A CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

Nina was extremely happy. Within months of joining Standard Gate Communications, she had landed the accounts of two big firms. Evan and everyone at her agency were proud of her, and more importantly, she was proud of herself too. She felt fulfilled. Everything was moving fine. She had a raise at work. She was in love with the most amazing man she had ever met. They were having a baby and today she was moving in with him.

She had not seen Julian in two weeks and she was eager to. Most of her luggage had been moved to his place the previous day, and he was coming to pick her up that afternoon. She was excited about the change, but she was also sad to leave Abby, who had been a great friend to her. An amazing friend who had welcomed her into her home when she was confused and had nowhere to go. She would always be grateful to her for her support.

She and Abby watched Julian drive into the parking lot, then waited for him to come up to the house. He grinned when he came in and saw Nina…. standing there with her luggage.

She ran up to him and hugged him, but he withdrew only to grab her again to kiss her passionately.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you” he said in between kisses.

“I’ve missed you too” Nina replied as she clung to him.

“Ew, you guys” Abby said as she watched them. “Get a room, will you? Well, in this case you guys are getting a whole house together so may I suggest you keep it in your pants till you get there?”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Nina laughed while Julian glared playfully at his sister.

“Is everything ready?” he asked Nina as he released her.

“Yeah, everything is ready” Nina replied, “except for this…”

She went over to Abby and they hugged each other tightly. “I love you, girl,” Nina whispered. “I love you so much.”

Abby shut her eyes. “I love you too, Nina and I’m so happy with the way things turned out.”

They released each other but still held each other’s hands. “You are the most amazing friend a girl could ever ask for” Nina continued, “You helped me… gave me a place to stay when I needed it. You were always there when I needed you…”

“Oh please stop. You’re going to make me cry” Abby said, but the tears were already falling. “See?”

“Oh Abby” Nina hugged her again and soon she was crying too.

Julian watched them from where he stood. “Hey hey.” he said. “I thought this was supposed to be a happy moment? There should be no crying, come on…”

“Oh this is a happy moment, trust me” Nina replied.

“Yes. These are tears of joy” Abby added.

“Oh please” Julian said, but he was smiling too. He absolutely loved the fact that his sister and fiance were so close. Whenever he imagined what the future would be like, all he could see was a big happy family, and he couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for all of them.

Abby saw them off to the car, and after they said their goodbyes and promised to meet up with each other soon, Julian and Nina left for their new home.

“Nervous?” Julian asked Nina as they got on the road. He couldn’t help but notice that she was quiet.

“Yeah I’m fine” Nina replied and smiled at him. “Yeah I’m a bit excited, but I’m going to miss Abby so much”

“I know, but you guys can visit each other, and oh look… one advantage is that you are going to be with each other… let’s focus on that, okay babe?”

“Sure,” she said.

“Congratulations once again on the new account for Standard Gates. I bet Evan is thanking his stars. He must be really glad that he hired you. Anyone would be?”

“Thank you. My dad and brothers were really thrilled too. I told them that we were moving in together… and they seemed happy about it. It’s funny how my dad was so pissed at me when I left his company… Now he’s so supportive and happy for me. Everything seems to be working out fine and I really hope it stays that way.”

Julian reached out and took her hand in his.” It will, “he said,” And if anything comes up, we will face it together. And now, about the baby, I have a surprise for you when we get home ”

Nina’s eyes widened.” What is it?” she asked him.

He squeezed her hand and grinned at her. “Relax baby. I said it was a surprise. You will find out soon enough.”

_______

Julian helped Nina get her small box into the house and up to her room. Her other belongings that had arrived the previous day were already in the room.

“I figured it was better to let you unpack them yourselves and fix the room the way you like” Julian said to her.

Nina smiled and stood on her toes so she could kiss him on his cheek. “Thank you, Julian” she said, “I love it”

He grabbed her waist and pressed her against his hard frame. “I thought you’d love to have your own room because I know how much you love your privacy. But let’s not get things wrong, baby. You’re going to be spending every night with me… in my bed.”

Nina giggled and gave him a sexy smile. “Sounds good to me,” she replied, tracing the buttons of his shirt with her fingers. “Although I’m sure there are nights that I might need a little… convincing”

“Trust me, I’d be glad to help.” He kissed her lightly on the lips, then took her hand in his. “And now, for the big surprise… Come with me..”

Nina followed him, wondering what the mystery was all about. He didn’t let go of her hand. He took her to the room next to hers and opened the door, motioning for her to go in first and she did.

Right there, in the middle of the room, was a beautiful crib, a red ribbon tied to it. “For the baby,” he said. Nina stared at it, her eyes misty with tears. She turned to him.

“Oh Julian, it’s so beautiful” she threw her arms around him. He pressed her gently towards him, his face buried in her hair. “Thank you so much, Julian. I love it” she whispered in his ear.