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Nikolas smiled back, the idea of a baby inside of her taking on new shape in his mind’s eye. Of course he understood the mechanics of pregnancy—both how it happened and what followed on after that exciting first act—but he’d never really considered the experience itself.
Never considered it as a practical reality for himself. His parents’ marriage had set a course he had no desire to pursue. And yet...because of his determination not to follow in their footsteps, he’d dismissed the idea of having his own children, too.
Ignoring the sudden shot of remorse that thought ignited, he focused back on Nova. “And your little alien is practicing for entry to earth?”
“When she takes over as alien overlord of the western United States.”
“I guess it’s as good an explanation as any other.” He shrugged. “You’ve already called the baby a he and a she.”
“I don’t know what I’m having, so I switch off.”
Absurdly pleased by the idea of a small baby, Nikolas smiled to himself. And pulled up short.
Was he actually smiling about babies? And despite his lifetime refusal to enter into commitment, each time he looked at this woman he was oddly smitten.
Nova Ellis had commitment written all over her, from her green eyes to her pregnancy and impending motherhood to the messy braid that fell over her shoulder.
He found her deeply attractive and altogether sexy and...
Whoa.
Where had that come from?
He needed to protect her, not have the hots for her. Even if she was wildly attractive in a fresh, enticing way. Despite the seriousness of her situation, there was a lightness about her. She was still able to laugh and find humor in the world around her.
That was a gift. One he saw less often than he’d have liked.
In fact, when was the last time he’d been out with a woman and she’d poked fun at him or at herself? He mentally rolled through the last few years of his dating history and realized the number wasn’t just shockingly small, it was zero.
Was that possible?
Even as he thought it, he had to admit that it was. He’d chosen the bright and the shiny over substance. Most of his dates were incredibly attractive arm candy who accepted his company for a fancy evening out on the town. In exchange, he had a glamorous dinner companion to take to a business event.
Why hadn’t he ever noticed it before?
Women only want you for your money, Nikky, my boy. That’s all they want and it gets more and more true with each year that passes. So treat ’em kind and take good care of them but don’t get attached and don’t expect too much.
What had passed for his father’s words of wisdom echoed in his mind, rattling around with all the finesse of a pinball striking bonus lights, and Nikolas fought to shake off the voice. He’d come to an understanding a long time ago. He might not have liked his father’s behavior but his father had genuinely grieved his mother when she’d passed. It had been that moment when he’d finally come to grips with the relationship.
And all his father would never be.
Pushing it all back down in that small space he kept feelings for his father, he gestured Nova forward. “Come on. Let’s go back to my office, and we can make a plan to reach out to Ace’s family.”
“Doesn’t he actually have quite a few of them?”
“He does. His family is pretty big. But I’m suggesting a few of his female siblings. His sister, Ainsley, and his half-sister, Marlowe, are who I have in mind.”
“Okay.” Nova stopped and turned, her opportunity to slow their forward progression. “Even if you still haven’t answered my question.”
“The one about if I agree or not.”
“That’s the one.”
“You don’t miss much, do you?”
She shrugged, those delicate shoulders nearly hitting her earlobes before dropping back down. “I guess not. The hazard of growing up an only child, spoiled by my mother. I didn’t have to share much, and if I wanted to know something, I asked. And, my mother being who she was, pretty much always gave me an answer. Besides, since it was just me, there wasn’t a whole lot to distract me when I really got going.”
Nikolas considered that and compared it to his own upbringing. He, too, was an only child, and even with his father’s intermittent distractions had been fairly doted upon his entire life. Although he doubted that was the sole reason why his mother’s passing had affected him so hard, he also knew that was a big piece of it. He hadn’t had any siblings to share the grief.
