Tasha blinked as she stared at her ceiling and turned to the alarm clock beside her bed. 3:12 AM. Two minutes since she last checked.

Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. Tossing and turning in bed was no fun, especially since she’d been doing it for the last four hours. It was doubly annoying because she had a nine AM meeting with Kevin and Nick downtown Los Angeles. That meant she had to be ready and leave with Nick at eight.

She sighed heavily. She shouldn’t have had that soda with JC before he left for Las Vegas earlier that evening. By the time she was ready to go to bed, she was so sugared up that she couldn’t sleep even if she wanted to.

Tasha grabbed her phone from the nightstand and sent a quick message to JC.

I’m pretty sure that soda had crack, because I’m still wide awake, thank you very much. Some friend you are.

She dropped her phone on the bed and stood up, not expecting a response from him at least until he got to Vegas in about an hour or so. 

Clad only in her underwear and a Ramones tank top, Tasha stepped through the open balcony doors of her room and stared at the night sky. Usually the gentle crash of the waves onto the shore was enough to lull her to sleep but tonight, in addition to the sugar high, it was also hot as hell, and as tempted as she was to crank up her air conditioner, she got cold easily as well.

Leaning forward over the balcony railing, she peeked to her left and saw Nick’s back patio completely dark. She could only see a part of the beach house from where she stood, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get a peek at Nick’s private life. It had been a month since that barbeque in his house, the same confusing evening when he ushered her and JC out of his private studio. Nick still hadn’t talked to either one of them about it but JC assured her that he just needed time.

He wasn’t kidding. Nick was taking a whole month’s worth of time.

Tasha wasn’t complaining. He’d kept her on the go, with her appearance on Ellen, her performance at the KTLA morning show, her Youtube duet with Bruno Mars, her special appearance on the new Black Keys record and now, finally, recording her first single.

She’d been wonderfully busy, which distracted her from the fact that Nick had been so detached, almost too focused on the nitty gritty of her career to even spend real one on one time with her. Like she was just...business.

JC had repeatedly reminded her not to take it too personally, which she appreciated. At a recent night out with the other studio engineers and musicians, JC pulled her aside and reminded her that Nick was human, like the rest of them.

“Tash, Nick’s your manager, he needs to be focused on the nitty gritty. Otherwise, your career would be over before it even takes off.”

She gave him a wan smile and shrugged, hoping it came off as nonchalant. “I get it. I do. It’s just...I don’t know, it was good and fun and friendly before. Now it’s just...professional.”

“Nick gets in different moods. This month, it just seems like he’s pulling away but he’s working on his stuff, all the crazy things in his head. He’ll be back to his old self soon enough.” At that point, JC dropped a shot glass filled with her favourite vodka in front of her. “Now stop trying to ‘friendzone’ me by talking about my brother-in-law. Let’s do some shots. I’m hoping to get you drunk enough so I can have my way with you.”

She adored that JC made her laugh. He made her laugh all the crazy time.  He was like the brother she never had, and although he flirted with her outrageously every opportunity he got, she knew their connection was purely platonic, at least from where she stood.

From inside her room, she heard her phone beep. She ran in and picked it up from underneath her pillow.

I can’t believe you’re blaming me for your bad drink decisions. Why aren’t you asleep, really? Better question: what are you wearing?

And did she forget to mention that getting to know JC also meant finding out he was one world class perv? Lovable, but pervy nonetheless.

C, you know I love you, but why do you have to go and make our friendship all about your perviness?

She grinned as she sent the message. He must be in Vegas already. When he told her the day before that he was abandoning her for a while so he can spend time with some “special lady friends (insert JC wink here)”, she was half tempted to join him, just so she wouldn’t be alone in the Compound with Nick.

Okay, that sounded wrong. The Compound was plenty busy during the day but at night, without the engineers and security guys and musicians, the Compound was...well...eerily quiet.

