I squeezed her hand. “I’m so glad that you two have had this conversation – whatever it was – and that you’re here together, looking the happiest I’ve seen in a long time.”
The hard set of Scott’s jaw didn’t waver but I caught the way he pulled Harlow closer to him. My brother had a lot on his mind these days, however it appeared at least one of his worries had eased a little.
“Is Mum coming?” he asked, not acknowledging what I’
d said. The fact he ignored my statement didn’t surprise me – he’d hardly spoken to me about his troubles with Harlow, preferring to deal with them in his own way.
“Yes, but she said she’d be a little late because she has a surprise for us.”
His brows pulled together in a frown, but he didn’t pursue whatever thought he’d had. Instead, he gave me a quick nod of his head before leading Harlow to a seat at the table. I watched them, loving the way Harlow allowed Scott to pull out a chair for her and settle her next to him, and the way her body leant into his when his arm rested across her shoulders. It gave me hope they would be okay. I should never have doubted my brother. When Scott Cole decided he wanted something, he never rested until he had it.
Nash Walker on the other hand…. he might need some help.
* * *
Two hours later, the party was in full swing. The guys had loosened up a little and were laughing and joking about random things – stuff that was keeping their minds off work. Wilder had joined us, as had J’s sister, Brooke, as well as Crystal and Serena. Brooke was single again, and I couldn’t help but notice the way she looked at Wilder. Perhaps something could be worked on there.
“What are you plotting in your head?” The deep masculine voice behind me caused me to jump.
I swung around to find Nash standing in my kitchen. Grinning at him, I confessed, “A possible romance.”
He grimaced. “Why does that not surprise me?”
I ignored his comment and grabbed his hand. Pulling him into the living room, I sat him on the couch, and demanded, “What’s going on with you?”
I’d expected him to clam up on me, but he didn’t. Instead, he scrubbed a hand over his face, and asked, “Velvet told you she wants kids?”
It was in that moment, I realised he wanted to have this conversation with me. Just like the time he’d come to me when he was working through his feelings for Velvet before they got together.
Nodding, I said, “Yeah, she told me. Where do you stand on it?”
His conflicted feelings were written all over his body and face - from the way his shoulders sat in tense torment to the way worry lines marred his face. He sat in silence for a minute or so before finally admitting in a ragged voice, “It terrifies me.” Abruptly, he stopped talking, but I could tell he had more to say so I didn’t respond. I simply waited for him to find the words he needed. Taking a moment, and a long breath, he continued, “But I think I want to do it. I love that woman and the thought of her with my baby in her belly… fuck, Madison, it feels right.”
I leant forward, a little closer to him. “You’re terrified because you’re worried something bad will happen to the child or is it something to do with Velvet?”
“Fuck, it’s irrational, I fuckin’ know, but both.”
“Nash, I never knew Gabriella, but from what I do know, Velvet is nothing like her. Nothing. So you need to move past that thought. I understand it, but it’s unfounded. And if you find that thought hard to move on from, you need to think about how much you’ve missed out on in life over the past ten years by letting your fears control you, and take a chance. The chance you’ve taken on her has worked out well so far, right?”
He nodded slowly, letting my words sink in.
Time for some tough love. “Right, so chances do pay off. Get your shit together on that. And as far as being terrified of losing another child,” my voice softened, “I think that’s a natural fear anyone who has lost a child would have, and I believe you have every right to be worried about that, but you have to voice this to Velvet. Shutting her out is not good for your relationship.”
Leaning back into the couch, he nodded. “I know, babe, but I didn’t want to hurt her while I tried to figure this out.”
“How would you figuring it out hurt her?”
He stared at me. “I have a way of screwing things up and hurting people – people I don’t want to hurt – and I knew I was already fucking things up by not being able to tell her what she needed to hear. I didn’t want to risk fucking it up completely while I got myself to where she needed me.”
My heart broke for him. “You love her a lot, don’t you?”
His gaze never wavered as he gave a firm nod of his head and said, “Yeah, I do.”
“You’re not just doing this for her, are you?”
“What, agreeing to a child?”
“Yes. If you agree to what she wants, that choice has to be because you want it too, Nash.”