After light reading he’d turn the channel from whatever Summer had been watching to Date Line. If circumstances were different anyone looking from the outside would have guessed they were a happily married couple.
Shifting in her sleep, Summer rolled from her back onto her side. Throwing a slender arm leisurely across Nick’s midsection brought her swollen belly to rest against his side. A slow smile curved his full lips as his eyes traveled from the television to rest on Summer’s soft body cuddled next to him. Having her around all the time was more pleasant than he expected. He was never the type of man who always had to have a woman around. Yes, he appreciated the beauty of women, and all they offered to satisfy his carnal cravings. However, it wasn’t a necessity to be chained to one.
After the debacle with Veronica, he absolutely refused to bring another woman home to his bed. Other women after Veronica were always taken to luxury hotels. The acts they performed were strictly to alleviate a basic primal need, nothing more. The instant a female bed buddy questioned, “Why can’t we go to your place or my place?” She was history. Nick didn’t play those games.
By the time Summer came along Nick was just plain tired. Tired of women throwing themselves at him. Tired of women pretending to love him. Tired of women trying to take him home to meet their parents. Tired of women after a month of dating hinting at marriage and a family. What he was most tired of was sleeping and waking up in hotel beds with women he didn’t care anything about. There has to be more than this, he’d think to himself.
Summer hadn’t been anything like the others. She didn’t expect him to pamper or spoil her with expensive gifts. Her main interest was in getting to know the real Nicholas Stiles, not the wealthy businessman. She wanted to know what he was like as a child. Did he enjoy being an only child? Or did he hate it at times as much as she had growing up? Who taught him to ride a bike? What was his favorite color? What made him happy? What made him sad? Why had he decided on the corporate world and not follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become a lawyer?
Nick detested nosy women who asked too many questions and talked too much. Any other time he would’ve dismissed the prying questions. Summer’s inquiries, however, were a sincere attempt to get to know him. He found himself intrigued with her. Other women assumed his main ambition in life was to gain epic wealth and status. Whereas, Summer’s astuteness brought her to the conclusion that he wasn’t driven by wealth or status. Though he developed a number of successful businesses from the ground up, his true passion was to recreate. He’d been blessed with the ability of taking a failing company and turn it into a thriving business. After three to five years of the company performing well he would sell to the highest bidder for a lucrative profit.
“Wow, Nick, do you know how many jobs you saved? How many people you kept from the unemployment line and possibly becoming homeless statistics?”
Summer got him. The others never appreciated the true man he was beneath the tailored suits, designer shoes, and expensive cars. They didn’t care about the long hours he worked to keep a deteriorating company from going under. Nor did they care about how he literally saved people’s livelihoods. Their only interest was in how stacked his financial portfolio was.
With Summer, Nick changed little by little. Changes he himself felt were uncharacteristic even for him. Though he made it clear he wasn’t interested in a serious relationship he began to exclusively date her. And for the first time in years he had welcomed a female presence into his sanctuary. Initially he’d cursed himself when he offered, “Let me make dinner for you, Beautiful.” Later, he learned his reservations were for naught. Summer respected his space. When the time came in their relationship when she’d spend a night or two he never had to tell her, “Don’t leave this or that here.” Whatever she brought with her to his place went right along with her when she left. There was never any straggling panties, bras, or nightgowns. Not even so much as a forgotten toothbrush to announce she’d been there.
There was one change he would never allow as long as he lived. After Veronica’s betrayal he promised himself he’d never let another woman get close to his heart. Breaking up with Summer was the right thing to do. She’d manage to wiggle her way near his heart. If he weren’t careful she would be the one reason he would rethink his position on love. And as much as he cared about her, he would never love her.
While away from her he reflected on their relationship. Summer was the only woman he ever dated that never, not once, asked him for anything. No jewelry, furs, shopping sprees, nothing. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it. He wasn’t a stingy man. He didn’t mind showering beautiful women with gifts. And he would have gladly given her whatever she asked of him.
On Summer’s birthday when Nick presented her with a small package wrapped in aqua paper with a white satin ribbon, her hands slightly trembled as she delicately opened the package. She was in awe as diamond earrings sparkled and winked at her. Nick ignored how his heart fluttered when she looked from the exquisite gift then back to him.
“Nick, these are so beautiful. Thank you. No one has ever given me such a gorgeous gift before.”
He’d never experienced sincere gratitude from a woman. The others always act as if they deserved his exquisite gifts.
Who was he fooling? Nick’s feelings ran deeper than merely caring for Summer. It had taken months of his being without her to see the light, to see that their relationship was beyond the physical. That night on the plane back to Philly, he confessed to himself he wanted her back in his life. In the recesses of his mind, thousands of feet in the air, he toyed with the idea that one day he could bring himself to love her.
Just as quickly as he toyed with the idea it fled his mind as he stood face to face with a very pregnant Summer. Instantaneously rage rushed through his entire being. He had been played again; in spite of all the defenses he constructed to guard his heart. Here he was making plans to build a future, taking a chance on opening his heart, only to be made a fool of again.
