Author's Note: I want to thank y'all for being so patient with this story. I really hope you enjoy this chapter and I want to thank Mara of the Rivercourt for being my beta/editor for this chapter. :) My usual beta is my Southern love Maggie, but she's out of town for a bit. This chapter is for Maggie because she's not only injured(lol) but Haley's family in this chapter is Maggie and my family to a tee. Maggie and sometimes wander if we actually are related since our families seem to be clones of eachother. LOL I guess it's just because our families are Southern to the core and have been for generations. We wouldn't have it any other way though. ;)
Chapter Four "Southern Comfort"
"Ugh, I can't believe you made us so late!" Haley screeched as she raced through the airport to get to the gate of the private plane they had rented to fly them to Southern Texas.
"It's your boyfriend's fault. His Dumbass got us lost on the way back from that Nike charity event."
Haley groaned as they finally reached their gate. "Will you quit calling Luke my boyfriend? One, I was just messing with your head, and two, I would never willingly get involved with anyone in your DNA pool. Lucas might be a perfect gentleman who's hot, but I'm not chancing the asshole gene being dormant in him."
"Too bad the bitch gene isn't dormant in you." Nathan muttered as he handed his carry on to the attendant, and climbed aboard their jet.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Scott. I'm Chase Palmer, your captain." He shook both their hands.
Haley smiled sweetly. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Palmer,"
"It'll be just my co-pilot and I flying you to Houston so if you need anything just buzz. Oh and before I forget, I signed your confidentiality contract and faxed it back to Ms. Davis."
Haley laughed; Brooke always thought of everything. "Thank you so much."
He tipped his hat to her and retreated to the cockpit.
Nathan sat beside her on the couch and buckled himself in. "So you know, thanks to that cock blocking stewardess, we never did get to join the mile high club."
Haley turned with a wicked smile on her face and leaned in close. "I've been a member since I was seventeen."
Nathan's jaw dropped. "I can't believe they call you America's Sweetheart, you're more like America's Sweet Piece of Ass."
"Excuse me?" She whipped back around and faced him. "Having sex in an airplane does not make me a slut. Not that it's any of your business, but it was on the way to Cancun my senior year of high school, and with my boyfriend of two years."
Nathan smirked, "How did he convince you?"
"What makes you think he was the one doing the convincing?" Haley smirked right back.
"So, is it just planes in general that turn you on?"
She sighed and reached for her script in her large mint green colored Marc Jacobs tote.
"Listen, just so I can end this conversation and hopefully future ones, I'll give you the basics of my sex life. I'm not a whore, but I do enjoy sex. In case you can't comprehend that, it means when I do decide I want to have sex, I'm very selective about who I sleep with, present company excluded. However, usually I like getting to know the guy for awhile since like I said, I'm not a slut. If and when I start to like the guy and think it's going somewhere, I give him the green light and enjoy it to the fullest. Oh and yes that does mean every position imaginable in or out of the bedroom. Does that cover all your perverted questions?"
Nathan rubbed his hand across her bare thigh, inching underneath her short white jean skirt. "I think I need a visual demonstration."
Haley didn't even look up from her magazine as she jabbed him in his side.
"God damn!" He groaned and shot her a glare.
An hour later…
"Haley…please?" Nathan whined."No."
"Please…"
"No."
"Come on, I swear not to grab your ass the entire day."
She tossed her script off to the side. "Fine. Just remind me to pack a sippy cup and some little friends for you to play with on the next trip."
Nathan rolled his eyes. "Just sit in one of those recliners I pulled closer to the TV, smartass."
Plopping down into said recliner she reached for what she figured was her controller. "Now tell me again why I have to play this."
He shrugged and grabbed his controller. "It's boring if you don't play with someone."
As the game appeared on the screen, Haley turned towards Nathan, outraged. "This is so not fair! How am I suppose to beat you in NBA Live when you are literally NBA Live?"
"I'll go easy on you and we can make our own teams. I'll even let you have me as your star player." He chuckled.
Haley stuck her tongue out at him. "No thank you, I don't take charity."
Twenty minutes later…
"Shit Haley, just pick a damn color."
"It's hard…I have to make sure my team matches."
Reaching across her, he snatched her remote and hit a few buttons. "There, your burnt orange just like your beloved Longhorns."
"Aww, how pretty!" She squealed and took back her control.
