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“Sure.” Nikolas bent down and kissed her temple. “Why?”
“I can’t see m
y very swollen feet when I stand on it.”
He continued to take her pregnancy jokes in stride and told her repeatedly that “beached whale” had taken on a new meaning in the way she kept using the term. A joke that had them making googly eyes at each other regularly, and that Ainsley had finally poked her about earlier.
“Let’s sit down and you can put them up on me.”
She wasn’t going to argue and did just that as Spencer and his fiancée, Katrina, who were visiting their Colton cousins, came into the room. Spencer’s K-9 chocolate Lab, Boris, trotted in behind them and immediately came to stand guard beside Nova. She appreciated the silent support more than she could have ever imagined.
She also loved his soft head and the way he’d lay it against her when he was nearby.
Although he usually wore a look of all business, Spencer smiled brightly as he wrapped an arm around Katrina and then sat down opposite them.
“Hey, Slater. Heard you had a run-in last week with Sierra Madden?”
Nova vaguely remembered Nikolas saying something but she’d been so forgetful lately. With all the new names she was learning she was still struggling to keep up.
“I did.” Nikolas nodded. “She was coming in for a meeting with Selina as I was going out.”
Spencer frowned. “She gets around.”
“Selina or Sierra?” Nova asked.
“Both, but I was referring to Selina.”
Nikolas shrugged. “I was just in her office to deliver a check, and I have to say, I’m thrilled she’s not my direct problem anymore. I told her I’d found nothing to implicate Ace and that I was giving her the money that she’d paid me back, minus expenses.”
“She pissed about that?”
“Not mad enough not to take the money.” Nikolas grinned before shooting Nova a wink. “And I’m fine with that.”
“So about Sierra?” Nova pressed, curious why the woman’s name was familiar.
“Apparently Selina is still peddling her crap about wanting to find your father and make sure he’s well cared for. Sierra’s a bounty hunter and, as she likes to say, ‘she always gets her man.’”
“Do you think she’ll get my father?”
“I think she’s going to find Selina had motivation for hiring her and it’s not necessarily about finding justice. Ace doesn’t match the body type that was seen on the video footage the night Payne was shot. And the bank teller who called in the lead about the gun is now missing.”
“Slater’s right,” Spencer said. “Destiny Jones has been missing for a few weeks now. I finally had the good sense to actually share the information I had with Nikolas and showed him the footage, too. Your man here’s got a good eye and I think I’ll keep working with him, instead of keeping him at arm’s length.”
Nikolas kept a firm hand on her ankle, his reassurance absolute. “I think your father knows exactly what he’s doing. Sierra Madden can’t change that.”
Nova couldn’t help but smile at that. “So he’ll be okay.”
“I’ve no doubt about it.”
Although she still anticipated the day she and Ace Colton would finally meet, Nova couldn’t deny how good it felt to get to know the rest of the family. Secure in the knowledge she belonged with them, she smiled as she watched the rest of the Coltons slowly file into the party.
It was that image that carried her through the evening. Past thoughts of her father, out there somewhere nearby. Near, but still not quite a part of her life yet. And the baby, so soon to make an appearance, anticipated and already loved.
And then there was Nikolas and the lifetime that stretched out before them.
“You okay?” He pressed a kiss against her forehead as Clan Colton seemed to get up as one to traipse into the kitchen for dinner.
“I’m good.”
