“Nick never ran from you. Maybe he’s just making sure you’re staying put.” My sister cocked her head.
“Were you listening to me? I love him, Kate. I’d never go anywhere.”
Kate’s lips thinned as she leaned forward. “Then. Tell. Him.”
Nick and Jack were already asleep when I got home. Nick stirred in his sleep and spooned me from behind when I crawled into bed. I gingerly turned to face him, feathering my hand down his cheek and along his jaw. My room was pitch black other than the streetlights seeping through the curtains. He was so damn beautiful; it ached to look at him sometimes—the thick, jet black hair peppered with gray on the sides, the full lips, and those damn long eyelashes. But the most attractive part about him was always his heart. I loved him for the never-ending patience he had for me, much more than I ever deserved. I drifted my thumb along his bottom lip and chuckled to myself when he kissed it. Nick was a gift—my gift.
“Glad you’re home, sweetheart.” Nick pressed his lips to my forehead and cinched his arms around me.
I kissed his cheek and cuddled into his chest.
“Me too, baby.”
I used to wake up extra early on my birthday. It was my favorite day of the year until I lost Jack. Then it became a day I wanted to get through as quickly as possible. My eyes popped open at eight o’clock, and I rolled over in an empty bed.
Trudging down the hallway, a slow smile drifted across my lips. Jack’s loud whispers were hard not to hear. I tiptoed the rest of the way to the kitchen and found Nick and Jack hovering over a stack of pancakes next to the stove.
“You guys are up early.” I folded my arms and leaned against the wall.
“Happy birthday, Mommy!” Jack raced over to where I stood and tackled me with a hug.
“Thanks, sweetie pie.” I kissed the top of his head.
Nick sauntered over to the table and set down two plates piled high with pancakes and sausage. A sexy grin spread across his face as he came over to me.
“Happy birthday, Ella-Jane.” Nick clutched the back of my neck, tugging my lips toward his for a long, closed-mouth kiss. He nibbled my bottom lip and winked before he strode back to the table. I shivered with the unspoken promise of more later.
“Thank you, Nicholas Patrick. What time did you guys get up? This is a lot of breakfast.”
I settled into my usual chair at the table. I was just about to cut into a pancake when Jack grabbed my wrist.
“You need to open your presents first!” He pushed my pancakes aside and shoved a brightly wrapped box in front of me.
“Okay, okay.” I shook my head and lifted my gaze to Nick’s. He laughed as he leaned back against the counter with a mug of coffee. My eyes lingered on him for a moment before coming back to the package in front of me.
“That’s us at the beach this summer. Nick helped me buy a special frame. You can take it to school to put on your desk.”
“Maybe I want to keep it here.” I arched a brow at my son.
“That’s dumb. We’re already here. You can look at the real us.”
I held in a laugh and nodded.
“That’s true.” It was a beautiful picture of all three of us. A great view of Nick’s tatted up arms, the sun illuminating Jack’s baby blue eyes, and me with a little color on my cheeks.
“I love it. Thank you very much.” I kissed Jack’s forehead.
Under the frame was another, much smaller box. I guessed it was a piece of jewelry to be that small.
“Another one? You guys are spoiling me.”
“I don’t know about that one.” He shrugged as he chomped on a piece of sausage. “Nick bought that.”
My heart dropped into my stomach as I tore off the paper with shaking hands. My thumb trailed the shiny silver lining in the middle of the black velvet box, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it.
“Mommy, why don’t you just open it?”
“Because it’s a different kind of present,” Nick told Jack as he scooped the ring off the table. “This kind of present, you have to ask someone if they want it first.”
