Authors: Alli Sims
“Yeah, we’re staying. This is Fiona, by the way. Fiona, this is Kat. She’s Jenna’s nanny.”
Kat dusted her hands off on her apron before she shook Fiona’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Jenna, get washed up for dinner please.”
“Okay!” The little girl ran from the room.
Kat followed behind her, shaking her head and telling her not to run in the house. Nick walked over to a set of glass doors. When he pushed them open, they walked out on a small patio.
“So, is my excuse valid enough?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a daughter?” Fiona asked.
Nick slipped his hands into his pocket. “She’s actually my sister’s daughter. Two years ago, she passed away. I was the only person that Jenna had or they would have put her in foster care. I didn’t want that for her. I don’t tell a lot of people about her. I’m very protective over her. Most people don’t even get to meet her.”
“She’s beautiful,” Fiona said as she gazed through the glass.
“She’s a hand full. Saturday I was on my way to meet you when she jumped from the kitchen counter. She was going for the table, but missed. I think I freaked out more than she did. I left my phone on the table, rushed her to the hospital. She was fine, but that’s all I could think about. When we got back home, I couldn’t get in touch with you so I took a walk to clear my head after she went to bed.”
Fiona felt embarrassed. She thought back to all of the awful things that had gone through her mind that night. When she looked at Nick, he had a small smile on his lips.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” she said quietly.
“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”
They gazed at each other for a moment. Fiona felt her stomach flutter nervously. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to kiss him. The sliding glass door broke into both of their thoughts.
“Dinner’s done! Wash your hands,” Jenna said shaking her finger at them.
“Yes, ma’am,” Nick answered quickly.
As he walked to the door, he held a hand out to Fiona. She slipped her hand inside of his. Fiona smiled up at him as he gave her fingers a squeeze. They walked into the house together.
“Fiona, you sit right here. Nick, sit right here. And I’m going to sit right here next to Kat, because I promised her I would.”
“That’s very mature of you, Jenna,” Fiona said with a grin.
The little girl nodded seriously. Nick caught Fiona’s gaze and grinned. Fiona gave a little sigh as she began to eat. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face, especially when throughout the meal Nick would slip his hand beneath the table to hold hers.
When dinner was over, Fiona offered to help with the dishes. Nick tried to tell her that she didn’t have to, but she waved him off. Jenna wanted to help, so she pulled a chair up to the sink for the little girl to stand on. Together they washed the dishes, Fiona telling every old knock knock joke that she knew. It turned Jenna into a mess of giggles. By the time they were done, Fiona was mopping up suds from the counter and water from the floor.”
“Let’s not tell Nick we made such a big mess,” she said as she wrung out the towel.
Jenna grinned and shook her head. “If we don’t tell him, do we get ice cream?”
“Neither of you get ice cream, you sneaks.”
“Ahhh,” Jenna and Fiona pouted in unison.
“Fine, you brats! Both of you can have a little ice cream, then it’s off to bed.”
They shared their ice cream on the couch watching one of Jenna’s cartoons. When the bowls were collected, Kat took Jenna to get her ready for bed. The little girl paused halfway down the hall.
“Fiona?”
“Yes?”
“Will you read to me tonight?”
Fiona grinned. “You bet.”
When Jenna was gone, Nick turned to Fiona. “You’re amazing.”
“That little girl’s amazing. I’ve always loved kids.”
Nick kissed her forehead. She sighed. When Jenna had brushed her teeth and put on her pj’s, Nick tucked her into her pink princess bed. Fiona sat in a wooden rocking chair before Jenna pointed out which story she wanted. Fiona ended up reading two stories, but Nick put his foot down when she asked for another.
“I know your tricks very well,” he said as he kissed her cheek. “It’s time for bed.”
Jenna’s eyes were already half closed. “I love you, Uncle Nick.”
“I love you too.”
They crept out of her room together, Nick pulling the door closed behind him. Nick led Fiona down the hall. There were two doors, one Kat’s room, one his. He pushed open the door to his bedroom before flicking the light switch.
As soon as the door was closed behind them, Fiona turned around. Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled Nick in for a kiss. The surprise on his face faded slowly as he began to kiss her back. He lifted her up into his arms before he deposited her on his bed. Nick’s fingers worked quickly to peel Fiona out of her clothes.
