Chapter Eleven
Three weeks later...
Sitting in his office at the beach house attempting to get some work done, Nathan couldn’t believe that in just a few days time he would be a married man. The funny thing was that he was actually looking forward to it and he had a feeling that was largely down to the fact he would be marrying Haley. He still felt it was unfair that he was dragging her into this mess but she continued to reassure him that she knew what she was doing and was happy to help him out.
In fact, as soon as they had arrived home from Brooke and Lucas’ house that night a few weeks back, she had taken control and done a Google search on his computer and found several websites which set out the steps they would have to take to acquire a marriage license. Reading over her shoulder, he had been surprised at just how easy it was. Apparently all they needed to do was complete a form, take along some formal identification and stand before a Magistrate to have it certified. Once that was done, it would be valid for sixty days and they could choose where they wanted to be married and who they wanted to perform the ceremony.
They completed the online application form that night and printed it off, ready to take it to be certified on the Monday morning.
Instead of getting the license locally, Nathan had decided to drive them to Charlotte so that they could avoid bumping into anyone they both knew in his home town. The last thing they needed was to raise anyone’s suspicions about what they were planning to do before they had a chance to do it.
Upon entering the room to stand before the Magistrate, he had asked her once again if she was sure and she had looked into his eyes and nodded; reassuring him once again that she was happy to help him with this.
The process hadn’t taken all that long and after paying the required fifty dollars, they walked out with their marriage license. On their way back to the car they had discussed where they should get married and they both decided on the courthouse being the best option because, after all, it was just a marriage of convenience so there was no need to go to too much trouble.
Reclining back in his comfortable leather chair, Nathan frowned at that thought. She deserved the day to at least be a little special even if it was going to be a fake marriage for all intents and purposes. It was too late to change the venue but maybe there was something he could to make the event a bit nicer for her.
The frown turned into a sly smile as he got up from his chair and began making his way out of the house.
* * * * *
Seeing no car in the driveway when she arrived, Haley gently placed the carrier she was holding down on the floor before rooting around in her bag for her key ring which she found a moment later. Inserting the key into the lock and opening the door, she picked up the carrier again and walked into the house, closing the door behind her.
She still felt weird using the key Nathan had given her but he had insisted she have it and use it whenever she came over to his place. Going into the living room, she set the carrier down again together with the shoulder bag she was carrying, but this time she picked up the precious bundle that was contentedly sleeping inside it.
“C’mere sweetheart,” she whispered as she cradled the baby in her arms and walked over to the couch to take a seat on it.
Gracie Karen Scott had been born almost two weeks ago and Haley had immediately fallen in love with the little girl. She had actually been out shopping with Brooke one morning when the expectant mom had suddenly gone into labour and, having gone through the same thing with one of her older sisters, she had taken control of the situation; something that her friend had been extremely grateful for that day.
At the hospital, she had stayed in the delivery room with Brooke until Lucas had arrived and then she had patiently waited with Nathan in the visitors area for the little baby to make her grand entrance into the world which she did several hours later. As soon as they had been allowed in to see the new addition to the family, Brooke had handed her daughter over to Haley to hold and her heart had melted. You could clearly see the couple’s features reflected in their child from Brooke’s dark hair and pouty mouth to Lucas’ blue eyes.
Having seen how tired her friend looked when she had seen her a couple of days ago, Haley had immediately offered to baby-sit Gracie so that she could spend some time catching up on her sleep or going to the spa and having a relaxing day being pampered. Brooke, not wanting to leave her daughter for too long despite trusting the auburn haired young woman implicitly, had declined spending the day at the spa but had decided to at least spend an afternoon there which was why Haley was now sitting in Nathan’s living room with the baby safely ensconced in her arms.
Rocking the baby gently, she hummed a soft tune as her thoughts drifted to what would be happening in a few days time. While she couldn’t help feeling nervous and apprehensive knowing that for the next three years she would be married to Nathan, a part of her felt excited at the same time. He was one of the kindest, most generous people she had ever met and she hoped that when their marriage eventually came to an end, that they could remain on good terms because she knew she would miss him from her life.
Since that kiss outside Brooke and Lucas’ house, they had kissed a couple more times when they were in the presence of others as a demonstration of their blossoming relationship which people in the small town definitely seemed to be taking notice of. She giggled at the memory of taking the initiative and kissing him in the café in front of his mother one afternoon when he had picked her up at the end of her shift. He obviously hadn’t been expecting her to do it but he had soon gotten into it and kissed her back.
