A Week at the Beach (32 page)

            He smiled at me.  “I like that.  I’m with you on this one.  Let’s not find out.  What do you say we spend all day tomorrow shopping for nursery stuff?”

            “That sounds tiring and expensive.” 

            “Don’t worry about the money,” he said with a smile.  “How do you feel about a beach theme for the nursery?”

            I laughed, “I can’t imagine why you’d think of that?”

            He pulled himself up and out of bed.  “I’m taking a shower, would you care to join me?” He winked at me seductively.

            I sat up slowly and laughed, “No, thank you.  I think I’ve had enough for a while.  I’ll just wait my turn.”

            Nick leaned down, kissed the top of my head, and said, “I’ll save some hot water for you.”

            When he was gone, I pulled some clothes on and snuck out of the room.  When we’d arrived at the apartment last night, we were both too distracted to think about anything but getting to the bedroom.  Now, I was curious what the rest of the place looked like.  I crept down the hall and into the front of the apartment.  He didn’t have much furniture but what he had looked nice.  Actually, it looked expensive and not at all baby-proofed.  The coffee table had sharp pointy edges, and the couch was covered in a non-washable fabric.  Clearly we’d need to shop for more than just baby furniture.

            I headed back down the hall to the other bedroom, the nursery.  It was much smaller than the master bedroom, but still bigger than the one Tori and I had shared growing up.  There was a window with a view of the garden, and a small closet on the opposite wall.  I tried to picture what the room would look like filled with all the assorted baby needs.

            “So, what do you think?” Nick said from the doorway.  “Did I do okay picking out a place?”

            I nodded, but didn’t turn around.

            “I was thinking that we could hire someone to come in and paint a beach scene on this wall,” he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.  He pointed at the wall to our left.  “Maybe put the crib over there,” he said and pointed to the opposite wall. 

            I leaned back into his chest, “That sounds nice.”

            “Maybe we could put a hammock in that corner,” he said and rested his chin on my shoulder.  “That way we could both sit in it and rock the baby to sleep.”  He started swaying as he held me by the waist.

            I nodded and rested my head against his.

            “What time are we expected at your parents?” he asked quietly.

            A soft laugh escaped, “I’m expected at two.  They’re never going to be expecting you.”

            “Why not?  You didn’t tell them about me either?” he said teasingly.

            “Oh no, they know about you.  I told you Allison wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut about that phone call.” 

            He laughed, “Did I get you in trouble?”

            “No, but I had to explain to my mom that you lived in LA and that there was no chance that we’d ever see each other again.”  I turned sideways to look at him.  He was grinning from ear to ear.  “What?” I asked at his Cheshire grin.

            “Liar,” he said through the grin.

            “I am not!  I didn’t think I would ever see you again.  I hoped that I would, but a girl can’t sit around and hope for something to happen.” 

            “So did you tell her that I was your number four?” he kissed my cheek playfully.

            “No!  I don’t talk to my mom about that kind of thing.  She’d probably be mortified if she knew.”  I shuddered at the thought of having to tell my mom I’d gotten pregnant from a one-night stand.  It was the moment I’d dreaded from the second I’d seen the results on that stick.  Telling Nick was scary, but telling my mom was horrifying.  I turned around and kissed him on the lips.

            “What was that for?  I thought you’d had enough?” he wrapped me up in his arms again.

            I smiled, “That was for moving to New York and coming to me.  Thank you for saving me from having the awkward and mortifying conversation with my parents about all this.”

            He kissed me again.  When he pulled away, a sudden flash of worry crossed his face.  “Do you think they’ll like me?”

            “Are you kidding me?  Of course they’ll like you.” 

            “How do you know?” he asked in a worried tone.

            “Because I love you,” I said and wrapped my arms around him for a hug.  “If I love you, and I’m happy, that’s all that will matter to them.”

17.

Our cab pulled up outside my parents’ house at exactly two o’clock.  We’d taken the train out of the city, and caught a cab to the house.  Nick paid the driver and we got out.  He grabbed my hand as the cab drove away.

            “Ready?” he asked in an annoyingly confident tone.

            “No,” I answered.  “Remember, we’re not telling them about the baby.  Let them think we didn’t know about it until afterwards, okay?”

            “Relax!  It’s going to be fine.”  He pulled my hand up and kissed it. 

            We walked up the driveway and onto the porch.  He reached for the door, but I stopped him.

            “Wait,” I said softly.  “You don’t have to tell them about your family, if you don’t want to.  I’ll just change the subject when it comes up, okay?”

            Nick cupped my face in his hands, leaned down and whispered against my lips, “You are my family now.”