“Are you sure?” He asked as he kissed her neck.
“More than sure,” she said as her fingers pushed his pants off of his legs.
“You still don’t know anything about me,” he whispered.
“I know more than enough to know I’m not making a mistake.”
Nick didn’t need any more reassurance after that. He ran his fingers over Fiona’s body, left kisses all over her skin. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she knew that she was making the right decision for once.
They kept each other awake well into the night. Fiona found herself tangled up with him, her head resting on his chest as they whispered. The more Nick told her about himself, the more she liked him. His fingers laced through hers before they both fell asleep.
Fiona couldn’t believe that she spent the next few days with them. Jenna was always thrilled when Fiona “came over.” Though really, it was just Nick sneaking her out then having her knock on the door in the mornings. Everyday they ate breakfast together, went on outings and kept each other company. Fiona couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever been so happy.
A week after exams, there was an email waiting for Fiona. Nick came out of the kitchen to see her wringing her hands, staring at his computer. He sat down his mug of coffee before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“What are you waiting for? Open it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t! What if I didn’t pass? What if my grades are just awful now? I don’t want to think about it,” she groaned as she went to shut the laptop.
Nick wouldn’t let her. “You did fine. Even if you didn’t, you can always try again. I know for a fact though that you did great.”
Fiona looked up at him. The look in his eyes gave her comfort. She pulled in a huge breath of air before she held it. The cursor hovered over the email. Nick put his hand on top of hers. They clicked it together.
Fiona screamed. She clapped her hands together excitedly as she stared at her scores. Nick was so happy that he kissed her. A’s across the board met her eyes. She’d done so well. Fiona felt proud of herself as she stared at the numbers.
“I can’t believe I did it,” she whispered.
“Did someone scream?” Kat asked as she popped her head out of the kitchen.
“It was Uncle Nick’s girlfriend!” Jenna called.
Fiona blushed as she tried to stifle a chuckle. Nick shook his head as he turned to Jenna with a stern look on his face. He leaned close to the little girl.
“What do you know about girlfriends?”
Jenna giggled. “I know Fiona’s
your
girlfriend.”
Fiona couldn’t stop herself. She burst out into laughter as Nick turned his attention from Jenna to Kat. The nanny quickly disappeared back into the kitchen, mumbling about a pot being on the stove. Jenna was in a giggling fit as she ran from Nick, the door to her bedroom slamming shut as she hid from him.
He sighed as he walked back over to Fiona. “Surrounded by women, I must be crazy…” he muttered. “So?” He asked staring at Fiona.
“So, what?”
“Is it true? Are you my girlfriend?”
“Well, if Jenna says so we have to follow her rules, don't we?”
“She is the ruler of this fair land,” Nick said as he leaned down to Fiona.
Their lips met softly at first. Nick held her face in his hands as he kissed her more deeply sending shivers down her spine. She felt the familiar quickening of her heart.
“Ewww! Now they’re kissing!”
“You little sneak!”
Nick took off after Jenna as she shrieked across the living room. When he caught her, he began to tickle her until she was a ball of shrieking giggles and tears. Fiona laughed as she watched the two of them play. She was glad that she hadn’t given up, she would have missed out on the best thing she’d experienced in a very long time.
“Fiona!” Jenna called, pulling her out of her day dreams.
“Yes?”
“Are you coming over for Christmas?”
Fiona glanced over at Nick. He was standing a little way back, smirking. She had the distinct idea that Nick had gotten Jenna to ask for him. Later, she would call him out on his dirty tactics.
“Of course I’ll come over for Christmas.”
“Yay!”
Jenna ran off to go tell Kat. Nick walked over to her slowly, his hands in his pockets, an innocent look on his face. Fiona glared at him.
“What?” He asked.
“That was dirty.”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea!”
“Sure it wasn’t.”
Nick grinned. “The things that you accuse me of. You wound me!”
“I’ll give you a wound alright.”
Nick pulled her up into his arms. As he kissed her, she relaxed against his chest. She ran her fingers through his silken hair. When they heard the sound of footsteps, they separated quickly.
“Can we go ice skating?” Jenna asked excitedly.
“Go get your coat and shoes on,” Nick said.
Jenna ran off again in search of her things. Nick placed a kiss on Fiona’s cheek. It was going to be a beautiful Christmas.
The End