If I had the money, I’d have a firm that works to help parents who can’t afford a good lawyer but need to get their children away from their exes.
“You know what,” I suddenly say. “Losing my job hurt my pride and changed my entire life, but it might be a blessing in disguise.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad that it brought you to me.”
“But I shouldn’t be here,” I argue.
“Maybe this is where we belong. In this exact moment in time when we are somehow lost and in need of direction. We might be able to help each other find the way,” he claims while his gaze traps mine, and all I want is to be that guide and maybe stay with him once he finds a new path.
“You know what they say about blind people leading each other…” I close my mouth because I can’t recall that saying. “Anyway, I’m sure it’s a pretty bad idea.”
“No,” he argues. “I’m an emotional mess. You’re just trying to figure out how to live better with your new situation. Two different concepts. You can lead me into the emotional light, and I’ll just make sure that you and the blueberry demon settle down. It’s a win-win situation. What can go wrong?”
I stare at him, wondering if anything could go wrong. We’re not offering anything out of the ordinary. I can be a pretty good emotional support. He seems to do well financially and really, he is helping me sell my place and giving me a safe space to get away so I can relax.
Does it matter that he’s male model gorgeous with an amazing bone structure, captivating blue eyes, and a wicked smile that makes it hard not to smile back?
“Then, I’m happy to be here—as your friend.”
His grin widens, and God if it doesn’t make me weak in my knees.
I’m not sure if the last three words are for his benefit or mine. One of us has to remember that this roommate arrangement can’t go any further than maybe a couple of weeks. That we’re both vulnerable and we could easily confuse a heart twinge with falling in love.
When my gaze finds his, I freeze because the expression in his eyes is back to that wildfire burning from the inside out. My heart speeds up fast. Thankfully, I’m saved by my phone. I see it’s Pierce texting me. I shouldn’t answer, but this is the best excuse to walk away from this romantic discussion before he says something more or I expect more than an accidental caress.
Twenty-Six
Nyx
Pierce: Can we change plans?
Nyx: How?
Pierce: I need you here for more than just a Saturday afternoon. We have a lot to cover. Can you come on Monday? I’ll secure your transportation. I promise.
Nyx: What kind of transportation?
Pierce: A private jet to Portland and a helicopter ride to Baker’s Creek. You can stay with us until next Friday.
Nyx: That’s an entire week of work. What do we have to cover?
Pierce: Trust me, this is going to be good.
Nyx: I agree, but it better not be a face to face meeting with your mother.
Pierce: None of that, no worries. We’ll work on that lawsuit too.
When I give Nate the news, he doesn’t love the idea. But there’s nothing he can do to stop me—and he can’t join me. He needs to be in New York by Monday. We spend the weekend together. He drops me at the airport and makes me promise him that I’ll come back to Seattle instead of going back to Colorado.
I’m not surprised that the first words Pierce says when I enter his office are, “Let’s open a law firm. We can be partners.”
“Well, hello to you too,” I greet him.
He smiles and says, “You look like crap, sweetheart. I heard that pregnancy gets better with time.”
“Charming as usual. No wonder your wife is divorcing you,” I dish back. “Tell me all about this firm you want to open.”
There’s a lot more to the fact that he wants us to start a firm. He wants me to oversee his father’s company and Merkel Hotels, his brother’s hotel conglomerate, since none of them can leave Baker’s Creek until the end of next year.
First, he needs me to be in New York for the next couple of months so I can familiarize myself with Aldridge Enterprises, assist with the transition they are undergoing, and keep an eye on Merkel while they move their corporate offices from New York to Portland. After that, I can work from wherever I want as long as I can travel whenever he needs me.
“It feels like you’re hiring me as your spy,” I say as I stare at the page with all my duties for the upcoming months.
He runs both hands through his hair and says, “You’re doing two jobs in one. We need a person who we trust overseeing this. I trust you, blindly.”
“Your brothers don’t know me, and if I recall, you don’t know much about them either,” I remind him.
“Things change, and you need to keep up,” he states. “And yes, you’re our eyes and also my legal partner. So…what do you say?”
Before I sign on the dotted line and we become Aldridge, Brassard & Associates, LLP, we discuss the baby I’m expecting, and how that will affect traveling during the last trimester of my pregnancy. He hopes that by then we will have a strong team that can represent us anywhere.
I spend an entire week learning more about Aldridge Enterprises, handling some personal cases for his brothers, and working on my lawsuit against Bryant, LLP. By Friday, I not only have a job, but Sarah chooses to settle and pay the emotional damages she caused me by the highly unprofessional, unfair, and unexpected dismissal.
The only thing I have pending is the paternity test that hopefully will persuade Edward to sign away his parental rights.
My morning sickness doesn’t improve. On Wednesday, Pierce’s sister-in-law, who is a doctor, drags me to her practice to draw blood so she can confirm the pregnancy. On Thursday, she tells me the bloodwork not only confirms that I am expecting a baby, but I’m healthy. She prescribes me prenatal vitamins and recommends the same thing as Mom, that I eat tiny meals often. Nate calls in the morning and at night. He texts me during the day. It’s just to check on the blueberry demon and me.