"Now pick your main player."
She scrolled through the long list and instantly clicked on the name Scott from the Lakers.
He looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Are you fucking kidding me? Didn't you get enough action out of him the other day in the hot tub?" Nathan muttered under his breath as he selected himself.
Haley gave him a coy smile. "Maybe, maybe not."
An hour went by and the two of them were in an instant battle in the last minute of their latest game. Haley had surprisingly picked up the game quickly and they had both each won two games, and this was the tiebreaker.
"Back the hell off Nathan!" Haley bitched as she tried to get Lucas around him.
"Can't handle it baby?"
Haley thought fast, reached over and grabbed his crotch, taking him completely by surprise, and allowing her to make an easy shot, winning the game.
Nathan threw his controller down. "Hell no, that was interference."
She smiled and got up to grab her garment bag so should could go change. "Can't handle it baby?" She threw his cocky remark right back in his face and walked away.
"Game on James," he whispered once she was out of earshot. He'd let her enjoy that upper hand for now, but it wouldn't last much longer.
….
Haley checked her reflection and was satisfied with her choice of attire. She had fallen in love with the Elie Saab creation at first sight. It was an exquisite strapless white lace masterpiece that tightly followed her every curve, before coming to a dramatic stop right above her knees with a ruffled hem made of tulle. The sweetheart neckline showcased the perfect amount of cleavage and made needing a necklace obsolete. Why draw more attention to an area that was already proudly showcasing its assets?
She chose to wear her hair up in a loose French twist to help battle the humidity that loved to destroy a girl's hair in the South. Her make-up was light, as usual, but she did add a little more eyeliner for a more dramatic effect, along with some high shimmering Dior lip gloss in a soft pearl pink.
Nathan was knocking on the door, saying they were landing in ten minutes, so she quickly searched for the rest of her jewelry. Hastily, she selected a pair of white gold chandelier earrings that contained over ten diamonds on each. She grabbed a matching diamond tennis bracelet and slipped into her four inch Christian Lacroix white satin sandals that had a beautiful satin ruffled bow on the front strap.
It still amazed her much she enjoyed fashion now. When she was young it wasn't really important to her, but her mother and aunts dressed her up constantly. Once she got into show business, and she could dignify spending all the money, she began to see the allure. Clothes were an artistic expression and could say a lot about a person's personality, or even just reflect their mood. She was photographed every single day of her life now, so it became another outlet for her creativity to choose her wardrobe every morning.
Still, when she walked around her house at night, or curled up on the couch for a movie, an oversized old sweatshirt and cotton shorts were always her choice. It was comfort all the way.
With one last glance in the mirror, she turned away. Just as she opened the door to go back into the main cabin, she slammed right into Nathan's hard chest.
He grabbed her bare shoulders to steady her and smirked. "Easy there and damn, don't you look all bridal"
She smiled shyly, almost embarrassed that he noticed the significance of why she chose the dress in question. "Well, my mother made it clear if I didn't wear white at my wedding I must at least where it at the reception."
She untangled herself from him and walked to her seat. He followed her and sat directly to her right watching as she fiddled with her tennis bracelet.
Before he could stop himself he reached slowly for her wrist and wordlessly clasped the bracelet with ease. Then he did something that shocked her; he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
"You do look beautiful Haley."
Haley looked at him, surprised that his words sounded so genuine. For once he didn't have a motive behind his words, or his actions; maybe there was a gentleman in there after all.
…
It had been at least an hour drive from the airport, and after a fight over who would drive the Range Rover Haley had rented, they had barely spoken two words. Finally, they came upon a massive iron gate off the main road, and Nathan knew they had reached their destination.
"You live here? He questioned her from the passenger seat.
Leaning outside her window, she pressed the security code to gain access. "Nothing gets by you."
Nathan looked at her. confused. "Why the hell do you need a security code to get on a farm?"
"Before you tick off my entire family let me correct you. This is a ranch. not a farm. We raise cattle, not produce, and all together these cows and bulls are worth over a million dollars easy. So we have to protect them, as well as the deer that run around here. People love to try to sneak on your land and hunt around here."
Nathan laughed and was about to say some smartass comment about her roughing it out here, when he got a glimpse of the massive house. She wasn't roughing it by any means, It was a one-story brick home, but he should add that it may be one story, but it spread out over at least two acres. It had an iron rod fence around it, to keep out wildlife he figured, and was beautifully landscaped. The entire land was filled with trees. In fact, around her home there was nothing but huge magnolia trees, which were in full bloom at the moment.