What started off as pleasant memories of the petite woman next to him came crashing down like an implosion as anger and doubt overtook him. Hissing a string of expletives, Nick removed Summer’s hand from his midsection as he left the bed.
Chapter 20
Summer, a light sleeper, had been aware when Nick left the bed. She sensed his irritation as he mumbled angrily to himself. What in the world is wrong with him?
Maybe he had forgotten to do something for work. Nick had shared with Summer that he was in the middle of a major deal. Maybe things weren’t going well.
Summer slept off and on. An hour had passed and Nick hadn’t returned to bed. She was getting worried. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, waddling down the hall to his office, she peeked her head in. “He’s not in there.” Nor was he in the hall bathroom, guest bedroom, den or kitchen. Summer was relieved when she found him in the living room.
Nick sat in an armchair gazing out the window at nothing in particular. Something wasn’t right. He appeared troubled. As she eased up to the chair, Summer wasn’t sure if she should approach him. “Nick, are you coming back to bed?”
“No. Go back to bed Summer.” He snarled in a chilly tone causing Summer to stiffen. He was upset with her, but why?
“Did I do something?”
“I don’t know. You tell me Summer, did you?” His voice dripped with sarcasm as the muscle in his left jaw twitched from being clenched so tight.
The atmosphere was thick with tension. Summer quietly eased over to the sofa, sat down, and braced herself for the storm. This is it. I’m tired. I want this over once and for all.
With that resolved the next question she asked was the impetus which made all hell break loose. “Is there something you want to know Nick?” Summer said with a hint of an attitude boosting her confidence a little bit. Shoot, she was tired of Nick’s mess.
Nick rose from the chair. Taking a few long strides he planted his large frame on the coff
ee table in front of the sofa. Leaning forward on his elbows he came into Summer’s space intimidating the hell out of her.
Here we go again, Summer thought to herself.
Seconds ticked by as they stared at each other. Summer was determined to meet his stony stare. I’m going to stand up to him this time.
If she just held her stare, kept her eyes locked with his, she’d be all right. She dropped her gaze the moment Nick’s features became distorted. Her resolve to stand up to him crumbled even further when he spoke.
“Yeah, Summer, I want to know why you didn’t tell me you were pregnant.”
Summer whispered, “I wanted to.”
“Speak up! I can’t hear you!”
“I said I wanted to tell you, Nick.”
“Why didn’t you Summer, huh?”
“I didn’t tell you because at first I was going to have an abortion.”
“Why?”
“Because you didn’t want to be with me anymore and if you didn’t want me I figured you wouldn’t want a baby either.”
“Did I ever tell you I didn’t want children?”
“You told me never to find myself pregnant by you. You said if I did you’d tell me to flush it.”
The pain was evident in her quivering voice as she replayed his words back to him.
I did tell her that. He remembered the very night he had told her. “What happened, why didn’t you get the abortion?”
Tears slowly ran down her cheeks. He really wanted me to kill our baby. Wiping tears away with the palm of her hand she silently wished she could wipe the pain away just as easily. “I went to the appointment with every intention of ending the pregnancy but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.” Slowly she pulled her gaze up to meet his. Nick’s demeanor was unmoved; her eyes drifted from his gaze to the floor.
“Summer, I’m still not getting why you never tried to contact me.”
“I thought if I had told you early on that you would have made me have an abortion or deny that the baby was yours.” Summer took a deep breath then added, “And when I wanted to tell you it never felt like the time was right.”
He didn’t argue with her on the point about the abortion, she was right. Hell, he would have driven her to the appointment and waited to make sure the deed was done. Honestly, he may have even denied the kid given his history with Veronica.
Nick was never one to hold back, he spoke his mind regardless how blunt or abrasive. “Yeah, well you’re right. I probably would have told you to get an abortion. But nevertheless I should have had a say so in the decision. Thanks to you, that never happened. And what is this lame excuse about the timing not being right? What happened to when you turned three, four… hell, five months pregnant! You could’ve told me then. Instead I come to your house to find you seven months pregnant, Summer! Seven damn months!”
Anger was fully consuming him as he bit out every sharp, piercing word. As each word exploded from his mouth his body propelled in Summer’s direction, making her extremely uncomfortable.
Summer cringed with every word. Backing up and shifting to the left, attempting to put some distance between them because he was getting angry again and flirting with being out of control. His left eyebrow began twitching involuntarily, signaling he was reaching his boiling point.
Summer’s efforts to put space between them only infuriated him. He grabbed her by the shoulders with a firm hold. “Stop moving and answer me damn it!”
The moment he put his hands on Summer the confrontation escalated to a whole new level. Nick had crossed the line. All of his ranting, raving, and yelling was one thing, but this touching stuff while angry was something else. Every fiber she used to maintain her composure shattered. “Nick you promised…you promised you wouldn’t hurt me or the baby.”
Quickly Nick released his hold as she misinterpreted his gesture. “Summer, I’m not going to hurt you or the baby. I just want some answers. Please just tell me why you hid your pregnancy.” So far nothing she said made since to him.
He waited as she calmed down and found her voice. Her lips trembled when she spoke.
