Relentless (17 page)

“Red,” she squealed. “I love red.”

Nikki bent down on one knee so she was at the little girl’s eye level. “These are called rubies. Did you know that rubies are your birthstone?”

She frowned, looking down at the earrings. “Whas a birfstone?”

Nikki smiled, looking up at Ty, who was grinning.

“I’d kinda like to know that myself,” he said, stroking Anna’s hair.

“It’s a very special gemstone,” Nikki whispered, as though they were sharing a secret. “Everyone has a special stone for the month they were born. We were born in July, so ours is ruby.”

Her green eyes widened in surprise. “We have a same birfstone?”

Nikki nodded, looking serious. “We do, which means you and I are probably a lot alike.”

She tipped her head to the side, looking confused. “I’m gonna sing, too?”

Nikki laughed, drawing the little girl into a big hug. She was too precious. “You never know, sweetheart.”

The little girl squeezed her neck before pulling back to look at her. “You’re so pretty.”

Nikki smiled, brushing Anna’s hair off her shoulders. “Thanks, I think you’re pretty, too.”

Ty cleared his throat. “Don’t you have something to say to Nikki for giving you those beautiful earrings, honey?”

She threw herself into Nikki’s arms again, nearly knocking her over. “Thanks, I love ‘em.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Nikki said, stroking her back.

“Well, I should go check on dinner,” Avery said. “Ty, why don’t you and Miss Anna pay a little visit upstairs?”

Ty picked Anna up and carried her up the stairs, sharing her enthusiasm over her latest treasure.

Nikki smiled as she watched the pair. She knew Ty and Avery were trying to potty train the toddler with limited success. “Can I help you with anything, Avery?”

“I left a bottle of wine in the living room. If you guys could get us started with that, I’d appreciate it.” She paused, looking at her brother-in-law. “Unless you’d rather have a beer, J.T.?”

He chuckled. “Darlin’, I know you’re trying to mold and shape me into some refined dude, but it ain’t gonna work. I’ll take a beer, so long as it’s cold.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll housebreak you one of these days, J.T. McCall.”

He laughed, talking to her retreating back as she made her way to the kitchen. “Don’t count on it, sugar.” Nikki stepped past him, trying to make her way to the living room, but he grabbed her wrist. “Not so fast, sugar.”

She ground her teeth at his casual use of the endearment. He was talking to her like the checker at the supermarket instead of the woman who’d shared his bed last night. “What do you want?”

He took a step closer, surrounding her with his spicy scent. “I want you, darlin’. You got a problem with that?”

“Yeah, you want me and half the other women from here to…”

He pressed his index finger against her lips, looking into her eyes. “You’re wrong, baby. I want you, only you.”

She gripped his wrist, pulling his hand away from her mouth. “I think Lindsay might have a thing or two to say about that, don’t you?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I can’t say that I care what she thinks.”

She tipped her head back to look him in the eye. “Are you sleeping with her, too?”

“I’m not gonna lie. I have a time or two.”

She wished she hadn’t asked. Even more, she wished he’d had the good sense to hedge the question instead of opting for brutal honesty. “Why am I not surprised?” she muttered.

He locked his hands around her waist. “‘Cause you know I love women and they love me.”

She hated that he was so arrogant, yet his confidence was half of his appeal. He knew who he was, what he wanted, and he went after it, no questions asked.

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat things, Nik.” He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek before cupping her face in his palm. “I’ve been with a lot of women, but you rocked my world last night.”

Avery cleared her throat, stepping into the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Then why did you?” J.T. muttered.

She slapped his back as she walked past him, a giggle escaping her lips. “You two? Seriously, Nikki?”

J.T. scowled at her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Avery set a tray containing cheese, crackers, and grapes on the coffee table in the adjoining living room. “No offense, J.T. You know I love you, but…”

“But what?” he asked, his grip on Nikki tightening when she tried to step out of his arms.

“You just don’t seem like Nikki’s type.”

Nikki flattened her palms against J.T.’s chest, forcing some distance between them. “There’s nothing going on between us, Avery,” Nikki said, following their hostess into the living room. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

J.T. glared at the pair as he crossed the threshold into the room. “I’m gettin’ sick and tired of hearin’ you say that. We both know its bull—” He paused when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

“How’d it go?” Avery asked, winking at her husband.

“Mission accomplished,” he said, puffing his chest out.

Nikki laughed at his antics. She was grateful to him for breaking the tension in the room. She knew J.T. was going to force another conversation, but she hoped he had the good sense to wait until they were alone before pressing the issue.

By the time dinner ended, J.T. was chomping at the bit to get Nikki alone. He leaned back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. “Dinner was great. Thanks, guys,” J.T. said.

“Our pleasure,” Avery said, smiling. “If I’d known the lure of a beautiful woman was all it would take to get you over here, I’d have set this up a long time ago.”

J.T. snickered, his eyes piercing Nikki until he had her squirming in her seat. “Not just any beautiful woman, Avery. It would take one very special lady to get me to drop everything…”

Nikki blushed, dipping her head as Avery smiled and Ty winked at her.

Anna climbed into J.T.’s lap and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his nose in her soft curls. “Good thing my little Anna was up to the challenge.”

