“You okay?”Nick's voice startled me back to what I was doing.Which was playing with two sweet babies on the floor.
“Yeah, sorry.Just tired.”I made an excuse for why I was giving the death stare to Carlo and Eve outside.
“Thank God you were there to help last night.And this morning.”He leaned over and kissed the top of my head.“You should go up and get some real sleep now.”He nodded his head toward the kitchen door.“Go wait for your husband in that saucy little number you had on last night.”He’d seen me—and what I was wearing—when I rushed up the stairs last night to change.I’d quickly filled him in on what was going on, and he ran down to be of assistance.
But obviously, he’d taken note of my outfit.
Nick gave me a wink.
Crap.
Yeah.
Everyone had seen what I had on last night.Except for Stefan.All he saw was the black silk robe that covered me up.
I shook my head and grinned.“I think I'm too tired to do even that.I don't know how you parents do this day after day.Night after night.It's exhausting.”
Nick nodded and sat down beside me, his leg brushing mine.
“More exhausting than pulling two shifts in a row at the hospital?”
I nodded.“At least I would get breaks.And when I left the hospital, I was done.Nobody was waking me up in the middle of the night for milk or food.”
Nick laughed and handed Theo a squishy ball to play with.“Except for Stefan.He had to have been worse than any child.”
I laughed, too, and agreed, “That's true.And he's a lot harder to put in time out.”
Nick burst out laughing and slid his arm around my lower back, giving me a side hug.He kissed my temple and inhaled.“We will always be grateful that you took him in.That was a difficult time for our little family.Having Stefan on the outs—” Nick shook his head and held me closer.“Especially when he was so gravely hurt.We were all worried sick.But knowing you were the one taking care of him—” he paused for a long moment as his eyes drifted over my face, “it was a great comfort for everyone.We knew he was getting the best care.Even if he didn't want to be around us.”
I still didn't know the ins and outs of what had gone on between all of them back then.I'd just assumed that how and why Stefan got shot had something big to do with it.Maybe one of them would let me in on it someday.
One thing I knew for sure was that whatever it was—it must've been big if it made Stefan break from this family.It was more than obvious how much they all loved each other.
Maybe a little too much.
And poor Nick had no idea of how their family would break apart forever once they found out about his best friend and his wife.
“We can never repay you for your kindness.”And then—
He kissed me.
On the lips.
No tongue action or anything.
But still—
That was not—normal.
I'd witnessed Stefan kissing Eve and Giselle on the lips when he was in the hospital.And he'd essentially told me that was “what they did.”But it wasn't what I did.And I still found it weird.
They hadn't been here long, but so far at least, I hadn't seen Stefan kiss either of the women on the lips.Not yet, anyway.
Huh.
I wonder why?
“Stop kissing my wife, Nick.”Stefan walked into the kitchen with Dani in his arms.She looked rosy-cheeked and happy to be with her uncle.He set her down, and she rushed off outside to see her mother.
