Caroselli's Christmas Baby

That was Nick, always getting right to the point. “First, I want to apologize for the way I acted last night. You just … surprised me.”

“It’s okay. You were a little overwhelmed. I get it.”

“But I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. In fact, it’s about the only thing I can think about, and I just have one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“If we do this, if we make the baby the old-fashioned way, can you promise me that afterward things will go back to the way they were? That nothing will change?”

“No. I can’t promise that.”

She sighed. Did he have to be so damned honest? Couldn’t he just humor her into thinking she was making the right choice? But that wasn’t Nick. He was a straight shooter, and the only time he sugarcoated was in the kitchen.

“The best I can do is promise you that I’ll always be there for you,” he said. “We’ll always be friends. Whether we use a doctor or do this conventionally, we’re going to have a child together. That alone is bound to change things.”

He was right, of course. She’d been so focused on the idea of how sleeping together would affect their relationship, that she hadn’t truly grasped the enormity of having a child together. She’d wanted a baby so badly, she hadn’t let herself fully consider the consequences. She realized now that everything would change. The question was, would it be a good change?

“I guess I didn’t think this through completely,” she told Nick. “Big surprise, right?”

“And now that you have?”

It scared her half to death. She’d been friends with Nick longer than anyone. Longer than she knew her own father. “I’m still hopelessly confused.”

“Then we aren’t going to do it. You can stick to your original plan and use a donor.”

“And what will you do?” The idea of him entering a fake marriage with someone else, having a baby with her, left a knot in her belly.

“I won’t do anything,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll admit, I was sort of excited about the idea of having a baby, but only because I would be having it with you.”

“But, what about the money?”

“Terri, our friendship means more to me than any sum of money.”

She was too stunned to speak.

Nick laughed. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“It’s just … I think that’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“I didn’t say it to be nice. I said it because it’s the truth.”

And she felt ashamed that she hadn’t trusted him, that she never realized just how much her friendship meant to him. “Let’s do it,” she said. “Let’s have a baby.”

Now he was the one who looked surprised. “Maybe you should take a little more time to consider this.”

“I don’t need more time.”

“Are you sure?”

She couldn’t recall ever feeling more sure about anything in her entire life. She didn’t know why exactly. She just knew. “I want to do this.”

“The wedding, the baby, moving in with me. Everything?”

“Everything.”

“I guess the only question now is, how soon can we get started?” he asked.

“Well, I’m due to ovulate in two weeks, give or take a day or two. I’d rather not wait another month. The sooner I get pregnant, the better.”

“The question is, can we plan a wedding in fourteen days?”

“I guess it depends on the kind of wedding you want.”

“I would be happy to do this in front of a judge with a couple witnesses.”

“That works for me,” she said. Terri hadn’t spent her adolescence dreaming of and planning her wedding. And why drop a lot of money on a marriage that was guaranteed to end in divorce?

“There’s only one problem with that,” he said.

She knew exactly what he was going to say. “Your family would have a fit.” If there was one thing that the Carosellis loved, it was a party. They would never pass up the opportunity to gather together, overeat and drink too much.

“Exactly,” he said.

“So, how big are you thinking?”

“Immediate family only, maybe a few people from work.”

“Two weeks would be the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I can guarantee most places will be booked.”

Nick considered that for a moment, then his face lit up. “Hey, how about Nonno’s house? It would definitely be big enough. We could have the ceremony in the great room, in front of the fireplace.”

“He wouldn’t mind?”

“Are you kidding? He would be thrilled. The whole point of this is to get the three of us married off and making babies as soon as possible.”

It seemed like a logical choice to her, too. “Call him and make sure it’s okay. On such short notice, I’m thinking we should keep it as simple as possible. Drinks and appetizers will be the best way to go.”

“My cousin Joe on my mom’s side can get us a good deal on the liquor. Make a list of what you think we’ll need, then remember that it’s my family and whatever you plan to order, double it. And we should call the caterer we use for business events. The food is great, and their prices are reasonable.”

“Email me the number and I’ll call them.” There was so much to do, and so little time. But she was sure they could pull it off. She knew that as soon as his mom and his sisters heard the news, they would be gunning to help.

