“I missed you,” she told him, almost accusatory.

“I’ve missed you too, little one, and I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you,” Ryan told her.

“I’m glad you’re here, now,” she said, with a child’s honesty.

“Me too,” he said, surprised by how much he meant the words.

“Are you and Nicole together again?” she asked hopefully.

“We are,” he simply stated.

“That’s so cool. Nicole has always loved you,” she said, with the innocence of youth. Ryan looked over at Nicole, who was blushing scarlet. She glared at him and shook her head before turning to her sister.

“You’re going to get your operation, baby,” Nicole told her as tears well up in her eyes.

“Really?” Patsy asked with disbelief as she looked from Ryan to Nicole.

“Really,” Ryan told her. She held out her arms and he gently pulled her close to him. She was even tinier than he’d originally thought. His heart ached, as he felt her tiny frame through the thin hospital gown.

Ryan and Nicole sat in her room for hours visiting and keeping her spirits up; until she could no longer stay awake. She fought going to sleep but finally drifted off. Ryan quietly led Nicole from the room.

No words were spoken as they walked from the hospital. He led her to his car and they made their way back towards his home. She’d been able to dampen down the nerves, while she was visiting with her sister but now she was nervous. She knew he expected her to sleep with him and she didn’t know how to respond to his request.

They pulled up to the house and there were a couple of cars in the driveway. Ryan blew out a breath of frustration when he spotted the vehicles, giving Nicole a look she didn’t understand.

“Well now we are going to test your acting skills. Remember what you agreed to,” he snapped at her, before leading her from the vehicle. She looked at him quizzically and followed him into the house.

“About time you got back Ryan, did you forget about the barbeque?” Derek said, as he stepped around the corner.

Nicole got a shock as she saw Derek and Drew, a couple of women and some kids. She stood there like a doe in headlights, not knowing what to say. She hadn’t seen Ryan’s cousins since they were all kids. She’d once loved them so much and although they’d tried speaking to her after her and Ryan broke up she’d found it too painful and cut all ties.

“Is that you, Nicole? I haven’t seen you in forever. You look great,” Drew said when he realized who was standing next to his cousin. Before she knew what was happening, Drew walked over and engulfed her in a huge bear hug. She felt the tears stinging her eyes at the easy acceptance he offered.

“Now who’s this gorgeous woman you’re mauling?” Trinity asked good naturedly.

“Trinity, this is Nicole. She and Ryan used to be all hot and heavy when we were teenagers. Nicole, this beautiful woman is my wife, Trinity,” Drew introduced them.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Nicole,” Trinity said and shocked Nicole by stepping forward and giving her a big hug.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Nicole said shyly.

“Now it’s my turn, stranger,” Derek said and stepped forward lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. “It’s so great to see you.” Jasmine stepped around the corner and spotted Nicole.

“I haven’t seen you in forever,” she said, throwing her arms around her. Nicole hugged her back, grateful to see a familiar female face. “How have you been?”

“I’m great,” Nicole told her. “I didn’t know you and Derek got back together,” she added. She remembered when Derek left and the devastation Jasmine felt. She’d been feeling her own pain from one of the Titan cousins and felt sympathy.

“Yes and it’s been amazing. It looks like these Titan boys are finally waking up,” Jasmine told her with a wink. Nicole didn’t know what to say.

“Yes, Nicole and I ran into each other again and we realized we simply couldn’t live one more second apart,” Ryan said. Nicole thought only she could hear the sarcasm in his tone. She had to fight not to flinch when he gave her a look that seemed to threaten her not to contradict him. She turned away from him, finding it difficult to look into his eyes.

“Well, we have to catch up and figure out ways to torture these men,” Jasmine said and led the other two women away, leaving the men to watch them go.

“So what’s going on with you? I adore Nicole, you know that, but I still remember the utter devastation you felt when she walked out of your life,” Drew asked his cousin. Ryan wasn’t ready to tell his cousins the truth. It made him too much of a cad and he didn’t want to see the disapproving look in their eyes.

“We ran into each other and realized the spark was still there, so decided to pursue it,” he finally said. He thought they may take exception that in reality he was blackmailing her into his bed. Hell, he’d kick their asses if they did the same thing. It was much easier to notice other people’s flaws than your own and he wanted her too badly to stop what he was doing, even knowing how wrong it was.

“She’s even more gorgeous now than she was as a teenager,” Derek said, with a wiggle of his brows.

“Back off, you’re a married man,” Ryan told his cousin, feeling an irrational urge to mark his claim. He knew Derek was a happily married man but Ryan found he didn’t like any man making a comment about her. Derek simply laughed at his cousin, before the three of them headed off towards the pool.

