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Bianca pulled Nick’s car into her driveway and cut the engine. They sat in silence for a few minutes not really knowing what to say. It was nearly 8 pm and Bianca felt mentally exhausted from their afternoon. Finally, she broke the uncomfortable silence. “Do you want to come in for a few minutes?”

Nick shook his head and raked a hand through his tousled blonde hair. “No, I should get going because I have a long ride home.”

She nodded and opened her door. Stepping out into the wintry night air, Bianca buttoned her coat and slipped her hands into her pockets. Nick was soon standing in front of her looking at everything but her. She suppressed a sigh and glanced at the house; the decorations were finally up thanks to her brother. “I’m having the results sent to Holly and she’s gonna give me a call as soon as she gets them. I don’t want to risk having them sent to my house and AJ seeing them. My marriage would be over if that happened.”

Nick sucked in a breath and turned to look out at the street. “Well, if there’s anything of interest to me in the results, give me a call. If not, well, I’ll understand if I don’t hear from you.”

“Thank you, Nick,” her voice was a broken whisper. She bit her quivering bottom lip and she felt a tear break free and slide down her cheek.

Without any words, Nick reached out and pulled her body close to his. He slipped his arms around her waist and pressed his face into the hollow of her neck as her arms found their way around his neck. Slowly, Nick pulled back to look into Bianca’s eyes and gently reached up to caress her cheek. Still staring into her cobalt eyes he hesitantly began lowering his face to hers. When he was sure that Bianca wasn’t going to pull away or haul off and slap him, he let his lips lovingly glide across hers; he lingered for a moment as he silently asked her permission to deepen the kiss. When he felt Bianca part her lips, Nick tenderly ran his tongue across her bottom lip tasting her. When this happened, he felt Bianca’s tongue slip into his mouth and she pressed her body against his as his hands found their way into her hair. They continued their hungry kisses and didn’t hear the front door open.

“Holy shit, I’m sorry guys!” Holly’s voice broke them apart.

Bianca quickly pushed herself away from Nick, her face burning in embarrassment and shame. Holly had her eyes covered and was trying to make her way to her car. Not looking at Nick, she started up the steps.

“Bean, wait…”

“I’m sorry, Nick. I don’t know what got into me,” Bianca chuckled nervously and tried to downplay the entire situation. “Holly, wait, I need you to come back inside for a few minutes. Sorry again Nick.”

“Bianca, come on…” Nick shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and started toward her but stopped when she held up her hand.

“No, Nick, look this can’t keep happening,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster. “This was my fault and I’m sorry. Be careful on your way home and give me a call just so I’ll know you got home okay.”

Nick took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm; that was definitely a challenge because all he wanted to do was take Bianca by the shoulders and shake her as hard as he could while he screamed at her. “Yeah, sure.”

Bianca flinched when he got into his car and slammed the door and watched, wide eyed, as he peeled out of the driveway without even checking for oncoming traffic. Choking back a sob, she felt fresh tears on her cheeks. Goodbye, Nick. She jumped when she felt Holly’s hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at her friend.

Holly looked concerned as she bit her lip. “Bean, what just happened?”

“I let him go,” she whispered sadly.

“Are you okay?”

“No, but I will be,” she answered.

“C’mon,” Holly said as she pulled Bianca toward the door. “I was just on my way out, but I can’t leave now. Your Mama bought ice cream today. We’re gonna go change into our pajamas and veg out in your room all night.”

Bianca smiled sadly and let Holly drag her into the house. She was very thankful to have such a good friend.



Brian made a quick survey of his bedroom to make sure he had packed everything he would need before turning off the lights and making his way downstairs. Just as he was about to walk out the door, his phone began to ring causing him to groan. If it wasn’t Nicole, he wasn’t answering. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Nick’s cell phone. He and Nicole would be late for their flight if he didn’t get going right now.

“He’ll call me on my cell when he gets the answering machine,” Brian mumbled to himself and continued out the door. Sure enough, just as he was slipping behind the wheel of his car, his cell phone began to ring. “Hey man, what’s up?”

“You know what? I don’t understand women and their fucking hormones! They make me crazy,” Nick cried at the sound of Brian’s voice.

