Nic glanced out the window and saw Ella pull up in front of her grandparents’ house. She opened the screen door, picked up her box, and let the door shut behind her. Ella rushed out and got the car door for her, then climbed behind the wheel and pulled away.
“What’s in the box?” Ella asked slowly, trying to peek over the edge, then groaned when Nic lifted the top a little.
“Tiramisu.”
“Why?” Ella asked, her voice taking on a high-pitched whine. It was the first Nic had ever seen Ella anything but calm. “Are you trying to torture me? What did I do to you?”
“Ah, nothing. Aiden said I could bring dessert today. That your mother liked this and I could win some points that way.”
Ella snorted. “You don’t need to win any points with my parents. But you lost some with me just now,” she said, grinning.
Nic laughed. “Sorry.”
“Aiden used to be my favorite. He’s not anymore. He didn’t tell you I’ve got a weakness for chocolate and desserts, did he?”
“I know you like my cannoli and that you’re afraid of clowns. Nothing else.”
“Cade,” she snarled under her breath.
“What?” Nic asked.
“Nothing. Sorry again. It’s been one of those mornings. Anyway, since I’ve got you alone, it’s the perfect time to chat.”
Nic wasn’t sure what she wanted to chat about, but by the look in Ella’s eyes, Nic might need to formulate a fast exit. Too bad she was trapped in the car on the way to the Fierce’s family home.
Aiden was already there and would bring her back to his place later. Guess his mother roped him into cooking for the family gathering and he had to be there earlier than Nic was willing to go. If he’d asked her to help she would have, but secretly she was happy to have the reprieve.
Of course now she was stuck with Ella, who was looking as tough as her last name.
“What did you want to talk about?” Nic asked.
“You and Aiden.”
“I figured,” Nic said. Though the family knew about her and Aiden’s relationship, this was the first time she was going to be on their turf and out in the open where anyone could say anything at any time. No more hiding behind the shield of secrecy at Fierce.
“Are you nervous?” Ella asked.
She didn’t want to be, but also didn’t get that wish. “A little.”
“Good.”
“What does that mean?” Nic asked, her voice whining almost like Ella’s was a minute ago.
Ella laughed. “I’m just messing with you. Seriously though, I’ll say this once. And I said something similar to Aimee. I like you and if you continue to make Aiden happy, I’ll like you even more. If you mess with his head, then you’ll have to deal with me.”
“I don’t have any intentions of messing with anyone’s head,” Nic said, feeling her face fill with heat. Who did they think she was? Ella defended her when Cade made a comment early on about her being a cheap lay, Aiden had told her that. She didn’t understand what this was all about right now though.
“Do you say it to all of Aiden’s girlfriends?”
“Aiden hasn’t had a girlfriend in years. But if there was anyone he was really close to back then, I would have said it.”
Nic took that as a good sign. That, in Ella’s warped way, Nic was accepted into the group. “I’ve got cream puffs in here too,” she said.
“I hate you,” Ella said, then burst out laughing.
***
Aiden was watching the clock and waiting for Nic. Ella was nice enough to offer to pick up Nic for him, but after he agreed, he realized he should have warned Nic that Ella was likely to put her on the spot. Maybe not be so nice. Ella always had a motive for everything she did.
But when the two of them came in laughing, he figured he was just overreacting. Nerves, he’d told himself.
He’d never brought a girlfriend home for a full family function before. Never.
He’d dated over the years, and his family knew of those women. Sometimes he went out with his siblings and such, but this was the first time a woman had made her way to a family function complete with everyone.
“Hey,” he said when she walked over and set her dessert down. She’d wanted to bring something and he knew she’d win points by making his mother’s favorite. Not that he thought she needed points, but he wasn’t taking any chances. If all went well, he planned on telling Nic how he felt later tonight.
“Smells good in here,” she said. “Everyone has abandoned you?”
“They normally do. I’d rather they did though. I’ve got you now to keep me company.”
She reached her arm around his waist and gave him a little cuddle, then turned when he pulled her into his arms for a full-on hug, just loving how tiny she felt against him.
“Don’t be burning my dinner.”
Nic turned her head to see his mother standing there. “I’d never do that, Mom,” Aiden said.
“You haven’t burned anything in the kitchen since you were five. Me, I still do it weekly.”
