The Billionaire's Nanny

Reconcilation

Lucas stiffened the moment he realized the words that just left his mouth, I was just as frozen to the spot, eyes glued to his and my chest thumping so hard, it roared in my ear

The first time he had said those words to me, he clearly did not know I was awake enough to hear him. At least that time I got the chance to escape giving him a reply by pretending I was sleeping like he expected I was.

I had hoped to get some time to prepare myself for those three words before he popped them up on m again, but clearly, there were other plans in store and now, I was standing face to face with him with his skin on mine, completely clueless in what to say to him.

"Is that a trick to try to get into my knickers tonight?" I joked, trying to force a laugh and failing miserably at it.

"No!" he said quickly, "God, please no. It's nothing of that sort." he sighed, raking his hand through his thick curls. "What I meant to say is..." another sigh. He was terrified. Terrified to tell me how he felt. He was not the only one though.

I had been aching to tell Lucas that I loved him for the longest time, but today as he expressed his love for me—although, it was pretty obvious he had not meant to tell me—instead of the good feeling I expected to get from hearing him say he loved me, there was a tight ache in my belly along with a feeling like I had been punched in the chest.

With another sigh, he tried to speak again. "I meant to tell you under very different circumstances and not even today, but that does not make me mean those words any less. I am in love with you Christine."

I was taken aback by his confession for a third time losing my balance briefly. His hand shot to steady me and he took the chance to hold on to me. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, and my mind worked to think of how to tell him I loved in too. "I'm sorry I'm shoving all of these down your throat." he said, mistaking my silence for denial, "I really did not mean to pop it up like this. I was hoping for a more relaxed time to tell you how I felt when we were long over our current issues for starters, and..."

I stood on my toes, ending his explanations as I smashed my lips into his. His shock made him resist for the fraction of a second, but after that initial reaction, he snaked his arms around me, pulling me closer and moving his lips against mine in a slow rhythm.

One arm fastened around his neck, while the other held his face to mine. "I love you too Lucas." It felt like a heavy weight was lifted off me the second I said the words, making me question why I had held it back in the first place. Ah right. The crazy ex-wife.

He studied my face for a few seconds, eyes longing for reassurance as he watched me, "Do you mean that?"

"With all my heart," I assured him. "Before I met you the only kind of love I had ever really know was the love I shared with my best friend. It was the only kind of love I thought existed. But..." I choked on my words, managing to hold back a sob. I was not going to start shedding tears and ruin what was going to be a beautiful moment between us, though I could already see the elephant in the room, waiting to ruin it for us. I continued after a brief pause, "but these last few months with you, with Abby and Aiden, they have done things to me. Things I could never imagine to be possible if I was not experiencing them myself. Your love for your kids, for your family, even when you are being an asshole," he chuckled lightly, "It's rubbed off on me and all I can say is I love you. I love this family too, with all my heart, with every fiber of my being."

He gave a relieved sigh, moving his palm up and down my neck. "I don't think I have enough words to express how much joy is coursing through me right now." he grinned, throwing his head back, "you love me, you fucking love me and my kids. What did I do to deserve you, Chris? I am a terrible bastard so I cannot think of what I could have possibly done to have the heavens send me someone like you."