Before we went back to her place, we found a food truck and ate some chicken wraps while she looked into the envelope Mr. Tarkin gave her. Inside were documents about her dad’s estate and basically . . . her inheritance. Over two million dollars. Color us both shocked. She’d had no clue, but he had a solid life insurance plan. I’m pretty sure she’s in shock over the whole thing.
“Do I want to come back to your place, uh yeah, babe, I do.” She chuckles as we entwine our fingers and make our way through the front door of her townhome where Nichole is sitting on the edge of the couch.
Myla stumbles to a stop and says, “Nichole, what are you doing here?” From what Myla told me, Nichole has been out of town, and it’s the one reason she asked me to come with her today.
Her eyes fall to our connected hands and then back up at us. “I felt bad being away when I knew you needed me, so my boss sent me home on his private jet. Although, it looks like everything went well,” she says while folding her arms across her chest.
“It . . . it did,” Myla says nervously. “Uh, we were actually going to—”
“Hey, babe, can I speak with Nichole separately?” I ask. I think that’s what needs to be done right now. Things won’t be weird between Myla and Nichole, but things are most definitely awkward between me and Nichole.
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Myla says.
“No, I think it is,” Nichole says. “Meet me in the kitchen, Ryot.” And then she takes off.
When she’s out of earshot, Myla turns toward me. “I don’t like this. I know she’s not a fan of yours, and I don’t want her to say anything that will hurt you.”
I grip her chin and say, “Whatever she says to me will not deter me from the fact that I’m in love with you, and nothing is going to change that. Nothing, Myla.” I lean down and press a very light kiss to her lips. “But I need to talk to her because she needs to know where I stand with you.”
“Okay.”
“Now go upstairs, get naked, and I’ll meet you up there soon.”
A smile spreads across her lips. “You want me naked?”
“Baby, I always want you naked.” I spin her around and give her glorious ass a smack. “Now get up there.”
She chuckles and takes off, glancing over her shoulder twice as I watch her. When she’s all the way up the stairs, I head to the kitchen where Nichole is sitting on the kitchen island, one leg crossed over the other, her hands gripping the edge.
“I’m assuming you two are back together,” she says as I lean against the counter across from her.
“We are,” I answer. “Is that going to be okay with you?”
She picks up her phone and looks through it, stopping on a text message. She then glances up at me and says, “I got a text from Myla. She told me that you told off her mom in the conference room. That you said you’d get the cops involved if she came near Myla. Is that true?”
“It is,” I answer. “I wasn’t about to listen to that sorry excuse of a parent demoralize Myla again. And I made damn sure she wouldn’t be bothering her in the future either.”
Nichole slowly nods. “Well, thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for your approval.”
“I know you didn’t, but I’m still saying thank you.”
Not wanting to say you’re welcome, because I owe her nothing after what she did, trying to break Myla and me up, I push off the counter and say, “Is that all?”
“No,” she replies, keeping her hands locked on the counter so her shoulders rise to her ears. “What are your intentions with her? Because she needs to matter in your life. You need to put her first. She needs to be the most important thing to you.”
“She is,” I answer. “But I can’t throw away my career for her either, Nichole. That wouldn’t be smart because then I wouldn’t be able to provide for her in the way that she deserves. Something you need to learn is that I can still care for her without having to be in the same room. She knew what my life would be like going into this relationship. She knew the demand of my job, and she didn’t need you convincing her that it was detrimental. If we were married, this would have been a different situation. And I plan on fucking marrying her, but we hit a bit of a speedbump these past couple weeks.”
“Wait . . . what?” she asks, her eyes widening. “You’re going to propose?”
“Yes. I have a ring and everything. But her dad’s passing put everything on pause. I have no intention of letting her go, Nichole. She’s the love of my life, and I will be damned if anyone or anything gets between that. So you can either be on our side and cheer for us, or you can make your life a living hell and try to break us up. But news flash, I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going anywhere.”
She slowly nods and then lets out a gentle sigh. “Okay, then prove me wrong, Ryot. Prove to me that you’re going to be there for her and make her happy.”
“I don’t have to prove a goddamn thing to you, because I’ve already proven to Myla that I deserve her. That I will protect her. That she never has to worry about another day in her life when she’s with me. And I will be cordial with you. Hell, maybe in the future, we might even become friends again, but that’s because I love Myla so much and I know how much you mean to her, not because I want to make things work out between you and me.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little counterintuitive?”
I shake my head. “No, because I tried to be nice to you, and look where that got me. So you can come to terms with the fact that I’m not going anywhere, and maybe over time, we’ll grow to appreciate each other. Until then, I plan on asking her to marry me, and I truly hope that’s something you can accept. Either way, I’m going through with it.”
She runs her tongue over the front of her teeth as she says, “You know, normally the boyfriend would try to make the best friend like them.”
“Normally the boyfriend doesn’t have to deal with the best friend trying to create discord.”
“Just looking out for my girl.” She hops off the counter. “But I can see that she’s happy with you, and I do appreciate that you protected her from her mom. It means a lot to me actually.” Her expression turns soft. “Not that you need it or want it, but you have my blessing to marry her. And like you said, over time, maybe we’ll grow to be friends.”
“Maybe,” I say and take a step toward the living room where the stairs are. “But don’t fuck with me again, Nichole.”
And then I’m out of the kitchen and walking up the stairs, relief in my shoulders as I reach Myla’s room and open the door to find her lying on her bed, under the covers. From the amount of skin I can see of her shoulders, I know she did exactly what I wanted.
Keeping my eyes on her, I reach behind my head and pull my shirt off. I also remove my shoes and socks, and as my hands float to the waistband of my jeans, I watch her lick her lips, hunger in those sultry eyes of hers.
“Everything okay with Nichole?” she asks.
I tug on the blankets to reveal her perfect tits, and I nod as I stare. “Yeah. Everything is good.”