One Simple Step (Journey Series) (28 page)

“Mmhmm.” She nodded her head, and laughed. “Don’t look so sad about it. I just think that we need to take things slow. I don’t think we should just pick right back up where we left off. Plus, you have Ariel now, and just like you said things are different, our relationship is going to be different, too. Do you think you can handle that?” She smirked, knowing that I would find this pretty agonizing, but as long as I had her back in my life, I would do anything.

“Yup, I can totally handle that.”

Chapter 29

Ally

I might have told Nick that I wanted to take things slow, and when I said it, I really did mean it, but in the end, I don’t think that was actually possible. I think we were only able to keep our hands to ourselves until halfway through our “first” date.

Kelly was babysitting Ariel for the night so Nick could take me out, because he said if I wanted to take things so slow, then we were going to do it properly. We needed the first date, the first kiss, all of the firsts, to start our new beginning together.

Kelly had been more than willing to help him out. One, because she was so in love with being a grandma, and two, because she was so ecstatic that Nick and I were back together. I didn’t know who was happier, her or us.

“Shouldn’t we be waiting until, like, the third date or something like that?” I panted out as Nick slowly removed my dress, pulling it up and over my hair until it was lying in a pool at our feet.

He stepped back to look at me, sucking in a deep breath, the moonlight that was pouring in through the open window reflecting off his eyes.

“See something you like?” I asked, batting my eyelashes, one hand on my hip. He took a step closer, his fingers reaching out to skim over the lacy material of my panties.

“I see something that I love, actually.” He hooked his thumb into the material and slowly slid it down my legs before coming back up, reaching around to undo my matching bra. I didn’t expect this to be happening tonight, but I definitely made sure I had the sexy stuff on underneath my dress. Maybe it had been wishful thinking.

He was staring at my naked body like he wanted to eat me alive, and I self-consciously put an arm over my chest, but he quickly pushed it away, forcing it down to my side. “I think I’ve seen everything before, plenty of times, just trying to reacquaint myself.” He smirked before backing up my body until my knees hit the edge of the bed, and then he lowered me to the center.

My body was caged in by his as he hovered over me, brushing back my hair with one hand. “I’ve been waiting way too long for this.”

“Really?” I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Because this is our first date and all.” I pursed my lips, tilting my head to one side. “Does this make me easy?”

“Absolutely.” He growled against my neck. “And I certainly don’t mind.”

The room was silent after that except for our heavy breathing, and the occasional moan that escaped our lips. We were busy exploring every inch of each other’s bodies. No, sex wasn’t everything in our relationship, and it shouldn’t be, but I had to admit, it was pretty amazing.

“Nick,” I panted, my body shivering as he swiped his tongue between my legs, landing right at the most sensitive part of my body. My head was spinning and I could tell I was right on the edge, but I needed him. “Nick,” I repeated, this time with a hint of pleading, tugging at his hair. I could feel him smile against me before he started to slide up my body, finally stopping when his mouth landed on mine.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he hoarsely whispered before pushing into me. “You feel so good,” he moaned, thrusting all the way in, and I tipped my head back, my body readjusting to his as we began to move together.

I lifted my hips as he began driving into me, harder and faster, giving both of us exactly what we needed. I could feel tears welling up as he continued to stare at me, never once looking away, and I could feel the insane amount of love flowing between the two of us.

We collapsed together, our bodies slick against each other’s as he cradled me in his arms, his nose burying into my hair while we caught our breath.

I couldn’t believe we had made it to this point. That day, the day that Nick ended things between us, I never once thought we would be here, like this, ever again. It killed me to have to think that, but at the time, it seemed to be the truth. I was glad that I gave things a chance, if I hadn’t who knew where I would be? Probably back in Indiana.

I smiled as I drifted off to sleep, Nick’s arms wrapped around my waist, his steady breathing close to my ear. I was so glad I hadn’t gone home, even though I missed all of my friends and family. Because right here was where I really belonged.
This
was home.

The sunlight hitting my eyes the next morning was the first thing to wake me up. I hadn’t slept that long in a while, and it felt pretty amazing. I know a lot of that had to do with Nick. But then I heard a sound come from the hallway, and I realized that’s what had probably woken me. I pressed back into a warm body, and knew that Nick was still behind me, sleeping. I was just about to get out of the bed, when the bedroom door swung open, slamming into the wall.

“Wakey, wakey, hands off the snakey, dude.”

I jumped quickly, pulling the sheet up to my neck, and Nick shifted next to me, rubbing his eyes. “Aw, shit.” Danny smiled widely as he walked into the room and began clapping his hands. “Well,
this
didn’t take long.”

“Dude, ever heard of knocking?” Nick ran a hand through his hair, but smirked at Danny who was looking awfully smug. We hadn’t had the time to tell anyone, except for Kelly, about dating again since we jumped feet first right back into things.

“Well, I was coming over, trying to be a nice friend and all, by checking up on you, but apparently our Ally-Cat has that all taken care of.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yup, all taken care of, Danny.” I waved. “So you can go now.”

“Oh, alright. I get it.” His eyebrows raised as he backed up slowly. “Need some more
alone
time. Well, you two crazy kids have fun. I’m gonna go have some
alone
time by myself…while I’m thinking about your girlfriend’s naked body that I just got a flash of. Bye.” He quickly shut the door, saving himself from getting hit by the pillow that Nick had chucked his way.

“Well, that was lovely.” I collapsed back onto my pillow, and laughed when Nick groaned against my neck.

“I should’ve never told him where my spare key was.” Nick rolled the opposite way, and I instantly missed his body next to mine. I watched as he slipped a t-shirt on over his head, and grabbed the shorts he had worn last night.

“Where ya going?”