While Deb hadn’t voiced her objections since that day on the café’s roof, she knew for a fact the older woman wasn’t happy about the way things were progressing between her only son and a mere waitress, and she couldn’t help occasionally flaunting things a bit when she’d had enough of the older woman’s stony looks.
Haley released a heavy sigh before her thoughts once again turned to Nathan and the frown that had crept onto her face dissolved into a smile. There was no doubt about it, he was an extremely handsome man and he definitely made the butterflies in her tummy flutter at times, especially when she’d catch him staring at her when he thought she wasn’t looking. She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel an attraction to him but he had made it clear from the start that this marriage would be a business deal between them. Having said that though, he had taken her by complete surprise when he had told her that he would be staying faithful to her for the duration of the marriage.
Hearing little whimpers coming from the baby, she smiled at her before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her chubby little cheek. Whatever happened between her and Nathan, she had a feeling it was going to work out okay and she hoped that she was right.
“Hey there, sweetie. Did you have a nice nap?” Gently moving Gracie so she was holding her up in front of her, she said, “So, what do you feel like doing? We could watch some TV or listen to some music or we could ask your cousin Nathan to make those funny faces for you.”
The baby gurgled in response to Haley’s voice.
“Yeah, I vote for that last one too. We’ll ask him when he gets back but in the meantime, I think it’s time for some milk.”
Slowly getting up from the couch, she walked over to where she had left the carrier and she placed the baby back down in it before carrying it and the shoulder bag Brooke had packed into the kitchen where she began to warm up one of the bottles of milk her the new mother had expressed.
It was while she was feeding Gracie that she heard the front door open and gently carrying the baby in her arms as she fed her, she walked towards it. She saw Nathan just coming through the door carrying a large, flat white and silver box and he froze when he saw her.
“Uh…what are you doing here?”
The smile on her face at seeing him slowly faded and she opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off.
“Damn! I’m sorry, Haley. I didn’t mean to sound so rude. It’s just…I wasn’t expecting to see you here this afternoon.”
“I wasn’t planning on coming over today but Brooke took me up on my offer to baby-sit Gracie and I didn’t want to take her to my place so I thought I’d bring her here and we could hang out. I probably should have called first.”
Nathan shook his head. “No, of course you shouldn’t have called first. This is going to be your home and I want you to feel comfortable here whether I’m here or not.”
Giving him a shy smile and a nod, she averted her eyes to check on the baby and saw that she had almost finished her bottle. “Wow, you must have been pretty hungry, sweetie.”
“Or she could just be a greedy little thing like her dad,” he teased as he smiled at his fiancée and his baby cousin.
“There is that,” she said chuckling. “So, what’s in the box?”
“Ah, now that’s why I was so rude when I first came in.” Seeing her confused look, he explained. “I’ve got you a surprise…for the wedding and I wanted to give it to you on the day.”
“You mean I have to wait another three days before I can open it.” She pouted.
“Not good with surprises, huh?”
“I pretty much hate them what with me being so impatient. C’mon, let me open it now. I’ll make it worth your while.”
Nathan’s mouth suddenly felt dry at hearing her words. “Uh…how do you mean?” he choked out a moment later.
Realising what her words must have sounded like had her blushing and she quickly shook her head. “Oh…no, I…uh…I meant I’d, um, cook you dinner tonight.”
“Is that all?” he teased and saw the blush deepen even further.
“Nathan!”
“Sorry, couldn’t resist.”
“So, can I open it now?”
He thought about it for a moment before saying, “I’ll tell you what, you can open it tonight because there might be a few things you need to get to go with it.”
Tilting her head to one side, she regarded him curiously. “What did you buy me?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see, now won’t you? I’m going to take it upstairs and put it somewhere safe while you deal with little madam over there. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Haley watched him mount the stairs carrying the box and she shook her head again. Looking at the baby who had now finished her bottle, she couldn’t help smiling. Walking into the kitchen again, she placed the empty bottle on the counter and adjusted the baby in her arms so she could burp her. “Don’t worry sweetie, you’ll help me get that mean ol’ Nathan back later,” she said with a giggle.
* * * * *
Upstairs, Nathan went into the room he’d given to Haley for whenever she came over and he placed the large box on top of the bed. He bit his lip as he looked at it for a long moment and hoped that she liked what he had bought for her. If she didn’t, it wasn’t that big of a deal and he could return it, but he wanted to do this for her. Staring at it for a couple of seconds more, he finally turned and left the room.