She tipped her head back to look at him. “You came jus a see me?”

He kissed her chubby cheek. Who would have thought a little bit of a thing like her could make a big old cowboy like him melt with just a few words? “You bet I did, sugar.” It was true; he would have come tonight even if Nikki hadn’t been here. He loved his niece, and he intended to make it more of a priority to spend time with her when he retired. He was light-years away from kids of his own, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t up to the challenge of securing the title of world’s best uncle. He had a feeling winning that title just might mean more to him than that big old fancy title he’d been chasing the better part of his adult life.

Nikki reached across the table to seize Anna’s chubby little hand. She brought it to her lips, kissing her knuckles. “I think a certain little princess is getting sleepy.”

She rubbed her eyes, shaking her head in denial. “No way.”

Ty chuckled, consulting his watch. “Nikki’s right, sugarplum. It’s that time again.”

“But I wanna stay up! We got compy…”

Avery laughed, brushing her daughter’s hair off her forehead. “Uncle J.T. and Nikki aren’t company; they’re family, which means you can see them whenever you want.”

Anna tipped her head to the side, considering her mother’s words. “You’re my aunt?” she asked Nikki.

She smiled, shaking her head. “No, honey, just a good friend.” She leaned forward, whispering. “But you know something? I sure do wish I was your auntie.”

She sighed dramatically. “Me too.” She looked at her parents. “Can she be, please, please?”

Ty chuckled. “Unofficially? Absolutely. But there’d be only one way I know of to make it official, darlin’.” He winked at his brother. “And I’m afraid that ain’t gonna happen.”

Anna frowned, drawing creases in her smooth forehead. “Why not?”

J.T. would have reached across the table and throttled his brother with his bare hands had his child not been present. He was having a hard enough time getting Nikki to consider dating him. Now Ty was trying to muddy the waters by bringing up the subject of marriage. She was going to bolt faster than a doe during hunting season if he kept this up.

“You see, for Nikki to be your aunt officially, she’d have to marry one of your uncles. Since Uncle Dave’s already married, and Uncle Derek lives too far away, that only leaves your Uncle J.T.”

Nikki shifted uncomfortably in her seat, staring at her empty dessert plate and looking as though she’d rather be anywhere else in the world.

Avery grabbed her husband’s hand across the table. “Oh hush up; just leave them alone.”

“Good advice,” J.T. muttered.

Anna looked up at him. “I wanher a be my aunt.” She clasped her hands together under her chin. Marry her, please, please, please?”

J.T. closed his eyes, praying for a miracle to extract him from this awkward situation. “Darlin’…”

Nikki crooked her finger at Anna, apparently intent on intervening to rescue him. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Anna climbed off her uncle’s lap and made her way around the table.

Nikki reached for her, settling the little girl on her legs. “Now,” she said quietly, “you know how much I love you, right?”

Anna bit her lip, nodding her head. “I guess so.”

“I’m crazy about you,” Nikki whispered in her ear. “You’re just about the sweetest little thing I’ve ever met.”

She snuggled into the crook of Nikki’s neck, obviously struggling to keep her eyes open.

“The thing about family is that you don’t get to choose them. You’re born with them, like it or not.” She poked the little girl in the tummy, making her giggle. “Sometimes you like ‘em, sometimes you don’t, but guess what, you’re stuck with him anyways.”

Anna giggled, twirling a strand of Nikki’s hair around her finger.

“But here’s the thing about special friends. You get to pick them all by yourself. No one gets to tell you who you can or can’t be friends with.” She winked at Ty. “Except maybe your daddy when you get a little older.”

Ty laughed. “Amen to that.”

“But if you wanted to choose me as your special friend, you could, and I could choose you to be my special friend.”

She seemed to consider the possibility before looking up at Nikki and asking, “Would you choose me?”

She kissed the top of her head. “I’ve already chosen you, honey. That’s why I brought you those earrings tonight, to show you how much you mean to me.”

The little girl touched her earlobes. “I love ‘em,” she whispered. She twisted her body, wrapping her arms around Nikki’s neck. “I love you.”

Nikki held Anna tightly, blinking back the tears as she stroked her back. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

J.T. watched the scene unfold. If he hadn’t been halfway in love with Nikki Spencer before, he would have been now. She exhibited a sweet and tender side that drove him to distraction. It made him think all kinds of crazy thoughts. Like how Nikki might look cuddling their baby in her arms. Damn, he was venturing into the danger zone, and if he didn’t put the brakes on, he was going to experience his first head-on collision. He knew if he let her get under his skin, if he fell in love with her, and she left him, it would crush him. But he had no idea how to pull back or control those feelings.

He’d never been in love, which was pathetic, given his age, but he’d never allowed himself to get involved with a woman who might evoke those feelings, until now.

Nikki was everything he’d ever wanted, sweet, smart, funny, sexy, sassy, talented… Damn, he was already in too deep. If he let her walk out of his life, she might leave a void that no woman would ever be able to fill.

He cleared his throat. “Nik, why don’t we let them put this little princess to bed? You and I can take a walk, work off that great meal.”

Avery smiled. “That’s a great idea. We can all have a nightcap before you leave.”

Nikki looked at the dessert plates scattered around the table. “No, I should clean up while you’re putting Anna to bed.”