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As we talk, I sink into Nick and he sinks back into the couch, both of us not even noticing the sun go down. I’m exhausted and my stomach growls. He chuckles and asks if I want to get takeout. And as I burrow further into the crook of his arm, I still can’t believe he’s here and he’s all mine.
Chapter 26
Nick
Twoweekslater.
We waited until after the next OBGYN appointment before traveling. Blair was cleared to fly and we found out we’re having a boy. We’re still over the moon from the news.
On the flight, Blair is nose-deep in the boy section of a baby names book. I’m still reeling from the fact that this is my life now. She’s mine. The baby’s mine. And we have an amazing future to look forward to.
My eyes are glued to her the whole flight, even when she sleeps, and I worry constantly about nothing at all.
I just need to know she’s okay.
Our first morning in the UK, I sit in a chair at the edge of the bed and watch Blair slowly wake up. It’s so sweet, the little sounds she makes. Instinctively, she curls around herself in sleep, protecting our son.
“Morning,” I murmur, not wanting to startle her. She opens one eye and groans.
“What if we just stayed here forever?” she asks groggily. “They have room service, the comfiest bed in the world, afireplace. What if we just didn’t leave the hotel at all?”
“Forever?” I ask with a smile. “Is that really what you want?”
When the silence reveals just how unsure she is now that we’ve made it all the way here, I reach out and graze a hand reassuringly along her bare leg.
“I’m not looking forward to it either. But once we get this over with, we’re free. We don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
She nods, tucking her chin into the blankets, and I get up to order breakfast from room service.
Despite the fact that we’re here to confront my father, I’m riding a high. I’m totally and completely in love with this woman. Ready to do anything to make her happy, to keep her safe.
The UK headquarters looks exactly like the plans I saw for it a few years ago, but it’s still surprising to see it in person.
I step through the doors without hesitation, Blair close behind me. No one here on the main floor will know who I am, but that doesn’t matter.
Blair is visibly showing now, her belly an unmistakable swell beneath the tie of her wrap dress. Having her on my arm makes me feel invincible.
Thanks to the blueprints I had a hand in approving, I know exactly where we’re going. We take the elevator up to the sixth floor and get off. Turn right. Walk down to the end of the hall, to the office with an entire wall of windows that looks over a park. My blood is already boiling at the thought that all this time, my father has been threatening everyone in my life. Everyone that matters, at least.
“Ready?” I ask quietly, squeezing Blair’s hand. She’s holding her purse to her side tightly, and nods.
Upper management is housed on this floor. A few employees are watching us curiously, probably wondering how we got up here, and why we’re dressed so casually.
I pull the tall, metallic door handle.
All eight people in the room look up from a huge glass conference table. My father is one of them. I can tell by how he’s sitting, hands steepled and legs crossed, that he was listening to a presentation from a prospective client.
Every eye is on us as Blair and I enter.
“Nicholas?”
I don’t acknowledge him. His eyes narrow, darting first to me, then Blair. I let her hand go and she walks toward him, back straight, hair flowing over her shoulders.
“What are you—”
“Mr. Weaver,” Blair says smoothly, unslinging her purse and dipping a folder out from it, “I’ve come to finalize the paperwork you requested.”
My father’s face is already beet-red with agitation. He hates being interrupted, and Blair is unapologetic, her hand holding the folder out in the space between them. He doesn’t take it.
