If he noticed anything amiss, Seth moved along. “I was hoping we could touch base about the project. I wanted you to take a look at the latest design and let me know your thoughts before I tell our teams to move on.”
One of the things Seth and I managed well was to assign our teams to projects together and alternate taking the lead. There were few men I trusted as much as I trusted Seth. Not only to be a decent guy and not try anything underhanded, but his judgment was incredible, and he was brilliant.
I must've sat staring blankly a little too long.
“You okay?” Seth asked.
I glanced at the screen. “Yeah, I'm fine. Why?”
“Okay. You seem a little… I dunno, off, I suppose.”
I felt myself snapping before the words came out of my mouth. “How can you fucking tell through a computer screen?”
“Easy, man. I don't mind if you're feeling moody, but I'm just checking in. Friend to friend, okay?”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “Sorry, man. Long week. Let me take a look. Is it up right now?”
At his nod, I tapped into our shared drive where we stored designs when we were working on them. We chatted for a few minutes, my mind only halfway there. As we were finishing up, Seth glanced over his shoulder. I heard the door behind him open and then saw Nicole stepping into the frame.
She leaned down to smile at me through the screen. “Hey Lucas, how's New York City?”
I managed a smile. “Decent, but there’s no view here like what you see in the Sierras everyday.”
“Cities have their own beauty,” she replied.
“How are you and the baby?” I asked.
Nicole was beautiful, but she truly appeared glowing now. Her skin was bright, and her brown eyes warm. “I feel great actually. I got through the worst of the morning sickness, and now I just have strange cravings. I've always thought I was lucky because Seth’s a great cook, but now I feel even more blessed. He cooks whatever I want whenever I want it,” she said with a little laugh.
Seth slid his arm around her hips and dropped a kiss on the round curve of her belly. My heart gave that funny thump again. It didn't have anything to do with Seth and Nicole per se. It was more what they represented—their trust, their easy affection, and their clear love for each other. I'd never noticed the contrast of their relationship to what I’d had with Kayla until now. I couldn't even quite believe I’d actually asked Kayla to marry me. In hindsight, I'd looked at it more like it was time for me to make a commitment. Kayla had fit into my life well enough that I went along with it, fancying myself somewhat in love with her.
Now, that I'd had a few nights with Sophia, nothing could compare.
Nicole straightened and gave a little wave as she stepped away from the computer monitor. “Nice to chat, Lucas. I was just popping in to see if we needed anything at the store.”
Seth spun in his chair, glancing up. “Get whatever you want, and I'll just cook it,” he said with a laugh.
Nicole dropped a kiss on his cheek. Even that brief moment was intimate as he slid his hand up to tuck her a lock of hair behind her ear.
Seth spun back. “Sorry about the interruption.”
“Oh, no worry. Always nice to see Nicole.”
He angled his head to the side, ever perceptive. “You sure you're okay?”
I stared at him for moment, considering whether to try to explain my unsettled state. My newly developed habit of speaking before thinking, which appeared linked only to anything to do with Sophia, resulted in a question rolling out. “How did you know?”
Seth arched a brow. “Know what?”
“Know Nicole was the one for you.”
He looked startled for a moment and then his gaze cleared. “Are you all messed up over a woman?”
I rolled my eyes, shifting my shoulders uncomfortably. “Maybe. I'm just curious for your opinion.”
He leaned back, his expression bemused. “It sounds corny, but I just did. Once you feel a certain way with someone, you know it's something you haven't felt before. That’s how you know. Well that and then hating when they're not there. I fucking hate it when I have to travel without her,” he said vehemently.
I couldn't help but laugh. Seth was a contained man. It had surprised me when I first heard about him and Nicole, but then I'd seen them together and there'd been no doubt. I thought about the way I felt the other morning when Sophia rolled over and sank down onto me. I could chalk it up to sex. Don't get me wrong, sex with her was amazing—the mind-blowing, earth shattering kind of amazing. But it wasn't just that and I knew it. I stared at Seth and managed to nod. “All right. Thanks.”