Normally, on evenings when she and JC weren’t working, she would hang out with him and Matty at the beach house while Nick was busy doing...well, whatever it was that he did on his own. Other nights, she would drive over to Leigh’s or Rochelle’s for some girl time.

Tasha pulled on her shorts, went back out onto the balcony and contemplated the next few days. She hadn’t really talked to Nick one on one lately. It was either her and Nick and JC in a room or Nick relaying information to her through JC or Leigh. If he wasn’t supervising a recording session from the engineering both, he was running around on his phone or in various closed door meetings.

Her calendar was plenty full though. Nick thought having JC away was a good time to schedule her contract signing with the label as well as have her meet with a few potential publicists and assistants.

Yes, she was still getting used to the idea herself. Nick thought her busy enough to warrant her very own ASSISTANT. So the next few days were going to be spent with her away from the studio and being near a distracted Nick, as well as sitting through interviews.

All she really wanted to do was practice her guitar and fine tune her songs.

Or better yet, fly to Maryland to visit her dad. It had been a month since she last saw him, although she called practically everyday. His doctor assured her he was doing well and having more good days than bad. Her dad even asked her questions about California the last time they talked, which meant he was slowly getting back to his old self.

But that reassurance didn’t make Tasha feel less detached from her life. She wanted to be there for her dad and at the same time, wanted to keep going on this roller coaster ride that was her new career in music. She needed to figure out a balance.

She needed to talk to Nick.

Her phone beeped again.

You’re mistaking my West Coast charm for perviness. I can see how a girl from Baltimore can get confused. Have you figured out what to tell Nick yet?

And there goes JC reading her mind again.

I’m still working on that. But my calendar is so full, I don’t know if he’ll let me fly to visit Dad for a few days.

And it was. Outside of meeting publicists and future assistants, there were interviews, schmoozing, more media training. Rehearsals for three upcoming club shows. Guitar practice...

He will. You just need to ask. Don’t be a pussy.

Tasha’s smile widened.

You need to work on your pep talks, Chasez. But thanks.

That left Tasha strumming her fingers lightly on the balcony railing, thinking for the umpteenth time that day how to tell Nick that she wanted a few days off.

God, she hated this changed relationship she had with him. A month ago, she would’ve been able to come up to him and tell him she wanted a few days off and he would’ve given her anything she wanted. Now, he was so enmeshed in his own world that Tasha was pretty sure he wouldn’t see her even if she stood right in front of him.

She was worried about him, but at the same time, she was angry at herself for caring too much. She should be focused on working on her first single, on screening a new band. Instead, she thought about excuses to talk to Nick. She was worse than a Backstreet Boy fangirl.

Tasha shook her head and slipped on her flip flops. She needed sleep so she didn’t have any more weird thoughts about her manager. And at this point, she needed something else to help her get back to bed.

Slipping her phone in her shorts’ back pocket, she quickly ran down the stairs attached to her balcony and made the five minute walk to the beach house.

Since moving to the Artist House a month before, she’d learned how to “acquire” a few things, especially in a building that didn’t have a stocked central kitchen and what passed for a refrigerator in her room only fit six bottles of water and the occasional box of leftovers. She knew where to find the ice cold premium vodka.

JC had tipped her off a few weeks ago when the heat wave started and the only way she could sleep was either by taking a long bubble bath or having a few shots of Grey Goose. Since no one in the Artist House had it in stock, JC graciously told her he’d keep the beach house’s patio bar fridge unlocked just for her. Since then, she’d slipped out to the beach house, after making sure that the patio was empty, of course, and made herself a few shooters. By the time she would make her way back to her room, she would be so relaxed, she’d fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.

Tasha walked up the dark patio steps and made her way quickly behind the bar purely from memory. Not wanting to risk waking Nick up, she skipped turning on the lights and felt her way to the beer fridge. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness almost immediately.

Her phone started vibrating from her pocket as soon as she poured herself a shot.

