Mrs. Robin's Sons by Kori Roberts (free children's online books .TXT) 📗

What happens when I start to look old? Are you still going to want me then?” “Do you honestly think that I only want to be with you because of how you look?”

Nick looked at her in disbelief. “You gotta know that it’s deeper than that…that I’m deeper than that.” He shook his head a moment. “And, what about you? What if I’m in an accident tomorrow and end up permanently scarred? Are you telling me that you wouldn’t want me anymore if I didn’t look the same way I do right now?”

“Of course not…”

“Then stop trying to find excuses for why we shouldn’t be together and admit to all of the reasons why we should.” His voice was adamant. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, Rylee. But I don’t just see how beautiful you are here,” Nick stroked her cheek.

“I see how beautiful you are here as well.” His hand slid downward until it rested against her chest, over her heart.

“I have no idea what might happen between us a few years from now.” He gave her a small smile. “I’m not even sure about what’s going to happen a few hours from now. But what I do know is that in this short time we’ve been together, I’ve started to care about you — a lot. And I want to be with you, get to know you more, and see where this relationship could lead.”

His thumb rubbed across her bottom lip. “I’m not trying to pressure you, baby. I’m just asking you to give this a chance, give us a chance. You think you can handle that?”

He tried to breathe while he waited for her to respond. Finally, she nodded, and a smile spread across her face. “Yeah,” she said softly, “I think I can handle that.”

Nick hugged her tight, and his mouth captured hers in a kiss filled with happiness and relief. They’d gotten over the first hurdle. Everything else they could work out later.

Chapter Seven

“Hey, Nick! Wait up.” Nick glanced over his shoulder to see Noah walking toward him.

He made sure the lock was secure on Mandi’s cage and reached inside to pet her for a moment.

“What’s up?” he asked when Noah finally reached him.

“Leslie says you’re taking the Chicago job.” Noah glanced at the German shepherd in the back of the truck.

“Yeah, I am. Why?”

“Nothing.” Noah shrugged. “I just know you usually don’t take jobs to deliver dogs that are going out of state. And Leslie said you volunteered for this one, so I was kinda surprised.”

“Well, this one didn’t start off as an out-of-state job.” Nick forced his voice to sound casual. “Mr. Erickson was living down in Beloit until a few weeks ago.”

Nick finished packing up the truck, avoiding eye contact with Noah, hating that he wasn’t being completely honest with his brother.

“Besides,” he continued, “I’ve been training Mandi since she was a puppy. I figured the least I could do is see her off to her new home. Right, Mandi girl?” That much was true. Everybody knew Mandi was one of his favorites out of all the dogs they currently had at the training facility, and he was going to miss her. He reached in to pet the dog again. She made little whimpering barking noises, nuzzling and licking his hand.

He turned to see Noah still watching him closely. Finally, Noah sighed. “Well, I don’t have another training session or a client until tomorrow afternoon. You want some company?”

“No, I’m good,” Nick said quickly. “I’m just dropping her off and heading right back.”

He climbed into the truck and tried not to seem too anxious to leave. “Listen bro, I gotta go. I got a client coming to see one of the dogs first thing in the morning, so I need to get out of here if I’m going to make it back in time.”

Noah just looked at him for a moment before he finally backed away from the truck.

“Yeah…okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Cool. Later.” Nick drove off down the road, glancing in his rearview mirror at Noah, who was still standing there watching him. Noah knew him too well, and Nick was sure that he suspected something was up. Nick just wasn’t ready to tell him yet.

Hell, what was he going to say, anyway? That he’d met a woman who was so

incredible, so unbelievable, that she had completely and thoroughly turned him inside out and ruined him for anybody else?

Nick snorted. Not likely. Noah would probably never let him hear the end of how he’d gotten himself pussy whipped by a woman.

And that’s exactly what he was. It had been three weeks since he’d met Rylee.

Although their schedules had been so busy they hadn’t had a chance to see each other again, they’d talked to each other on the phone every night since that first weekend together.

When Nick heard about this delivery to Chicago, he jumped at it. It gave him the chance to finally see Rylee again, and the perfect excuse to be in Chicago without feeling like

he needed to explain himself to Noah, from whom he’d just end up hearing a lot of shit about him being stupid for chasing a piece of ass.

Not that Noah could say anything that would change his mind. Nick had spent that weekend having the best sex of his life with the most amazing woman he’d ever met. He knew after only being around her for a couple of days that Rylee was a woman who had her shit together. And the time they’d spent talking together since then only confirmed his beliefs.

A woman like Rylee could have any man she wanted, and Nick knew that he probably had no right to think he was anywhere near good enough for anything serious with her. But it didn’t stop him from wanting to be with her all the same.

Nick didn’t know what type of sorry assholes