Niki's Challenge (13 page)

“
How...how do you plan to
be a part of their lives? You live here, and we’ll live in
Michigan.” Her eyes sent a challenge, and he knew the residency of
the kids was not up for debate.

“
I’d like to fly up, go to
some doctor visits, be there for the births, spend time with them
as they grow. They’ll know me as their father, no matter who’s in
your life.” Looking at her tear streaked face; he itched to wipe
the last remnants of water away. “We can work it out. I
promise.”

Taking a deep breath, she stared at
him. She blinked wide before blurting. “Why were you searching for
me?”

Startled by the change of
conversation; he answered quickly “I wanted to see you again, talk
to you.”

“
Why?” She frowned,
puzzled.

“
Because you’re a beautiful
woman and I wanted the opportunity to get to know you,” he answered
without missing a beat.

“
You wanted to...to
date?”

“
Yeah. Wild, huh?” Smiling
at the surprised look on her face, he could only imagine how many
rules he’d just broken in his player’s manual. Something told him
the best way with her was upfront, straight arrow.

“
You’re, you don’t
think...you don’t plan on continuing from that night, do
you?”

“
Is that option on the
table?”

“
No,” she answered quickly,
too quickly.

“
Well, then.”

“
You really aren’t going
away, are you?” Her shoulders slumped against the sofa as she let
out a loud sigh. Changing positions, she arched her back, stretched
and released it.

“
Nope. Afraid not.” He
smiled at her reluctant acceptance.

“
Hey...don’t you have
someone special in your life?” She smiled brightly. “Gale said you
were dating someone. Why don’t the two of you have...? What? Why
are you looking at me like that?”

“
Because you’ve lost your
mind.” He raised his hand to stop her tirade. “First off, I don’t
go around making babies. I’m very careful. You and I were both
asleep that night, and no one wears protection in their sleep.”
Holding up his hand, he counted down his points. “Second—she’s not
my girlfriend. So don’t get so excited about me with another
female. Right now, there is no one.” Looking at her intensely,
“third—babies are too precious to attempt substitutions. That’s
just not right.”

Pulling his hand through his hair, he
let out a frustrated sigh. “Look, I’m not trying to make your life
worse. But you’re really being selfish. You’ve had six months to
come to terms with the knowledge of the night we shared and the
consequences. I asked you...I asked you to contact me if you got
pregnant. You chose not to. I just discovered that I am the male
partner who’s bringing forth life into this world and all I’m
getting is bribe offers, ego bashing and being told to get
lost.”

Standing, he walked to the window, and
watched the city come awake. “I’d like some time to celebrate the
life that’s nurturing inside you. I’d like to know my children are
thriving, healthy, and strong. I may not have known of them before,
but trust me, knowledge makes all the difference,” he finished into
the quiet of the room.

Seconds passed in silent reflection.
There was a knock on the door.

“
Do you want me to get
that?” he asked heading for the door.

“
Yes,” she
whispered.

To say his sister and Rissa were
surprised to see him open the door was an understatement. They
stood motionless for a moment and then walked in with their
overnight bags.

“
What the fuck?” Rissa
noticed the tear tracks on Niki’s face. Moving quickly, she sat
next to her cousin and then looked over at Gale and Tony, who stood
near the door.

“
What’s going on, Tony?”
Rissa demanded as she stroked her cousin’s hair. “Why are you here?
And why was she crying?”

“
Its okay, Rissa.” Niki
opened her eyes with a tired smile. She glanced at an apprehensive
Gale and quiet Tony. He was right. The genes between them were
strong. They looked like two mini-me’s of their dad. Heart heavy,
she waved at the sofa, “Sit down, Gale, Tony.” Leaning her head
back, she closed her eyes, too weary to keep them open. Her day
just started and she hadn’t talked to her Nana, either of them. She
stifled a groan. Tony’s outburst stabbed her heart and she felt a
curious shifting. The walls surrounding her heart suffered damage.
Had she been selfish? Yeah. Could she bend a little, meet him
halfway? Yeah, she’d get to know him and see what they could work
out. With that settled, she opened the gates.

“
We have a story to tell
you. Go ahead, Tony.” Gale and Rissa zeroed in on him. He sat
forward and told them what happened six months ago in
Chicago.

“
I can’t believe this.”
Rissa laughed. “I’m gonna be an aunty twice over.”

“
Wow, so Niki is the woman
you hired the detectives to find?” Gale asked Tony. He glared at
her.

“
What?” Rissa asked. “You
tried to find Niki...oh how romantic.” She clasped her hands in
front of her chest in awe. “But if she didn’t want to be found I
could’ve told you it was a waste of time. She has a company on lock
down and Nana Rita taught her how to run that stuff.”

“
Well, I hope you never try
to disappear from me.” Gale glared at her.

Rissa leaned forward and kissed her
lips. “Never, babe.”

“
How does it feel knowing
you’re going to be a dad?” Rissa asked him. Niki sat quietly beside
her, listening closely. He’d been right, her actions were selfish,
but she’d never intended to share her life or children with him. Up
until yesterday, she didn’t know he existed anywhere except in her
memories.

“
I’m not sure. I honestly
don’t know how much Nicole will allow me to be involved. We have a
lot to work out.”

“
Oh shit, that’s right. Her
house was just finished not too long ago,” Rissa said. “She already
has the nursery ready. She really didn’t plan on having the father
involved.” Niki flinched hearing the words and knew it struck a
nerve with Tony.

“
Well, that was before she
knew who the baby’s father was. Now that we all know, it’s
different.” Gale frowned at Rissa. “He has a right to be
involved.”

“
Only if she agrees,” Rissa
shot back, frowning.

Sensing this could get out of hand
quickly, Niki spoke up.

