Kent bent and kissed her softly, closing his eyes briefly to enjoy the sensation of her lips against his.
“Good morning,” He said against her lips and he pulled slowly away. Reveling in the feel of her lush body pressed against his.
“Morning,” she replied with a smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”
She turned back to the pans on the stove, flipping the bacon and scattering shredded cheese over the scrambled eggs.
“Starving,” He responded, nuzzling her neck one more time before moving to the coffee maker. “This looks great.”
He poured himself some coffee, then leaned against the counter, watching Nicole plate their breakfast as he drank it black.
“Can I help you with anything?” He offered.
“You can help me carry the stuff to the table,” she replied, gesturing towards the condiments she had available on the counter.
They took everything over to the table, then sat down to enjoy their breakfast.
Nicole smiled at him over the rim of her coffee; the look in his eye caused his heart to thump loudly in his chest.
He took a few bites and grinned back at her.
“Delicious!”
“I’m glad you like it,” she admitted.
They ate in a comfortable silence, until Nicole said tentatively, “Kent?”
“”Something on your mind, Nic?”
“Well, I know it’s kinda soon, but I got a text from my mother this morning,” She began, then stopped mid-sentence to gauge his reaction. He nodded slightly, indicating she should go on. “Her forty-fifth birthday is next weekend, and she’s throwing herself her usual self-indulgent party. She wants me to come, and since I haven’t been back home since I walked out and moved here, I feel like I should at least show up. You know, to see if I can salvage our relationship.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Kent replied. “You should go and celebrate with your parents.”
“The thing is… I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go with me.” This she said with a shrug of her shoulders and a hopeful smile.
Kent felt his stomach begin to knot as her request sunk in. He didn’t do well with parents, and from everything he’d heard about hers, he doubted that he was the type of guy they had in mind for their celestial daughter.
“I don’t know, Nic,” He replied, trying to figure out how he could get out of this without upsetting her. Lord knew he hated the thought of spending time with his own parents, let alone meeting hers.
“Please?” Nicole pleaded. “I wouldn’t ask, but I’m, terrified of going by myself. I haven’t seen my parents since I ruined their dreams for me, and I’m sure that she will invite Jake in an effort to get us back together. I’d be able to handle it a lot better if you were there with me.”
His stomach turned at the mention of her ex, and he was torn between the fact that he really, really, didn’t want to go, and the possibility of her parents or ex upsetting her.
“I don’t know that my being there will make things easier for you, Nic.” Kent reasoned.
“It will, truly.” Nicole promised.
Kent could only imagine the kind of people that would be at her mother’s party… The kind of people that would have looked at him and his family with pity and contempt.
As uncomfortable as he knew he would be at the party, he looked at her sweet face, so full of hope, and couldn’t bring himself to deny her request.
“Okay,” Kent said reluctantly, smiling when she let out a squeal of delight. “But we’re just going there for the party and coming back. I don’t want to stay for the entire weekend.”
“No problem,” Nicole agreed, jumping up from her chair and settling on his lap. “Thank you so much! This means the world to me.”
She peppered his face with kisses, causing him to chuckle, then grasped his face in her hands and deepened the kiss.
His arms came up around her, holding her tightly to him, as the need began to build within him.
Nicole pulled back slightly, smiling down at him, her hands caressing the hair at the nape of his neck.
“I’m going to owe you big time for this,” She said with a devious grin.
“I’m sure I can think of a few ways you can repay me,” Kent countered. He lifted her easily as he stood, and carried her back to his bed, as she nibbled softly on his ear.
Chapter Sixteen
Nicole turned to wave at Kent as he drove away. She opened the front door and was surprised to be met by a blast of music.
She looked around when she walked in, and was surprised to see the living room furniture pushed up against the wall and Roni dancing fluidly around the room.
Nicole stopped and watched, unaware that the door was still open, or that she’d dropped her purse to the ground.
Roni was an amazing dancer.
Nicole was swept away by the emotion of the music and the gracefulness of Roni’s movement.
She was speechless.
When the music ended, Nicole eyes filled. She was so moved that she sniffed, as her nose began to run, causing Roni to turn to where she stood.
“Hey,” Roni said, breathless. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“My gosh, Roni, you’re amazing,” Nicole gushed. “How come you never mentioned that you were a dancer?”
Roni picked up a towel from the table and wiped her brow as she walked past Nicole to shut the front door.
“I haven’t danced in a few years,” Roni admitted. “Hank wanted me to stop, so I did. I realized how much I missed it, and decided to give it another try.”
Roni sat on one of their chairs at the table, drawing her knees up against her chest, and looked at Nicole with a smile