“You were cooking when you were five?” Nic asked him.
His mother didn’t give him a chance to answer. “All the boys wanted to play with trucks and action heroes. Not Aiden. He wanted pots and pans and cooking lessons. Poor kid got them from me at first. Then he decided to start watching cooking shows and taught me a thing or two.”
“You’re still burning stuff?” Aiden asked her. “I’ve told you before not to rush and let it cook on its own time. Not because you want it done faster.”
Jolene snorted. “Who has time? Besides, whenever I burn something, we just go to the pub for food. Easy as that. Your father doesn’t look like he’s missing any meals.”
“I heard that, Jolene,” Gavin shouted through the living room off the kitchen.
His mother took off soon after with a few beers in her hand. “Ignore my mother,” Aiden said, his face feeling some heat.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“No.”
“Liar. That’s okay. I’ve been cooking for what seems like forever too.”
“Do you get sick of it?” he asked. He’d never get sick of being in the kitchen.
“Never. I know I told you it’s not what I really wanted, but it’s still a part of me. It’s in my nature and in my blood. It’s my culture, you could say.”
He was glad to hear her say that. “I see that. I feel it too. The same way I see and feel you.”
He leaned down to kiss her softly when they heard a throat cleared behind them. He turned and saw Mason and Cade standing there. “Are we interrupting?” Mason asked, lifting his eyebrow. He’d met Nic before but had the least interaction with her of all his siblings. Which was surprising since he and Mason were the closest.
“Yes,” Aiden said. “Get lost.”
“Aiden doesn’t like to be sidetracked by anything when he has his teeth into something,” Cade said to Mason. “Just grab us two beers and let’s get out of here.”
Nic giggled when Mason did just that, then they were left alone again. “Did you ever get any privacy in this house?” she asked.
“Never.”
“It didn’t bother you nearly as much as you want everyone to believe though?” she said, grinning at him.
“No, but that’s between us.” The time he was gone seemed like lifetimes, not years. Felt like eternity too. Coming back, that felt better. Standing here with Nic in his arms, that felt right. Perfect even.
“So, Nic,” Cade said after dinner. “Aiden showed me some of your photos.”
Aiden turned sharply and glared at Cade. How could he? Why would he, knowing what Aiden had explained about it and why Nic didn’t want anyone to know?
“He did?” Nic asked quietly. “Why?”
“Because he sees something in you and wanted me to see it too.”
Aiden looked over at Nic’s flushed face. This could go south in a heartbeat. “What did you see?” she asked Cade tentatively.
“Talent. The way Aiden is in the kitchen, that’s you behind the camera.”
Aiden was still watching her closely and saw her eyes start to fill. “Good going, Cade,” Brody said. “Even when you’re being nice, you still mess it up.”
“Cut him some slack,” Aimee said.
“You’re defending him,” Brody said to his fiancée. He had Sidney on his lap looking at a book. She’d been running all over the house playing hide and seek with his mother, but now she was relaxing, looking like she was ready to fall asleep.
Aiden never thought he’d see his brother fall in love. Or end up with an instant family. But there was his oldest brother by five minutes, acting like the Brody they all loved growing up. This time more mature and more levelheaded than they ever thought he’d be.
“I owe Cade a lot,” Aimee said, pinching Brody’s arm and causing him to laugh, then lean down and kiss Sidney’s head.
“Yeah, I guess we both do,” Brody said.
“Yes, you all think I don’t know what I’m—”
“Zip it, Cade,” his father said. “Don’t rub it in or it may be the last time any of them thank you for something.”
“Nic,” his mother said. “I hope you don’t mind, but Cade can’t keep secrets and he showed me those pictures you’d taken. They’re just beautiful. You should be so proud of your work.”
Aiden looked around the room, saw everyone looking anywhere but at the two of them. “You told everyone,” he accused Cade. He was going to kill him.
“Sorry,” Cade said, shrugging. “I figured that’s why you told me in the first place. When have I ever not told the others? I want her on board. If I got everyone on my side, I thought it’d be easier.”
“Your side for what?” Nic asked. Then she turned to him. “What’s going on? I told you not to tell anyone, and here the whole room knows.”
South just took a sharp turn to the burning gates of hell. “Look, Nic. No one is ganging up on you. Everyone thinks you have talent. And we want to see you use that talent in all areas of Fierce.”