“Are you having Nick’s vodka without me?” JC teased as she answered the phone.

Tasha laughed. “You know this whole psychic thing you’re doing is starting to creep me out,” she answered in a hushed voice. “How did you know I was stealing Nick’s booze?”

JC sounded mildly offended that she even had to ask. “Come on, Tash, you’re a creature of habit. And besides, free Grey Goose is hard to resist.”

She grabbed her shooter and the ice cold bottle and sat on the massive lounger next to the bar. “How’s Vegas and your lady friends?”

“Don’t distract me. Have you thought about what you’re going to say?”

Tasha sighed. “You’re like a dog with a bone, aren’t you? No I haven’t figured out what to tell Nick yet. And don’t call me a pussy, just because this potential conversation is freaking me out.”

“Baby, Nick is Nick. You can talk to him, anytime. It sucks that he’s channeling...what’s that douchebag vampire’s name...”

“Who, Edward?”

“Yes, Edward. But you’re no Bella. You’re stronger than that. You need to take charge of your career, and your life, baby. And we’re here to help you, so talk to him. We only want what you want so you’re in charge.”

At this point, Tasha wished JC was in front of her so she could give him a hug. He was so good to her, and to her ego. “You’re right, C. I am in charge. I’ll talk to Nick tomorrow.”

“Good girl. Love you, gotta go, someone’s at the door.”

“Love you too, C. Don’t forget to use protection,” she closed with a smile. Tasha shook her head and dropped her phone on the lounge next to her. Her shot glass was full and beckoning and she decided she needed a couple of shots to get some sleep as well as liquid courage for tomorrow.

“I’ve been wondering where my vodka’s disappeared to,” a soft voice from behind her said. It took all of Tasha’s quick reflexes not to literally jump and drop her shot.

“Holy...Nick?” He came out of the shadows quickly, catching her before she fell off the edge of the lounger.

He grinned playfully as he guided her upright by the waist. “Sorry, did I surprise you, my little alco thief?”

Tasha looked up at him in the moonlight and felt her heart stop and restart again, seeing him so close. It had been a while since he was, well, touching distance, and Tasha forgot how wonderfully breathtaking that was.

In her surprise, she subtly pushed away his arm against her. “Jesus, Nick, you could’ve warned me you were here.”

He ruffled her hair as he settled down next to her on the lounger with his own shot glass. “Scoot over and hand me that bottle. Vodka shooters are better with friends.”

“Couldn’t sleep either?” she asked as she handed him the bottle and move a safer distance away from him.

He shrugged as he poured himself a shot. “I was preoccupied.” Raising his glass he smiled at her and touched the rim of her glass with his. “Here’s to a peaceful night.”

She nodded and drank her vodka with him, relishing the line of heat as it went down her throat. Moving over a little bit more to give them more space in between each other, she leaned back against the cushions and crossed her legs.

At the corner of her eye, she saw Nick looking at her. She pretended to not see him by looking at the clear night sky.

“I can’t get over how beautiful it is here.”

“Here in the Compound or California in general?” Nick asked, pouring them another shot. “Here you go. One more, for tomorrow’s signing.”

She accepted the glass and downed the shot quickly. Oh how she loved her Grey Goose. It went down so smoothly she didn’t even feel the buzzing unless...well, she tried to move.

“Just right here. Clear sky, dark night, full moon. Waves crashing, sand between my toes. It feels like what home should be.”

Nick leaned back on the cushions with her and smiled. “Sounding more and more like a songwriter. JC’s influence, I hope?”

She turned to smile at him. “And yours.”

Looking at him turned out to be a mistake though, because as he returned her smile with a touch of his thumb to her cheek, she noticed how exhausted he looked, with his cheeks gaunt and the bags dark under his eyes more noticeable. She sat up and touched his hand by her face.

“Oh Nick,” she breathed. “You look tired. Are you okay?”