This would be swoony, if it wasn’t sad. His attention reminds me that I don’t have anyone to be there for me and the baby. The books I read keep talking about my partner and…someone has to rewrite those books because they are not only outdated but definitely depressing. Sometimes I want to yell at the book, “There’s no partner to hold my hand while I’m going through this freaking journey. How about you erase those stupid lines?”
By Saturday, I’m ready to leave Baker’s Creek first thing in the morning. I have to be in New York by Monday. I decided to arrive a couple of days early to fight the jetlag, play with Brock since Nate is still there, and go shopping for new clothes.
All my work clothes are currently in storage. I could go and fetch them, but what is the point in going through all that trouble when they won’t fit in a couple of months. According to a blog I’ve been reading, it makes more sense that I buy baggy clothes and a few maternity basics like jeans and black pants. Last night, when I spoke with Nate about it, he agreed to take me shopping later today or tomorrow.
As I close the door of my hotel room, I receive a text from Nate.
Nate: Are you awake?
Nyx: Yes, I’m leaving the hotel soon. I want to arrive at the airport with plenty of time to buy a ticket, check-in, and eat something before I board the plane. I’m dreading the five-hour flight. Why are you up so early?
When I look at the time, I realize it’s just a few minutes before eight o’clock his time. That man needs less coffee. I bet he already went for a run, hit the gym, and showered. If I video chat him right now, he’s going to look handsome, well rested, and probably ready to go and jump from a plane.
Nate: Well, you said you wanted to leave early for New York. I had to be at the airport at midnight to make it on time.
I stare at the phone and frown. Has he been waiting for me at the airport since midnight?
Nyx: Where are you?
Nate: I’
m downstairs, waiting for you.
Nyx: In Baker’s Creek?
Nate: Yes. Do you need me to come upstairs?
My heart is racing fast at the prospect of seeing him, and my lips stretch into a wide smile. I push the lobby floor button three more times hoping it’ll make the cart go faster.
Nyx: I should be downstairs soon.
Nyx: Why are you here?
He doesn’t answer. When I step out of the elevator, Nate is right outside. He receives me with a big smile and open arms.
“Hey,” I greet him, walking into his embrace.
“How is the blueberry spawn and her mama?” he asks, kissing the top of my head.
“We’re doing well,” I answer, placing a hand on my soft belly. It’s still strange to think that there’s a tiny person growing inside me. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“Well, I didn’t like the idea of you flying commercial,” he says, nuzzling my hair. “Plus, Brock and I missed you.”
“You did, huh?” I ask, snuggling closer to him so I can listen to his heartbeat and breathe in the scent of his cedar and sandalwood cologne.
Why did I miss him?
I shouldn’t have, but God, this week was too long and too exhausting. Nate makes everything more bearable—and Brock too. There’s something about having them around that makes everything easier, even breathing.
“Ready to go?” he asks, taking a deep breath.
“Yeah,” I answer, opening my eyes and moving away from his warm embrace. “Where’s my boy?”
“He stayed with Demetri in New York. But I promised the pup I’d bring you with me,” he says, grabbing my luggage and taking my hand.
All week long, I’ve been thinking not only about Nate but also the not just friends feelings I’ve been experiencing for the past few days.
The more time passes, the harder it is to convince myself that there’s no space for him in my life. And he just showed me that he doesn’t have a problem boarding a plane and flying to the other side of the country to pick me up because…why did he do it?
“Why are you here again?”
He looks around and throws his sexy grin at me. “You have selective hearing. I told you, I missed you, I didn’t want you to take a commercial flight, and I couldn’t wait to see you.”
“Nate…” is all I can say because all of those reasons are sweet.
They also make me think that maybe we could try to act upon my feelings, but what about his?
Bronwyn will always be the love of his life. I’m expecting a kid, and he has issues when it comes to children. I won’t neglect my baby to spare his feelings, and I know he can never care about my kid enough to accept her into his life.
“Before you protest, we need to discuss your living arrangements,” he says as we walk toward a black sports car that sits almost in front of the entrance. “It’s nice of Pierce to offer you his brother’s brownstone, but that’s a long commute to Manhattan.”
“That’s one option. The other two are his father’s home, which is across from Central Park,” I inform him. “Or one of the suites of Merkel’s hotel.”
“Living in a hotel sounds stressful. The father’s penthouse might be a good choice, but you can just stay with me where you have a twenty-four-seven cook at your service, Demetri to assist in case I’m not in town, and as a bonus, you get Brock,” he says with a voice that sounds more like a game show host than himself.
“I forgot how ridiculous you are,” I claim as I get in the car.
“Stop denying it. You missed me,” he argues as he turns on the engine.
So much so that I’m starting to worry about the feelings I refuse to acknowledge.
“How’s New York?” I ask, changing the subject because even though I missed him, we shouldn’t be discussing the possibility of an emotional entanglement that is going to leave us hurting.
