that, him drifting in and out of Leah’s life. After the childhood I had, I crave stability and am determined to make sure my child has it.
“And where are you staying?” I ask.
“The Meridian Hotel in the city,” he says, walking towards the door .
He turns to face me again and without warning, slips one hand around my waist, pulling me flush against him. Every hard inch of his body presses into my softer flesh.
“Wh..what are you doing?” I ask, my voice husky.
His deep blue eyes bore into mine. “What I should have done the moment I saw you again.”
I part my lips to speak, but before I can utter a word, he captures my mouth with his. He doesn’t linger, but he damn sure makes his point, stroking my tongue with his. Then, too soon, he lifts his head.
“It’s good to see you again, Aurora.” And before I can say anything, he straightens and lets himself out.
The sound of the door closing leaves me staring after him in shock.
My fingers touch the lips he kissed, while awareness ripples through my body.
My emotions were all over the place in a quick span of time.
One minute I was worried about him taking my daughter away from me, and the next, I was in Nick’s embrace. My nipples are hard and panties damp.
God, the man is potent. But I can’t do this—not again. If Nick is going to be back in my life, it has to be about Leah. Not us. I won’t stand in the way of him getting to know his daughter. But my ability to truly trust someone was shattered a long time ago.
** *
Nick
I am a father. I am also in shock. I managed to hold myself together at Aurora’s, but barely.
After all, it isn’t every day I discover I have a child I knew nothing about.
I went through the motions in a fog, cutting a pancake like a dad and absorbing the fact that the sassy, little chatterbox is mine.
Once Aurora and I were alone, I focused on her.
It was easier to concentrate on the woman who still affects me on a sexual and emotional level than to think about the bombshell she just dropped on me.
I need time to process that. But when Aurora panicked over my intentions regarding Leah, I realized she was in full on freak-out mode, too.
Knowing the best thing I can do is to talk to someone whose opinion I respect, I drive from Aurora’s townhouse to the Manhattan high rise, where my sister Jade lives. I text her, so she knows to expect me. And when I arrive, Spencer, the doorman, lets me up.
I rap my knuckles on the door and my sister answers, greeting me with a hug. “Hey! I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Hey, yourself.” I step back and take her in. Her eyes are glassy and her cheeks flushed—she obviously is still battling a migraine .
“Are you feeling better? It’s not like you to skip one of Harrison’s premieres.”
“It’s slowly going away.” She shrugs. “I’m used to it but it sucks. Everyone says Harrison was phenomenal.”
“He and Sasha had amazing chemistry,” I say.
Jade closes the door behind me, and I follow her into the family room. The television is on and her favorite blanket is thrown on the couch.
Picking up the remote, she hits ‘mute’ on one of the Housewives shows and curls back up on the couch.
I take the other side of the sofa and get comfortable, too. Though I have news, I’m worried about her. “Are you sure this is just a headache?” I ask.
“As opposed to…what?”
“Oh, maybe it’s because last night was the date you were supposed to marry Theo Matthews?” Until Zach saw the guy getting too cozy with another woman in a bar.
There was no mistaking their interaction for anything other than what it was.
Theo Matthews, hockey goalie, was cheating on Jade.
Zach took photos in case Jade didn’t want to believe it.
Considering he was the second fiancé to fuck her over—the first was in it for the Dare money—I wouldn’t blame her for not wanting to face the truth.
Jade gave both men the boot, but her heart was shredded in the process.
She frowns. “I’m over the asshole.”
“But that doesn’t mean you aren’t aware of the date. Nobody would fault you for wanting to be alone last night, instead of in a crowd of people.” I offered to come over but Jade insisted that I go to Harrison’s premiere.
“Can we change the subject? I heard you ran into some woman you met in Miami? Let’s talk about that.” She raises her eyebrows and stares me down.
I hold up both hands in defeat. “Fine. But if you want to talk, you know where to find me.”
Her expression softens. “I do and I love you for caring. I’m okay, really. So, what’s going on with you?”
I blow out a breath. “I did run into Aurora last night. And I showed up at her place this morning.”
I keep replaying the moment Leah opened the door, and that little face, with my eyes, greeted me. A lump rises in my throat. “I’m a father.”
“Wait, what? Say that again.” She sits upright and stares at me in disbelief.
“Pretty sure you heard me the first time.”
She blinks hard. “Shit, Nicky.” Only my twin ever calls me that. “Did she keep your kid from you?”
I shake my head. “No. Nothing like that. Aurora and I didn’t exchange last names. It was one night and she had no way of finding me once she realized she was pregnant.”
Jade’s hand covers her open mouth. “Oh God. That poor woman.”
I rise and begin to pace the room. “Actually, she was a girl, just eighteen when we met. And it gets worse. She was practically homeless at the time. And I had no idea. Thank God she got a few lucky breaks or who knows what would have happened to her and my kid.” My chest hurts at the thought of Aurora living in the back of that diner, in a too warm room, with little money.
“What are you going to do about your…son? Daughter?”
I turn to my sister and grin. “Daughter. Her name is Leah, and she’s a spitfire. Not to mention the cutest kid ever.”
“Nick, umm, what makes you certain she’s yours? That this isn’t some elaborate scam for money?” Jade winces as she asks the question.
And I can’t blame her for asking it. “For one thing, she has our eye color. And remember those lucky breaks I mentioned she’d gotten?”
Jade nods.
“One of them was going to Braden Prescott’s clinic when she was pregnant.
Apparently, his now-wife, Willow, took Aurora under her wing and gave her a place to live while she sorted out her life.
They also got her a job, which created a paper trail, and enabled the family she didn’t know she had, to find her. ” I pause, letting my story sink in.
When I’m sure Jade is with me, I hit her with the craziest part of Aurora’s life. “And…she’s a Kingston . She doesn’t need my money. She’s also not the type of woman to scam anyone,” I snap, then shake my head. “Sorry. I just know the kid is mine, okay?”
“Okay. You know I had to ask but I get it now.” And my sister smiles wide. “I can’t wait to meet her. Got a picture?”
I grind my palms into my own eyes. “Dammit! I didn’t even think about taking one. Hang on.” Pulling out my phone, I text Aurora my request. A few seconds later, a photo shows up on my screen and I grin.
“Here.” I hand Jade the picture I intend to make my background photo. Leah, with her curly blonde hair in pigtails and a huge smile on her face, cuddles with a stuffed bear.
“Oh my God, she’s adorable! I want to squeeze those cheeks! So what are your plans? When can I meet her? I need to buy her things!” My sister reaches for her laptop, her excitement allowing me to relax now that she isn’t questioning my child’s paternity.
“Jade, hang on.”
“What’s wrong? ”
“Leah doesn’t know I’m her father yet.” I run a hand through my hair in frustration.
“I showed up at the door, and of course, Aurora introduced me as an old friend. She didn’t deny who Leah was to me, but she did ask that we take it slow.
Right now, Leah calls me Mr. Nick.” I laugh, remembering the first time she said it.
“But she’ll let you see your daughter, right?” My sister sounds worried, defensive on my behalf.
“Yes. Leah invited me to her birthday party and Aurora agreed. She said we’d take it from there. I don’t want to traumatize her,” I tell my sister.