That moment when he first saw her, he'd wanted her. He'd curbed that desire, and fucked out his frustration in other women. When she finally was close every single day, he hadn't been able to handle it, lashing out at her as if it was her fault. She didn't have a clue that he'd wanted her, or Frank's protection of her.
"You're going to be a dad?"
"I'm going to be a father. Kind of weird, huh? So long I've been alone."
"What's going on now between you and Nora?" Alaric asked.
"I'm making up my horrible behavior toward her. I want to prove to her that not only will I be a good husband, I will be an amazing father."
"Husband?"
"I'm going to ask her to marry me, on Valentine's Day."
"Really?"
Rex nodded. "Super romantic, right?"
"Also very clichéd."
"I want to do the whole cliché thing. I want to give Nora everything she has ever wanted. Romance, love, you name it, it's hers."
"Does she even love you? Has she said it?"
Rex sighed. "No. She hasn't said it."
"What if everything you're doing and she doesn't love you?" Alaric asked.
"Either way, I love her, and I'm going to prove it to her, and show her. I don't care what she feels for me. I know what I feel for her." And deep down, he knew she felt something for him. "I'm going to make her fall in love with me."
"Do you even think it's possible?" Alaric asked.
"What?"
"Getting a woman to fall in love with you."
"It happens every single day. People fall in and out of love all the time. I'm going to make Nora fall in love with me, and stay in love with me."
"You're pretty determined."
Rex glared at his friend. "What's to say your girl doesn't hate you?"
"Oh, she does, believe me. She loves me even more. It's the only reason I've hurt her so much. She wants to hate me because she loves me so much."
"That is twisted, messed up logic."
"Look at us. We're two old men sitting around talking about our much younger women and how we're going to get us to fall in love with us. Now that is messed up. We've got twenty years on those two women, and yet we can't even figure out how to win them back."
Rex hummed as he sat back. "Well, my friend, we are in for some rocky roads that's for sure."
"I think you've got the worse deal," Alaric said, finishing off his coffee.
"How do you figure?"
"A marriage proposal by Valentine's Day. That's really not going to cut it. You've got some serious work to do, my friend."
Rex ignored him, finished his coffee, and wished Alaric his own good luck. "At the end of the day, I didn't lie and pretend to be someone different."
On the way back to the office, he stopped into the toilet to make sure he looked okay. Alaric had made him nervous. Valentine's Day was not so long away. Buttoning up his jacket, he made his way toward his office, stopping when he saw Nora in their research section. She was standing looking through a book, and he just had to stop to admire her. Frank had decided to put her with Carl, as much as Rex fucking hated it. Carl was a loser, a waste of time, and if he so much as upset Nora, the bastard would answer to him.
Moving toward her, he placed a hand on her hip. "How are you doing today?" he asked.
"Rex?"
"What? I'm not going to pretend that we're not a couple."
"I'm just like all of those other women," she said.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and shook his head. "No, you're not. First, those women were so fucking dumb and dull that they were gone after their purpose was filled. Second, you're still working here. And third, I'm in love with you. Actually, that should have been my first point."
She chuckled, and turned toward him. "You keep saying that."
"I believe it. You, Nora, are the love of my life." He rubbed her stomach. "How is the baby?"
"We're doing okay. I go to see the doctor next week. He will confirm and then we'll arrange everything." She took a deep breath. "Do you want to come?"
"I'd love to." Even if she hadn't invited him, he was going to invite himself. Nothing was keeping him away from Nora and his kid. He was just happy that she had invited him along. That way he doesn't get to piss her off when he showed up.
"I've got to get back to work."
"Please have dinner with me tonight?" he asked.
"Rex?"
"You've got to give me a chance here. You, me, and our soon to be kid, enjoying a delicious Italian meal. It will be amazing."
She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face was worth everything. "Fine. Dinner tonight."
"You will not regret it."
Rex kissed her neck and made it to his office. Sitting behind his desk, he opened up the drawer and pulled out the blue velvet box. He had so many plans for the future, and not one of them included work. They included a family, loving Nora, and bringing their beautiful kids into the world. He had wasted enough time. He wasn't going to waste anymore.
Chapter Eleven
Over the next couple of weeks, Nora saw the Rex she had come to love. Every time he took her out on a date, which was every single night, he was charming, loving, and attentive. She got to know every single thing about him, his home life, where he grew up. The foster homes he had to deal with. That was a shock. She had placed him as the kind of guy who had the whole world at his fingertips. He wasn't. Everything he had achieved, he had earned himself.
It was harder for her to hold him back. Frank told her that Rex had to earn back her trust. Nora was finding it harder to figure out why. Yes, he had spoken to her like crap, and yes, he had hurt her by the way he behaved, but they all had irrational moments. She certainly did.
Out of everything he had done, the thing that had scared her more was her pregnancy. She had been so stupid to think he was using condoms. The moment he had touched her all logical thought fled her. She had wanted his hands, his lips, and his cock.
"Nora, focus, I'm trying to talk to you," Carl said, drawing her out of her own thoughts.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Maybe you should go home, or better yet, go back to Rex. You worked fine then, but I guess you were getting his dick so maybe that's how you work. Got to give you something to get something!"
Nora was shocked by his words. They were crude, vulgar, and horrible. Rex had been right about Carl. He was only humble when he was on a losing streak.
Snapping the book closed, she threw it at Carl. Her anger was so strong. This asshole had only won that stupid case because she had given him the damn means to, and Rex was right. Carl hadn't give her the credit at all. "You know what, Carl? You're right. I should be with Rex, and you know why? He deserves me. You, on the other hand, deserve to lose. You deserve to fail because you don't know how to be a decent man."
She turned on her heel and stopped when she saw Rex there. He started clapping his hands.
Her cheeks heated in delight at his approval.
"You talk to her like that again, Carl, and I'll have your career. Just try it."
Nora left Carl's office, and followed Rex into his, not that she had a choice. He led her by the hand into his office.
"You okay?" he asked, closing the door behind her.
"You were right about Carl. I can't believe I fell for his good boy act."
"That's all it has ever been, an act."
She shook her head. "It just sucks that's all. I helped him thinking he needed a break, and I was the one that ended up the loser." She placed a hand on her head, feeling a dull ache begin to start. "I don't suppose you're looking for another assistant?"
"Yep. I've not even arranged for a temporary one."
"You've been doing all of this by yourself?" she asked, amazed that he even knew how.
"Of course. It helped that I had a pretty awesome PA that I love more than anything. She was amazing, and made sure that I wouldn't be alone."
Nora smiled at him. It warmed her from the inside out whenever he told her that he loved her.
You've not said anything to him.
Staring down at the floor, her heart was pounding. Finally, she glanced up. "I want you to know that … I do love you. I know I've not really said it, and all. I've been kind of scared of giving in. I guess I've been really nervous." Tears filled her eyes. Damn hormones. "I didn't want you to not know that I do have feelings for you, and I'm not as cold and as unfeeling as I sometimes come across."
Rex closed the distance between them, cupped her face, tilted her head back, and slammed his lips down on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in close.
He released her face to grab her hips.
Melting against him, Nora felt like the past few weeks had faded into nothing. The only man she ever wanted was Rex. Even with his asshole ways and domineering behavior, he belonged to her, and she got that now.