“Hold up, Nick, what happened? What are you talking about?” Brian asked as he guided his car into traffic.

“Women! They drive me fucking crazy.”

Brian listened as Nick’s horn blared and he yelled a string of obscenities. “Nick, where are you?”

“On my way home… I’m somewhere on I95 in South Carolina.”

“What are you doing in…” Brian’s words trailed off as the realization hit him. “Oh, Nick, you didn’t. Tell me you didn’t go see her.”

“Yeah, I went Brian. Like a stupid fucking asshole. What was I thinking?”

Brian listened as Nick’s voice changed from rage to melancholy. He signaled a left right turn and found himself on Nicole’s street. Pulling into her driveway, he killed the engine and sat listening as his friend continued to berate himself. Nick was saying things that Brian had no clue about and he was a little confused. “Nick, you aren’t making any sense.”

“Brian, you have to swear that you’re not gonna say a word to anybody about what I’m gonna tell you.”

“You know I would never do that.”

“This is serious. And you’re probably gonna think that I’m the biggest jerk ever, but you can’t ever bring this up in front of anybody. Not even Nicole.”

“You have my word,” Brian answered and waited patiently for Nick to continue.

“Bianca’s pregnant and it could be my baby,” he paused and tried to sort out his thoughts. “When she got in that accident this fall, it was me she hit that day. Neither one of us was thinking clearly. One thing led to another and before we knew it… well, you know what happened. Anyway, she called me a few days ago and told me about the baby and when I found out she would be home this week, I just jumped in my car and drove up there. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I did that, but I did. It was a good thing because we were able to go to the doctor and have some tests done, but I let my emotions get in the way. Holly caught us kissing in Bianca’s driveway tonight and things just fell apart. I feel like shit.”

Brian processed the things Nick had just told him and tried to think of something to say to his best friend. “I’m sorry about all of this, Nick. I know how you feel about Bianca and I know it has to be hard for you, but maybe you need to let go.”

Nick choked back a sob as tears filled his eyes. Pulling onto the side of the interstate, he wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s not that easy, Brian. I just don’t know if I can let go and be done with it. Hell, what if this baby is mine? Not to mention the fact that I love her more than anything; how can you just let go like that?”

“Man, it’s not supposed to be easy! But she’s married, Nick… and not to just anyone. She’s married to our brother.”

“He’s not my fucking brother,” Nick spat hatefully.

“Yes, he is. No matter how pissed you are, AJ will always be your brother. We’ve all been through too much to turn our backs on one another and I don’t believe for one second that if he needed you, you wouldn’t be there for him. That’s not you, Nick. Like I’ve always said… if you and Bianca are meant to be, you will be. If not, you need to let her go for your own sanity. You can’t keep beating yourself up over this because it’s not your fault.”

‘Yeah,” he muttered dejectedly. “Well, I’m gonna get going. Thanks, Brian.”

“Be careful driving home. And don’t try and drive all night; stop and sleep somewhere.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Call me when you get in. I’ll be in Kentucky, but call me anyway.”

“Sure.”

“And cheer up man. It’s Christmas!” Brian said and heard Nick mumble something like “whatever” and hung up. Shaking his head, he pressed down on the horn and immediately saw the front door open. Smiling he stepped out of his car and greeted his girlfriend. “Hey, babe.”

“Are we ready? I don’t want to be late,” she grinned. Brian took the suitcase from her hands and put it in the back with his.

“We’re actually right on schedule,” Brian said checking his watch. Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

Nicole smiled and reached up to wipe the lipstick from Brian’s lips. “That’s not really your shade,” she said with a wink.

“Darn! I thought it was a good color for me,” Brian winked and shifted into reverse.

***

Stepping out of the airplane terminal, Brian took Nicole’s hand as they made their way through the crowd. Thankfully, their flight from Orlando to Lexington was only a little over two hours and right on schedule. Finally spotting his brother, Brian grinned and he and Nicole headed in Harry’s direction. Harry met them halfway and pulled Brian into a hug then turned to Nicole and hugged her as well.

“Hey old man, how are you?” Brian grinned and patted his older brother on the back.

“Not too shabby,” Harry laughed. “How was your flight?”

