When It's Love (15 page)

“Thank you, but I think Rachel and I should create Charlotte's homeschooling plan together.”

When it had just been him, he often went off to his next event without planning anything, knowing that he would find somewhere to stay and that the surfing competition would work out great, too. Now there would be all kinds of considerations to take into account, from declarations of intent to homeschool to more basic things, like how the three of them were going to get to his next competition or filming location together. They would need to find time to teach Charlotte, but again, that wasn’t a problem. If anything, Nicholas had a better lifestyle for that than someone trying to work a nine-to-five job. They would also have to sort out things like making sure Rachel and Charlotte had passports, planning an itinerary, and working out where to stay in each new part of the world.

There were no problems that were insurmountable, as far as Nicholas could see. Better than that, there were no problems that he couldn’t prove were easily solvable. Having Rachel take it on trust was great, but being able to actually show her that it would be fine was even better.

Responsibility had crept up on him when he wasn’t looking...and the best part was that he was totally okay with that. More than okay with it, actually, he thought with a big smile. It felt right.

Completely right.

Emily’s phone rang, and when she looked at the name on the screen and smiled, he knew exactly who was calling even before she picked up and said, “Rachel, I was just thinking about you.”

At the sound of Rachel’s name, Nicholas wanted to leap up and take the phone out of Emily’s hand so that he could tell her—again—how much he loved her.

“Hold on, you did what?” Emily looked a little stunned, then pleased, as she listened to her sister's response. “Wow, it sounds like you've had quite a day, haven't you?” She paused to listen again, then nodded. “No problem, you shouldn’t have to wait too long. Bye.”

“Is Rachel okay?” he asked the moment Emily hung up.

“I think that depends on your definition of okay,” Emily said with a shake of her head, but he could tell she was still more than a little pleased by whatever had transpired. “She was just telling me a story about chasing after the ferry on a Jet Ski—all because she thought you were leaving.”

Rachel had come after him!

Relief—and joy—were both coursing through his veins as Emily continued. “And then, when she found out you weren't on the ferry, she called Morgan to see if you were with her in the TV studio. Our sister didn't pick up, so Rachel was heading there in her car in the hopes that Morgan was filming and had turned her phone off. Halfway to Morgan's place, one of her tires gave out. She just asked me to pick Charlotte up from school first, and then get her from the side of the road where she's waiting.” Emily reached into her pocket for a set of keys and handed them to him.

“You’re really okay with me going to pick up your niece and your sister? You’d trust me to do that?”

The smile Emily gave him was bright and warm, with no more of the wariness in her eyes that he'd seen when he'd first walked into her office. “Honestly, I don't think there’s anyone I’d trust more at this point. And more importantly, I know there’s no one Rachel would trust more. I’ll call Charlotte’s teacher to let her know you’ll be picking her up. After that, you know the way from here to Morgan’s house so that you’ll actually be able to find my sister?”

“Rachel is the woman I've been looking for my entire life. Don't worry,” he promised, “I’ll find her.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Rachel stood by her car, still more than a little stunned that she'd been felled at the same spot for a second time. She’d known about the pothole, but she’d been in such a hurry to get to Morgan's studio to see if Nicholas was there, that she’d forgotten about it until it was too late.

As she stood on the side of the road again and stared at yet another flat tire—one she couldn’t even fix this time because she hadn’t yet had a chance to replace the spare after the first flat—she couldn't help but think about how different she felt today compared to the day she'd met Nicholas when she'd popped her tire on the way to pick him up from the ferry.

She'd been wary at first. Then attracted, despite herself. And now, she was in love.

Wholly, totally, completely in love.

Which was why she needed Emily and Charlotte to get here soon so they could track down Nicholas—and she could finally tell him what was in her heart. She knew she could have called him and told him over the phone, but she wanted to be able to look into his eyes when she told him. And she wanted him to be able to read her boundless love for him in her expression, too.