            The minute his lips met mine, I relaxed. 

            “Mom!” Tori’s voice rang out loudly from the other side of the window.  “Cami’s making out with some guy on the front porch!”

            Nick and I both laughed silently.

            “Oh God!  It’s not Jack is it?  She’s not back with him, is she?” Allison’s voice shouted back.

            “Girls!  Stop that nonsense!  I don’t believe for one second that your sister is making out with some guy on the front porch!”  My mom screamed at my sisters.

            “She is so!  Come look and see for yourself!” Tori shouted defensively.

            The sound of footsteps coming towards the front of the house followed, as my mom shouted, “It isn’t Jack is it?  I thought they’d broken up for good?”

            “I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Nick, whose face was still just inches from mine.

            “I’m just glad I’m not Jack,” he whispered back.

            “Oh my!  Who is that?” my mom said loudly.

            “I don’t know, but he’s way too hot for her!” Allison said.

            “We can hear you, you know?” I turned and shouted at the three faces pressed against the window.  “We can see you, too!”  I stepped away from Nick.  He grabbed my hand and held it tight, though whether it was for my benefit or his I wasn’t sure.

            All three of them laughed and scurried from the window.  Within seconds, the door flew open and my mom greeted us.

            “Hello, Camille,” she said cheerfully, “Who is your friend?”

            “Hi, mom,” I said and stepped into the house, dragging Nick behind me.  “Happy birthday!” I said and handed her the small wrapped present I’d bought for her last week.

            “Wait. Is the gift the box or the boy?” Allison said snidely. 

            Tori giggled and put her hand to her mouth.

            “It’s the box,” I said dryly and turned to my sisters.  “Hi Allison.  Hi Tori.” 

            “Hi Cami!” Tori said sweetly and waved. 

            “You’ve gotten fat,” Allison said maliciously.

            “I have not!” I said defensively.  “What is your problem?”

            She cocked an eyebrow at me then looked at Nick, “I’m the mean one, don’t you remember?”    

            “Hello again, Allison,” Nick said with a smile.

            My mom and Tori both turned with puzzled expressions to look at Nick then back at Allison.

            “How do you know Allison?” my mom finally asked.

            Nick smiled sweetly at her, “I don’t.  I did talk to her on the phone once, though.”

            My mom looked at Allison again then it clicked.  Her mouth flew open in recognition.  “You’re Nick from the beach?”

            “Yes, I am.”  Nick dropped my hand and stepped forward to greet my mom.  “Nick Fletcher.  It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Harris.”

            My mom smiled and blushed, “Please, call me Charlotte.” She pulled him in for a hug.  “I thought you lived in LA?”

            Nick hugged my mom then stepped back before answering.  “I did, but I live in New York now.”

            “What’s all the commotion about in here?” my dad’s voice reached the room before he did.  “I thought I heard something about Cami and making out!”  He stopped when he spotted Nick standing in the living room next to me.  “Who is this?”

            “This is Nick, from the beach,” my mom said in that not-so-subtly cryptic way she does when she’s trying to tell my dad something without actually saying it.

            My dad looked at her then at me.  “I thought he lived in LA?”

            “I did, sir.  But I moved to New York and I live here now.”  Nick’s voice sounded less confident than it had before.

            “Well, now, you’re not the first man to move to New York because of a girl,” my dad chuckled and stepped forward with his hand out towards Nick. 

            “He didn’t move to New York for a girl, dad.  He moved here for work,” I rolled my eyes and pulled my jacket off.

            “Actually, I did move here for the girl. The job was just an excuse.” Nick grabbed my dad’s hand and shook it. “Nick Fletcher, sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

            I glanced over and caught my mom making eyes at Tori.

            “Nice to meet you Nick,” my dad shook Nick’s hand.  “Tell me, do you like sports?”

            “Yes sir, I do.”

            I watched as Nick’s shoulders relaxed.  The two men drifted off to one side of the room and I watched them closely, curious to see not only how my dad would react to Nick, but also how Nick would take to my dad.  I was so busy watching the men that I didn’t notice Allison staring at me.

            “What’s that?” she said, pulling me out of my head.

            I turned to her and followed her gaze.  She could have been staring at my belly, or she could have been looking at something behind me. 

            “What?” I said self-consciously.

            She pointed at my midsection, “That!”

            “Allison!  Where are your manners?  Do not point at people!” my mom scolded my sister.

            Allison rolled her eyes, “Her finger?  What’s on her finger?”

            Everyone turned to look at me.  I hadn’t realized that I was playing with the ring as I stood in the living room.