“And you’re not naked?”
“Nope.” He climbed into bed. With the skivvies on, he was instantly uncomfortable. Fantastic.
“Well, good night,” she said.
“Good night.” Though it probably wouldn’t be. He curled up with the pillow between them, and must have fallen asleep pretty quickly, because when Terri nudged him awake the next time, it felt like minutes, when in reality a couple hours had passed.
“Nick, you’re doing it again.”
She was right. His arms were around her, his hand was back up her shirt and he was as aroused as he had been the last time.
“Sorry,” he said scooting away for a third time, feeling around for the pillow. When he couldn’t find it, he asked Terri, “Where did the pillow go?”
“I don’t have it,” she snapped.
And she was clearly annoyed with him. Not that he could blame her. He switched on the light, and Terri grumbled in protest, covering her head with her pillow. As his eyes adjusted, he looked all around the room and discovered it lying on the floor at the foot of the bed. He must have lobbed it in his sleep. “There it is.”
“Awesome.”
“I said I was sorry.” He threw off the covers in frustration and shoved himself out of bed.
“Nick!”
He turned to her and realized she was staring at the front of his…well, not his underwear, because at some point he’d apparently taken it off. And she was getting an eyeful.
She sat up in bed. “You said you put underwear on.”
“I did! I guess I must have taken them off again.” He pulled back the covers, and sure enough, there they were, kicked down near the foot of the bed. He grabbed them and said, “Got ’em.”
“This is ridiculous,” Terri said.
“I’ll put them on.”
“And what, staple them in place?”
Preferably no. “No need to get vicious. And keep your voice down. Jess is going to hear you.”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to wake up with someone fondling you?”
It sounded pretty good to him, but by her tone, he was guessing that she disagreed.
“Look, I’m doing my best.”
She sat there in silence for a few seconds, just staring at him—mostly at his crotch—then shook her head and said, “Screw it.”
He thought her next move would be to grab her pillow and a blanket and charge off to sleep in the tub. Instead, she pulled her nightshirt over her head and said, “Get over here.”
Confused, he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked, tugging off her panties.
“But…I thought we weren’t supposed to—”
“Hurry, before I change my mind.”
He climbed into bed, and she pushed him onto his back, straddling his thighs.
“For the record, this is it,” she said. “This is the last time. Got it?”
“Got it,” he said, then sucked in a breath as she leaned over and took him in her mouth.
* * *
This pretending to be crazy-in-love thing was going to be harder than Terri originally thought, and maybe telling Jess she could stay hadn’t been such a hot idea, after all. Nick was curled around her again and sound asleep—from the waist up, at least. Sure, it never should have happened, and they were only delaying the inevitable, but Terri couldn’t deny that after she had jumped him, she had slept like a baby the rest of the night. Which technically hadn’t been all that long, since it was eight now and they hadn’t gone to sleep until five. But it was definitely going to be the last time, even if that meant sleeping on the couch. She would come up with some plausible excuse to tell Jess. Like Nick snored, or…well, she would think of something.
She slipped from under Nick’s arm and got out of bed. He grumbled for a second, then went right back to sleep. She grabbed her nightshirt from the floor and pulled it over her head, then shrugged into her robe. As she walked to the kitchen, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee met her halfway there.
Jess was sitting on one of the bar stools, dressed in what Nick referred to as her mom-clothes—cotton pants and an oversize men’s button-up shirt—sipping coffee and staring off into space, looking tired and sad.
“Good morning,” Terri said.
Jess looked over at her and smiled brightly. “Happy Thanksgiving! I made coffee.”
“It smells delicious.” She crossed the room to the coffeepot and pulled down a cup from the cupboard.
“It’s a fresh pot. I made the first when I got up and it was getting a little funky. I forget that not everyone is on a mom schedule.”
Terri poured herself a cup and added a pinch of sugar. “When did you get up?”
“Five-thirty.”
“Yikes! The earliest I ever manage to get up is seven, but usually it’s closer to eight-thirty.”
“One of the benefits of working from home,” Jess said. “You roll out of bed and you’re there. Of course, that will change when you have kids. For the first year, you’ll barely sleep at all.” She grinned and added, “Not that you seemed to be getting much sleep last night.”
“I’m sorry if we woke you.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re newlyweds. It’s what you’re supposed to do. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. I can barely remember the last time Eddie and I had sex. And the last time we had really good sex? It’s been ages.”
Terri couldn’t fathom why Jess would stay married if things were so bad. It’s no wonder Nick and Maggs were so against tying the knot. First their parents’ marriage ended in disaster, now Jess was turning it into a family tradition.
“So, speaking of kids,” Jess said. “I noticed you didn’t drink wine with dinner last night. Does that mean…?”
“I’m pregnant?” She shrugged. “I hope so, but I won’t know for sure for another week and a half. I’m trying to be cautious just in case. Which means I shouldn’t be drinking coffee, either, I guess.”
“Or you could start drinking decaf. I think it still has a trace of caffeine, though.”
