Family Forever (Book 5 in Nemi Forever series)

Chapter 26

Nick

Finally, I came to my senses. Finally, I swallowed my pride. Finally, I was holding Demi in my arms again, quietly, crying from relief. I was never going to be so stupid again. There was nothing Demi & I couldn't get through. Together. We were in this forever. We got this.  

After I finally felt like I could let go of Demi, we had time to kill. Or sleep, if we could manage. We sat on the couch that was in the room with us. It wasn't the most comfortable couch, but it was roomy enough for us to manage, somehow, to get comfortable. As Demi laid on my lap, so she could sleep first, she looked up at me & asked, "Is Skye going to be a problem?" 

I shook my head, scrunching up my face. "No." I was leaning on my hand, watching her face. She looked relieved, then looked worried again. 

"How do you know? She might be pretty hurt & make working together, difficult." 

"Because I already talked to her." I touched Demi's cheek, lightly, with my finger. 

Demi's eyebrows came together. "You did? When?" 

"Right after you saw me kiss her in the foyer." I answered, remembering the moment with Skye, before we left for the hospital.

*flashback*

I took a few steps toward the kitchen, with Skye following me, when I stopped & turned to face her. She looked up at me in confusion. "Hey, thanks again for staying here, Skye. I'm so grateful to you right now. You're pretty amazing. I hope you know that." I said as I smiled down at her. 

"You're amazing." Skye said as her mouth turned from a sexy pout to a sexy smile. She put her hands on my arms to pull herself up to kiss me, sensually. The kiss lingered for a moment, forcing me to close my eyes. I took this opportunity to see if my feelings had changed. I knew, without a doubt, that my feelings hadn't changed. Skye pulled her lips from mine & she kept a tiny smile on her lips, her head tilted down a little so she had to look up at me from under her eyelashes.  

I sighed, looking down. I felt bad now. "Listen...I'm um..." I was stuttering. I didn't want to hurt her. 

Skye looked up & her smile got a little bigger as her hands dropped from my arms. "You're not ready to move on, are you?"  

I pressed my lips together & shook my head, slowly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used you..." 

Skye put her hand up in front of my mouth. "I volunteered to be your test dummy. I said no hard feelings & I meant it. I guess you failed the test, huh?" She chuckled, looking down at the floor, then tossed her hair to look into my eyes again. I gave her a slight nod, smiling at her. "Tell me, though. Are you not ready to move on now or....? Her voice trailed off. 

I inhaled & exhaled, quietly, through my nose. "I am so in love with her." I shook my head, a soft smile on my face. "And I do not want to give up on my marriage." I whispered. 

"Well, I am actually happy to hear that." Skye said. 

I looked at Skye sideways, raising an eyebrow. "You are?" 

She nodded, quickly. "Nick, I've seen how your eyes sparkle, when her name is mentioned, even if you aren't together. I remember how you lit up when you were together, whenever you talked about her. I used to see it in pictures online or interviews you did together before I even met you. And, I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so I am glad you're going to work things out with her. I was kind of hoping that's what would happen when I agreed to be your test dummy." Skye put her hands on her waist & rocked on her heels as she looked down for a moment. Looking back up at me, she spoke, quietly. "I only hope I can find a man who loves me as much as you love her." She reached out & squeezed my arm.