Hearing the sound of an engine, Rachel was extremely glad to look up and see Emily’s car. But as the car came closer, she was surprised to see that it wasn't her sister behind the wheel.

It was Nicholas.

Her heart was leaping as the car pulled to a stop. Oh, how she loved him. And how she wanted him to know it. But before she could get to him, Charlotte got out of the car and barreled toward her.

“Mommy, Nicholas came and got me from school!” Charlotte's arms came around Rachel's middle and held on tight. “He said we had to look for you on the side of the road, and I spotted you first!”

“I'm so glad you found me, sweetie.” She drew her daughter into her arms and held her tight. “I'm so glad
both
of you found me.”

Nicholas moved forward then, and when he put his arms around both of them, nothing had ever felt more right.

Only one thing could have made it better.

“I love you, Rachel.”

He had no idea how much she’d needed to hear those words again. Just to know that they were still true. And that she hadn’t blown her chance to be with him.

She stared into his beautiful eyes and finally told him what was in her heart. “I love you, too. So, so much.”

“I guessed that when I heard about the Jet Ski,” he said with a wide, and very impressed, smile.

Rachel smiled back just as big. “I wasn’t going to let you go without a fight.”

Charlotte kept a hold on them both as she asked, “What did you do with a Jet Ski, Mommy?”

Rachel looked down at her daughter, smiling. “I went for a ride on one because I thought Nicholas was going away.” She looked back up at Nicholas, letting all the love she felt for him shine through as she said, “And I really didn't want him to go.”

“Nicholas wasn’t going away,” her daughter replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world that he'd be there for both of them. “He was getting me from school.”

Rachel moved to kneel next to her daughter. “Charlotte, I know you love living here on the island, but what do you think about the two of us joining Nicholas on his adventures around the world?”

“Would we get to go on airplanes?”

“Yes,” Rachel replied, “and trains and buses and boats, too.”

“Would I still get to see everyone? Grams and Grandpa and Aunt Emily and Paige and Morgan and Hanna?”

Kneeling beside Rachel, Nicholas said, “Absolutely. We’ll come back for lots and lots of visits.”

Charlotte asked Nicholas, “Will you teach me how to surf?”

Rachel ran a hand over her daughter's soft hair. “I’m sure he will. And I'm sure you'll be brilliant at learning how to do it. We both will.”

Charlotte beamed at her. “Okay.”

It must be wonderful being six, Rachel decided, when life really was that simple. Although right then, everything seemed pretty perfect for her, too. She wanted to be with Nicholas...and he wanted to be with her and Charlotte.

“Are you and Nicholas going to kiss now, Mommy?”

Rachel nodded. “I hope so.”

“Kissing is icky.” Charlotte made a face. Apparently, the thought of kissing boys still hadn’t lost its
ew
factor for her, Rachel thought as she moved more closely into Nicholas' outstretched arms.

She let herself enjoy the feel of his strong, warm arms around her for a few wondering moments before she said, “Soon, you'll have to tell me all about how you came to be picking Charlotte and me up in Emily’s car rather than my sister. But first—”

She tipped her chin up for a kiss just as he lowered his mouth to hers for a sweet yet sexy kiss that had her longing for more than just one. She didn’t even care when a horn sounded behind them and a car shot past with teenagers whooping at the sight of them kissing in public.

Pure love was written all over Nicholas' face as he told her, “I went to see Emily to ask for information on homeschooling. This isn’t some temporary thing for me, Rachel. I want us to be a family. And I wanted to show you that we could do this and that Charlotte would be okay.”

“Something tells me that she’s going to be better than okay. And I want us to be a family, too. Wherever we end up.”

“We'll have such fun coming back to the island for visits, too,” Nicholas reminded her. “Adventure is always so much sweeter when you know there's a home waiting for you to come back to when you're ready for it. Plus, there are all kinds of requirements about meeting with teaching professionals and making sure Charlotte's schooling is running smoothly.”

