Love Me One More Time (Nick and Alaia) novel Chapter 35

We entered the house, and now there was a sense of tranquility, quite the opposite of when we were at the hospital waiting to be allowed to take my little girl home. Cedric was with the kids, Ash and Loli were asking for something to eat, as my mother and I had only eaten something light while we were at the clinic. I headed up to my room with Alana asleep in my arms. She scared us a lot today. When I left this morning, my children were still asleep. Alana woke up with a fever, and my mother just texted me. I waited for them to call the pediatrician, but she started vomiting. Ash called me immediately, saying they were taking her to the clinic, and I rushed there as soon as I hung up. I needed to see my little one.

I covered her with her favorite elephant blanket and settled next to her after changing into comfortable clothes.

“Ali,” my mother whispered as she entered the room.

“Come in,” I said, moving slowly to see her.

“She looks much better.” She smiled, looking at my daughter, who had regained the rosy color in her apple cheeks. My mother sits at my feet.

“Yes, she is. The doctor recommended some foods and nutrients to boost her immune system.”

“I think it’s my fault, but don’t worry, I won’t let her skip her vegetables anymore,” she said with a sad gesture.

“You don’t always do it, but you’re right, we must ensure she eats well from now on.” I took her hand.

“Nick Garnett,” she said, and I looked up, “he followed you. He might have seen the girl and…” I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded. “This was bound to happen, Ali. I told you before the trip.”

“I know, Mom. When we got to Los Angeles, I thought I could keep them as far away from the Garnetts as possible. I didn’t imagine that my company and theirs would end up working together, nor that fate would make him appear everywhere,” I said, a bit annoyed, and my mother laughed, shaking her head.

“I’ve come to believe that no matter how much I want to prevent it, the day will come when Nick meets the kids.” I sighed.

“I think the bond of blood is very strong, my dear; your children and their father will meet sooner or later. We just don’t know how he’ll react when he finds out that Alana and Noah–are his.”

“He’s just a donor, Mom,” I corrected, turning to look at my daughter.

“Daughter, for God’s sake, only you would come up with such things.” She laughed softly.

“I won’t swim against the current. If it happens, I’ll be prepared,” I said with conviction, though I will insist on keeping them hidden.

Days later.

I walked down the stairs, putting on the cardigan I’d wear today. We were going home, and I wanted to show Alicia the two houses I’d selected, but I was thinking of hiring the Blacks to build an apartment building, which would take several months. So, for now, we needed a house where they and the children could be comfortable.

“Are you ready?” I asked my kids, as we’ll be taking them to spend time with the children, bringing pizza and sodas for everyone.

“Ready!” they shouted, jumping up. Alana recovered after a couple of days and now she looked very healthy and strong, I bent down to check if their hats were properly on. Noah has chosen a black one with a video game design, while Alana has a purple one with Mirabel from Disney’s Encanto on the front.

She loved it as soon as she saw it, I checked if Alana’s ponytail was in order and hugged them; they looked adorable.

“I’m ready,” Ash joined us.

“Me too,” Aidan was wearing the same hat as Noah.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said, and we headed to the SUVs, accompanied by a couple of new guys from the bodyguard team.

After a noisy trip, thanks to the kids, and stopping at the pizza restaurant to bring enough for everyone, Alicia quickly came out to greet us.

“Oh, what a colorful and beautiful group,‘ she looked at the kids, “come in, you are welcome.”

She stepped aside to let us in.

We greeted the girls who welcomed us warmly. They took the pizzas and juices to the kitchen.

“Loves,” I bent down to my kids, “please don’t take off your hats.” I pointed to them, and they nodded. “Aidan, darling, make sure they don’t.”

“Okay” he responded and they soon ran off to the big yard, with Loli going with them.

We followed them as we waited for the people I’d invited to come this afternoon.

“These are beautiful houses, Ali, but I think they’re too big for us. I also think they must be very expensive. You shouldn’t spend so much money on us,” Alicia said, looking at the photos on my laptop.

“Please, don’t think about that. This won’t come just from us. I’ve spoken with the partners in the UK, and they have allocated a good sum of money that will be enough to buy one of them,” I said.

“It’s not ideal for the houses to be high maintenance, girls.” She looked at Ash and me. She knew Ash was a girl from the first day, though she didn’t question why her cousin dressed like anyone else.

“That won’t be a problem. We’ll allocate a monthly amount for it,” I clarified.

“Thank you, girls, but I think it would be better to find a middle ground in any case,” Alicia put her hand on mine.

“Alright,” I said reluctantly, and my companions laughed. Alicia leaves for a moment when one of the girls needs her attention.

His response was brief. “She has recovered,” he said and walked away with the group he was with at one of the tables.

“These new devices allow connecting more than three ports each.” The manufacturer showed me the device. I snapped out of my thoughts and took it to examine it.

“Won’t it decrease the signal reception capacity of the connectors?” I questioned, reading the technical sheet.

“No, that’s why the cost is higher, but if you purchase them, you’ll need only 60 percent of the quantities required for the project,” he explained.

“We’ll order this reference,” I said. Will nodded, as did one of my engineers.

We continued talking about other products with the manufacturer and prepared the purchase order. We decided to handle the issue of the supplies personally.

The meeting ended, and we said our goodbyes and left.

“Follow me,” William said, getting into his car as I was about to get into mine. I followed him, not in the mood to go home.

*****

I followed the path my cousin took, which was ten minutes from where we were. I realized we were heading to Santa Monica. Needless to say, I hate places with crowds. I parked in one of the spaces near the beach.

I got out of the car and observed several children, teenagers, men, and women.

“Drop that face, bro. Let’s go for a beer,” he said, moving ahead.

“Here?” I pointed to the ground. “Don’t you think it’s too early?” I checked the time on my watch.

“Yes, here. I know you only like exclusive restaurants, but there’s a bar here that has the best beer in town. Come on, you need to relax.” He kept walking, and I was forced to follow him, feeling more annoyed every time someone bumped into me.

“This is it.” He pointed to a tiny place that seemed closed, and he approached while I looked around, thinking that following William was a terrible idea.

Annoyed, I continued waiting for my cousin to find someone in that place.

“Loli, work,” I heard a small voice not far away, but I couldn’t see the child who said it. I search among the people and notice they’re behind me.

“Here you go, my prince,” a woman spoke to the child who had his back to me. I watched as he took water from a bottle shaped like some animated character. The boy raised his fingers to his head, causing his hat to move and fall to the ground. I bent down to pick it up, and that was when the boy turned around, making my heart stop at the sight of his face.