Page 76 of One Unexpected Gift

Sad and depressed Nick was not the impression she wanted them to have when first meeting her. She wanted them to see how happy he was around his daughter, around her. He was as good for them as they were for him.

Or at least, she hoped that was the case.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Nick mentally banged his forehead against the steering wheel. It wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as he’d hurt Skylar. He’d do anything to erase the look that he put on her face. She was sad, angry, and disappointed in him.

Comparing her and Gabriella to Trish was the stupidest thing he’d ever done in his life. More stupid than proposing to Trish. Then, at least, he could blame his spontaneity. His reckless behavior. His openness about not caring about anyone but himself.

He was nothing like the man he was at twenty-three. His life had literally done a one-eighty, and he was happier for it. For her. For both of them. Nick started the truck and thanked Skylar for being so understanding.

Her comeback had him springing in his jeans. After the way he treated her she was flirting with him? How the hell did he get so lucky? He wanted to ask her but really didn’t want to show up at his parents’ with a hard on.

“I’m pretty sure Logan is in Texas, so I’ll take his room and you can have my old room. It’s bigger and has more space for Gabriella’s playpen.”

It would be the first night sleeping under the same roof. There were many nights he wanted to ask Skylar to come to his house after work and stay the night. To wake up with her and Gabriella. It was better this way, though. Spending the daytime together while he worked at nights.

He wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his hands to himself if she stayed the night.

“I don’t want us to be an inconvenience.”

“Trust me. You and Gabriella aren’t. If anything, my mother will ask if Gabriella can sleep in her room. She’s going to be disappointed you’re nursing instead of bottle feeding.”

“Oh.”

“Kidding. There won’t be any disappointment but expect to be smothered.” He turned onto Cliff Road and a minute later, the stone wall and entrance to his parent’s place appeared.

“Um, Nick. Did you forget to tell me something?” Skylar sat up, moving to the edge of her seat, and hung on to the front dashboard. “This is not seriously where your parents live.”

He stopped the truck at the end of the driveway and looked up at the house from Skylar’s point of view. The Atlantic ocean was semi-blocked by the classic New England cottage. At least, that’s what his parents had called it when they purchased it.

When Nick was little, he thought nothing of it other than a beach house. It only had five bedrooms compared to the seven in Texas. It was about the same size as their sprawling mansion, only the rooms were more... homey, and they had an ocean view.

Now he appreciated it for its sense of Vanderbilt-Kennedy style Gilded Age type of home. The carriage house to the right had about the same square footage as his current home in Angel Springs, a modest two-thousand square-foot home. Plenty of room for himself.

“You grew up in a mansion, Nick. How did this never come up?”

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