Natasha ~ Present
I WAITED AND WATCHED JERICHO’S face, hoping his answer would be the one I wanted. The one I needed, because as much as I wanted to be with him, what I said was true, I needed to find the right balance between my worlds, and find a way to merge them all together without any part being left out.
Jericho leaned forward and took my hand in his, running his thumb over the top.
“Of course I think it’s possible,” he replied, and my stomach unknotted. “Natasha, I don’t expect you to give up everything and live only to be with me. I’m not going to lock you up in this house and keep you for myself.”
“I know that,” I began, then stopped. He’d let me say what I needed to, so I’d do the same for him.
“Natasha, we’re older now. Adults with our own businesses, our own friends . . . that doesn’t need to change because we’re together. Yes, when we were young and in school, it was easy to forget everything and everyone else and focus solely on each other, but now we have a different set of responsibilities. Will we get to see each other as much as we did back then, no, probably not, at least not at first, but that doesn’t mean that when we are together that we can’t give each other what we need.”
I nodded, knowing he made sense, but still a little worried about how I’d handle adding Jericho Smythe into the mix.
“I’m not saying it won’t be challenging, but, Natasha, we can make it work. I know we can. Yes, we’re busy, and there’s a lot going on right now, but we’ll figure it out. We’re smart, capable individuals. I have faith in us,” he added with a really cute grin.
“Okay,” I replied. “Let’s do this.”
Jericho sat back and picked up his drink, a content expression crossing his face. He turned his dark eyes to me and asked, “Stay with me tonight?”
“I didn’t bring anything with me,” I stated, even though the thought of staying the night had my body tingling.
“I have stuff you can use,” he replied.
I nodded and sat back to enjoy the rest of my wine.
“So,” he began as he settled in and looked at me fondly. “What do you think of Millie and Jackson getting hitched?”
I smiled, realizing how much I missed just talking with Jericho. He’d always been a great sounding board.
“I’m so happy for them. Before he came along she was happy. Happy in her kitchen and with our business, but since she met Jackson . . . Millie practically glows with happiness. Things were a little rough with Kayla at first, but now, she fills a hole Millie didn’t even know she had. I love seeing the three of them together, and I think Jackson is the best.”
“He is, and after what his ex put him through, he deserves someone like Millie. They really complement each other well, and I’ve never seen him so happy either. I don’t know if I’d say he glows . . . but . . .”
We both laughed.
“They deserve each other,” he stated, and I nodded in agreement.
“And what about Dru? Am I crazy, or is there something going on with her and Mick?”
That stumped me.
“Huh?” I asked, utterly baffled. “Dru and Mick? I don’t think they’ve ever even said more than two words to each other. I mean, she obviously thinks he’s hot, because he is.” Jericho raised his eyebrow, but I just laughed. “But, as far as I know, they don’t know each other.”
“Hmmmm,” was Jericho’s reply.
Needing to know what he seemed to, I jumped up and joined him on the loveseat, turning toward him and punching him lightly on the arm.
“What do you know?” I asked.
He turned toward me, his eyes twinkling in the light, his face gorgeous with happiness.
“Well, when we were at the first engagement dinner the other night, I noticed them eyeballing each other and Mick may have suggested he was interested, but when I said he should go for it, he said something strange.”
“What?”
“He said he had a strict rule against dating his clients, well, he may not have said, dating, but you get the idea.”
“Clients?” I asked, confused. “You are talking about Mick O’Donnelly, the PI, right?”
“That’s the one.”
“But, why would Dru need a PI?”
Jericho lifted a shoulder and said, “I think your sister’s the only one who could answer that.”
“Huh,” I muttered, but my mind was already running wild. There was only one reason I could think of that would cause Dru to hire a private investigator. I didn’t like it one bit, and I know Millie wouldn’t either. And, although I hoped I was wrong, deep down I knew I wasn’t.
“You okay?” Jericho asked, his arm coming around my shoulder.
“Hmmm, oh, yeah, I’ll be fine,” I replied, chewing on my lower lip as I worried. “It’s just, the only thing I can think of, is that she’s trying to find our father.”
Jericho pulled me in close, knowing how much I hated my father for what he did to my mother, and to us, and when we were together I’d told him repeatedly that I never wanted to see that man again as long as I lived, but apparently my sister didn’t feel the same way.