He gave me a small smile. “I hope you don’t mind, but I miss Ariel. I need to pick her up from my mom. She said she would keep her until this afternoon, but I don’t think I can wait that long.”

I think I fell even more in love with him right at that moment. To see how much love he had for that little girl was simply amazing. I unwrapped the sheet from around my body, and began searching around the room for my clothes. “Mind if I come along?”

He grinned widely at me, his blue eyes sparkling as he pulled his shorts up and picked up my bra that was by his feet, hooking it with his thumb as he held it up to me. “I would
love
it if you came with me, Ally.” He swiped his lips once against mine and reached around to cup my ass. “Now, let’s go get Ariel. I think you two need to be properly introduced.”

Epilogue

One year later

Ally

If someone had told me this is what my life would be like one year ago, I would’ve never believed them, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I couldn’t imagine my life without Nick and Ariel. The three of us had become our own little family.

I had been worried at first, not wanting to take over as her mother, but wanting to fill the role for her at the same time. It took some adjusting at first in Nick’s and my relationship. We were used to it just being us, so getting accustomed to having a baby added to the mix was a little different, to say the least. We learned a lot of things about having a baby over the past year, that was for sure.

Ariel giggled when Nick and I swung her between the two of us again, as we walked through the sand in front of our house, with Gunther trailing behind us. Nick finally let him come home when Ariel was about six-months old. He had been worried that Gunther would be jealous of the baby, so Kelly and Charlie had taken him in. It was cute how worked up he was over it. So, I finally persuaded him to let Gunther come back, just to try things out, and he quickly became attached to Ariel. That dog was so protective of her.

Nick asked me to move in only two weeks after we were officially back together. He had been so nervous that I was going to say no when he asked, but I said yes before he could even get the whole question out of his mouth.

“Hi,” Nick whispered, grabbing the sides of my face as he stared down at me. Ariel collapsed by our feet, running her hands through the sand and quietly giggling at the feel.

“Hi,” I whispered back, reaching up to place my lips against his. We didn’t get much quiet time, so when we did, we had to take advantage of it. He kissed me tenderly until pulling back and nipping at my bottom lip. “Come here.” He sat down in the sand, pulling me onto his lap, and wrapping his arms around my waist.

We watched Ariel play in the sand silently, listening to the ocean and just enjoying the moment. It was so perfect. Just the four of us, the sun setting in the horizon, and the sky swirled with different shades of oranges and reds. It was my favorite time of day.

Nick shifted behind me, and I looked back to see him licking his lips, before he gave me a shaky smile, and leaned over to grab Ariel. “Hold on one sec.” He lifted me off of his lap and placed me down onto the sand next to him, before he turned his body away from mine and picked up the backpack that we had carried out with us.

I saw him pull something out, and then lean down to whisper something in Ariel’s ear. She let out a tiny little giggle, saying something back to him in her baby gibberish. Nick and I were basically the only ones that could decode it half the time, me more so, since I was the one who took care of her during the day while Nick worked. I loved our time together.

I was still amazed that Kara had just up and left this little girl’s life. We never heard from her once since Nick had been given sole custody, and I think the day that Nick got that, we both felt a little bit of relief. I couldn’t imagine myself leaving her life and I wasn’t her biological mother. She had my heart, just like Nick did, and they would both have it forever.

“Here ya go.” Nick handed me Ariel, setting her on my lap so she was facing me. I smiled at the white sparkly tutu that he had put on her, one of my many creations. Ariel was turning out to be my best model when it came to my work. By the time he came home from work, almost every night, I had her in something new. He would just shake his head and smile.

Nick dropped down on his knees in front of us, a wide grin on his face, his dimples popping out at me. He pointed to her shirt that he had changed, as well, and I smiled up at him, taking in the tiny rhinestones that were on the onsie.

“Did you make this your—” My words caught in my throat when I realized what exactly the rhinestones spelled out. Ariel gave me a smile just as I finished reading them:
Will you marry my daddy?
I had no idea how I actually finished reading all of the words since my vision was blurred by the stream of tears running down my face. Ariel reached her tiny hand up to place on my cheek, and squealed out, “Mama!” I think my heart stopped when that word came out of her little mouth. I hadn’t been expecting it, even though I really felt like I was a mother to her. I sniffed loudly as she clapped her hands together, not believing that this was actually happening.

I saw Nick reach into his pocket with shaky hands, pulling out a small black box before popping it open. A breathtaking antique looking ring sat nestled between creamy white silk, but I couldn’t even concentrate on all of the details. All I could do was stare at him.

“Ally,” he began, letting out a deep breath, before lifting his shoulders. “I know this might sound a little cheesy, but the day I met you, I knew you were the one. Everything about you made my life better. I could go on and on about the reasons why I love you, but we would probably end up being here all night, and I doubt Ariel will sit still that long.” Something mixed between a laugh and a sob escaped my lips, and Ariel laughed at the sound. “The journey has been a little rough at times, but no matter how rough it got, you still stuck with me. Ariel and I are asking you”—he scooped up Ariel, and placed the box into one of her hands—“if you’ll marry us? To be my wife, and to be her mom, because I know you’ll be amazing at both.”

I nodded my head, unable to answer as my throat tightened. He held up a fist in the air, and yelled something out before tackling me to the ground, Ariel going along for the ride, as all three of us tumbled back into the sand, laughing.

Everything about the moment felt right. I couldn’t believe how far we had come, how far I had come. When I first came to Florida, I was a mess. My marriage had just ended, and I really thought that I would never find someone again, let alone get married again.

Something about this place just felt right though, and when I found Nick, I knew he was why. I couldn’t wait to start our journey together as a family, to be a wife to Nick, and the best mom that I could be to Ariel. There might be a lot of ups and downs along the way, but I knew whatever they were, that we would get through them together. Forever.

The End

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