Imperfectly Beautiful (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #3)

Pianos and Parenthood

-NATE-

Everything seemed to be a blur of old memories as I stepped back onto the porch and crossed the threshold into the Baker home. I vividly remembered walking Michelle up to the front door and kissing her goodnight after we'd made love for the first time, waiting out in the cold and begging her to talk to me after our first fight, and standing in the foyer while I professed my love for her and placed a promise ring on her finger. So much had happened between us here and my reflections on it all was so overwhelming that I was having a hard time keeping my emotions in check.

I was a trainwreck.

Michelle wiggled out of her coat and kicked off her boots, "I can take your jacket."

"Oh, thanks," I nodded slowly and followed suit—peeling off my coat and resting my sneakers off to the side next to the teeny tiny blue ones that were already resting there.

It took all the willpower I had not to let my tears surface all over again.

Michelle looked just as miserable as I felt when she looked back at me after hanging my coat on the rack. I watched her take a deep breath and glanced in the hall mirror to quickly flick away any lingering tears and mascara and let her hair down to fall around her shoulders. After about a minute, she turned back to me and gestured for me to follow her towards the family room.

I gave a quick nod and silently trailed after her. The house looked the exact same way that it had during Christmastime when we were in high school, except for the addition of the upright piano in the living room and all of the little toys that were scattered here and there around the otherwise perfectly tidy home.

I spotted Marilyn over in the kitchen stirring something in a pot as my eyes continued to wander until I landed on the small little boy sprawled out in the middle of the family room floor. Out of nowhere, he let out a heartwarming, musical laugh and kicked his feet in his reindeer footie pajamas while he laughed at something Elmo said on the flat screen.

I forgot how to breathe.

"Nicky, sweetie, I'm going to pause your show for a minute, okay? There's somebody I want you to meet," she said as she reached for the remote off the back of the couch and pressed pause. "Come here, please."

Nicky turned around to look at his mother with the cutest little face I'd ever seen. Michelle was right—he did have a lot of the Knight genes—brown hair, dark eyes, and a charming smile, but I saw pieces of her too. He had her nose and round face and faint freckles. Undoubtedly, he was the two of us all wrapped together in one adorable package that made my heart stop beating until I felt Michelle give my arm a comforting squeeze and I remembered to breathe.

He pushed himself up from the floor and ran around the couch to latch onto Michelle's leg while gazing at me shyly as a small smile came on his face before he tugged on her shirt and she bent down for him to whisper something in her ear.

Michelle glanced at me, "Yes, honey, this is your daddy. He looks the same as he does on the poster in your room that you tell goodnight with Grandma, doesn't he?"

He nodded and my heart ached. My already conflicting emotions only got stronger.

"Hi, Nicky," I gave him a small wave as I knelt down to his level.

"Hi," he said in a tiny voice and held onto Michelle a little tighter, partially hiding his face.

"I'm your daddy, kiddo," I tried not to burst into tears and scare him to death. "Your mommy says she told you I've been traveling a lot?" I asked.

He gave another small nod.

"Well, that's all over now, okay? My trip is finally over and I'm going to be here to see you everyday and we're going to have so much fun. We can play and go get whatever toys you want from the toy store."