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"Oh, don't. I'm glad I could help."
We pull apart when the door opens, and my breath stalls seeing the man whose emotional scars have been reopened by this incident, entering. Bella grabs her car key off the counter and holds them up. "I'm going home to paint. If you need anything, let me know.” She blows me an air kiss and as she passes Nick, she greets him with a pat on his schoulder.
Nick stands like a statue, arms hanging at one's side as he stares down at his feet. Who could envision that our lives would link up in this shocking way? In need of closeness, I make my way over and wrap my arms around his waist. My action seems to startle him, but when I place my head on his chest, and he realizes I'm hugging him, he mimics my action. We stay like this for a while.
"Are you okay?" I whisper while inhaling his unique essence.
He lets out a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Emma." His voice is mellow and full of shame as he continues, "When I opened your door and saw the face of the man who's been the lead character in many of my haunted dreams, I was in shock. We stared at each other for a few moments, but then he mentioned you and how he wanted to talk to you. His voice triggered and released a truckload of painful memories, and I lost my shit."
My heart overflows with compassion. God, I can't imagine how painful it must have been for him. And he doesn't deserve to have his scars reopened again. I cup his face in my palm. "I'm sorry, Nick. But I can't change the fact that he's Charlotte's father. But I'll understand if you… need out of this situation."
He presses a finger on my lips. "Nothing of this is your fault, and I don't want out. What I want is you. That is, if you still want me after my mad bull behavior, I—"
"Nick…" Our eyes connect. "I understand, and I'm not mad."
He frees the air he was holding in one long breath. "God, I love you."
We kiss each other softly but within seconds it develops into a sensual, devouring make out session wherein we show each other how much we care. He grabs a handful of my hair and pulls my head backward, exposing my neck, and letting his alluring lips slide from my jaw to my sweet spot.
"God, you don't know how happy I am for your forgiveness. I'll learn how to deal with Thomas if that means I can be part of your and Smarty's life."
"Mom?"
We pull apart by the sound of Charlotte calling out my name. Both our faces spin towards the hallway, and I let out a relieved sigh when I see she hasn't entered the kitchen yet. I take a moment to readjust myself. The moment she sees Nick, she stops.
"Hey, Smarty."
When she doesn't move a muscle, he takes a step towards her.
"What's the matter? Are you okay?"
She fumbles with the hem of her shirt, and we both see how her sweet eyes fill themselves with tears. "Do you still like me?" she whispers.
Nick closes the distance between them and squats in front of her. "What? Why wouldn't I like you, Smarty?"
She shuffles her feet over the floor. "When I ran to you in my dream, you disappeared. And you don't like my real daddy." A tear slides down her cheek.
"Come here, you." He sweeps her off the ground in one fluid motion and wraps his arms around her small frame.
She reacts by embracing him, and as she squeezes him tight, another set of teardrops roll down her face. My throat fills with raw emotions seeing how they're dealing with this situation.
"I'll always like you, Smarty. Never doubt that. And as long as you and your mom want me in your lives, I'll be here. What happened today with your father has nothing to do with you. It was a grownup thing, and I'm sorry if I scared you. Can I make it up to you with a present?"
She presses herself backward and cleans her cheeks with the back of her hands. "You bought something for me?"
"Yes."
He puts her down and sprints to the backdoor. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
Charlotte walks up to me and grabs my hand. "I love gifts."
No more than a minute later, he returns and holds out a square box wrapped in golden paper to my girl.
"This is for you."
Without any hesitation, she grabs it and jumps up and down. "What is it?" she asks with newfound enthusiasm.
“Open it and find out."
