Beautiful Disaster (The Bet) (14 page)

Nicholas grinned, taking a slow perusal of her appearance. Her flannel pajama shorts stopped about mid-thigh revealing smooth honey toned legs that looked tempting enough to lick. Her dainty little feet were covered by fuzzy pink toe-socks; the slight wiggle of those toes widened his grin.

As his gaze trailed up, Nicholas lost his smile and swallowed, his throat suddenly thirsting for more than water. She was all flawless shimmering skin beneath the waxing beams of moonlight filtering in through the diaphanous curtains of her window. The spaghetti stra
pped shirt she wore
revealed nothing and yet
, revealed everything to his roving eyes.
Nicholas never knew that shoulders and arms could be so sexy.

H
e could tell by the outline of her shirt
that her breasts were pert
and vaguely
,
he wondered how her nipples would taste.

The heat of his gaze burned along Ellie’s skin and she flushed
. "Stop looking at me like that," s
he said indignantly.

"Like what?"  She unintentionally drew Nicholas to her. A paradox of demureness and vulnerability that at times gave way to poise and spunkiness had Nicholas deliberating with himself as whether to kiss her until they were both breathless or protect her from the world and himself.

He was always so captivated by the way she drew her bottom lip between her perfect teeth when she wa
s nervous, o
r the way those hazel eyes held him hostage until all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and do unspeakable things to her. He stood close to her now, nearly within touching distance and breathed in the intoxicating scent of her, eucalyptus and mint.  He'd only had one beer at the party and yet Nicholas felt as though he'd imbibed an entire keg, getting drunk off her scent.

"Like what, Ellie?" Nicholas's hand latched onto Ellie's wrist
and
drew her near and rested his forehead against hers.

"Nicky..." she said warily, warning bells were blaring in Ellie's mind. Bombs were going off every second she allowed herself to remain so close to him.

"You don't know how hard I'm trying not to kiss you right now..." There goes the bedroom voice, Ellie inwardly thought.

"Good, I
don't want you to kiss me..." L
iar! "We're supposed to be friends...friends don't kiss each other..."

"What if I want more than that?"

"I can't, Nicholas." she
breathed, her eyes falling shut as
she leaned into his touch. His hand whispered along her cheek, creeping to her neck to finally find home in her unbound hair.

It would be so easy. So easy to just give in. Not once, in the last three years had she gotten so close to throwing inhibition out the window. Ellie wanted this. She wanted him. 

"I can't." she whispered again, not sure who she was denying more, herself or what Nicholas so sweetly offered. Opening her eyes, she pulled away from his touch, sure that if she remained
,
she would betray more than the promise she’d made herself so long. "Friendship, Nicholas
,
is all I can offer you. I told you that from the very beginning.” She said candidly not realizing how much she needed his understanding. “I'm not ready to give you more than that. I'm not going to betray myself for one night of passion with you." She licked her lips and softly smiled, "No matter how tempting it is." Ellie stood on her toes and pressed her lips to
the
corner of Nicholas's sensuous mouth. "And I fo
rgive you for trying to seduce m
e." she stepped away
,
heading to her closet.

"Here," Nicholas caught the sleeping bag she threw his way. "Let's get some sleep, I don't know about you
,
but I'm dead tired. And Soph is going to wake me up really early when morning comes so I want to get as much sleep as possible."

Completely wired
,
Nicholas was unable to find solace in sleep, but he didn’t mind in the least. A toothy grin split his face as he listened to the soft snores of the girl who’d just shot him down. 

She’d said no to him.

The notion was foreign and it was taking Nicholas a while to wrap his head around it. But all the same he couldn’t stop smiling.

Something was definitely happening here and Nicholas didn’t know what to do. For someone who made it a goal in life to always remain one step ahead, it was a daunting feeling. But he was discovering something else. Hope. It was small
,
barely a grain, but it had a real chance of turning into something. Something he didn’t realize he wanted or needed until now.

Something awoke Nicholas from his slumber, considering he was a light sleeper, it didn't take much in doing. It took a moment to realize where he was, once realization hit him, he knelt by Ellie's bedside and silently watched her sleep.

With her hair having come undone, wisps of tawny curls fell across her cheek, concealing a portion of her face from view. Nicholas gave into temptation and brushed the wayward strands behind the rose gold tint of Ellie's ear, his hand lingered for a few precarious seconds before he reluctantly pulled it back, not trusting himself to remain at such close proximity without giving into impulse.

The soft snores emitting from her parted lips made him smile. The brown and pink comforter she'd used to cover herself had fallen off her body sometime during the night and now a portion of it swept the carpeted floor, while the other half was entangled between her legs. Nicholas enjoyed the momentary exposure of mocha-caramel skin before picking up the comforter and draping it back over her.

The
soft whimpering that had awakened
him was far more pronounced now. He'd mistaken it for Ellie's, but now he knew who the real culprit was and with a whispering kiss to Ellie's cheek
,
he headed out the bedroom. Sophie's burbling made it easy for him to find her bedroom. Stepping inside he approached the wooden crib dominating the small, yet beautifully quaint room belonging to none other than the joy of Ellie's world and Nicholas's secret obsession.

"Hey there kid," at the sound of his voice, Sophie's face lit up.

