Nic turned to look at Victoria.
"Nic...shit, I'm sorry. What an asshole," Victoria said, shaking her head in disbelief. That prick Marsh just lied to her. She felt like a fool. "I got nervous and a little scared that he was going to try to cause problems at your office, so I let him stay here instead."
"Are you okay?" Nic asked, rolling up his sleeves. He was so fucking sick of Marsh. There had been numerous times in the past when he had wanted to take that nosey fuck out, but he knew that would draw too much attention. Killing cops wasn't really his thing, but he would have loved to make an exception for Marsh.
"Yes, I'm fine," Victoria answered. She had thought about telling him about Marsh's comment to her, but she didn't want to make it worse. No matter how much of a jerk he was, he was still a cop. "Nic, why is he bothering us all the way out here?"
"Because he's an asshole and he can't let go of a ten year grudge against me. If he shows back up here, call me and call the police," Nic told her, as he kissed her again and then went upstairs to take a shower before dinner.
Victoria leaned against the counter. She wasn't sure if he was upset with her or not, but she would make sure to be more careful from now on.
****************
Click...BANG!
"Fuck!!" Nic shouted, as he raised up in bed. He quickly glanced around the dark room and noticed he had startled Victoria from her sleep.
"Nic!" Victoria screamed, pushing the covers from her body and moving closer to her husband. "Nic, what's wrong?"
Nic couldn't say anything. He just sat there, sweating and trying to compose himself. Victoria was trying to grab onto him, but he was holding her at an arms length. He couldn't believe he shouted like that, all because of a nightmare. How pathetic.
"Are you okay?" Victoria asked, worried.
Nic swung his legs off the side of the bed and rested his face in his hands. "Yes, I'm fine. Go back to bed, baby."
Victoria knew that this was his way of shutting her out. She watched as he stood up, pulled on some workout pants and walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
He didn't bother turning around. "I need some fresh air."
Nic quickly jogged downstairs and out the front door. The cool night air felt good against his sweating skin. He closed his eyes and plopped down on the cold brick steps. He needed to get his shit together.
A few seconds later, he heard the front door open. Victoria walked down the steps and turned so that she was facing him. He looked up at her as she sat down on his lap.
She caressed his face in her tiny hands. "Nic, are you sure you're okay? You know you can tell me anything."
Not this. He just couldn't. She didn't need to be stressed out anyway.
"I'm fine, baby. Let's go back to bed," he said as he stood, holding her in his arms. He smiled when she giggled and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his neck.
But then she pulled back so that she could see his face. "I almost forgot...you never carried me over the threshold!"
"I didn't? Well, I'll make up for that now," Nic said, kissing his wife's sweet plump lips and carrying her back into the house and upstairs to bed. He gently laid her down and removed what little bit of clothing they had been wearing.
The moment he entered her body, he immediately relaxed. Yes, this was what he wanted to think about when he fell back asleep. His wife and his child. That's all he needed and all he wanted to dream about.
Even after their lengthy lovemaking session, he held her close in his arms until she fell back to sleep—never wanting to let her go.
***************
It was early Saturday morning, and Victoria was trying a new color for the baby room for the third time. Nothing seemed to fit...but not knowing the sex of the baby affected her choice as well.
"Shit," she whispered to herself when the light sea green color she applied to the wall dried darker than she had hoped. She was about to call Nic out of his study for his opinion, when she heard the doorbell ring.
The sound startled her for a second, because they definitely didn't have many visitors, and Nic preferred it that way. Actually, none if you didn't count the different maintenance men.
Victoria trotted downstairs and looked through the oval glass of the wooden door. She saw a tall, nice looking older black man. She opened the door.
The man looked down at her and instantly smiled. "Hi. I live a few houses down, and I just wanted to welcome you and your husband into the neighborhood. I saw a moving truck a few weeks ago, and my apologies for just now coming, but I wanted to wait until you got settled," he said, as he extended his hand to her.
Victoria immediately smiled back, taking in his warm eyes and pleasant smile. She offered her hand as well. "Thank you so much. I'm Victoria Andretti."
"Nice to meet you Victoria. I'm Jackson Branson."
"Would you like to come in?" Victoria asked, making room for him to enter.
"Are you sure, I don't want to impose. You look like you're busy," he said, giving her a once-over with her paint splattered clothing. She realized how crazy she must look.
"Not at all. Plus, I need an excuse to take a break. Let me call my husband," Victoria replied. "Nic, I--," she turned to yell, but quickly quieted when she saw her husband standing right behind her.
Nic had been standing at the top of the stairs when he heard his wife talking to someone. The guy's voice didn't sound familiar, but Nic still didn't trust many people. The moment Victoria invited the stranger in, Nic had quietly begun descending the stairs to make his presence known.
"Nic," he said, offering his hand to the stranger.
"Jackson. Nice to meet you." The two gave each other a firm handshake, never taking their eyes off one another. Victoria inwardly groaned. Men...always sizing each other up.
But then Jackson turned and glanced around. "This is a really beautiful home. I always wanted to get a peek inside. Just the two of you?"
Victoria patted her tummy. "Well, we're expecting, so soon to be three," she smiled.
"Congratulations...that's wonderful. My grandbaby was born not too long ago. 'My beautiful handful' is what I like to call her," Jackson chuckled.
"She sounds absolutely adorable," Victoria said, grabbing ahold of Nic's hand.
"She is...but I'm biased," Jackson stated, smiling back at her.
Victoria glanced behind her and then turned back to Jackson. "I'm sorry, we only have one sofa right now. I've fallen behind on getting that stuff," she admitted. "But please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"
Jackson walked over to the couch and sat down. "Oh, sure. Coffee, please. If it's not too much trouble."
"Of course not. Nic?" Victoria said, turning to her husband.
