Chapter Twenty Five

"Ugh! I suck at this." I let out, exasperated. Emily chuckled from beside me.

"Mr Gray doesn't seem to think so." The blond receptionist teased, her eyes twinkling at me. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah, well Mr Gray likes my idea of cooking – and I suck at it - so it really isn't that hard to impress him." I deadpanned, half annoyed at Nick for leaving me with accounting duties. Okay, so maybe I had impressed him with my talent with numbers…. But come on! Large numbers like these were slightly out of my league.

"Miss Stewart-" I held up my hand and glared at her. "Sorry, Miley, Mr Gray thinks you're getting the hang of things really quickly." Okay, was she hitting on my boyfriend? 'Mr Gray this' and 'Mr Gray that'… what was next?

She laughed at the sight of the look I was giving her.

"I'm engaged." She held her hand up, flashing me with the small, simple diamond ring sitting on her left hand. My eyes widened and a smile stretched across my face.

"Oh my god, congratulations!" I bounced off my chair behind the reception desk and hugged her. I cringed when I remembered we were in the lobby of the Gray Manor and customers must have seen my little display of affection. Emily laughed, shaking her head at me.

"You surprise me every day, Miss Stewart." We laughed together, both trying to hide behind the high counter so the customers wouldn't wonder what in the world was wrong with us.

"I suck at the whole professionalism thing." I sighed. "Scratch that, I suck at pretty much everything I do around here."

"It's been two days, Miley. Give it some time." I smiled at her, thankful for her encouragements.

"So, who's the lucky guy?"

"My landlord." A picture of the standard landlord – you know, middle aged, pot belly, balding- came to my mind. I shuddered at the image. She laughed at my reaction.

"Don't worry, he's very much young. And attractive."

"Glad to hear it." A sudden commotion near the entrance of the hotel caught both of our attention and we immediately squinted our eyes to figure out what was happening. Blond hair glinted in the sunlight and I immediately knew who causing the commotion. Rounding the counter, I quickly made my way to the glass sliding doors, motioning to the two bulky security guys that were ready to step in that I would handle this one. What I hadn't expected was to find Nick standing in front of Jake, arms flailing, voice rising with every word he was speaking.

The exchange was starting to attract customers' attention, something I knew Nick might not have been aware of in his moment of 'alpha male protecting his territory'. Stepping in, I placed a gentle hand on Nick's arm, drawing his attention to me.

"Miley." Jake nodded at me, his eyes moving over my body quickly before settling back on my face. I momentarily cursed myself for wearing a dress that fell just above my knees. Nick's fist clenched and his jaw locked. He looked ready to pounce.

"Okay, I don't know what's going on here but I can tell you it's not going to be good for business. Nick you have to control yourself." Jake sent Nick a triumphant grin. "And you." I turned to Jake. His cocky smile disappeared. "Have to get out of here. You're not welcome on this property." His eyes held mine for a split second before he looked away and nodded.

"I just wanted a chance to talk to you, Miley. I didn't mean to make a scene." I smiled tightly, halfway grateful for his moment of maturity.

"Yeah talk to you." Nick sneered, rolling his eyes. "Like anybody would believe that one."

"Nick." I interrupted. "Go back inside."

"I'm not leaving you with him." His eyes hardened. I tugged on his arm, pulling him away, just far enough so I could talk to him without Jake overhearing us.

"You have to let me handle this one." He shook his head. "Nick." I sighed, fighting to control myself. "I'm a big girl. I can handle Jake."

"Miley, the guy is a pig. I'm not leaving you alone with him." He repeated adamantly. I sighed, trying to come up with a different approach so Nick would leave me to talk to Jake.

"This is my chance to put the past in the past." I reached out for his hand and squeezed it. "Let me talk to Jake."

"Okay." He rubbed a hand over his face and I could tell how hard this was for him. "Just, be careful, okay? I want you back in one piece." He tried to smile but it only came out as a grimace. I laughed softly.

"I love you." I resisted the urge to kiss him, instead settling for a squeeze of the hand. "Go inside." He did as told, walking slowly back into the hotel where Emily quickly approached him to give him something else to focus on. Making a mental note to thank her later for her quick thinking, I motioned for Jake to follow me, casting a glance over my shoulder to check if he was in fact following me.

A few minutes later we were standing on the pier a short way from the hotel, staring at each other, each one of us waiting for the other to speak.

"You really love him, don't you?" Jake was the one to break the silence. I frowned.

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"Right." He smiled apologetically.

"Look Jake, I don't mean to be rude and I don't want to fight with you anymore but I really think it's better if you just… stay away." He nodded his head in acceptance.

"If that's what you want." If that's what I want? What did he expect? I glared at him.