He kept his smile and clutched her hand with his. “Yes, just working through some insomnia. I don’t look that terrible, do I?” He raised her hand up to his lips and dropped a quick kiss on it. “I’ve missed you, Tash. We haven’t talked in a while have we?”

She shook her head, blatantly aware of Nick’s quick change of subject. “No, but everything’s been so...busy.” She pulled her hand away from his so slowly, he didn’t notice. Or so she hoped.

If he did notice, he didn’t let on. “So you need to talk to me?”

Oh God, she hoped the darkness hid her embarrassment. “Oh you heard that?”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, I promise.” He turned to her. “Hey, sorry I’ve been MIA, in more ways than one. And I hate the fact that you feel you couldn’t talk to me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t. It’s just...you’re doing so much for me, my career, all these interviews, these shows...and in the process, I feel like I don’t really want to ask for more, you know?”

“Tash, you’re my main priority,” he said, sitting up and looking straight in her eyes. “I’m here to make sure you have everything you want and need. So, ask me anything. As long as it’s not the moon.”

“Well...”

“Do you want a car? A personal driver? A new guitar? New wardrobe? Actually I’ve been thinking about getting you your own car and driver...”

Tasha looked appalled. “What? No! Do I give off that ‘high maintenance’ vibe? I don’t need any of that, jeez Nick.”

He became confused. “What is it then?”

“Home. I just want to go home to visit Dad for a few days. I haven’t seen him in a month but he’s starting a new drug regimen and I want to be there for it. But the schedule is full of meetings and studio work and I’m not sure how much work it takes to reschedule so...”

Nick shook his head and laughed. “Stop, stop. Good God, that was the last thing I expected.” He looked at her for a few moments and shook his head again. “I have to constantly remind myself you’re not like other people I know. You actually APPRECIATE working for what you have.” He smiled. “It’s refreshing.”  

Tasha didn’t really know how to respond to that except a slight smile and a look back at the sky.

“Yes,” he told her softly a few moments later. “We’ll reschedule everything and make sure you’re home tomorrow. Four days? Five?”

She didn’t realize that she was holding her breath until she exhaled. “Four days would be plenty, Nick. Thank you.”

“Oh no, don’t thank me, I completely dropped the ball on this. You’re supposed to be home three days out of the week and I totally forgot. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Where do you want to stay?”

“Oh don’t worry, I’ll stay at the boarding house, I’m sure one of the girls can spare a couch.”

Nick shook his head as he grabbed her shot glass and poured both of them another round of shots. “No.”

Tasha turned to him immediately, surprised at his answer. “No?”

“You’re staying at a hotel. I promised you you’re not going back to that place you called home in the last year. Especially in that neighborhood.” He handed her a shot. “Now drink.”

Tasha drank the vodka too fast, so she can reply to his last statement. There was nothing wrong with East Baltimore. It had been home for a while and she made friends...Oh wow, that shot went down really well.

“I’ll have Leigh book you at the Four Seasons. That’s where I usually stay and about a ten minute cab ride to the hospital.”

She shook her head. “It’s all the way, iunno, in the other side of town. My boarding house is like 5 blocks away from Dad.”

“Baby, it’s a boarding house. Stay at the Four Seasons, please, for my sanity.”

“But it’s so far. And I like to walk,” she slurred. Wait, was she drunk already? “You called me baby.”

Nick’s smile turned impish. “I did.”

“JC calls me baby too.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“You guys need to be more creative.”

Nick laughed in surprise. “I’ll try. What do you want me to call you? Darling? Beautiful?”

She shook her head slowly. It was a giant effort to move. “Call me ‘my love’, but only if you mean it.”

Nick smiled and took out the glasses and bottles between them and placed all on the table beside their feet.

“And call me Natasha Grace if I’ve REALLY pissed you off,” she suggested as she closed her eyes. Man, this was the best feeling in the world. The feel of the fresh night breeze, the sound of the waves crashing on the sand, the smell of Nick’s aftershave and the feel of his steady heartbeat as he pulled her to his chest.

