Love You Hello (bk2)

Chapter Four

Josie's POV

I paced through my room deciding whether or not to call Nic. Before the charity ball two years ago, I hadn't seen him in over two years.

After my talk with Elise on Monday, I had asked Luke for Nic's number. He gladly gave it to me even though I lied and said I needed it for business reasons.

I'm just visiting in Ireland right now. Two years ago after the ball, Samuel contacted me and I began working as a social media representative for Hughes Inc. in LA. I was unaware at the time, that Sam was getting ready to merge with Tommo Enterprises which was already co-working with Pike Publishing. I was also unaware that Nicholas James was vice-president of PP.

Nic and I met four and a half years ago here in Dublin when I was travelling abroad for school. We met at a bar and eventually met every night at the same coffee shop across the street. It was love at first sight for me. He was charming and polite and his looks were purely a bonus. We slept together the fourth night, and he was quick to leave the following morning. However, he was even quicker to call and see me again. I was head over heels in love with him and even though I barely knew him, I was willing to make it work.

After a few weeks, he seemed to become distant and I was curious to know why. I was approached by Elise, not aware that she was so involved with Nic in the past. She told me that he had a secret and she knew for a fact he hadn't told me yet. I over-reacted and drove to Mullingar, unannounced. Something he'd asked me to never do.

When I rang the doorbell to his house, I knew right away that Elise was right. There was something else. When he opened the door, I gasped. There in his arms was a little girl, about two, clinging onto his neck. He quickly put her down in a playpen and stepped outside with me. He was furious that I'd shown up unannounced to his house. I shot back the fact that he never told me about the little girl, who I later came to realize was also Elise's. He told me it was not something he told people the first time he met them. I replied, telling him that we'd known each other for weeks and he'd never mentioned her once. I couldn't understand how he could just not tell me he had a daughter when I'd told him about my past. He said he was sorry, but I was too at a loss for words to accept his apology. He explained that every time we'd hung out or gotten together, he had taken Addie to his mother's and then locked her bedroom door. He told me about him and Elise and that she'd left them right after Addie was born. I felt for him, but I still was angry that he had just left his daughter out of every conversation.

Before I left, he asked me if I would have stuck around if he'd told me sooner. I never answered the question.

Not even when I saw him at the ball with Elise, at which I assumed that they were together again.

I walked away from him again without telling him that "yes, I would have stayed if he had told me".

Nic's POV

It was three am when my phone rang. I was asleep on the floor in the living room of my new house. I grabbed my phone and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nic."

I sat up, suddenly wide awake. "Um, Josie. Hi."

"Hi."

I smiled, "Wow, it's um, nice to hear your voice."

"It's nice to hear yours too, Nic." She chuckled lightly.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I'm good. I um, got your number from Luke. I hope that was okay."

"Oh, Luke Pike? You know him?"

"Yeah, I work for Hughes Inc."

I was a little surprised. "Wow, that's incredible. Do you like it? What do you do?"

"I love it! It's wonderful! I'm a social media representative at the LA office."

I pulled the phone away from my face. Sure enough it was an LA area code.

"That's awesome, Jos! I'm so happy for you."

She was quiet. I knew why.

"Um, sorry. I meant to call you Josie."

"It's okay, Nic." She said softly. "It's nice to hear that again."

I let out a deep breath, "Wow, Josie. It really is nice to hear your voice again. I, um, was surprised to see you a couple years ago at the ball. I'm sorry for not calling you after that."

"I understand, Nic. You've got Addie. I know you're busy."

"I stopped using my daughter as a busy excuse years ago, Josie. A girl I was seeing convinced me it was a shit excuse anyway and that my daughter should be involved in every aspect of my life and that I shouldn't hide her away."

She was quiet again. I couldn't tell what she could be thinking at this point. After all, she's thousands of miles away.

"Nic?"

"Yes, love?"

Her next breath got caught up in her throat. Apparently my voice still had that effect on her. "I'm sorry for walking away four and a half years ago. I should have stayed." Her voice ended in a whisper.

"No, Josie. Never say that, okay? I should have told you from our first meeting that I had a daughter. I also should have told you that Elise is her mother. That was my fault and I'm so sorry for letting you walk away." I paused. Do I tell her? No. I stayed quiet and let her speak next.

"I never deserved such an amazing guy anyway, Nic. I'm not good enough for you."

I guess I'm telling her anyway. "Josie Williams, if I ever hear you say that again, I will personally fly to you and prove to you other wise. You are incredible. I fell for you faster than I knew was possible. I was too caught up in my personal life and my work to realize that I had the perfect girl right in front of me. I couldn't even admit that to myself until just now, love. I'm so sorry."

I could hear sniffles from the other end of the line. I leaned against the couch and listened to her breathing go back to normal.

"Are you happy, Nic?"

"I like to think I am, but I know I'm not as happy as I'd like to be." I admitted to her softly.

"All I want for you is ultimate happiness. Can you do that for me? Can you find that happiness?"

"I can try, love. As long as you do the same for me."

"Of course. Well, it's late. I should let you go."

"Alright, love. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."