“Pretty good,” Brian nodded. “So, is everybody waiting for us? I can’t wait to see Mom and Dad.”

“They are just as excited as you. Trust me,” Harry replied as they waited for the luggage to make its way around to them. “They got the whole family together just for you.”

Spotting their luggage, Brian and Harry both grabbed a suitcase and made their way toward the exit. Brian wrapped his arm around Nicole’s shoulder and placed a kiss on her forehead before they slid into Harry’s SUV. Brian met Harry’s eyes in the rearview mirror and he saw a flicker of uneasiness cross his brother’s face, but quickly dismissed it when he felt Nicole nestle closer to him.

Ten minutes later, they were standing on the front porch of the Littrell’s home as Harry attempted to unlock the front door. Brian looked around and was in awe at the cars parked in the driveway and along the street. He surely hadn’t been expecting this type of welcome. “Do you need some help?”

“Nah, I got it,” Harry mumbled as he finally got the door open.

“Well, look who’s here!” they heard Jackie Littrell call as she bustled over to greet her son. “How’s my Baby Duck?”

“Hey Mom,” Brian smiled and gave his mother a tight squeeze. “Where’s Dad?”

“Welcome home, son,” Harold Littrell rounded the corner with a wide grin on his face.

“Come on in and shut the door, Harry. We don’t want to heat the neighborhood! How are you dear?” Jackie turned her attention to Nicole. “You look so good. Very healthy.”

Brian laughed and wrapped his arm around Nicole’s waist as they followed his parents into the den. His father was in the middle of telling Nicole a cheesy joke when Brian stopped suddenly. The very last person he expected to see seated on the loveseat was Julie Lewis. Yet, here she was, talking to his sister-in-law. Turning to look at his brother, he frowned. “Can I have a word?”

“Uh, sure.”

“You knew she’d be here, didn’t you?” Brian questioned when they were out of earshot.

“Yeah, but I swear, I just found out tonight! I had no idea she was coming,” Harry held up his hands and shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t even think she knew she’d be here tonight. You know how Mom is. When she found out Jules was in town, she immediately called Annette to see if they’d want to come over for our little get together.”

Brian scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned. “This is just great.”

“Brian, there you are! Aren’t you going to come and join everybody in here?” Jackie asked. Without waiting for a response from her youngest son, she began to lead him into the other room.

Looking back over his shoulder at Harry, he mouthed a threat before turned back toward the den. Plastering a smile on his handsome face, Brian tried to act as though there was no tension in the room. He felt his face begin to burn as Jackie led him over to where Julie was seated.

“Look who’s in town, honey,” Jackie grinned down at Julie.

“Hey, Brian,” she said quietly as she avoided his eyes.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to catch up.”

Glancing around the room, Brian tried to spot Nicole. He finally saw her standing over by the fireplace talking to one of his other family members and decided this would be a good time to talk to Julie. As he sat down, Julie took a deep breath and ran a hand through her short blonde hair.

“Look, I didn’t know that I would be coming tonight. I got home this afternoon and my Mom told me that we were invited; it’s not like I could tell your mother no.”

“You’re always welcome, Jules. I was just surprised to see you that’s all. I didn’t even know you were in Lexington,” he said and smiled at Nicole as she was being led from one person to the other for introductions. Even if she’d met his family before, they all had to speak to her again. His smile faded as he realized that she must not have noticed who he was talking to. She probably wouldn’t be very happy when she found out.

As if reading his mind, Julie sighed. “I should get going before she recognizes me. I wouldn’t want to start a catfight in your house.” She mentally kicked herself for letting that slip and stood up. “I thought I should stick around until you got home so they wouldn’t think that anything was wrong or that I was avoiding you. But now that I’ve offered my greetings, I’m gonna get out of here.”

“Jules, you don’t have to leave.”

“Yes, I do, Brian. You and I both know that Nicole can’t stand me and she’ll get pissed at you for even saying hello to me,” she flinched at the jealousy that seeped into her words. She tried to act nonchalant as she smiled. “It was good seeing you.”

“Yeah, you too,” he muttered and watched as she slipped out of the room unnoticed by anyone else. On his way over to join Nicole, he stopped behind his brother. “You are so dead, bro.”