“I was afraid that you would be angry like you are right now.”
Nick nodded in agreement. He was past the point of angry. “Anything else?”
She nodded her head. “Yes.” Summer wanted to tell him her greatest fear, but would he hold it against her? Would he truly understand her reasoning? Would he care?
“Well?” Nick said impatiently waiting for an answer that would put his mind at ease.
“I was afraid of you, afraid of what you would do. I honestly thought I would never see you again. I had no idea you would come back to see me. I didn’t think you’d care about the baby.”
When Nick didn’t say anything, her heart began to sink. He still didn’t believe her. She could tell by the way he looked through her as if she wasn’t there.
“Please, Nick, don’t…” she whispered as tears fell from her eyes.
Nick wouldn’t let himself feel anything for Summer as he disassociated any affection he’d ever held for her. She had kept her secret and now she had to pay the consequences. He would handle this situation like any other opposition. It was cut and dry.
“Don’t what Summer? You were willing to keep my child away from me. I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t want children, but that gave you no right Summer, no right, not to tell me you were having a baby and I was the father.”
He walked over to the window and stared out into the darkness. That’s just how Summer made him feel, as if he was in complete darkness. He couldn’t stand to look at her right now.
Summer sat quietly crying. He doesn’t understand I have to make him understand. She rose from her sitting position to stand next to Nick.
“Nick, look at me please.”
He ignored her request as he kept his gaze focused ahead.
“Please believe me, I love you and never wanted it to be like this. I was just so scared of you. I knew you’d be angry with me, and that your anger would strike out to hurt me in the worst way. The only way that could destroy me…”
Summer’s eyes pleaded with Nick, though he never looked at her. “Nick, can’t you understand how I felt? How scared I was?”
Nick didn’t bother to answer her. Instead he asked a question of his own. “If I had never came back to see you, would you have eventually told me about the baby?” Nick already knew the answer to his question; he just had to hear her say it.
Summer wanted to lie, wanted to tell him that eventually she would have told him about their child.
Silence wrapped around them like a heavy cloak. She couldn’t bear to tell him that her intentions were to never let him know that their child existed if that’s what it would take to keep her baby. Tears continued to fall as no words would come from her mouth to tell him the truth.
Summer’s silence confirmed Nick’s suspicions. Glaring at her in disgust, he sneered, “Just what I thought. You’re no different than Veronica, Summer. You’re just as much of a conniving whore as she was.”
Stalking off, Nick left Summer stunned and crying in the living room.
Summer cringed at the words Nick hurled slapping her in the face. He’d said she was like Veronica. Veronica had used him, claimed he was the father of a baby she knew wasn’t his. She hadn’t loved Nick like Summer had. The only thing she’d been interested in was his money.
Emotions overtook her that were indescribable as she thought about how he’d compared her to a woman he downright loathed. She was carrying his baby. And she had never used him
the entire time they’d dated. Summer was devastated by Nick’s unfair judgment of her. She wanted to hate him for being so cruel, killing her with his words. But hating him would mean hating her child that was just as much a part of him as it was of her.
With lead legs, Summer made her way to Nick’s bedroom removing all of her items and taking them to the guest bedroom. Dropping everything on the floor, she crawled beneat
h the sheet and comforter of the queen size bed. Tears drenched the pillow as she cried until exhaustion and weariness claimed her.
♥♥♥
“Nick, man, what the hell’s wrong with you?” Kevin asked as he opened the front door of his townhouse to an enraged Nick.
“Just let me in.” Nick pushed pass Kevin not waiting for an invitation to come in.
Stopping mid-step, he pivoted on his heels. “My bad, do you have company?” Nick asked as he looked around Kevin’s bachelor pad.
“Nah man, come in and sit down. You want a drink?”
“Yeah, get me the usual.”
Kevin excused himself as Nick settled on the leather sofa in the living room. In no time he returned with a beer for himself and a double scotch for Nick. That was his usual drink whenever he was in a mood about something. Handing the scotch to Nick, he frowned as he watched his friend gulp down the drink without coming up for air.
“Dude what gives? What got you all ready to explode?” This time.
“Summer.” Nick stated with irritation.
Kevin nodded his head as the name rolled off Nick’s tongue in disgust. Without saying a word, he gave Nick a look which told him to proceed. Kevin sat quiet as Nick told him about his confrontation with Summer.
Letting out a low whistle, Kevin asked in disbelief, “Man, you called the girl a whore to her face?” He didn’t even mention the fact he had compared her to Veronica. Anyone close to Nick knew he detested the woman. Did that mean he felt the same about Summer? Mmm, poor Summer.
Nick nodded. “I was so pissed off I lost control. I didn’t mean to say that to her.”
“How much control did you lose?” Kevin gaze was intense as he looked at his friend.
Nick hissed, “Damn! Kev, man I told you once don’t make me tell you again. I would never put my hands on Summer to hurt her.”
Throwing up his hands signaling he meant no offense. “A’ight man, my bad. I just know this whole situation has you uptight. I don’t want to see you do anything stupid.”
A Special Summer (Love Conquers All) Page 13