“Hot, rancid, and humid,” he answers.
“Rancid?”
“There’s a putrid smell characteristic of the city that increases during the summer,” he explains.
“If you had a choice, would you just stay in Seattle?”
“Probably,” he responds. “There are times when I want to move everything to Washington.”
“Why not Colorado, your brother lives there?”
“It’s something I can contemplate soon. He moves so often that I can’t just make the decision to uproot thousands of employees when he might just say, well now, I’m going to North Dakota,” he answers.
I laugh. “I doubt that Persy would follow him there.”
“What if they break up?”
I consider it for a couple of seconds and say, “I’ve never seen my sister so in love with someone.”
“Good, because my brother has never been in love before your sister, so if they break up…I’m not sure he’ll survive.”
“That’s impossible,” I argue. “How can a thirty-five-year-old man… Really? Persy is his first?”
“Yep. Believe me when I say he got the brains and I got the heart,” he confesses.
“So now that they might settle down you could entertain the possibility of moving everything to Colorado?”
“At least the New York staff. My commute would be shorter, or…Ford can take care of that part of the company while I stay put in Seattle.”
“You wouldn’t move?”
“I’d commute. There are too many affiliates in Seattle and packing would be too costly and not worth it in the long run,” he answers. “Where are you opening this law firm?”
“Oregon, but we’re going to be able to practice in several places since we both passed the Bar exam in New York.”
“But you studied in North Carolina,” he amends.
“Yes, but if you take the test in New York, it has reciprocity with several states,” I explain lightly. “Back then I had no idea where I wanted to work.”
“What made you decide to move to Colorado?”
“You can only be away from the parents for so long?”
“The ones that drive you crazy?” he asks mockingly.
“Those,” I confirm. “I love my parents, which is going to make it hard to be away from them for the next few months.”
“What if you have to live permanently in New York for this job?”
My heart stops because that’s not something I would ever consider. There’s a huge difference between needing a few days alone and not seeing my parents for weeks at a time.
“I don’t have to. Pierce and I discussed it already. We’re opening a firm. While we decide where we’re setting it up, I’m working on this special project. He needs me there for the next three months, but after that I can be anywhere,” I explain, while I remind myself that this isn’t permanent.
“Can you work from Seattle once a month for a week during the next three months?” he inquires, and I stare at him confused.
“That’s a strange question. Why would I want to do that?”
“I don’t want to leave you alone, and I have to go to Seattle at least once a month for a week,” he explains. “Can you negotiate that?”
“You’re cute, but I’m a grown woman, and I can be on my own.”
“Damn it, woman!” he protests. “Stop calling me cute.”
“Adorable, then,” I rectify. “Let’s backtrack and explain to me, why can’t I stay in New York without you?”
“Because…” he huffs. “I don’t want the blueberry demon and you living on your own, okay?”
When I think about the past five days, I realize that not having him around wasn’t pleasant. I could use a friend, and he’s by far the best candidate for the job.
“Thank you.” It’s all I say because asking more questions might lead me to something I don’t want to discuss now—or maybe never.
Twenty-Seven
Nyx
I love to stare at the clouds, whether I’m on the ground or while flying.
Clouds make me wonder about life and the future. Eve
r since I can remember, I’ve been on a plane. Mom kept us pretty entertained during our flights. She’d have us coloring, looking for shapes in the clouds, or playing games she and Dad made up.
It’s no surprise that when we’re above thirty thousand feet, I push open the shade of the window and stare at the blue sky and the puffy clouds we are flying over. There’s nothing else in the surrounding area but the blue and white shades.
This reminds me of how small we are and how little our problems really are in comparison.
After two weeks, I can safely say that I’m getting used to my new normal. Queasy stomach, fatigue, and having some extra time to just relax. That’s never been me. Ever since I can remember, I have to be on the go doing something, keeping myself busy. I think Eros, Persy, and I were restless while growing up.
If Persy and I were bored with our dolls, we’d join Eros in his eternal search for bugs. He collected bugs while growing up. Well, he collected the pictures since we couldn’t carry them around, and they weren’t pets.
Now that I’m older, I realize that we were pretty difficult children. Most kids are fine with just listening to their Mom say no.
We required a logical explanation—or at least logical to us. I’m sure not many boys have to hear an entire explanation of how gathering insects and keeping them is wrong. Dad explained several times to Eros that beetles were integral to ancient Egyptians. We should treat them with respect. Or how bees are essential for life to exist—without them, there wouldn’t be pollination and without pollination, the entire world would stop existing as we know it.
The list goes on and on. He was allowed to trap mosquitoes because Mom hated them. But he never cared about them. Just thinking about my brother and my sisters makes me wonder how this little one is going to behave. If I’m going to need a degree in science to make sure I can keep up with her, and if she’ll be fine without a dad. I’m sure plenty of children do well enough with a single parent, but I can’t imagine my life without Mom and Dad.
Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds Book 2) Page 17
