Chapter 24: Forever With The CEO: Chapter 24

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.

They shook their heads in unison. No matter. The kitchen wasn’t huge, so I wouldn’t have an issue.

I opened all the drawers and cupboards in quick succession and easily found what I needed. Allison had premade batter mix, and she also had a waffle maker.

“How about waffles instead of pancakes?” I suggested.

“Yess, waffles! Waffles are the best!” That came from Jack.

I was stunned. Apparently, so was Annie, because she was staring at her brother with her mouth open. Then she hurried to Jack and took him in her arms.

Jesus, these two. Why didn’t I video this? I was certain that Allison would have loved to see them right now.

“Okay, then! I’m starting on the waffles.”

“I can help,” Annie said, then immediately went to one of the two learning towers that were propped against the kitchen island.

She carefully slid onto hers and Jack on his. Those were a very cool invention because they were at the height of the kitchen island and the twins couldn’t fall off. They were both looking at me expectantly.

Shit, I’m supposed to give them tasks?

“I’ll give you some batter to mix.”

They both nodded in unison, hanging on to my every word. As far as winging it went, I was doing a spectacular job. I found two bowls for them and put some batter mix in, along with eggs and milk, and gave them plastic spoons.

I observed them for a few seconds to make sure there was no way for them to hurt themselves. But they were great. I made a mental note to ask Allison what other things they could do in the kitchen. Clearly they loved to be involved.

The waffles were ready in no time. I found a selection of spreads and syrups in the fridge and took all of them out just as footsteps sounded from the hall.

“Good morning,” Allison said as she entered the kitchen.

Her eyes were still heavy with sleep. She rubbed at one of them with a little yawn. Her hair was in complete disarray, and she was wearing the same pajamas as last night.

“It smells delicious. Oh, everyone’s awake.” She looked from me to the twins and then back at me. “What’s going on? Why didn’t anyone wake me up?”

“I was already up when I heard these two, so I decided we could start by making breakfast. We made—”

“Waffles,” she finished.

“Yes,” Annie exclaimed.

“They told me you always have pancakes, and then we made waffles.”

Allison opened her mouth, then closed it again. She looked at me with a conspiratorial smile. I winked, silently letting her know that obviously I wasn’t buying the tale of pancakes every morning.

“You want something else?” I asked her.

“No! I love waffles.” She came closer, looking at the twins’ workstations. “Okay. Where do you guys want to eat, outside or inside?”

“Outside!” they shouted.

“Auntie Allison, Jack talked,” Annie said seriously. “Jack?”

Jack shook his head. I guess he was shy.

“He spoke a bit,” I praised him.

Allison smiled from ear to ear. To my astonishment, her eyes became teary. She’d told me before the wedding that he’d been more vocal, but now it seemed that Jack was back to his old self.

“That’s great, Jack. You know we love you to the moon and back, and whenever you feel comfortable talking, you do it, okay? I’m very proud of you, and I’m sure that Mommy and Daddy are too.”

Now Allison was teary-eyed in earnest.

Annie was looking at me in confusion, and then she noticed Allison’s tears. “Why are you sad, Auntie Allison?”

“I’m not sad at all. These are tears of happiness,” Allison said quickly, but Annie reached out to give her a hug anyway. “All right, guys, take the waffles outside, please. Uncle Nick, can you go ahead with them?” She helped them down from their chairs and handed them some plates. Jack managed the waffle plate.

“Sure!” I grabbed the syrups and spreads and ushered the little ones out back.

I realized Allison wanted a moment alone, probably to compose herself. After they sat down at the table, I hurried back inside the house to check on her.

“Allison, you okay?”

She was leaning against the kitchen counter. Her eyes were a bit red.

“Yes. It truly hit me that Jim and Nora will never experience this—their firsts, you know? When they learn to tie their shoes, when they first go to school, and so on.”

“I had a similar moment this morning. That’s why it’s so important that they have stability and have us now.” She nodded, and I asked, “Are you ready to come out?” I grabbed two more plates.

“Are my eyes still red?”

“A bit.”

“Then I’ll wait a few more minutes. I don’t want to confuse them. I want to be strong for them.”

“Allison, you are strong, and they know that. Trust me.”

“How would you know?” she whispered.

I set the plates back down and stood in front of her, cupping her face with both hands.

“Because they do. Kids have good instincts. Just because you get emotional doesn’t mean you’re not strong. Take all the time you need. I’ll entertain them.”

“It’s okay. I’m good. I’ll come outside,” she said. “Let me just grab pomegranate juice. We all love it.”

I took the plates, and she came out a minute later with the juice and glasses. The twins had already gobbled down their waffles by the time we sat down. They were going to ask for seconds soon. Luckily, we’d made enough to feed a small army.

Glancing around the table, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we looked like a real family. I’d truly never envisioned myself as a dad, and I still didn’t, but did you ever, really? As far as this morning went, I hadn’t done such a bad job—except for the fact that I hadn’t changed their clothes.

“After you eat, we should go and put all your clothes in the wash, okay? And dress you two in something new,” Allison said, as if reading my thoughts.

“Noooo! I am a princess today,” Annie protested.

Jack just shrugged.

“Fine, then,” Allison gave in. “You’ll be a princess for as long as you want.”

As we ate the rest of the waffles, she turned and asked, “How come you woke up so early? You said you always like to sleep in on weekends.”

“Not possible.”

“Why not?”

I decided to fess up. “I’m bringing my own couch. I’ll see how I can get that done today.”

Allison gasped. “It was really that bad?”