“
See, one of the main
reasons we decided to share this news with you was to avoid this
kind of mess. We knew it would cause problems if we kept the
information to ourselves.” She disregarded the shocked expressions
thrown her way, especially from Tony.

“
What do you mean? You were
going to keep it to yourselves?” Rissa asked. “Why and how would
you do that?”

“
She offered me money if I
just forgot ever seeing her again.” Tony smiled at their
shock.

“
By not telling anybody,
including the two of you,” Niki said, disregarding Tony’s
interruption. “Trust me, we didn’t have to tell you.” She waved
away the rising voices of dissent. “These are my children and I
make the decisions regarding them. So, if I didn’t love you, Rissa,
and by extension, Gale, I would’ve kept my mouth shut and
disappeared.” Silence met her comments.

“
Regarding the role my
kids’ father will have in their life.” Her voice turned sharp and
cutting. “That’s not for anyone but us to decide. Don’t get my
affections twisted. I run my life. I make my decisions. No one
demands I do shit.” She looked at Gale. “That’s not the way this is
going down. I hope we’re clear on this.”

Rissa nodded as she stood and headed
to the bedroom with her overnight bag.

“
I guess bitchy bossy runs
in your family,” Gale said as she followed Rissa out the room,
leaving Tony and Niki in the living room.

“
Actually, she was nice. I
normally don’t cross the line, cause she gets you straight in a
nice nasty way, you know what I mean?” Rissa said, flipping her
hair behind her ear.

“
Yeah, it was a nice ‘get
out and stay the fuck outta my business’ put down.” Gale agreed
closing the bedroom door.

Niki released a pent-up breath and
stretched. Her eyes widened as Tony grabbed and squeezed her
hand.

“
Let’s get out of here,
take a drive, and grab a bite to eat so we can talk.” Tony looked
at her, waiting for her response. After a moment, she nodded and
extended her other arm to him. Grasping it, he pulled her up and
helped her find her balance.

She’d forgotten how tall he was. He
yelled and told his sister they’d be back later and then escorted
her out the door. The entire trip to the car, her libido yelled
yippee and sang choruses of hallelujah as his masculine scent
filled her nostrils. Once they pulled out and hit the highway, his
fingers played with hers and her body vibrated in remembrance of
that one time.

“
Hungry?”

The words “for what” almost slipped
past her lips. “Not right now.” He nodded and turned the music
down.

“
What do you do for a
living?” The supple leather seats had a myriad of positions to
caress and support her back. Since she owned a similar model, she
set the proper adjustments and sighed in contentment as he
answered.

“
I own a company that
specializes in antiquities, artifacts. We date and authenticate
them for museums, colleges and private collectors. My office isn’t
far from the hotel.”

“
You authenticate in the
city?”

“
No.” He smiled at the
disbelief in her voice. “The administrative offices are here. The
serious work gets done at our plant outside of
Lawrenceville.

She nodded.

“
Tell me about yourself,
Nicole.” She glanced over at him, admiring the way the breeze moved
his hair.

“
Not much to tell.” She
proceeded to tell him about her parents, her Nana, her childhood
and her companies. By the time she finished her narrative, she was
starving. They pulled off the highway and found a local
restaurant.

Tony couldn’t remember the last time a
woman held his attention this long. Nicole was smart and even
understood his field to a certain point. She asked intelligent
questions about his digs and the countries where he preferred to
break ground. They found humor at their frequent stops for potty
breaks, her need for refreshments and then more potty breaks. It
became a humorous loop.

Her cell rang.

“
Hi, Nana.” She paused
looking at him across the table. “I’m at dinner, I’ll be in later.”
Her brow rose, her full lips twisted in a pout. “I’m having dinner
with Gale’s brother, Tony.” Her eyes held a devilish glint and he
knew she planned something. “He’s feeding the babies, which is only
right considering he made them.” She held the phone from her
ear.

He chuckled at her impish expression.
Something low tightened within him. If he could turn back time, the
only thing he’d change was they’d spend time getting to know one
another first. So far, he liked everything he knew and then
some.

“
We’ll talk when I get back
to the room. I’m eating right now. Love you.” She clicked off and
winked.

“
And that’s how it’s done.
Bet you can’t top that.”

Arms wide, he shrugged enjoying how
relaxed she’d become with him. They’d been together all day, the
sun was setting and he hated for their time to end.

“
I can’t touch it. My mom
will holler and shriek. I’d rather not subject anyone to her vocal
joy.” He rubbed his chin. “Although, the phone thing has its
advantages. I’m going to think about that.” She smiled and pushed
her plate away. He stood after throwing some money on the
table.

“
Ready?”

“
Yeah, I just have to make
a quick stop.”

“
Bathroom?”

She nodded.

He smiled.

****

Niki looked around the large gourmet
kitchen in appreciation. “This is nice.” She glanced at Tony while
he stood in the doorway watching her. Licking dry lips, she
wondered for the hundredth time what the hell was she thinking.
They’d left the restaurant, but she wasn’t ready to end the day.
Tired, she knew she needed to relax, but with all the women waiting
for her at the hotel, that wasn’t happening anytime soon. She’d
asked to see his home and he agreed.

“
Come here.” He held his
hand toward her. The seductive cadence of his voice tapped dance on
her libido and beckoned. Without thinking, she took it and followed
him to a large room with comfortable sofas, chairs and a large
television.

“
Sit down.”

She sat and he kneeled in front of
her. Wide eyed, she accepted the remote from him and gasped as he
removed her shoes. Strong fingers massaged the soles of her feet.
Her head fell back in bliss as he continued to her
calves.

“
That feels good.” Without
thinking, she lifted the other leg, silently instructing him to
take care of it as well.