Page 87 of Forever with the CEO

I looked her in the eye, holding her gaze. “Allison, it’s all good. Promise.”

She nodded once. “Okay. Good night, Nick.”

I watched her retreat upstairs, and even in her long pants, my dick found her ass attractive. Oh well. We’d have to manage this somehow.

Usually, I was a late sleeper on the weekends, but honestly, adjusting to an earlier sleep schedule was going to be the least of my problems now. Resisting the urge to seduce this gorgeous woman, be it the middle of the day or the night—thatwas another story altogether.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nick

The next morning, I woke up with a stiff neck. Then as I started to move, I realized more parts of my body were in pain, like my back and right hip. I felt like an eighty-year-old. I immediately rolled off the couch, my body creaking with every movement. There was no fucking way I could sleep on this thing again. It was a torture device.

I tilted my head to the left and the right, glancing at the clock. It was six in the morning. I blinked several times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things because I hadn’t woken up that early in years. Last time I was probably in high school, and Mom had to drag me out of bed. Why the hell would I wake up now?

Then I realized it was because of the fucking couch. My body was protesting too much. I debated going back to sleep, but no way would I put myself through that.

Instead, I went to make some coffee. It was a small Nespresso machine, and thankfully, Allison had the coffee capsules right next to it. I was a bit of a coffee snob and instantly decided to chat with her about bringing my professional barista machine from home, along with a better fucking couch.

Served me right. That’s what I got for always flying by the seat of my pants instead of planning things meticulously. I usually reserved that side of me for business, but it wouldn’t have killed me to come here and check the couch first before throwing my back out sleeping on it.

I chose the darkest brew and made myself a strong cup. After a few sips, I was looking at the day in a more optimistic manner. I could solve anything.

As I took the sheets off and turned the bed back into a couch, I could swear I heard the twins talking. I listened intently. Yep,that was Annie’s voice. I hurried up the stairs and straight into their room. They were both camped on Jack’s bed.

“Uncle Nick!” Annie grinned.

“You sleep here?” Jack said.

Wow, that was the most words I’d ever heard from this kid... well, since the accident.

“Yes, I am.” I sat between the two of them. “What are you doing up so early?”

Annie shrugged.

“Right,” I said. “Do you want to go downstairs?”

She nodded. “Is Auntie Allison there too?”

“No, she’s still asleep. Let’s let her rest for a bit.”

“We gotta be quiet?” Annie asked, holding her little finger to her lips.

I nodded, and she moved over me until her face was straight in front of her brother’s. “Jack, quiet.”

Jack nodded, frowning as if he was trying to process this very important information. These two were adorable.

They got out of bed at the same time, but Annie grabbed Jack’s hand. She kept making shushing sounds at him even though the poor guy wasn’t saying anything. I walked behind them as we went down the stairs, which took a long time because they were tiny and the steps were huge. They didn’t ask for help, though, and I was certain they could make it on their own. They just needed me to be patient.

“What do you eat in the mornings?” I asked them.

“Pancakes,” Annie said without even hesitating.

Then she looked at Jack sternly. He frowned but didn’t reply.

I barely bit back laughter. I was certain that they didn’t have pancakes every morning, but what the hell? It was Sunday. I needed some damn pancakes too.

“Do you know where the ingredients are?” I asked.

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