“But you can keep calling me baby if you want,” she murmured against his shirt. “I like the way you say it.”

She snuggled closer to Nick and felt him drop a kiss atop her head. He tightened his hold on her and her last thoughts before falling asleep was why does this feel so right?

*********

It was the most vivid dream he’d had in years.

She was soft. Even with his eyes closed, he felt the curves against his hand and wanted to feel more of her skin. He shifted his leg and pulled her to him, wanting the smell of vanilla and sunscreen oh so much closer.

As one hand started exploring the curve of her back, the other was tentatively touching the silkiness of her bare midriff. Feeling her leg curling above his in response to his touch, he leaned in closer and breathed in her essence, and dropped a soft open mouthed kiss on her neck, just under her ear.

She rocked her body close, the friction he felt between his pants and her underwear was starting to get pretty uncomfortable. Also, what were they doing still wearing clothes? He needed to take care of that immediately.

He moved her top up so he can feel her skin against his, and when his hand closed on her breast, the feeling took his breath away, and made him bite onto her earlobe none too gently.

He heard her breath catch and smiled. He slipped one hand underneath her underwear to cup her unbelievably shaped ass, and pushed her up so his mouth lined up to her breasts.

In the back of his mind, he heard the familiar sound of waves crashing and, wait, was that crying?

“DAAADDDDYYYY!”

Nick’s eyes opened quickly as his ears picked up a distressed cry from his son.

Almost at once, he was met with an equally surprised look from...

Tasha.

Reality tumbled down when he realized just exactly what had happened and where his hands were.

Both of them pulled away from each other so fast, Nick fell off the lounger, landing butt first onto the patio floor. Quickly looking away as Tasha set her clothes straight, he scrambled to get up.

“Jesus,” Nick breathed as he grabbed the baby monitor from atop the bar. “Tasha, I...”

Her eyes were still wide with disbelief as she inched further away from him and the scene of the crime. “What just happened?”

Matty’s crying got louder and from what Nick could surmise, it could either be a wet diaper or a bad dream. In either case, he needed to make a run for it.

“I...I have to go. Stay here,” he said, not looking directly at her. “I’ll be back. Give me a few minutes.”

His heart rate went into overdrive not so much from the exertion of climbing up four flights of stairs but from the total shock of what he woke up to, and how unbelievably hot it was. How did his mind even think it was a dream when everything was happening in reality?

“I’m here, Matty,” he whispered as he rushed into his son’s room, “Daddy’s here.”

He picked up the crying toddler from his crib and soothed his small body racked with tears. “What is it, baby?”

“I monsters, Daddy,” he wailed against his father’s ear. “I scared and you gone!”

Nick kept making the soothing circling motions against his son’s back and waited until he calmed down. Looking at the Thomas the Tank Engine truck in the far wall, he realized it was just about 7:30. Thirty minutes before he had to leave with Tasha to see Kevin and the rest of the guys downtown.

“Sorry, boss, I was making coffee downstairs, I didn’t hear him,” Damon said, running into the room.

Nick nodded. “Matty, no monsters, okay? Damon and I are here. We’ll make sure the monsters don’t hurt you. Okay, baby?”

After a few hiccups, Matty looked at his father’s face and gave him a frown of disbelief. “You pwomise?”

“Cross my heart, Matty. And I promise, next time you wake up, I’ll be here, okay?”

Matty gave Nick a tight hug. “I love you, Daddy.”

Nick closed his eyes against the onslaught of guilt and hugged his little boy tight. What was he doing, drinking with Tasha at three in the morning and then waking up...

He didn’t want to think about it. What he should’ve done was sleep in his bed and all of this wouldn’t have happened.

“Come on, little man, I got just the thing to make you feel better,” Damon said, taking Matty from Nick’s arms. “How do you feel about Cheerios for breakfast?”

