Page 102 of Hale Yes
Nicolette
I glance over at Helix, doing my level best not to drool. He’s been poring over paperwork for the past two hours, and his hair is sticking up in places from where he ran his fingers through it. His shirt is halfway untucked, and he’s completely, delightfully mussed.
He’s currently using the centrifuge while some of the lab assistants sort samples. Looking over and catching me staring, he gives me a subtle wink.
“Hey, you guys can go ahead and knock off early for lunch,” he tells the assistants.
They don’t argue for a second, cleaning their areas and heading downstairs. Which leaves me alone in the lab with Helix. As soon as they’re gone, he locks the door and saunters over.
“Dr. Bell, why aren’t you working?” he asks sternly.
I brush his crotch with a teasing drift of my hand. “Because I’m distracted by this big… sample.”
He laughs and pins me against the lab table with his hips. “I want to have my wicked way with you on this table, but first I wanted to talk to you. I planned to during brunch last weekend, but you and my mother were too busy talking shit about me.”
I roll my bottom lip out. “Aww, poor little Helix got his feelings hurt? Maybe you should punish me.” He lifts an eyebrow at the hopefulness in my voice.
“Oh, I fully intend to, but that will be later when you’re least expecting it.”
“For the record, golden sprinklers as a punishment is a hard limit for me.”
Helix’s expression goes flat. “I don’t like you very much right now.”
My hips press forward against his growing erection. “Your big sample says otherwise.”
His only response is a slow, deep kiss that makes my toes tingle in my loafers. “I do like you, Nicolette,” he says, pulling away and making eye contact. “I want to date you. I’ve had trust issues in the past, but I want to try and make this work if that’s something you want too. You’ll just have to be patient with me while I work through how to be in a healthy relationship.”
The organ inside my chest constricts at his words. “That’s exactly what I want. And I can be patient. Everyone has past hurts, and that’s okay. We can work through them together.”
His blue eyes are so soft as he searches my face. “I think I’m falling for you, and it scares the shit out of me.”
Before I can respond, his phone rings and he curses before pulling it from his pocket and frowning at the display. “It’s Reecie’s pre-school. Phoenix is out of town, and she’s staying with me for two days, so I need to take this.”
“Of course,” I say, rubbing my hand up and down his bicep as he answers with a clipped hello.
He listens for about a minute before responding with, “I’ll be right there.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, watching him pocket his phone and shrug off his lab jacket.
“Reece is sick. It’s just a sore throat so probably nothing serious, but I need to take her to the pediatrician because she might need antibiotics.”
“Go,” I say, taking the jacket from him. “I’ll handle the lab and call Phoenix for you. He’ll need to call the doctor’s office and give you permission to bring Reecie in for treatment.”
Helix shakes his head. “You don’t have to call him. I have power of attorney for her when he’s out of town or in case anything ever happens to him. We had the paperwork drawn up the day after she was born.” He grabs my face and kisses me hard. “Thank you, baby.”
And then he’s out the door, leaving me flabbergasted in his wake. I can’t even imagine being so close to another person that you’d put that kind of trust in them. I certainly don’t have that kind of relationship with Angelica. I wouldn’t trust her to look after a house plant.
But the Hale family is different. They have a mutual bond and respect for each other that I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced. To be honest, I’m a little jealous, but then I remember how open and welcoming they all were to me. His mother included, despite the embarrassing freak-out scene she witnessed in that restroom.
After our initial awkwardness at seeing each other at the brunch table with Helix, all those walls seemed to fade away. Might have been the mimosas and bloody marys lending their boozy support to the situation, but it’s more likely because she’s a genuinely nice person.
I took Ophelia to Cowboy Yoga on Monday evening, and thankfully I had no more gaseous interruptions. She absolutely loved it, though she blushed through the entire class.
Taking a seat on one of the padded stools, I get to work on some of the fragrance additives we were working on and wait for word from Helix about his niece.
Two hours later, I’m alone in the lab. I’d sent the assistants down to the microbiology lab to do some cultures on our next mascara. Mascara tubes are notorious places for bacteria to reside, so it’s a struggle to find a formula that’s as antimicrobial as possible while also being gentle enough for the sensitive eye areas.
The door creaks open, and I swivel around in my chair to find Helix with Reece on his hip. She has a ring of what looks like chocolate ice cream around her mouth, and she’s holding a giant teddy bear.
