The Billionaire's Second Chance (28 page)

A little embarrassed Shannon didn’t know what to say at first, this was new territory for her.  This was the first time she had the reality of Nick and his family in her face. That the family was one she was friends with made the entire scenario a bit surreal.

Ned jumped in and distracted Shannon with questions about her condition and recovery with the focused precision one would expect from a lawyer as Jules sank to the end of the sofa nearby cradling Amy while she cooed contentedly in her mother’s embrace.  Just like the last few hours with Nick, it all felt so normal and easy.

Finally Shannon laughed and suggested that Ned calm down since she wasn’t going to be suing them for her injuries which brought a round of laughter from the three
of them.  Yes
, Shannon thought, I really like these people.

Ned, Jules and Shannon jumped into conversation then with a de-brief of Dom’s party with Jules putting Shannon’s mind at ease over having missed most of the affair by showing her pictures on her cell phone of
memorable moments
which happened throughout the day.
Satisfied that Dominic’s party had been a success, Shannon lifted her eyes to the little boy she liked so much and found him engaged in some heavy-looking guy talk with his uncle.

Sensing her attention Dom’s little head snapped up at her smiling face and came running toward her. “Shanny, Shanny, thank you sooooooooo much for the cowboy day!” the little boy cheered as he launched himself into a hug.
“You’re the bestest
ever!” he gushed with total little boy sincerity into Shannon’s beaming face.

Shannon hugged him back and kissed him all over his face and then set him back
saying
,
“Now there! You have stinky cowgirl kisses all over your face! Yuck!” as they all laughed together.

“Nah Shanny, it’s just Amy with the gooey baby kisses that are yuck.” Dom said in all seriousness.
“You can kiss me anytime you want!” he declared to
which his mother leaned in,
ruffled his hair
and
s
aid,
“And there my
friends is
the Barrett Stevens charm in all its glory!”

Jules fixed her brother with a laughing grin declaring, “You might have a bit of competition going on here Nicky!”

Hearing that, Dom slid from Shannon’s hug and scampered back to his uncle’s side. “I want Shanny to be my girlfriend Uncle Nicky but mum and dad say that you lost something or Shanny took something…dunno’ which, but that you were gonna’ problee’ marry each other. I won’t mind if she can still be my girlfriend.” he baldly declared.

The whole room got eerily silent. Nick cleared his throat as he knelt down casually by Dom’s side and asked
,
“What did your parents say got lost Dom, hmmm?” thinking that the question would diffuse the sudden tension in the room. He expected the answer to be something silly or befitting a six year old but what he got instead was the earnest faced boy reverently whispering
,
“Your heart” with wide, serious eyes.

“They say you lost your heart or that Shanny took it. I don’t know what they mean Uncle Nicky but it’ll be okay. Just ask Shanny for it back and I’m sure she’ll make it better. She’s the bestest ever. Swear!”

Was that the sound of a pin dropping? Shannon couldn’t be sure because all she was aware of after that was the way Nick’s glittering eyes pinned her to the spot and held on for long moments. She couldn’t have looked away if her life depended on it.

Dom kept up a constant stream of chatter while Ned and Jules went back and forth, like watching a tennis match, between
Nick’s
helpless, longing gaze and Shannon’s
blushing
response. Eventually they looked at one another and smiled as if a huge weight had been lifted. Even baby Amy seemed to approve
as she let loose a
series of contented sighs and gurgles while her big brother and parents watched as Nick and Shannon struggled to behave normally.

Ned’s sweeping side glance to his wife was full of lascivious humor that Jules met with a lop-sided grin of her own.  Looks like she’d been right after all and her big brother was finally falling down the rabbit-hole as she and Ned had done years ago. 
Ned and Jules
both knew all too well
about
those looks of love and longing and each
,
in their own way
,
sighed a deep sense of relief
.

Taking Dom by the hand, Nick moved over to the seating area where everyone else was relaxing and sat down next to Jules on the sofa.
A Nick watched his favorite nephew with unabashed delight,
Dom stumbled over his uncle’s long legs to reach his mom and baby sister where he proceeded to quietly baby-talk to little Amy the same way he had probably once done for his
baby
sister. Nick’s heart flooded with love for Jules and her brood. What she and Ned had was exactly what he was hoping for with Shannon. The sight of the sister he adored, happily teasing the husband
who
worshipped
her and
their
two small children
,
tightened Nick’s chest.

After a bit Jules asked Nick
,
“Do you know if Mom is home yet? I called and left a message but haven’t heard anything back. Aunt Lizbeth sent a picture in an email the other day showing Mom looking like a deranged brown mummy all bound up in a spa mud wrap. It was hilarious! I’ll forward it to you Nicky. You have them checking out another health resort don’t you?”

Ned chortled at the description of his mother-in-law as a mummy
adding
a few comments of his own. “I read over the contracts your office sent last week bro and your mom will be well-pleased to hear that the Sedona spa is on pace to open with quite the splash next spring. Everything is in order but I’ll send Jason from my personal team to meet the spa coordinator in the next few weeks.”

“Thanks dude. You have no idea how convenient it is that my little sister married the best damn lawyer
on the planet!” Nick announced.
“And doesn’t hurt that I know where all your skeletons are buried, St
ewart
.” he added theatrically.