Matty’s smile widened as he raised his arms in celebration. “Cheerios!” He turned to Nick and clapped, “Daddy cheerios?”

Nick dropped a kiss on Matty’s forehead and said, “Daddy has to talk to Tasha downstairs but I’ll join you for Cheerios in a few minutes, okay?”

Matty’s smile was bright, like he wasn’t just crying a minute ago. “Tasha Cheerios!”

Damon looked curious. “Tasha? She’s here? This early?”

Nick gave Damon a look to drop the subject. Damon gave his boss a sly smile.

“Well well. It’s about time, Carter.”

Nick ignored Damon and walked out of the room and down the stairs as fast as his feet could take him. A part of him wished that what happened this morning DIDN’T happen but his usual good luck seemed to be changing.

Walking through the patio doors, he breathed in deep to brace himself. They needed to talk about what happened, to clear the air. And he needed to apologize for being a fucking lecher.

But instead of Tasha, he found a note waiting for him at the bar.

Left to get ready. See you in the car at 8. - T

He leaned back against the bar and dropped the note, running his hands through his hair. Flashes of everything from last night and this morning were coming back to him and he really really didn’t want to remember.

He had spent the better part of the last month trying to get a grip on everything: his emotions, his responsibilities to Matty, his own commitments and most especially, his awkward physical reaction to Tasha.

He really had nipped it in the bud, especially since that night at the studio with JC. But the overwhelming guilt at causing his wife’s death on top of sleepless nights had made him cranky and unapproachable and with it, came the automatic distancing of himself from other people.

JC didn’t care. He still was up in Nick’s business to no end. Almost every night, he heard a lecture about letting people in, about learning how to handle his grief around others. Nick, stubborn since birth, had made it a point to NOT listen, and dealt with it on his own.

But the more he removed himself from Tasha, the more she watched him. He felt it, he knew she wanted to comfort him in her way, but he just didn’t stay around her long enough to let her.

And then a few weeks ago, the dreams started.

One night, as he sat in the patio alone, nursing a beer before bed, he saw a familiar figure come up the patio steps and help herself to a few shots of vodka. She never really saw him, because she’d only stay for a few minutes and Nick was always under the cover of darkness.

She came back every night, sometimes taking vodka, sometimes nursing a beer for half an hour. And every night Nick was there, watching, sometimes curious, mostly immobilized with impossibly delicious thoughts.

The dreams came because she almost always wandered over only in a tank top and underwear, like she was just walking outside her bedroom to the kitchen. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, not even if he wanted to.

He thought she was beautiful when he first met her. But now, after spending time with her and getting to know her, she was so different than what he expected. And seeing her with hardly any clothes on, he was a dead man and he knew it.

He respected her enough to not abuse his position. Nick knew many talent managers and producers who took advantage of their talents in such a sick way, he was determined to not be another statistic. And besides, Faith had only been gone for two years. That’s not enough time to move on...or was it?

********

Tasha opened the car door to Nick’s black Range Rover at 8 AM precisely, ready to face Nick and talk about this morning. Both of them were totally caught off guard that their first instinct was to flee: Nick to Matty and Tasha to her room. Even then, she didn’t know what exactly transpired, only that she had woken up from a wonderful dream to feel Nick’s hand on her breast and another on her ass. His look of shock mirrored hers, she was certain.

“Oh there you are! Come on, we’re all riding together.”

Leigh’s smiling face was such a relief that Tasha had to pull the older woman in for a hug.

She laughed. “You do remember we just saw each other yesterday, right?”

Tasha smiled. “You’re just a sight for sore eyes, that’s all,” she said with a smile. “I had a rough night.”

Leigh squeezed her friend’s hand. “Well you look fabulous. All those makeup lessons from Ro are paying off! No hint of dark circles.”

Tasha pulled her phone out. “You have no idea. I’m totally texting Ro that you said that. I thought you weren’t coming for the signing today?”