He froze in his tracks as he entered the kitchen and saw her cuddling little Gracie, her tuneful voice the only sound as she sung a gentle lullaby. This wasn’t the first time he had seen her with his baby cousin but each time he felt something tug at his heart and he knew without a doubt that she would be a wonderful mother when she had her own children. He just wished…
Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of that particular thought, he coughed to make his presence known and he watched as she turned to face him, a smile tugging at her lips.
“Ah, there you are. Did you manage to hide the box somewhere I can’t get my hands on it?” she teased and she saw him smirk back at her.
“Maybe, maybe not. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Looking at the baby in her arms, she said, “Ooh, he’s asking for it, isn’t he sweetheart?”
“You better not be turning my innocent little cousin against me, Haley.”
“Don’t worry, you’re still her favourite. Here, why don’t you take her while I get us something to drink?”
“She…she hasn’t done anything, has she? You wouldn’t be nasty enough to try and get me back that way.”
Haley laughed. “No, she hasn’t yet, but she did gulp that bottle down pretty fast so be prepared.”
“Very funny.” Holding his arms out, he took the baby from her and cuddled her close to his chest. “Hey Gracie, you wouldn’t do that to me, now would you? Nah, course not. You need to save that stuff for your daddy.”
“Ooh, you’re evil,” Haley told him with a chuckle as she opened the fridge door and removed a couple of bottles of water from the rack.
“I know,” he replied popping a kiss onto the baby’s head. “So, you still on for cooking dinner for us?”
“You talking to me or Gracie?”
“I didn’t realise I was marrying a comedian.”
“Ha! Yeah, if you want me to I will. I don’t know what the present is yet but I guess I should still say thank you for it. What would you like to eat?”
“There’s some chicken in the fridge; we could grill or bake that or we could always call for take-out.”
“We might as well use the chicken and if you’ve got any lemons, I can make you my Mom’s famous lemon pepper chicken.”
“Yep, there should be lemons in the fruit dish,” he said walking over to check. “Yep, there are three; that enough for the recipe?”
“Uh huh. Why don’t you take Gracie into the living room and entertain her while I get started.”
“I could give you a hand,” he offered, giving her a smile.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll give you a shout if I need any help though.”
Nodding her at, he shifted the baby carefully in his arms. “C’mon munchkin, let’s go watch TV and get out of Haley’s hair.”
Haley couldn’t help smiling at the closeness she was witnessing between the two of them and while she knew he had concerns and even fears over fatherhood, due mainly to the way he had been treated by his own father, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d be a great dad when the time came.
* * * * *
A few hours later Brooke had come by to collect her daughter, leaving Nathan and Haley alone for the rest of the evening. They had eaten dinner and were now doing the dishes or rather he was washing the dishes while she dried them and put them away.
“That meal was fantastic,” he said turning his head to the side to look at her.
“Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. It was one of the first things my Mom taught me to make.”
“I guess it’s something I can thank her for when I finally meet her.”
Biting her lip, Haley nodded. That wasn’t a meeting she was particularly looking forward to. She knew her parents weren’t going to take the news of her having gotten married so suddenly and without her telling them well at all.
“I’m guessing from the look on your face that you don’t particularly want that to happen.”
“It’s not because of you though, Nathan, so please don’t think that. It’s just…they’re going to go nuts at the fact that I’ve done this without saying a single word to them about it. They don’t even know I’m “dating”, she said, using her fingers to make quote marks.
Not for the first time he sighed. “I’m sorry ab--”
“No, don’t apologise. It’s my fault. I probably should have called them after I’d agreed to marry you and at least just mentioned that I’d met someone. Now, not only do I have to tell them I’ve met someone but that I’ve married him. I’m just dreading that conversation.”
“This is probably a bad idea, but…you could just not tell them.”
She chuckled softly. “Oh believe me, I’ve thought about that but they know me too well. They’d be able to tell from my voice that something was up plus there’s the fact that I’m going to be living with you. They know I wouldn’t live with a guy without being married first. It’s something I’ve been teased about for years,” she confessed.
Handing her a dish to dry, he gave her a confused look. “How do you mean?”
“Just that compared to some of my siblings, I’m pretty old-fashioned in my ways. One of my sisters in particular is a bit of a sl--” Realising what she had almost said, she coughed to try and cover it up and quickly said, “Let’s just say she’s more like the women you usually, uh, hang out with.”
