Unrequited (Chosen #3) (12 page)

TWENTY - NICK

Although I grew up in Texas where guns were as familiar as a steak, I had never felt compelled to own one. I, undoubtedly, had a change of heart. I would sign up for classes, buy a firing range, and make Samantha’s father the target for all shooters in a heartbeat. I was not a hateful person but there was nothing I wanted more than to beat the ever loving shit out of Mr. Hughes. I pictured him sitting down on his porch with a fresh glass of iced tea, laughing maniacally about Lizzie’s misfortunes.
Mother fucker.

It was Saturday morning. I was up half the night looking at guns on the internet. After realizing I could never shoot a man, I devised a plan in my head. I was supposed to pick Sam up at two o’clock to take her to the O’Malley’s but I didn’t want to. I was so ashamed to be associated with her now. If I saw her, I might punch
her
in the face just by association. She would have to conquer out her own fucking demons with Conner’s family at this point. I couldn’t care less about what happened to her.

Her father was a rat bastard that fucked with me and my families’ lives. I got off the phone with a charter company to take me to Texas. As I started packing, I heard the elevator’s chime and then I heard Niall’s high pitch blabbering. I stood frozen over the bed. Was Lizzie…Niall…home?

“Nick?” Her voice came from the foyer and she sounded eager but timid.

I closed my eyes. I had not heard that beautiful voice in person and it made my head swim. It felt like it had been years since she had been this close to me. My stomach started to warm and I wanted to run to her. I could sense her presence when she reached the doorway to our bedroom. I looked up and met those beautiful green eyes. She looked tired but she was still so stunning. With Niall in her arms, I noticed him squirming to get to me. Niall had grown into a toddler over night.

“Nick,” she breathed. Her eyes were piercing mine and I could tell she needed a response from me.
I
needed to strip off all of her clothes and make sweet love to that voice, that body, those eyes. She saw the heat in my eyes and smiled at me.

I went to her and Niall. I took him out of her arms and hugged him so tight; he started to squirm away from me, too. A tear fell down Lizzie’s cheek and I swiped it away.

“Hey, Niall. What a big boy you have become. Nick has missed you so much, baby,” I kissed him on the forehead.

“Da Da Da,” Niall blubbered and blew a bubble with his mouth. I half chuckled half sobbed at his response to being in my arms. He was so beautiful. He was
my
son. I put him on the floor and opened my arms to Lizzie. She looked at me skeptically.

“Are you sure you want to touch me?” she asked.

“More than anything in the entire universe,” I breathed.

She landed into my arms and her arms looped under my arms and up to my shoulders. She pressed hard against me and I immediately responded physically. She giggled into my ear and started to kiss my neck all over. My girl was kissing me. She was my best friend. I missed her smell. I missed her wild red hair. I missed her in my arms.

She told me she was sorry and she was so confused. She said our relationship progressed so fast. She said she was petrified that she was becoming too dependent on me. She told me she was lost without me nonetheless. She told me that she cried every time Niall said “Da Da”. She needed her ring back. She needed our bed back. She wanted my body and my heart back.

“My body, mind, and soul were yours when I first met you, Lizzie,” I whispered. “You have all the power to break me but please don’t. It really fucking hurts.”

She looked deep into my eyes and searched for the truth, my love, and my promise. It was effortless to show them to her.

“I won’t break your heart intentionally ever again,” she firmly stated. I pulled her back into a hug. “I can’t promise I won’t break your mind and your body again, though.” she laughed nervously.

“You are a real tease, Lizzie O’Malley,” I growled in her ear. She continued to giggle and I could see the illumination take over the dark in my body, in our room, and in our world.

“Ass,” she poked me and kissed me hard on the lips. I grabbed on to her lips with mine and eagerly intertwined
them. We moaned into each other as we opened for each other’s tongues. I couldn’t suck on her mouth enough. Our kiss was breathtaking. She felt perfect. I loved this woman and I couldn’t wait to make her my wife.

“Baby, I need to be part of you right now. Can we put Niall in his playpen?” I asked.

I was practically begging her with my mouth, my hands, and my voice. I craved her. I didn’t realize how much I had missed making love to her.

She pulled away gently and I smiled. Her worried expression made me stiffen and I wanted to push away the foreboding dreadful feeling crawling up my chest.

“Nick?” She asked with uncertainty.

“Hmm,” I hummed into her hands as I kissed her palms.

“Niall and I are not alone, babe. Teagan came with us.” She paused, waiting for my reaction. I stopped kissing her palms and didn’t look at her. I tried to reason it out in my brain why Teagan would be here. I wasn’t shocked or mad. It was a puzzle to the Mr. Hughes debacle that was. She took my silence as a sign that I was displeased. I was, but not at her.

“I am so sorry. I
needed
to see you before I took him out to my parents. He is trying to get a hold of Freddie. I think he went back to Ireland. I offered to take him to a hotel but he is so weird. He doesn’t want me to be out of his sight.” Her anxious look told me everything. I
knew
why he was staying close to her. It was to break us up. It was
his
little fucking game. The question was what was in it for Teagan?

“Sooo…,”she drew out the word. “He is in the living room. I knew you would be upset. I mean, shit, this is so uncomfortable but I thought coming to see you first would be better than taking him to my parents. I can go. I can beg or demand him to leave. I will do
whatever
you want me to.”

She was practically hyperventilating and I warmly kissed her forehead. Lizzie was always trying so hard to fight against the worst shit storms people threw her way.

She grabbed on to my hands forcefully. With the most intense voice I had ever heard from her, she stated, “I don’t
want
that man in there. He is a stranger to me now. I can’t believe I ever felt anything for him. You… you finally made me understand how a woman should be treated. I didn’t bring him here to hurt you…” I placed my fingers over her lips.