“Oh, Grumpy called me fifteen minutes ago, he said you wanted to fly to see your pops in Baltimore?” At Tasha’s nod, Leigh pulled out her arsenal of tools: her iPad, her cellphone, and her black notebook. “Then let’s get crackin’. The sooner we reschedule all your appointments and book your flights, the better. Also, since Grumpy’s going to be in the car, he can yay or nay any of our ideas.”

Grumpy. Leigh says it with love but a few times this month, she managed to just barely stop herself from throwing her iPad at Nick’s head. Not that he’d been unreasonable. He’d just been...distracted. Leigh’s theory is that if anything can get his head straight, it would be a well aimed iPad hitting his noggin.

“And here comes his Majesty.” Leigh mused with a laugh. “He looks much worse than you...and that’s with coffee.”

Tasha turned away from Leigh so she wouldn’t see the slow blush that crept up her cheeks.

Damon hopped into the driver’s seat as Nick slid into the passenger side, in front of Leigh.

“Morning, sunshine!” Leigh greeted. “You too, Grumpy.”

Nick grunted while Damon turned to the two of them in the back. “Ready to boogie, ladies?”

At Tasha’s nod and Leigh’s enthusiastic ‘woo’, Damon smiled and turned to the wheel, but not before giving Tasha a wink.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Damon, then at Nick, who seemed hell bent on ignoring her.

“Okay, Baltimore, what do you have for us today? Tash, do you want to leave right after the signing or---”

Thankfully, with Leigh’s enthusiasm and steady stream of questions, the hour-long drive to the Millennium Building passed quickly, with only one moment of uncomfortable eye contact with Nick and no further winks from Damon.

In fact, by the time they got to the Millennium Building parking lot, Leigh had booked four return trips to Baltimore in the next three months as well as a weekend trip to a spa in Sonoma Valley with the girls because, according to Leigh, “you’re working Tasha to the ground, Nick, she needs a vacation from you.”

Nick didn’t disagree.

The foursome reached the executive floor of the building, with Howie waiting for them by the reception desk.

Howie gave quick handshakes to Nick and Damon and an extended (and publicly uncomfortable) kiss to his wife before giving Tasha a big warm hug. When he offered his arm to escort her into Kevin’s office, Tasha said, “Howie, if I knew how much of a charmer you are, I might’ve just let you be my manager instead of Nick.”

That statement seemed to snap Nick out of his stupor. He gave her a wry grin and pushed Howie aside before offering his own arm.

Tasha accepted and although touching his arm sent an almost electric shock of awareness through her, she kept her back straight and avoided Nick’s gaze.

They walked into the empty receiving area leading into Kevin’s office, Nick stopped and asked the others to go ahead inside and give them a few minutes alone to talk.

When they all disappeared behind the massive doors, Nick pulled Tasha aside, leading her to the furthest corner away from the doors, making sure they weren’t heard.

“Nick?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, running nervous fingers through his hair. “About this morning. I’m so freakin’ sorry, I can’t...I didn’t mean to take advantage of you like that.”

Tasha nodded. “I know.”

“I thought I was dreaming. It was so surreal.” Nick touched her arm. “Can we just chalk it up to too much vodka and not enough sleep?”

She was relieved that he felt the same way she did. “Oh God, yes please.”

His smile was sheepish. “So we’re okay? This isn’t weird?”

Tasha laughed. “Nick, of course it’s still weird. But we’ll work hard to make sure it’s not weird for long. Deal?”

His hands closed on hers tightly. “Deal.”

As he turned away, Tasha got up the nerve to call out, “And Nick?”

“Yes, Tasha.”

“Maybe we can also work on you not being too...well, distant? I want to be here for you too and you make it really difficult if you keep staying away.”

Nick paused and gave her a half smile before taking her hand. “One thing at a time, baby. One thing at a time.”