"Did you forget what you did to me? I'm sorry but some things are just beyond forgivable-"

"I didn't expect you to forgive me." He cut me off. "I truly am sorry for what I did to you but I wanted you to know that I changed. That you changed me." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "I know it sounds cheesy and you might not believe it but it's the truth."

"Well then, good for you." I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice but I obviously failed because Jake sighed.

"I just want you to be happy." He smiled softly, his eyes full of sincerity I didn't know he was capable of showing. "Nick is a great guy. Very protective of you. Did you know he was ready to physically remove me from the property if it meant you didn't have to see me?" He chuckled. Okay, this conversation was becoming really awkward.

"Hmmm… thank you, I guess?" Jake chuckled and for the first time smiled. A real, full fledged smile.

"I've been offered a job in New York. I think I'm going to take it." I nodded.

"I think that would be best where we are concerned."

"I just wanted to try and make you understand how sorry I was- am for all that went down between us." He shook his head. "Losing the job I could handle… But losing you…" He shook his head, as if pulling himself out of his momentary stupor. "I just wanted you to know that. You're a very loveable person, Miley Stewart. Don't let an idiot like me ruin your self confidence and your opinion of men."

"Why now, Jake? Why apologise 5 years after?" He bit his lip, contemplating whether to tell me the truth or not.

"Your friend… Demi, was it? Knocked some sense into me." I laughed. I should have known. "Not that I didn't know all of this… but you know, she gave me the little push I needed to 'man up' so to speak." He paused. "Take care of yourself, Miley." And with a quick, final smile he turned around and left, stuffing his hands deep in his pocket as he walked towards the parking lot at the end of the pier.

So this was what closure felt like, I realised with a smile. I felt… free. Like the unsuspected remaining weight on my shoulders had been lifted. I took a deep breath, inhaling the salty smell of the water below my feet. Life was good.

…

"Shut up!" Demi laughed. "He actually said you're a very loveable person? Whoa. He's further gone than I thought."

"It felt nice, you know, to have him openly admit he was a jerk." I grinned. What can I say? I was a sadist when it came to Jake. At least I used to be. I wasn't so sure anymore… Maybe it was time to move on and possibly… forgive. Isn't there a saying like that? Forgiveness is freedom? Whatever it was, the underlying meaning was definitely true.

"Who's a jerk?" I spun around at the sound of Nick's voice, smiling widely as he looked back and forth between Demi and me, eyes narrowed. I was happy to notice his mood had altered considerably as the day progressed. Thank god. "You weren't talking about me, were you?" It was obvious he was joking and we both laughed as he walked further into the office that was now mine. It was a duplicate of Nick's office, right next door to his.

After leaning down to give Demi a quick hug, he took quick strides until I was in his arms, lower lip trapped between his warm lips. I let myself melt against him until Demi cleared her throat, reminding us of her presence. Nick ignored her, his lips moving over mine until I had to push him away, hands planted firmly against his chest.

"Keep it PG rated for little Miss Sensitive here." Nick chuckled lowly.

"How can I say this nicely…? Demi? Can you go so I can thoroughly kiss my girlfriend now?" I swatted his arm.

"No can do, I haven't seen my best friend in days since you've made her your personal slave." Demi retorted, picking at her nails and seeming completely unfazed by Nick's teasing. I rolled my eyes.

"At least I haven't chained her right?" He winked at Demi. I wasn't sure whether I'd ever get used to their weird friendship.

"I'm right here?" I huffed.

"She's right on some level… Shouldn't you have left two hours ago?" Disapproval was all over his face.

"I-"

"Tell you what, you go with Demi back to your apartment. Have some girl time… I'll meet you whenever I'm done here."

"Nick-"

"This isn't up for discussion. You've had a rough day. Don't think Emily didn't tell me how much you wanted to kick my ass when you found out I left the new accounting book for you to go over." He grinned.

"Damn it, should have known she was more loyal to you than she was to me."

"I pay her, remember?" He smirked.

"It's all about money, should have known." I smiled up at him. "Don't stay too late."

"You know I can't wait to get home, to you." Home, to you. It wouldn't be long until home would be his apartment. Our apartment. Our home. The idea was both exhilarating and terrifying. Although the exhilaration part took over the terrifying part. By far.

"Mi?" He called softly, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Go spend some time with Demi." I nodded my head and tilted my head backwards, expecting a kiss. He obliged, melting our lips together for a few seconds before he pulled away. And just like that, he was on his way out the door, dropping a kiss on Demi's head and ruffling her hair as he went by.

"Ugh." Demi huffed as she tried to re-arrange her now messy hair. "He enjoys teasing me wayyyy too much." I smiled.

"He loves you, Dem. You're like… the little sister he never had."

"Hmmm, like I said. Annoying." Her words said one thing, but her eyes definitely said another. The affection behind those charcoal eyes was not lost on me and I smiled knowingly.

"Of course it is."