"Nicky!" Having had such a hard time pronouncing his full name, Nicholas had given Sophie the option of calling him Nicky instead. She’d taken to the name with her usual exuberance.

Using the bars on the crib to pull herself up
,
Sophie happily jumped in place. "Nicky
,
up!"

"Nicky up, please." He gently corrected, refusing to pick her despite his own need to do so.

"Pwease." She said pitifully and no longer able to help himself, Nicholas reached down and scooped her out of the crib.

"Close enough, kiddo. Now, how about you help me make breakfast for your Mom?"

"We go mama?" she asked expectantly, obsidian eyes curiously peering at him.
He kissed her cheek with a smile
and
shook his head as they made their way downstairs. Having been asked inside the house on several occasions now, he was slightly familiar with the layout of the two-family home.

"Your Mom's sleeping. We have to be very quiet so we don't wake her up." Nicholas whispered, stepping down the last creaking step.

"Mama's sleeeeeping, shhhh." She brought her finger to her lips, conveying the need for secrecy in that adorable way of hers.

The kitchen was spacious, airy, made up of travertine tiles, marble countertop and Sedona red cabinetry, that, despite the unobtrusive wear and tear of the pots and pans hanging over the sink and stove, gave it a cozy feel. That and the anticipation of seeing Ellie's reaction, made the daunting task ahead of him seem relatively easy.
Nicholas located Sophie’s high chair and feeling
remarkably chipper, he carefully maneuvered her inside.

He r
ubbed his hands together having accomplished his task in making Sophie comfortable before turning to her with a big grin.
"So, what should we make your mother? Pancakes, eggs and bacon?" At Sophie’s enthusiastic nod, Nicholas affectionately ruffled her hair then tackled the task of rounding up the necessary ingredients.

He couldn't remember the last
time that
he'd made breakfast for himself, let alone someone else and it showed fifteen minutes later when the pancakes started burni
ng, the scrambled eggs followed
suit and the bacon---well the bacon was just a lost cause.

With batter and flour splattered against the walls, the stovetop and a good portion of his jeans, Nicholas groaned in frustration and grabbed a rag to clean the mess, Sophie's "Uh oh..." however turned his irritated groan into muttered expletives when he saw the smoke begin the thicken in the skillet

"Shit!" he jumped to action. He turned off
the burner, took hold of the burning skillet, dumped it i
n the sink and spun on the taps. T
he ensuing cloud of smoke caused him to turn the overhead fan on full blast. Just when he believed he'd avoided a potentially dangerous situation, the smoke detectors' shrill ring quickly dissuaded him of that. Grabbing a rag from the countertop, he frantically swished it back and forth above him, praying to whatever deity up there
who still favored him that allowed Ellie to remain
asleep.

"What the hell is going on?" Well, so much for that, Nicholas thought sourly, throwing the rag back on the countertop in disgust.

"Mama!"

Ellie's heart slowed to a steady
beat
once she realized that Sophie was alright. The sound of the smoke alarm had roused her out of bed and immediately she'd gone to Sophie's room to check on her.
When she’d found
her missing from her crib
Ellie’s
concerns
had
blown
into
panic and she'd practically stampeded down the stairs to the kitchen in record
time
.

Now, as she pulled her daughter out of the high seat and cuddled her close, she was able to better assess the scene she'd been greeted with and boy
, was it a scene!
It appeared as though a bomb of flour and eggs had gone off and Nicholas, the poor guy, was the casualty. From what she could see through the settling cloud of smoke, he was practically covered in batter and flour, a few splashes of grease coating his once pristinely white shirt.

As abruptly as it all began, the shrill cry of the smoke detector stopped, leaving them all in a world of silence. Ellie cracked a smile, opening her mouth to speak over the dull ring in her ears. "My God, Nicholas, were you trying to cook?"

Nicholas pursed his lips, staring dispassionately at the charred remains of what had once been edible food. "
Try
is the operative word here."

Uncertain of whether to laugh or comfort the forlorn man, Ellie opted for the latter and sauntered over to him, keeping Sophie situated at her side. "Cheer up." She smiled, settling a comforting hand on his shoulder,
as
she
reassuringly
squeezed
it
. "If it's any consolation, I can say I appreciated the effort."

"Nicky, sad?" Nicholas's disappointment at his botched meal instantly dissolved at the sight of Sophie's expression, concern for him shining in her dark, expressive eyes.

"No, I'm perfectly happy." She wiggled in her mother's arms, reaching out for him. Nicholas obliged her, taking her from Ellie's hold,
as
he lifted her above his head and twirled her around; her giggles
were
his reward.

"She adores you." Ellie remarked, watching their interaction with
a
small smile.

"
And I adore her." Nicholas said as
he briefly glanced her way, the look in his eyes conveying emotions Ellie wasn't too sure she was seeing right.

"You're lucky Gabe isn't here to see what you did to his kitchen." She changed the
subject, hoping he'd stop star
ing at her in that unsettling way of his.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that, where is he?"

"He has these monthly seminars up in Marlborough that helps him run the restaurant better. He'll be back tomorrow night." She began to clean the mess and Nicholas frowned.

"Don't, it's my mess, I made it, I'll clean it. ‘Sides, we haven't had breakfast yet and I'm sure Sophie here is starving for some good food, isn't that right, Soph?"