“So spill Nicole, we want all the juicy details of how you two got together and what you’ve been up to,” Jasmine demanded of Nicole. She actually relaxed, sitting in the presence of a familiar face and a new friend. There was something very reassuring about having women to talk with, who were nice and understanding.

She found she wanted to spill her guts to them but was afraid Ryan would be furious and then refuse to help her sister. She didn’t think he’d stop the surgery but she wasn’t taking any chances. She still had feelings for Ryan so she could be as honest as possible.

“My sister’s in the hospital and I didn’t have anyone to turn to or talk with so I called Ryan. He was there instantly and the minute I saw him again all those old feelings came right back to the surface,” Nicole said in as simple an explanation as she could.

“Your sister’s in the hospital? What’s wrong with her? How can we help?” Jasmine fired off a bunch of questions with a look of concern on her face. Nicole explained about the heart surgery and before long she was crying with Jasmine and Trinity holding her hands comfortingly. It was so nice to have someone to lean on and simply cry out her heartache. She’d been holding it in for the last several months.

She hadn’t allowed herself to break down and cry even once, because she knew if she were to let go she wouldn’t be able to pick herself back up again. She realized she wasn’t falling completely apart though. She was actually feeling supported by the two amazing women.

The men walked in and saw the three teary women and were instantly on alert. They looked at one another in a panic and knelt down.

“What’s wrong, Baby?” Derek asked with concern.

“You don’t need to worry, Derek, we’re simply women and this is what we do,” Jasmine told her husband with a watery smile.

“You know we have to try and fix it,” Drew added as he rubbed along Trinity’s back.

“That’s because you’re the most honorable men we know but we really will be okay,” Trinity told Drew. Ryan stood motionless as he stared at the three women. He didn’t have the right to fix Nicole’s problems as he was responsible for causing half of them. Everything in him said he needed to pull her into his arms and hold her until the tears faded away, though. He had to remember what she’d done to him. Otherwise he was afraid she’d quickly have him wrapped around her finger once more.

“Now boys, give us more time together, then we’ll start making dinner,” Jasmine said to the men. They reluctantly walked away, though they mumbled to each other about emotional women.

Jasmine and Trinity continued to comfort Nicole until all the tears ran dry. They slowly pulled themselves together and headed toward the kitchen. There was a household staff who normally cooked but sometimes it was soothing to prepare a meal together.

“I hear Joshua crying. I’ll be right back,” Trinity said, walking over to grab her infant from his car seat.

“He’s beautiful,” Nicole said with longing. She’d never allowed herself to even think about having a baby. You had to have a relationship first and she didn’t have the time for one.

“He’s only three months old. Jasmine and I had our youngest within a few weeks of each other and it’s been great to share the experience,” Trinity told her as she brought her son close to nurse.

Jasmine pulled her son Mark out of his car seat. He was awake but not hungry yet. Nicole wanted to hold him with an ache that surprised her but she didn’t want to be forward and ask. As if Jasmine could read her mind, she handed over her son and Nicole sighed in pleasure.

“Oh, I haven’t held such a tiny baby since Patsy was a newborn,” Nicole said in awe, as she rubbed his precious cheek. “He’s so little,” she added in complete awe.

“They’re a lot of work but worth every single minute and Derek is such an attentive and amazing father. He shares the nights with me, making everything perfect. There are many people who are disgusted with us,” Jasmine gushed.

“I don’t know of many men who are up for the three A.M feedings,” Trinity added. “Drew is just as amazing at helping me out. I couldn’t imagine doing this all on my own.”

“Do you get to stay at home with them?” Nicole asked.

“We own a shop together but only spend minimal time there and the babies always come with us. Ryan built us an amazing nursery and a play structure for the older kids. We get to have a business that’s ours. We take pride in it but still get to be the kind of mothers we want to be,” Trinity told her. Nicole was filled with a bit of envy, which she instantly felt guilty about.

It would be so heavenly to not have any worries and get to be a full-time mother. She felt more like a mom to Patsy, instead of a big sister and she wished she’d been able to be with her more but she always worked hard to keep a roof over their heads and the supplies Patsy needed to get a good education. She’d spend every free moment with her though, which was another reason she didn’t date. She really had a full plate.

The sad thing was she didn’t think she’d ever get to hold her own child in her arms. Maybe someday she thought wistfully. The women continued to visit and Nicole got her baby fix, holding little Mark in her arms.

The men slowly walked into the kitchen like it was a war zone. They were afraid the women were going to send them away again and the alpha males didn’t like the feeling of being told to go away. They crept through the doorway and there was an audible sigh of relief from all three men when they saw the women laughing.