"Now who's this gorgeous woman you're mauling?" Trinity asked good naturedly.
"Trinity, this is Nicole. She and Ryan used to be all hot and heavy when we were teenagers. Nicole, this beautiful woman is my wife, Trinity," Drew introduced them.
"It's so nice to meet you, Nicole," Trinity said and shocked Nicole by stepping forward and giving her a big hug.
"It's nice to meet you, too," Nicole said shyly.
"Now it's my turn, stranger," Derek said and stepped forward lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. "It's so great to see you." Jasmine stepped around the corner and spotted Nicole.
"I haven't seen you in forever," she said, throwing her arms around her. Nicole hugged her back, grateful to see a familiar female face. "How have you been?"
"I'm great," Nicole told her. "I didn't know you and Derek got back together," she added. She remembered when Derek left and the devastation Jasmine felt. She'd been feeling her own pain from one of the Titan cousins and felt sympathy.
"Yes and it's been amazing. It looks like these Titan boys are finally waking up," Jasmine told her with a wink. Nicole didn't know what to say.
"Yes, Nicole and I ran into each other again and we realized we simply couldn't live one more second apart," Ryan said. Nicole thought only she could hear the sarcasm in his tone. She had to fight not to flinch when he gave her a look that seemed to threaten her not to contradict him. She turned away from him, finding it difficult to look into his eyes.
"Well, we have to catch up and figure out ways to torture these men," Jasmine said and led the other two women away, leaving the men to watch them go.
"So what's going on with you? I adore Nicole, you know that, but I still remember the utter devastation you felt when she walked out of your life," Drew asked his cousin. Ryan wasn't ready to tell his cousins the truth. It made him too much of a cad and he didn't want to see the disapproving look in their eyes.
"We ran into each other and realized the spark was still there, so decided to pursue it," he finally said. He thought they may take exception that in reality he was blackmailing her into his bed. Hell, he'd kick their asses if they did the same thing. It was much easier to notice other people's flaws than your own and he wanted her too badly to stop what he was doing, even knowing how wrong it was.
"She's even more gorgeous now than she was as a teenager," Derek said, with a wiggle of his brows.
"Back off, you're a married man," Ryan told his cousin, feeling an irrational urge to mark his claim. He knew Derek was a happily married man but Ryan found he didn't like any man making a comment about her. Derek simply laughed at his cousin, before the three of them headed off towards the pool.
"So spill Nicole, we want all the juicy details of how you two got together and what you've been up to," Jasmine demanded of Nicole. She actually relaxed, sitting in the presence of a familiar face and a new friend. There was something very reassuring about having women to talk with, who were nice and understanding.
She found she wanted to spill her guts to them but was afraid Ryan would be furious and then refuse to help her sister. She didn't think he'd stop the surgery but she wasn't taking any chances. She still had feelings for Ryan so she could be as honest as possible.
"My sister's in the hospital and I didn't have anyone to turn to or talk with so I called Ryan. He was there instantly and the minute I saw him again all those old feelings came right back to the surface," Nicole said in as simple an explanation as she could.
"Your sister's in the hospital? What's wrong with her? How can we help?" Jasmine fired off a bunch of questions with a look of concern on her face. Nicole explained about the heart surgery and before long she was crying with Jasmine and Trinity holding her hands comfortingly. It was so nice to have someone to lean on and simply cry out her heartache. She'd been holding it in for the last several months.
She hadn't allowed herself to break down and cry even once, because she knew if she were to let go she wouldn't be able to pick herself back up again. She realized she wasn't falling completely apart though. She was actually feeling supported by the two amazing women.
The men walked in and saw the three teary women and were instantly on alert. They looked at one another in a panic and knelt down.
"What's wrong, Baby?" Derek asked with concern.
"You don't need to worry, Derek, we're simply women and this is what we do," Jasmine told her husband with a watery smile.
"You know we have to try and fix it," Drew added as he rubbed along Trinity's back.
"That's because you're the most honorable men we know but we really will be okay," Trinity told Drew. Ryan stood motionless as he stared at the three women. He didn't have the right to fix Nicole's problems as he was responsible for causing half of them. Everything in him said he needed to pull her into his arms and hold her until the tears faded away, though. He had to remember what she'd done to him. Otherwise he was afraid she'd quickly have him wrapped around her finger once more.