“Stop talking,” I firmly said. Her eyes widened and she nodded. “I can feel your love and passion for me, Lizzie. I don’t give a shit about that guy except he gave us Niall. I almost want to thank him,” I chuckled.

“But more than that, he has information that I need. I am not mad at you but the information he has will probably make you see my angry side.” I released my fingers from her mouth. She looked at me with confusion.

“I can’t tell you anything yet,” I shook my head. “Don’t ask.”

I walked around the bed to Lizzie’s bed side table and opened her drawer. I pull the black box out and open it. I took the amethyst ring and round back to her, getting on my knees once more. “Marry me, Lizzie. If we could do it in the next five minutes, marry me. If we could do it in five years, marry me. But more than anything, do you promise you will never ever take this ring off your finger?” I asked with a plea.

“I do. I promise,” she smiled and it was brilliant. I pulled myself up to her and kissed her again. This time it is a shorter one because I had a plan and I am going to see it through.

“Take Niall to his room and come meet me in the living room,” I dictated. She nodded submissively and pulled Niall up to walk out of the room. I hope that when she finds out what Sam and her father did, she won’t take that ring off. I silently ask the universe to give her strength for what she is about to find out.

I stood in front of the full length mirror and gave myself a pep talk. I was about to meet the man that once had Lizzie’s heart, who got her pregnant, and then took off. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to challenge him to a weight lifting contest or a sword fight. I shook my hair out and unclenched my jaw and my fists. I would be the better guy. I would get to the bottom of why he was back in Lizzie’s life.
God, please help me to be the better person in the next five minutes.

I walked out of the room to hear talking and laughing. Lizzie’s laugh was nervous. Teagan’s accent was fucking thick. She asked him about his job and he spoke casually like nothing earth shattering had ever happened between them. Did he even care about Niall? I stepped into the living room
to find Lizzie sitting in the farthest chair from Teagan. He was sitting on the couch with a leg propped up on his knee. His hair was neatly done and he was wearing a striped collared shirt. His look was exactly like Freddie’s.

When he saw me, he smiled and rose from the couch. He came to me with his hand outstretched. I looked over to Lizzie, who shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t know what I should say or do either.
Thanks, Liz. A little help here, please?

I shook his hand quickly. “Nicholas Sawyer,” I stated.

“I’m Teagan. But you probably already knew that. Hey, I hope I am not overstepping anything by being here right now. Lizzie said you would be cool,” he said sheepishly.

I crossed my arms and looked down at him with my chin up. “Well, Teagan. I am not so sure why you are here. Could you please enlighten us why, after all this time, you sought out my fiancé?”

I guess he didn’t expect me to be so blunt because he paled and stumbled back a little. He gained his composure and stepped back towards the couch. I looked over to see Lizzie watching me with a small grin on her face.

I am doing what she always wanted to. What happened to the girl that would have kicked the shit out of him? I thought about that for a minute as I stared back at her. She turned her head back to Teagan with a scowl and waited for him to answer.

“I...I am here because I was told that Lizzie wanted me back in her life. Back in
Niall’s
life.  She told me she had an abortion so believe me. I didn’t know. I came to America, to Boston, to find out what she needed from me.” He wouldn’t make eye contact with me. Lizzie groaned and she stood up to come stand next to me.

“I see.” I looked him up and down. He was a little shit. What the fuck did Lizzie ever see in this guy? Freddie had ten times more class than this idiot.

“Did Colin Gallagher send you?” Lizzie blurted out. She looked worried and was biting her nails. Who the hell was Colin Gallagher?

Teagan looked at her just as perplexed as I was and shook his head. She exhaled loudly and backed off. Teagan turned back to me and shrugged.

“So, tell me Nick. What does
Lizzie
want? She appears to be happy.
She
says she didn’t want me to come to America,” he taunted me with a slight flash in his eyes. “I don’t believe her, of course. She practically begged me to stay a few summers ago so what I think is this.  Lizzie does want me here and just doesn’t want you to know her real feelings.”

Lizzie practically pitched herself at him in anger. I pulled her back before she could get into his face.
There she is. There is the little spit fire.

“Teagan, I
am
happy. I didn’t ask for you to come here. Nick and I have more than enough love and finances to make sure Niall will never go without. We are expecting another child and I…” My eyes snapped over to her in surprise. Out of everyone to tell first, she told Teagan? Why?

“Lizzie.” I put both of my hands on her face. “Love, go take a shower and get cleaned up. I have to go to Texas and I want you and Niall to come with me.”

She looked confused and baffled. I gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. She looked over to Teagan who was looking down at the ground and he was smirking. He really didn’t care about her. He didn’t care that she was mine now. 

“I never begged you to stay in the States, Teagan. I begged you to get the fuck out. It seems I am asking you to do that again. So get the fuck out of my apartment.” She leaned into me with a kiss and walked out of the room. I waited to hear the bedroom door shut. My girl was home and I smiled inwardly.

I walked to the bar and poured some whiskey into two glasses. I handed one to Teagan and sat down in the chair next to the couch.

“Martin Hughes.” I threw his name out there and took a large drink from my glass.

Teagan’s eyes flashed in a moment and then he smoothed his face over in a casual manner. I steadily watched him for minutes waiting for his reply. I watched him down the whiskey and set the glass down on the table.

“Martin Hughes,” I repeated accusingly. He sighed and threw his hands through his hair.

“He said he would set me and Moira up for life,” he started. I grinned. I had him. I had Mr. Hughes.

“You are one sick son of a bitch,” I sneered.

I pointed to our bedroom. “That girl went through hell getting over you. I couldn’t even crack her shell for months. You came here for
money
? You came to cause a scene for us. It isn’t going to work, Teagan.”