Nathan smirked. “Well, I’m glad it’s you I met here and not her. Out of my former…uh…dates, there’s not one I could imagine spending the next three years with. I think I’d end up giving up on the deal and letting my Dad’s lawyers give the money away as no doubt he’d have wanted.”
Placing the dish she was holding onto the counter, Haley touched her hand to his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We’re not going to let that happen and have him win.”
Smiling at her, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. His nose brushed her hair as he moved away and he smelled the fresh scent of it. One thing he could say about her was she always smelled wonderful. There were no heavy, clinging perfumes that some of the women he knew doused themselves in and which almost made him choke.
She blushed at their closeness and took a small step away from him, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “So, uh, is it present time yet?”
Rinsing the last dish, he handed it to her and nodded. “You’re an impatient thing, aren’t you?”
“Yep. Like I said before, I hate surprises. It’s just the not knowing that gets to me.”
Laughing, he said, “That’s the whole point of a surprise. If you knew what it was, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Whatever,” she teased, poking her tongue out at him. “So, can I go and see what it is?”
“Yeah but before you do, I just want you to know that it’s no big deal. I mean, if you don’t like it or anything, I can return it to the store. I hope you like it though.” Seeing the way she was shifting from foot to foot in obvious impatience, he laughed again and said, “Go on. It’s upstairs on the bed in your room. I’ll be up in a couple of minutes.”
Haley took off running and he heard her footsteps climbing the stairs. Finishing up in the kitchen, he was at the foot of the stairs when he heard her scream.
“Oh my god!”
He couldn’t tell from her voice if she sounded happy or not and taking a deep breath, he climbed the stairs and made his way to her room. Standing in the doorway, he couldn’t help smiling as he watched her holding up against herself what had been contained in the box.
“Do you like it?” he asked in a quiet voice and she spun around to face him.
“Y-You bought me a wedding dress.”
Nathan nodded. “Yeah, I did. So, do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful but…I-I don’t understand. I thought we were just going to go for smart casual. Do people even get married in white gowns at the courthouse?”
“I know but…I just wanted to make it a bit more special for you. And who cares what other people wear to get married there. There’s nothing wrong with being different,” he joked before his tone turned serious. “I know it’s going to be a marriage of convenience but…I don’t know, Haley. It felt right doing this but if you don’t think the same, I understand. Maybe I shouldn’t have.”
She quickly shook her head. “No, you were right to. I know it’s not exactly going to be a real wedding…”
“The wedding will be real,” he interrupted.
“You know what I mean,” she said, giving him a crooked smile. “I kind of felt sad about getting married in my normal clothes but now…”
“Now what?”
“Now I get to married in a white dress.”
“So you really like it?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer.
“It’s perfect, Nathan, and you have beautiful taste. Thank you. It must have been pretty expensive though.” As she spoke, she couldn’t take her eyes off the dress she was holding. It was an ivory white silk gown made up of a strapless fitted bodice which had pretty flowered beading along the edge of it and a long, floor-length, flowing skirt and chapel train that also had the matching flower detail.
“Don’t even think about that, okay. It’s not like I can’t afford it and if it makes you happy then that’s all the thanks I need.” The smile he was giving her stretched from ear to ear. “You should probably try it on and make sure it fits okay. I kinda had to guess about the size. Oh, and I didn’t know if you had any shoes that might go with it so I was thinking that maybe tomorrow we could go out and buy you anything you need to go with it.”
“Um…okay. I’m not working until tomorrow afternoon so I’ve got the morning free. Isn’t it bad luck though for you to have seen the dress before the wedding?”
“Nah,” he said with a wink. “You’re stuck with me for the next three years whether you like it or not so luck isn’t going to come into it. Besides, we’re driving to the courthouse together so I’d see you before the ceremony anyway.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” she replied, giving him a cheeky smile. “Oh, did you speak to Lucas today about him and Brooke coming out with us?”
“Yeah, I did. I had to tell him what it was really about though since the big lug wouldn’t stop pushing. He’s like you when it comes to surprises. He’s not going to say anything to Brooke but they’re going to have to bring Gracie with them.”
“That’s fine, I’d love for her to be there with us. So will they drive down with us or…”
Nathan shook his head. “No, he’s going to drive them down there after he’s made up some excuse to Brooke. Can you imagine her face though when she sees you in a wedding dress?”
“Stop it,” she said trying to sound stern although she joined in with his laugher. “I think we’ll definitely be rendering her speechless.”