“Yes,” Aimee said. “I was hired as the day manager in the bar, but I also work with Cade on promotions.”
“Fierce is about finding people’s talents and honing in on them,” his mother said. “This doesn’t change your position in the pub at all. It’s just something else we’d like to talk to you about.”
“Do we have to do this now?” Aiden said, feeling like the family dinner was turning into an intervention. What a way to ruin his plans to tell Nic how he really felt.
“It’s okay,” Nic said. “I guess it’s nice to hear. But like I told Aiden, my camera was destroyed in a fire and I haven’t been able to replace it yet.”
“We can take care of that,” Ella said.
“No. Really, I don’t want you to. I mean, I want my own and it’d be property of Fierce if you bought it.”
“Think about it,” Mason said. “No reason to answer now. I’m sure we could work something out. But for now, everyone just change the topic. Nic, you do good work. We’d like to see more of it. But take your time thinking it over. And no one is going to get mad if you decide to say no.”
Aiden looked over and gave Mason a nod. The brother that always was there for him. Always stood behind him and knew when to push and when to walk away.
“Sorry about that,” Aiden said later that night at his house. Though Nic relaxed and everyone was able to enjoy the family gathering, he just wanted to make sure Nic didn’t feel like she was run over by the Fierce Train.
“It’s okay. Maybe I need that push. I’ll figure out a way to make it happen. To get a camera.”
“I can get it for you,” he said.
“No,” she said and he knew right away he’d put his foot in his mouth. “What if I loaned you the money? Or Fierce took it out as a payroll deduction? If the company bought it upfront for you? Is that better?” He hoped that could be done. He probably should have checked with Ella before he opened his big mouth. Now he knew what Cade must feel like, just blurting things out.
“Maybe. I want to think on it.”
“Okay, do that. What about the rest of the day? You okay with it?”
“What’s there not to be okay with? Everyone was great. I felt more comfortable than I thought I’d feel.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” He pulled her into his arms again. “So how about we tell everyone at work then?”
She swiftly pushed back. “Not yet.”
“Why?” he asked, frustrated. This was getting ridiculous to him. “I love you and want people to know.”
“What?” she asked, her eyes wide.
Yeah, he definitely was feeling like Cade right now. “That wasn’t how I planned on saying it.”
“But it is how you said it. Do you mean it? Do you really love me?”
“Of course I mean it. Why would you think otherwise?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never heard it before.”
“Ever?” he asked.
“Not from someone outside of my family. Even then, it was only my grandparents.”
That was sad, but he didn’t say that. “I love you. I never thought I would or that I could love someone the way I do you. Not someone I work with. Not someone I spend so much time with.”
“That’s an odd way to put it,” she said frowning at him. Okay, he was saying more than he ever thought he’d say to anyone.
“You’ve got me all nervous right now. I’m just saying stupid things,” he said grinning. “I’m waiting for you to say it back. I mean, only if you mean it? If not, then I’ll probably start spouting even more gibberish.”
She burst out laughing, pulled his head down and kissed him hard. “Of course I love you! I almost slipped and told you in New York.”
“Why didn’t you?” he said, feeling so much relief. The warm feeling you get when you put socks on right out of the dryer…that was building around his heart.
“Guess I was scared. But I don’t need to be anymore, do I?”
“No, you don’t.”
“I still don’t want to tell anyone at work though,” she said, kissing him again. “Give me a little time, please.”
He wasn’t happy, but he wouldn’t go behind her back, so he picked her up and carried her to his room, silencing any more conversation for the night.
***
“Did you see the two of them tonight?” Jolene said to Gavin.
“Just rub it in, why don’t you?” Gavin said.
“I have to. I did good on this one. Double bonus with the photos. I had no clue the talent she had outside the kitchen. Wonder why Aiden didn’t say anything about it.”
“He did,” Gavin said. “He told Cade. And just like Cade said, going to him means everyone will know.”
“Those kids have no idea how well we know and play them.”
“You’re going to get yourself in trouble one of these days, Jolene.”
“Never. They’ll never figure it out. And if they did, I’d tell them they were nuts. They won’t argue with their mother.”
Her husband just laughed at her. She’d take it as a victory, though.