Page 94 of Forever with the CEO

That was my first cue that she was up to something. It dawned on me that Nick hadn’t been exaggerating.

“We didn’t speak about what we were doing tonight. I think he’s meeting a friend.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Right. Of course. I truly admire you two for what you’re doing. It has to be incredibly hard to live with someone who’s not... your partner.”

“It’s not that hard. Nick and I sort of have a system for sharing a bathroom and so on.” As well as pretending we weren’t ogling each other. But things were going to come to a head sooner or later. I felt it in my bones.

And that wasn’t the only problem. Over this past month, we’d grown incredibly close. I couldn’t wait for those hours after the twins fell asleep when it was just the two of us, talking about our day, sharing our hopes and dreams. When the four of us weretogether, everything felt dangerously real. I was falling for Nick Whitley—there were no two ways about it.

“Then I’ll let you get on with your relaxing evening. Thanks for bringing the kids over. We’ll call you tomorrow and get them back to you later in the afternoon.”

“Great, thank you. If anything happens or you decide it’s too much, you can always call me and I’ll pick them up.”

“Nonsense,” Penny said. “That won’t be necessary. I truly love spending time with kids. Have a great evening.”

After I got into my car, I started to wonder what Nickwasdoing tonight. I’d been in such a frenzy this week between work, checking emails, and preparing the twins for the sleepover that I didn’t even ask. I decided to text him as I headed home.

Allison: Hey, what are your plans for the evening? Are you out already?

He replied a few seconds later.

Nick: You’ll find out as soon as you come home.

Oh goodness. Does that mean he’s at the house?

Excitement coursed through me as I glanced in the rearview mirror, checking my appearance. I looked like a CFO, or maybe a teacher, depending on how you looked at it. I’d had a big meeting today, so I was wearing a conservative suit. I’d even pulled my hair into a very tight bun. I typically disliked this look, but I found it helpful in meetings. It made me feel more professional if nothing else.

As I drove home, I took out the elastic band and pins at the next red light. My hair fell in nice thick waves around my shoulders.

I parked in front of the house and got out of the car, wondering what this evening would entail. This was our first night alone.

“Nick!” I called out, but there was no answer, which meant he wasn’t in the backyard. I hurried up the steps, opened the frontdoor, and stepped inside, my entire body immediately relaxing. The air smelled delicious: a mix of spices.

I toed off my shoes and didn’t call Nick’s name again because I could hear him. I tiptoed to the kitchen and watched for a few moments.Holy shit.I wanted to memorize everything about this moment. This gorgeous man was in my kitchen, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt. He’d pushed up the sleeves, as usual. I also noticed that he’d undone the top few buttons.

He must have sensed my presence, because he looked at me from the side.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“I just arrived.”

“Should I pretend I didn’t see you so you can get your fill?” He winked, and in the span of two seconds, my body reacted to his presence.

“What are you cooking?” I asked, coming closer.

“Chicken with white wine and rice.”

“Yum. I thought I could smell the wine.” I would gobble down anything, but this sounded delicious.

“It won’t take long.”

“I thought you were going out with a friend tonight.”

Nick looked strangely at me. “I was supposed to, but I wanted to be home with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and I swallowed hard.

What did this sexy man have in mind? He was all about keeping boundaries between us. But maybe that was because of the kids so as not to confuse them.

Then again, I was all over the place, too, when it came to him. What were we doing?

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