34. Bryan
34
brYAN
I ran a towel over my face as I finished washing up. I tossed it on the counter before stepping into my bedroom. Our bedroom. Nova sat propped up on the pillows, blankets around her knees—right where she belonged. She looked beautiful. She looked perfect.
She was staring at her hand, admiring the ring on her finger.
“What are you thinking?” I asked, catching her attention.
She sighed and turned her hand around so that I could see the ring. She wiggled her fingers, and the diamonds caught the light and threw flashes of light around.
“This is almost too good to be true.”
“I know what you mean. But it’s true.” I crossed the room
“We’re really engaged,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve never had a ring like this. Can I sleep in it? It’s old. Will it break?”
I shrugged. I knew nothing about jewelry. “We can go to a jeweler after the holidays and ask. I really don’t know. I don’t wear jewelry. You could probably look up what you need online.”
She twisted the ring back and forth. “I’m afraid to sleep in it. But I don’t want to take it off yet.”
“Then don’t. I’m sure sleeping in it won’t hurt it. It’s metal and rocks. I’d be more concerned with your finger turning green or purple and having all the circulation cut off.”
“No, it fits perfectly.” She twisted it and showed that she could easily remove it.
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her fingers. “It does. How are you doing?” I sat and ran my hand over the lump in the blankets that was her leg.
“It’s been a day.” She laughed. “You asked me to marry you. And…” She shook her head. I knew what she was thinking. At least the smile stayed.
I was glad she could laugh and smile. Smiles looked good on her. Smiles looked so much better on her than tears. When she said it had been a day, she wasn’t kidding. I knew I’d be spending the next several years apologizing for my mother. But Nova has also endured a traumatic situation with her ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend.
“Do you think she’ll ever come around?” Nova asked.
Mother had been less than receptive to the news that Nova and I were getting married. Her complaints were everything from ‘she’s so young’ to ‘you just met’. The entire time, she managed to insult Nova and not say one word to her.
“Mother, either you stop commenting on how you feel regarding my engagement or you need to leave,” I said.
“I haven’t exchanged gifts with my granddaughter.”
By that point, I was on my feet, and Amelia had taken my space on the couch, where she was clutching Nova.
“You’ve upset Amelia. You are upsetting me. I don’t think exchanging presents right now would be the best idea. I’m done listening to your critical opinion over everything.” I gestured for my mother to start moving. I stepped closer and she started walking away. I followed her all the way to the front, ensuring she was in fact leaving.
“You’re never going to get that ring back from her. She’s going to sell it.”
“I doubt that.” I chuckled. Nova was too enamored of her ring. She might even be intimidated by it. It was a sizable stone and an old ring. But she would never sell it.
Mother continued to let me know exactly how disappointed she was in me before she walked out the door.
“Then you won’t be upset when you aren’t invited to the wedding,” I said as I closed the door behind her. The last thing I saw was her shocked expression as she turned. I was certain she had more to say, but the door was closed by then. I turned the lock, making sure that Mother wouldn’t be able to walk in on us again.
Fortunately, she took the hint. The rest of our afternoon was pleasant as we spent a lazy day eating too many cinnamon rolls and cookies. The dinner Nova had prepared ahead of time was perfect. It was the best Christmas I could remember having.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to do about Mother. I’d rather not cut her off completely and go no-contact. But she has got to stop being so mean. I get it, she thinks I make bad choices, but I’m a grown man with my own money. I can make my own decisions. She wasn’t much of a fan of Natalie, either. At least not until Amelia came along.”
“Natalie?” Nova’s voice was very quiet. “Your first wife?”
I nodded. “Yes, Amelia’s mother.”
Nova let out a heavy sigh. “I’d like to know what happened between you, but I don’t think I could handle the full story after the day I’ve had.”
I cupped the back of Nova’s head and pulled her toward me as I leaned in and placed a kiss on her brow. “When you’re ready, ask. I’ll be ready to talk about her. In short, she ruined Christmas, but you fixed that. You made Christmas magical and special for Amelia, and for me, again. I will love you forever for that.”
“And your mother? I have to get pregnant for her to like me? I don’t think I’m ready to have kids yet.”
“But you want kids?”
“Someday. It was always the life plan. You know, fall in love, get married, have kids.”
“You already have one. Are you interested in more?” I cocked my head to the side, indicating Amelia, who was fortunately already tucked up sound asleep in her bed after a very long, emotionally exhausting day.
“You’re right! I do. Amelia will make the best older sister ever. But not for a bit. I’m not ready for babies, but a family is good. If I marry you, instant family. My mom is going to freak out.”
“You still haven’t told her?”
Nova shook her head. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t figure out how to tell her about Veronica and David, either. And that’s going to break her heart. Mom liked Veronica. I’ve been trying to separate all the different arguments from this morning. What do I tell her directly, what do I gently ease into conversation? She doesn’t even know there was something between us. I’ll tell her, but I’m going to have to figure out the best way to go about this.”
“Is she not going to like me?”
Nova bit her lip. “I think my mom will accept you much faster than your mother will ever accept me. You only have to deal with the whole older man with a kid thing with my mom. I have a full gold-digger uphill battle with yours.”
“So, having a kid is a red flag for your mother?”
Nova shook her head. “No, she will love Amelia. I mean, Amelia is quite the character.”
“She’s a handful,” I admitted.
“She is. She will make a very interesting adult,” Nova said.
“Are you only marrying me because you fell in love with my kid?”
Nova giggled and reached out to me. I laced our fingers together.
“Well, not just. You made quite an impression when we first met.” Her cheeks flushed.
“Thank you. You made quite an impression yourself,” I admitted. “What’s next for us?”
Nova cast her gaze from side to side and leaned forward, pulling my hand closer to her. I was not expecting it when she wrapped her lips around my finger and sucked it into her mouth. I groaned at the sensation of her lips on my skin.
“That’s not exactly what I was talking about, but I do like the way you think.”
Her lips slid over my finger, and her tongue teased the webbing between my fingers. There was a soft, almost audible Pop as her mouth abandoned me.
“What were you talking about? If that’s not what you meant, what did you mean?
At that point, I had forgotten everything. What had I meant? Whatever future I was concerned with, I no longer cared. I wanted the future where Nova put her mouth on me. I climbed onto the bed and pushed her back against the pillows.
With a low hum, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and I slid my lips against hers. I let my hands roam where they would, touching everything. There was something very sensuous in how the fabric of her pajamas slid over her smooth skin underneath.
“I think your plan is the best idea I’ve heard all day,” I murmured.
“I don’t have any plans,” Nova said with soft, sexy gasps.
“And I thought you were here to seduce me.”
“I thought I was here because you were going to marry me,” Nova teased.
“Why can’t it be both?” I asked with a chuckle.
I skimmed my hand under the hem of her pajama top and touched her skin. I caressed her smooth middle and up her ribs until I could cup her large breast with my hand. My thumb dragged across her nipple. It was just starting to peak with desire. I growled low in my throat.
Nova let out a moan that shot straight to my balls.
“Are you sure we should do this?” She was breathless as she spoke. “Your daughter is across the hallway.”
“Our daughter,” I corrected, “is sound asleep, and there are closed and locked doors between us.”
“If you say so.” Nova let her head fall back as she gave herself over to my touch.