Well, then, this would be her last cup of real coffee, she supposed. She would have to remember to pick up some decaf tomorrow.
Terri sat beside her. “So, how are you doing?”
She shrugged. “Everything about this situation sucks. I’m just so tired of dealing with it. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth fighting anymore. It’s not fair to the kids.” She laid a hand on Terri’s arm. “But you and Nick, you’re different. I’ve never known two people who were more suited for each other. I mean, look how long you’ve been friends.”
If only that were true. If only they loved each other that way. Because if things could stay just like they were now, she could imagine them being happy together. Of course, there was the slight problem of Nick not wanting to be married. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we were meant to be married.”
“Terri, are you having second thoughts?” Jess whispered, looking concerned.
“No, of course not. I’m just trying to be realistic.”
“As long as you don’t let your fears get in the way of your happiness. If you convince yourself it won’t work, it won’t.”
“Was there a time when your marriage was good?”
“The first couple years were great. I mean, we had our disagreements, no marriage is perfect, but we were both happy.”
“What do you think went wrong?”
“Marriage takes hard work. I think we got lazy. Between work and raising the kids, we forgot how to be a couple. Does that make sense?”
“I think so.” Being friends could be a lot of work, too. It required compromise and patience. Twenty-year friendships, the ones as close as hers and Nicks, were probably as rare as twenty-year marriages. In a way it sort of was like a marriage. Just without the sex. And honestly, they probably talked as much as or more than most married couples.
“Plus, we have a few other issues…” J
ess started to say, but her brother walked into the kitchen, and she clammed up. Did that mean it was something she didn’t want him to know about?
Dressed in jeans and nothing else, his hair mussed from sleep, Nick looked adorable. But when didn’t he, really? Too bad last night—or, technically, this morning—had been the absolute last time.
“Good morning ladies,” he said, sounding way too cheerful. He gave his sister a peck on the cheek, then scooped Terri into his arms, dipped her back and planted a slow, deep kiss on her.
“Ugh, get a room,” Jess teased, walking to the sink to rinse her cup.
Nick grinned and winked at Terri. “How did you sleep, sweetheart?”
She flashed him a stern look, and gave him a not-so-gentle shove. It was one thing to be affectionate with each other, and quite another for him to molest her in front of his sister. Okay, maybe she did hesitate a few seconds before she pushed him away. But still…
He walked around the island to pour himself a cup of coffee. “So, when are we supposed to be at Mom’s?”
“Eleven,” Jess said, sticking her cup in the dishwasher. “Dinner is at five at Nonno’s. Would you mind if I tag along with you guys? I get the feeling the only way I’ll make it through dinner this year is by consuming copious amounts of alcohol.”
“I won’t be drinking,” Terri said. “I can be the designated driver.”
“So I can get hammered, too?” Nick said with a hopeful grin.
She shrugged. “If you really want to.”
It didn’t matter to her. She’d known guys who were quiet, brooding drunks, reckless and irresponsible drunks, and downright mean drunks. The worst she’d seen Nick do when he was really hammered is act a little goofy and get super-affectionate. Although not creepy, molester affectionate. He would just hug her a lot, and tell her repeatedly what a good friend she was, and how much he loved her.
“In fact, why don’t we start right now?” Nick said. “We have almost a case of champagne left over from the wedding. I could go for a mimosa.”
“Oh, that sounds good!” Jess said, rubbing her hands together. “I’ll get the glasses and the orange juice.”
“I’ll open the champagne,” Nick said.
And I’ll watch, Terri thought, feeling left out. But she knew that having a baby would take sacrifice, and as far as sacrifices go, this one would be minor. And if nothing else, it would be an interesting day.
Ten
Nick’s sister Maggie called asking if she could tag along with them to their mom’s and then Nonno’s. She drove over to Nick’s place and they all piled into his Mercedes, with Terri driving, since Nick and Jess had already polished off a bottle and a half of champagne. And it was barely ten-thirty.
Nick’s mom served Bellinis with brunch, a traditional Italian cocktail made up of white peach puree and prosecco, an Italian sparkling white wine.
Terri lost track of how many pitchers the four of them consumed, but by the time they left for Nonno’s house, no one was feeling any pain. At one point Nick leaned over, touched her cheek, gazed at her with a sappy smile and bloodshot eyes and said, “I love you, Terri.”
He was rewarded with two exaggerated awww’s from the backseat. They didn’t realize he meant that he loved her as a friend.
“I love you, too,” she said, taking his hand and placing it back on his side of the front seat so she could concentrate on the road. But before she could pull away, he grabbed her hand and held it tight.
“No, I mean I really love you.”
She pried herself free and patted his hand. “I really love you, too.”
“It’s not fair,” Maggie whined from the backseat. “I want what you guys have.”
“Me, too,” Jess said.
Nick looked over his shoulder at his sisters. “You’ve told me a hundred times that you would never ever get married, Mags.”
“And you actually believed me? Every woman wants to be married, moron. I only say I don’t to spare myself the humiliation of being thirty-three and still single.”