Both men laughed at that while Jules muttered something about how there better not be any skeletons. Shannon sat there smiling enjoying the easy repartee between the three.

“Shannon needs to be back east for a family occasion next week so we’ll be flying out together in a few days.  We’ll stop in New York first so I can clear more of my schedule and then I thought we’d head to Connecticut for a few days with Alanna before continuing up to Boston for Shannon’s family reunion.”

Shannon sat there stunned for a moment
when she learned that
Nick had taken over once he’d
heard
that she would have to
be in Boston next weekend
. Sh
e shouldn’t have been surprised,
since this was essentially what the Nick she had known and loved would do. There was a situation and he did what he always had, simply stepped in and put plans in place.
This was something she’d have to get used to, a thought which let her know that in her heart, plans for the future were already a done deal.

“Oh Nicky, Shannon!
How marvelous!” Jules cried. “You’ll love the white house
,
Shannon. It’s pract
ically perfect in every way.” s
he added wistfully as she turned adoring eyes on her brother
recalling
the happiness of their childhood home.

“Ummm… the
white
house?” Shannon asked, clearly confused. “Surely you aren’t talking 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, right?”

Jules laughed as did Nick and Ned. “Oh my, nothing quite so glamorous Shannon!” she exclaimed in delight. “You’ll see though. The white house is a lot like every other h
ome
in the neighborhood but there is something really special about it. Picture your standard co
lonial with dark blue shutters
and climbing rose vines that cover the single story addition Dad had built.
Really, the house is every kid’s
dream and parents wish. There’s a basketball hoop down the driveway up against the garage and a tree house in the back yard that looks like it came out of architectural digest. Nicky, you must show Shannon the tree house when you’re there!” Jules cried happily.

“I remember that tree house.” Ned chimed in. “Isn’t that where
we
kept
a
crappy old box of ancient Playboys?”

“Daddy!” Jules wa
rned. “Ixnay on the aboyplay.” s
he hissed while making the
not in front of the
kids
face
. Ned laughed and pressed
a
quieting kiss on his wife’s lips.

“Calm down
, Mommy.
” he said while nodding his head toward his son. “Young Master Stevens is blissfully ignoring the adults in the room
as
he quietly instructs his little sister how to stick her tongue out
.”

Once again, laughter returned to the conversation as they sat for the next hour passing the baby around the group for quick snuggles and kisses while they chatted about everything from Ned’s current obsession with one of the reality singing shows to Shannon’s laugh-inducing awkwardness using the crutches; Jules’ annoyance with Dom’s first grade teacher over something stupid and insignificant and Nick’s admission that he actually hated surfing
and couldn’t believe he’d even
vaguely entertained the notion that this was something he wanted to do while on vacation.

It was a pleasant gathering with Shannon deeply touched by how quickly and easily Nick’s sister and best friend accepted her undeniable presence in his life. Hell, they more than accepted it. 
Ned and Jules
seemed
all but giddy at the prospect that she and Nick were somehow a couple.
Shannon had to admit that the prospect made
her giddy as well. S
he couldn’t help but wonder if this is what happily ever after felt like.

When the Stevens Clan left to head home and get dinner ready for the kiddies, Shannon
and Nick had stood
hand in hand saying good-bye to their guests like an old married couple. A
hundred
more bricks from her wall of isolation and loneliness fell away.

It ha
d indeed turned out to be a very good day. Their dinner, this time on the veranda, had been perfect. He’d set votive candles in small glasses all around the natural wood table she’d added to the outdoor setting last year.  Shannon had loved the rustic look and feel of it and now, her favorite outdoor hideaway was shimmering with soft candles and a colorful riot of brightly colored pillows arranged on the long, carved back bench along the massive table. 

He’d obviously discovered the strands of tiny twinkle lights strewn throughout the tress which shrouded the patio from view. The effect of the glittering lights and flickering candles, the aroma of grilling meat, and the presence of a somewhat rakish twinkle in Nick’s eyes, Shannon knew she was on borrowed time as far as
being able to count on
his sense of control was concerned.

“What can I do to help, Nick?”
she asked as he guided her gently
to the cushion stacked bench;
keeping hi
s hand resting at her waist in case her steps faltered as she gingerly moved on her injured foot.

“Oh no, Shannon, you just relax and let me do all the work. I’m a man of many talents
, remember?
” he laughed with a comical wink
.
Satisfied that
she
was
settled
,
he
placed
an a
pron fashioned from a bar towel around his hips.

The sight of him with
that makeshift
apron placed oh so strategically across his groin
,
while he was wearing
a pair of
jeans which made her mind melt
,
hiked the temperature up a few degrees on the patio. 

He was trying to charm her and she was letting him lead the show.  This was what scared her the most.  That she not only was letting him but that deep inside she was aglow under his attention and secretly thrilled in her female hearts of hearts that this colossus of a man
,
her
gentle giant
, was
focused totally on her.

It had been a long, eventful day which they discussed over another splendid meal. They also made their way through an entire bottle of a heady Merlot which Shannon found a bit too relaxing.  The subtle influence of the alcohol seemed to turn off all her filters and defensive habits while intense feelings of pleasure and arousal worked their way into her system. Not only did the temperature rise on that patio as they lingered over their meal, so did the humidity as the sultry moistness gathering in her core made its presence known.