“You understand that my family has to believe this marriage is real, that we have to look like two people madly in love?”

“I know.”

“That means we’ll have to appear comfortable kissing and touching each other.”

The thought of kissing and touching Nick, especially in front of his family, made her heart skip a beat.

“Can you do that?” he asked.

Did she have a choice? “I can do it.”

“Are you sure? Last night when I touched you, you jumped a mile.”

“I was just nervous. And confused.”

“And you aren’t now?”

“I’m trying to look at it logically. Like we’re just two people … conducting a science experiment.”

Nick laughed. “That sounds fun. And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you almost blow up the science lab in middle school?”

Which had taught her the invaluable lesson that when a teacher said chemicals aren’t to be mixed, she actually meant it. That, plus a week of suspension, and a month of summer school to make up the failing grade she’d more than earned in the class, drove the message home.

But what Nick seemed to be forgetting was she’d only done it because he’d dared her.

“I didn’t think it was supposed to be fun,” she said.

He frowned. “You don’t think sex should be fun?”

“Not all sex. I guess I just thought, because we’re friends, we would just sort of … go through the motions.”

“There’s no reason why we can’t enjoy it,” Nick said.

“What if we’re not compatible?”

“As far as I’m aware, we both have the right parts,” he said with a grin. “Unless there’s something you haven’t told me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t mean biologically compatible. What if we get started and we don’t get, you know … turned-on?”

“Are you saying you find me unattractive?”

“No, but in twenty years, I’ve never looked at you and had the uncontrollable urge to jump your bones. I just don’t think of you that way.”

“Come here,” he said, summoning her around the island with a crooked finger.

“Why?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Now?”

“Why not now? Before we go through the trouble of getting married, shouldn’t we know for sure? Besides, what if we wait until our wedding day, and it all goes horribly wrong? Suppose we bump noses, or we both tilt our head the same way. And what about our honeymoon? Are we just going to hop into bed without ever having touched each other? Doesn’t it make more sense for us to ease into it gradually?”

He definitely had a point. The problem here was that she was trying to play by a set of rules that didn’t exist. They were making it up as they went along. “I guess that does make sense.”

“So, what are you waiting for?” He tapped his lips with his index finger. “Lay one on me.”

The idea that they were really going to do it, that he was going to kiss her for real, and not his usual peck on the cheek, gave her a funny feeling in her head. Her hands went all warm and tingly, as if all the blood in her body was pooling somewhere south of her heart.

It’s just Nick. She had no reason to be nervous or scared or whatever it was she was feeling. But as her feet carried her around the island to where he stood, her heart was racing.

“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded.

Nick leaned in, but before their lips could meet, a giggle burst up from her chest. Nick drew back, looking exasperated.

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little nervous.” She took a deep breath and blew it out, shaking the feeling back into her fingers. “I’m okay now. I promise not to laugh again.”

“Good, because you’re bruising my fragile ego.”

Somehow she doubted that. She’d never met a man more secure in his prowess with women.

“Okay,” he said. “Are you ready?”

“Ready.”

“Really ready?”

She nodded. “Really ready.”

Nick leaned in, and she met him halfway, and their lips just barely touched.

She couldn’t help it, she giggled again.

Backing away, Nick sighed loudly. “This is not working.”

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I’m really trying.”

Maybe this wasn’t going to work. If she couldn’t feel comfortable kissing him, what would it be like trying to have sex?

“Close your eyes,” he said.

She narrowed them at him instead. “Why?”

“Just close them. And keep them closed.”

Even though she felt stupid, she did as he asked, and for what felt like a full minute he did nothing, and she started to feel impatient. “Any day now.”

“Shush.”

Another thirty seconds or so passed and finally she felt him move closer, felt the whisper of his breath on her cheek, then his lips brushed over hers. This time she didn’t giggle, and she wasn’t so nervous anymore. His lips were soft and his evening stubble felt rough against her chin, but in a sexy way. And though it wasn’t exactly passionate, it wasn’t merely friendly, either.

