Just One Dare (The Kingston Family 5)

“Aurora’s asleep. She was up most of the night at the hospital, but sure. Come on over. I’ll text you the address.”

Nick had peeked in on Aurora earlier and she was out cold in her bed. She’d obviously needed the sleep, and he doubted she’d care if his brother visited.

About forty minutes later, Nick let Asher into the house. He had a big box in his hand. “Jesus, what did you do?”

“Asked my secretary what a five-year-old girl would want. Someone needs to be the cool uncle.” He grinned and Nick rolled his eyes.

“Zach bought her Unicorn Poo. Think you can beat that?” Nick led him inside and introduced Leah to her Uncle Asher, who spent fifteen minutes talking to her, an amused smile on his face as he nodded, not getting a word in edgewise.

When she opened her gift—an American Girl doll with blonde hair just like Leah—she jumped up and down with excitement. “Thank you!” she screeched and Nick winced, putting a finger over his lips. “Indoor voice.” He repeated what he’d heard Aurora say, knowing she also needed to be kept calm after her stint in the hospital.

Leah held her doll in her arms and nodded.

Asher glanced at Nick. “See? Cool uncle.”

Nick felt a tug on his pants and glanced at Leah. “What’s up, princess?”

“I’m tired.”

Nick picked her up and carried her to her room. “You’ve had quite the experience and nobody sleeps well in a hospital. How about you take a nap, like your mommy?” he asked, putting her down on the bed.

“I want to sleep with Mommy,” she said.

He shrugged. “Does she let you?”

“Duh!” She grabbed her doll and ran out of the room.

He padded down the hall to Aurora’s bedroom and glanced in. Leah had already climbed beneath the covers and curled into her mother’s arms. There wasn’t a sound from either one of them. He wanted to join them, but had to console himself with, maybe someday.

He stepped out and returned to the family room, dropping into the sofa beside Asher.

“You’ve got your hands full with that one,” his brother said, but the smile on his face told Nick he was as smitten with Leah as Nick was.

“No kidding.” He stretched his legs out in front of him, leaned his head back and groaned. “But it’s been a long fucking night and day.” He could use some sleep himself. He raised his head and glanced at Asher, who watched him silently.

“How are you handling all this?” Asher finally asked.

“Better than I would have thought,” Nick admitted. “I took one look at her and I was all-in. There’s not a doubt in my mind that I want to be an active part of her life.”

“It’s a big change. I’m glad you’re happy.” As the oldest, Asher liked to manage things. Nick wondered how his brother would handle what Nick had to say next. “It’s a huge change… and I’ll need my job to adjust with it.”

Asher straightened in his seat. In his suit and tie, he reminded Nick of Linc Kingston, the businessman, even when dealing with family. Then again, he’d brought Leah a doll she’d heard of and it had made her happy. There was a beating heart in there somewhere, Nick thought wryly.

“Meaning what?” Asher asked.

“I want to hire someone to do the traveling when we have issues at the hotels. Being away and getting a call my daughter was in the hospital? That’s not something I want to repeat. I want to be there for everything important.” He’d been thinking about this the entire plane ride home. “And Aurora? Well, she needs me to have a home base.”

Asher’s eyes opened wide, his expression stunned. “You want to change your entire life for a chick you knocked up over six years ago?”

Nick stiffened and glanced back to make sure Aurora wasn’t walking down the hall. “Watch it,” he warned the brother he respected. “She’s not just some chick. And she’s not just Leah’s mother to me, either.”

Asher eyed him seriously. “You don’t answer to me, Nick. The hotels are your domain. Dad’s around, if you need guidance. So am I, but you know more than we do at this point.” He crossed one leg over the other. “He groomed you for the hotel business.”

Nick grinned. “Because I followed him everywhere, wanting to be just like him.” They all had a share in the hotels, but Nick was the most hands-on.

Asher laughed. “That, I remember. If you want to hire someone to train, then go ahead. Now tell me about Aurora.”

Once again, Nick glanced towards the still empty hall, then began drumming his fingers on the soft sofa. Asher could be trusted with his dark secrets. And Nick knew his brother would love Aurora, too.

“If you think our family has crazy in it, you have no idea what she’s been through,” he said, keeping his voice low.