Rachel was so overwhelmed with love for him that she gave him another kiss, a slow and deep one this time. Whatever happened out there in the world, whatever places they visited, whatever adventures they had, they would do it together and love every moment of it.

“Let’s get out of here.” Rachel smiled, as happy as she'd ever been as she hugged both her daughter and the man she loved close to her. “The three of us have places to go.”

EPILOGUE

It wasn’t easy to organize a big bon voyage party in such a small amount of time, but fortunately, Paige was used to putting together large productions at the dance studio. At least this one didn’t require choreography for thirty students.

Then again, from the way Morgan was looking at her...

“It's not going to happen,” Paige told her sister.

“Oh, why not?” Morgan pouted. “Just one small dance number in the middle of the going-away party would be so much fun.”

“You know I won't be able to get any students to help out on such short notice.”

“Then why don't you do it? You're such a great dancer, Paige. You'd knock everyone's socks off—and Nicholas has never seen you dance before.”

But Morgan knew that Paige didn’t do the limelight. She never had. She could make anyone look good on stage, but she avoided the spotlight like the plague. Besides, this party was all about Rachel, Nicholas and Charlotte. They might not be “shuffling off to Buffalo,” but they were heading off on a trip that would take them a lot farther than that.

It was going to be so strange not having her little niece running around the dance studio. At least not until Christmas, when the three of them were due to come back from…where was it again? Australia, then Japan was what she'd heard most recently. Paige was sure that Emily was working on getting their complete itinerary written down so that she could call in the rescue teams if they didn’t check in often enough. And she knew that Morgan would be keeping in touch with Nicholas just in case he needed any help with his new TV show.

Ah, TV. She had one sister directing for it, another starring in her own segment, and now a third who was in love with a guy who was very likely going to become a huge TV star in the next month or two.

She was thrilled that each of them was getting what they wanted in their lives. Still, the most exciting thing of all to Paige was that her sisters had found men they really loved and wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. Every time Hanna and Joel came over from Seattle, they seemed so happy together. Now that Morgan had fallen back in love with Brian, she seemed so content. And Rachel truly seemed like herself again for the first time in years, thanks to Nicholas.

Would Paige get a chance to meet someone someday? A man who would be happy with the kind of simple, comfortable life that she really wanted?

“Earth to Paige,” Morgan said with a smile. “I’ve got filming to get to this afternoon, so I need you to tell me now whether I need to pick up anything for the party on the way back.”

“I think we've got everything already, but if I think of anything else that we need, I’ll get it,” Paige assured her sister. “You should just concentrate on the segment you're filming today.”

Morgan was so good in front of the cameras. So beautiful and sparkling. Doing makeovers on TV was the perfect job for her. Just like teaching dance was the perfect job for Paige. One where she got to stay comfortably in the background while helping others to shine.

“Oh, before I go,” Morgan said, “I wanted to mention that Brian and I are going to an awards ceremony on Saturday night that my TV network is throwing. Why don't you come with us? I'll do your makeup and—”

Paige shook her head, though she gentled the refusal with a smile. “It sounds like fun, but I'll be working on Saturday night with a few of our advanced students on their audition pieces for the Academy in Seattle.”

In any case, even if she had been free, she wasn't interested in meeting—and possibly dating—a big TV star. She would be far happier with a nice, regular guy. Someone sweet and funny, and who attracted as little attention as she did. Less, even.

Unlike Rachel, Paige could certainly never date anyone in the public eye. Not in a million years. All that fuss. The endless glare of gossip magazines and photographs. Always having to worry about saying and doing the right thing in front of the cameras. No, Paige was quite happy to leave the limelight to her sisters.

Hoping that she would have a little time to dance in the studio as soon as she finished hanging the colorful streamers for Rachel, Nicholas and Charlotte's going-away party, Paige got back to work, all thoughts of dating a TV star happily forgotten.

~ THE END ~

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ALL FOR LOVE
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