This is nice, she thought. Nice enough that she wanted to see what came next, and when Nick started to pull away, before he could get too far, she fisted her hands in the front of his shirt and pulled him back in.

He made a sound, somewhere between surprise and pleasure, and he must have forgotten all about their ease-into-it-gradually plan, because it went from nice to holy-cow-can-this-guy-kiss in two seconds flat. He must have been sampling the cake batter earlier, because he tasted sweet, like chocolate.

Oh, my gosh, she was kissing Nick, her best friend. It was Nick’s arms circling her, Nick’s hand cupping her cheek, sliding under the root of her ponytail and cocking her head to just the right angle.

Her internal thermometer shot into the red zone and her bones began a slow melt, dripping away like icicles in the hot sun. And only when she heard Nick moan, when she felt her fingers sink through the softness of his hair, did she realize that her arms were around his shoulders, that her body was pressed against him, her breasts crushed against the hard wall of his chest. It was thrilling and arousing, and scary as hell, and a couple dozen other emotions all jumbled up together. But more than anything, it just felt … right. In a way that no other kiss had before. And all she could think was more.

For the second time Nick was the one to pull away, and she had to fight the urge to tighten her arms around his neck and pull him to her again. But instead of letting go completely, he hooked his fingers in the belt loop of her jeans.

“Wow,” he said, searching her face, almost as if he were seeing her for the first time. “That was …”

“Wow,” she agreed. If she had known kissing Nick would be like that, she might have tried it a long time ago.

“Are you still worried about us being incompatible?” he asked.

“Somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

“Do you feel weird?”

“Weird?”

“You said before that you were afraid things might get weird between us.”

The only thing she felt right now was turned-on, and ready to kiss him again. “It’s difficult to say after one kiss.”

“Oh, really?” he said, tugging her closer. “Then I guess we’ll just have to do it again.”

Four

Their second kiss was even better than the first, and this time when Nick stopped and asked, “Feeling weird yet?” instead of answering, Terri just pulled him in for number three. And she was so wowed by the fact that it was Nick kissing her, Nick touching her, that she didn’t really think about where he was touching her. Not until his hand slid down over the back pocket of her jeans, then everything came to a screeching halt.

She backed away and looked at him. “Your hand is on my butt.”

“I know. I put it there.” He paused, then said, “Am I moving too fast?”

Was he? Was it too much too soon? Was there some sort of schedule they were supposed to follow? A handbook for friends who become lovers to have a baby? As long as it felt good, as long as they both wanted it, why stop?

And boy, did it feel good.

“No,” she said. “You’re not moving too fast. If you were, would I be thinking how much better it would feel if my jeans were off?”

He made a growly noise deep in his chest and kissed her hard, but despite that shameless invitation into her pants, he kept his hands on the outside of her clothes. And no matter where she touched him, how she rubbed up against him, or encouraged him with little moans of pleasure, he didn’t seem to be getting the hint that she was ready to proceed.

When he did finally slide his hand under her shirt, she felt like pumping her fist in the air, and shouting, “Yes!” But then he just kept it there. It wasn’t that it didn’t feel good resting just above the waist of her jeans, but she was sure it would feel a whole lot better eight inches or so higher and slightly to the left.

She pulled back and said, “If you felt the need to touch my breast, or pretty much any other part of my anatomy, I wouldn’t stop you.”

Looking amused, he said, “It’s not often a woman tells me I’m moving too slow.”

“I could play coy, but what’s the point? We both know we’re going to end up in bed tonight.”

His brows rose. “We do?”

“Can you think of a reason we shouldn’t?”

When most men would have jumped at the offer, he actually took several seconds to think about it. Which for some strange reason made her want it even more. It was crazy to think that on Wednesday she wouldn’t have even considered a physical relationship with him, but two days and a couple kisses later, she couldn’t wait to get him out of his clothes. And if he turned her down, she was going to be seriously unhappy.

After a brief pause he shrugged and said, “Nothing is coming to mind.”

The way she figured it, their friendship had been leading up to this, even if they hadn’t realized it. That equated to about twenty years of foreplay. Technically, no one could say they were rushing things. “So why are we still standing in the kitchen?”

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