“I’m going to be forty,” Jess said.
Nick scoffed. “In three years.”
“Besides,” Maggie said. “You’re married.”
“But for how long? I keep telling myself things will change, but they never do.” Jess sniffed. “He’s not even trying anymore.”
“So leave him,” Maggie said. “You deserve to be happy.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” Nick said.
“There are certain things I’m not willing to give up, like private school for the kids. And do you have any idea how much sports programs cost? I would have to take out a third mortgage.”
“Third?” Nick said, and Terri didn’t have to see his face to know that he was frowning. She glanced back at Jess in the rearview mirror, and it looked as if all the color had drained from her face. Was she going to be sick?
“You know, forget I said anything,” Jess said.
“No,” Nick said. “That house was a wedding gift, there shouldn’t be a mortgage.”
“Can we please drop it?” she asked, sounding nervous.
Nick apparently didn’t want to drop it. “Why did you mortgage the house, Jess?”
“Raising a family is expensive.”
“You both make good money, and you have your trust to fall back on.”
When she didn’t answer him, Nick said, “Jess, you do still have your trust? Right?”
“I have enough socked away to put the kids through college, but I won’t touch that.”
“And the rest?” Mags asked.
Her cheeks crimson, she said, “Gone. It’s all gone.”
“Where?” Nick demanded.
She hesitated, then said, “Bad investments.”
“What kind of investments?”
“Well, it depends on the season. Football, basketball…”
Nick cursed again and leaned back against the headrest, staring straight ahead. “Jessica, why didn’t you tell someone?”
Jess sniffed again. “It was humiliating. I hoped that the marriage counseling might help him work that out, too, but whenever the subject comes up, he gets furious and denies that there’s a problem. That’s why he stopped going. I’m not sure what to do now. If there’s anything I can do.”
“Maybe he just needs a little persuasion,” Nick said.
Jess paled even more. “What are you going to do?”
“He works for Caroselli Chocolate, and if he wants to keep his job, he’ll play by our rules. Either he goes to Gamblers Anonymous, or he’s out of a job.”
“And then where will the kids and I be? We have so much debt, we’re barely hanging on as it is.”
“If Eddie won’t take care of you,” Nick said, his jaw tense, “then the family will.”
Terri felt so awful for Jess. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like if someone lost all of her money, and to something as careless as gambling. She wouldn’t even waste her money on a dollar scratch-off ticket.
The mood in the car was pretty somber the rest of the way to Nonno’s, and when they got there, Nick and his sisters went straight to the bar. Wishing she could join them, Terri said hello to everyone—trying not to cringe as Nick’s dad gave her one of those cloying hugs—then headed upstairs to use the bathroom. As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard voices coming from Nonno’s study. A man and a woman. Curious, she stopped to listen, but couldn’t make out what was being said, only that they both were angry.
She stepped closer, straining to hear, even though it was none of her business. My God, she really was becoming a Caroselli.
“We have to tell him,” the man was saying.
The woman, sounding desperate, said, “But we agreed never to say a word.”
“He deserves to know the truth.”
“No, I won’t do that to him.”
“I’ve kept this secret, but I can’t do it anymore. The guilt is eating away at me. Either you tell him or I will
.”
“Demitrio, wait!”
The doorknob turned and Terri gasped, ducking into the spare bedroom, her heart pounding. She hid behind the door and watched through the crack as Nick’s Uncle Demitrio, Rob’s dad, marched out, followed a second later by Tony’s mom, Sarah. Terri had no clue what they could possibly be fighting about, though she could draw several conclusions from the small snippet of conversation she’d heard. Then again, she could be completely misconstruing the conversation. She could ask Nick, but if he told Tony and Rob what she’d heard, and they confronted their parents, all hell could break loose and she didn’t want to be responsible.
When she was sure they were both gone, she used the bathroom, then rushed back downstairs before anyone could miss her.
Elana, Tony’s younger sister, stopped her in the great room just outside the dining room door. She had been labeled the family genius after graduating high school at sixteen. She earned her masters five years later and passed the CPA exam shortly after that. She worked in the international tax department of Caroselli Chocolate, and according to Nick, would probably take over as CFO some day.
“So, how are you?” she said, shooting a not-so-subtle glance at Terri’s stomach.
“Good.” And by the way, I think your mom is having an affair with your uncle.
“How was Aruba?”
“A lot of fun. I’d like to go back some time.” Maybe after the divorce, she and Nick and the baby could go for a non-honeymoon there.
“I see you don’t have a drink. Can I get you something?”
“Thanks, but I can’t. I’m the designated driver tonight.”
“Oh, right,” she said, but Terri doubted she believed her. “I did notice that your husband and his sisters seemed to get an early start this Thanksgiving.”
By the time the evening was over, the rest of the family would be hammered, too. It was a Caroselli holiday tradition.
She heard Nick laugh, and spotted him, drink in hand, leaning on the bar. “Excuse me, Elana, I need to have a word with my husband.”
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