“Absolutely awful. I don’t know how I ever fooled myself into thinking it was comfortable, but it was not.”

She winced. “I’m truly sorry, Nick. But don’t stress about it. If we can’t find a way to bring it today, I’ll sleep there, or we can find a way to share the bed.”

“Hell no,” I exclaimed.

The twins both gasped—actually gasped.

I turned to them. “I’m sorry. Uncle Nick said a bad word. I usually never use it,” I lied.

Annie covered Jack’s ears. “Uncle Nick, no bad words.”

“You’re right.”

She took her hands off Jack’s ears and sat back down. It was adorable. She seemed like a miniature teacher.

“I won’t do that again.”

The look on Annie’s face was so serious that I had to fight the urge to laugh.

After we finished breakfast, the twins started to yawn in unison.

“Hmm, guys, what do you say about a nap?”

To my astonishment, both of them agreed. I remembered one thing clearly from when I was a kid—I usually fought sleep like hell.

“I’ll go upstairs with them and then clean up.” Allison gestured to the table.

“No, I’ll clean up,” I said. “I made the mess, and I really don’t mind.”

“Oh, okay,” Allison said with a huge smile. She’d been doing this all by herself for so long, and I could tell she was pleased with the help.

Once they’d gone upstairs, I immediately called Frances.

“Good morning!” I said as soon as she answered.

“Hey, Nick. What’s going on?”

“Listen, I need you to organize some movers for me today.”

“Absolutely. What do you need them to bring you?”

“The couch from my cinema room.”

“I’m on it. I can get someone there in probably an hour.”

“There’s no rush. If it’s not here until the evening, it’s more than fine.” She really was a great person to work with. “And thanks a lot for organizing everything yesterday.”

“The missus liked it?” she asked.

“She absolutely loved it. You did fantastic.” I’d already put in her raise with HR, so she’d see that in her next paycheck. She was a great asset to me and my team.

“Thank you! I’ll have your couch delivered ASAP.”

“Thanks.”

Even though I wanted as few people as possible to know about our arrangement, I’d told my assistant the truth. Otherwise, conversations like this would be fucking awful.

After finishing the call, I quickly cleaned up. I’d just started the dishwasher when Allison came down the stairs.

“They went out like a light. I think they were still exhausted from yesterday.” She yawned. “As am I. God, I really do need a coffee.”

“Which reminds me,” I said, turning around. “I’d like to bring something else here besides my couch.”

“Oh?”

“My coffee machine.”

Allison laughed. “That was the first thing I saw in your kitchen, and I thought, ‘How is he going to survive on my poor little Nespresso machine?’”

“So, you don’t mind?”

“I won’t say no to barista coffee,” she assured me with a wink.

Suddenly, I had the urge to move everything I needed here and never leave. Strange…

I took out my phone and said, “Let me just text Frances. I’ve already arranged with her to have my couch moved here, and the guys can pick that up too.”

“That was quick. I’m impressed. So… she knows about everything?”

I nodded. “I figured it was easier. She’s tight-lipped and knows how to keep a secret.”

Just as I finished texting, I looked up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about double-checking with you.”

“No, that’s fine. It’s just a bit weird. I don’t even know what we should keep secret and what we shouldn’t.”

“I think the only people who need to know the truth are those closest to us. Everyone else must think this is a real marriage.”

Allison nodded in agreement.

I wiggled my eyebrows and walked closer to her. She backed up right into the counter. “We should definitely keep what happened in the dressing room a secret,” I said.

It was high time for me to come clean—at least with myself. I couldn’t stop flirting. The more I fought it, the more I seemed to be doing it.

“My God, Nick.” Then she narrowed her eyes and playfully pushed me away. “Wait, so you didn’t share that with anybody in your family?”

“Why in the ever-loving hell would I do that?”

She licked her lips, which only fueled my imagination more. They were plump and perfect, needing to be kissed.

“I don’t know… Yesterday, it felt like everyone sort of knew more than they were letting on.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I do. It’s a general thing in my family. Everyone thinks they know more than you do about your own life. Mom and Gran made some comments to you that were insinuating.”

“Oh, you heard those? I was starting to think I’d just imagined them.”

“No, you didn’t. They both said it loud enough for me to hear it too. That’s just their way of putting ideas into your head.”

“About you and me…? Nope, I’m not going to finish that thought!”

I chuckled. “That’s for the best.”

She lowered her arms, and I noticed her nipples were peeking through the fabric, which had absolutely not been the case before. She looked down and immediately crossed her arms over her chest again.

“But that means that they’re getting their hopes up, right? That this is something more.”

“That’s not my problem. Or yours. Gran’s been getting her hopes up about us all getting married for years.”

“But everyone else is married, or at least engaged.”

“True, and Gran has been playing matchmaker for some time.”

“Really? Oh, I’ve heard about meddling grandmothers. Mom used to say that her own grandma was like that, but she passed away long before Nora and I were born.” She smirks. “So, Jeannie was successful, huh? Considering that all your brothers are taken.”

“How do you know that they didn’t just change their minds?” I challenged.

“Pfft.” She waved her hand. “Because men are stubborn. Usually they don’t see what they need even if it’s dancing naked in front of them.”

Or standing in front of them in pajamas with their hair in disarray and nipples peeking through their shirt. I was starting to get her point.

“She was successful with quite a few of my brothers,” I admitted. “But not all of them needed her involvement.”

“And she thinks you do?”

“I never know where I stand with Gran. But it’s safe to say she was happy yesterday.”

“I wonder what that means.”

I gave her a half smile. “So do I.”