“That she will be. Anyway, I’ll leave you to try it on,” he said as he started walking towards the door. “Oh, I was thinking that we should start moving the rest of your stuff here before the wedding.”
“Yeah. We could maybe do that when we get back from shopping tomorrow,” she suggested.
“Sounds good. Okay, I’ll…er…leave you to it.”
“Uh Nathan, do you want to see me in it?” she asked shyly.
“How about you surprise me on the day? We might as well make this feel a bit more traditional, what do you say?”
“You’re right, we should. I’ll, um, be down in a little while.”
Giving her another nod, he turned and left the room even though he felt a strong urge to stay in there with her. Releasing an audible sigh, he made his descent downstairs.
Inside the room, Haley got undressed and slipped the dress on before realising that she needed somebody to actually fasten it for her. Despite it not being done up, it felt good on her and having already checked the label, she knew this was the right size. While wondering how on earth he had managed to guess her size so accurately, her fingers reverently touched the silky fabric and as she looked at herself in the floor length mirror, she felt like some kind of fairytale princess.
Gathering her hair up, she held it on top of her head and knew that this was how she should wear it on the day. As she stared at her reflected image, she couldn’t help wishing that she was getting married for real and not just as some part of a deal. Feeling tears prickling behind her eyelids, she blinked a few times and forced them not to fall.
She slowly slipped the dress off and walking over to the large walk-in closet, she found a padded hanger and hung the dress up. Getting dressed again, she quickly went into the en suite bathroom and splashed her face with some cold water before patting her face dry with a soft towel. Once she had gathered herself together, she slowly left the room and went back downstairs.
* * * * *
“Can you believe that this time tomorrow we’ll be married?” Nathan said a couple of nights later when he was dropping her back at her apartment. “It’s not too late to back out, you know.”
“I’m not backing out,” she replied reassuringly. “I said I’d do this and I will. And from this point on you need to stop thanking me for what I’m doing. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” He returned the smile she was giving him.
“Good. So, you’re picking me up tomorrow morning and I’m getting ready at your place, right?”
“Uh huh. Is seven-thirty okay?”
“Wow, that early. You do realise we’re not getting married until three,” she said giggling.
“Yeah, but I figured we could maybe have…um…breakfast together or something before you need to get started on all your girly stuff plus it’s taking place in Charlotte which isn’t exactly up the street.”
Haley’s tummy fluttered at the fact that he wanted them to have breakfast together on their wedding day. “True, but it won’t take me hours to get ready. I’m not that much of a girly-girl.”
“Oh, thank heavens for that,” he teased.
“Hey, there’s still time for me to change my mind yet.”
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, I take it back. I guess I’m just thinking about what Luke’s told me about Brooke. It can literally take her all day to get ready for some evening event.”
“You do know she’s gonna be royally pissed when she finds out what’s actually happening tomorrow, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah, that’s something I’m not looking forward to. Why do you think I was so keen on him bringing Gracie along with them.”
“Good thinking, Batman.”
“Thanks Batgirl.”
“Batgirl?”
“Okay, Robin.”
Haley couldn’t stop laughing. “You know something, I’ve got a feeling these three years aren’t going to be so bad.”
“Me either.” Taking her hand in his, he continued, “This’ll be the last time I do this, I swear, but thank you again for helping me. I appreciate it more than you could ever know and I promise you that you won’t regret your decision.”
“I know I won’t.”
Without thinking about what he was doing, he leaned in just as she did the same and their mouths softly touched for a moment before she eased away from him and looked up into his blue eyes which had darkened slightly. They were still such a vibrant blue though and she knew that if she wasn’t careful, she could easily lose herself in them.
“Uh…I’d better go and let you get your beauty sleep…not that you need it,” he quickly added.
“Nice save,” she said teasingly. “Okay, so I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning and we’ll get this show on the road.”
“Yeah, we will. Sweet dreams.”
“You too,” she said before closing her apartment door and leaning her back up against it as she caught her breath.
On the other side of it, Nathan was doing exactly the same as he forced himself to calm down. He didn’t know what it was about her that made a simple, gentle kiss like that affect him so deeply. A part of him debated knocking on her door and this time kissing her the way he was dying to do while the more sensible part of him decided against it. Too much was at stake for him to get physically involved with her and also, he enjoyed her friendship too much to screw it up with sex. Besides, who knew what could happen in three years, he thought to himself as he shoved his hands into his pockets and began the walk downstairs back to his car.