He had to admit, it was pretty damn scenic.
You could see a mile of cars stretching on the other side of the house, and the closer they got, you could definitely tell a party was going on.
Haley parked the car and looked over at him. "You ready?"
Before he could answer, there was a knock on her side of the window that made them both jump.
Haley's face immediately lit up and she flew out of the car and into the arms of her cousin John. He looked so good and she had missed him so much. He was even wearing the mint green Ralph Lauren dress shirt she'd bought him for his birthday. Out of all the grandchildren they were probably the closest, especially being born only a few months apart. They even looked exactly alike, with the same thick wavy dark blonde hair and large expressive eyes. In high school people called them "the twins". The only difference was he was a manwhore, had been since he was in fifth grade, and at twenty-four, was still going strong.
John twirled her around now and held on tight.
Nathan got out of the car and slowly approached them. The guy was huge. At least 6'4, and had the build of a linebacker.
John released Haley and sat her back down on the ground, giving her a good once over. "Baby girl, you sure you don't need a sweater?" The look on his face, along with his words, suggested that she was showing too much skin for his taste.
Haley playfully slapped his arm. "John this is not bad and if it were up to you, I'd be like one of those Middle Eastern women barely showing my eyes.
John gave her a big grin, "Damn straight."
Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley's shoulders. "Lucky for me she doesn't listen to you." He joked and stuck out his hand for John to shake.
Haley tensed, knowing John was not going to like that statement.
Just as she predicted, John completely ignored Nathan, and took her by the arm, pulling her far away from him, and towards the party.
"John, slow down." Haley giggled as she looked back to see a put off Nathan following behind them.
"You might want to tell that to Mister Scott." John mumbled.
"Oh be nice, you never liked anyone I dated."
John stopped abruptly before they opened the gate, and looked back at her. "Because no one is ever good enough for you baby girl."
Haley stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I know, and I love that you think that, but do me a favor; go a tad easy on Nathan this weekend, and tell that to the others too."
John groaned as he lifted the latch on the gate. "Fine, but only a little bit, right?"
Haley gave him a wicked smile just as Nathan caught up with them. "Of course, wouldn't want to ruin all your fun."
Laughing, John went ahead of her so she and Nathan could make an entrance.
Nathan looked after him with a scowl on his face. "So who the hell was that?"
Haley crossed her arms and glared at him. "That was my cousin John, and trust me, you better cool the attitude.
Nathan mumbled something incoherent, but Haley took a page from John's book and ignored him.
Taking Nathan's hand, she intertwined their fingers. "Now smile," she instructed as they made their way into the massive crowd.
For awhile they were lost in a sea of hugs and congratulations. Nathan met more people in a minute than he had in his entire life, and didn't remember a single one. There were just way too many coming at him all at once.
Haley, however, looked like she was in her element. Calling everyone by their names, hugging them, and talking so fast it seemed like another language. He couldn't believe anyone could catch a word she said, but it was clear that from either being around her for so long, or from being just like her, they understood every word.
Finally, they were maneuvered to a more quiet section of the party where a table of four similar looking blonde women sat drinking various cocktails.
Lydia looked up and smiled widely before getting up and taking her daughter in her arms. "Oh, honey we've missed you."
Haley relaxed in her mother's embrace, trying to savor it as long as possible. She loved her career, but it took her away from her family way too much.
Lydia pulled back and cupped her daughter's face. "You look gorgeous."
"So do you Mom."
"As do your fabulous aunts." One of the said aunts spoke up from the table.
Haley put her hands on her hips pretending to look them over. "Hmm, y'all definitely do, and I see as always you guys made sure not to wear the same color scheme."
"Oh, get over here girl and give us some love."
She quickly complied and enjoyed each death grip from them all. They truly were beautiful women. Each one looking more elegant and stunning with each passing year. They were always dressed to perfection, everywhere they went, even if it was to get the paper.
Haley remembered coming home from college in blue jeans once, a T-shirt, her hair in a messy bun, and they all had a fit. Saying that if she was to wear a T-shirt and jeans, she better at least have her hair and make-up flawless, and be flashing her jewelry.
They could spot a fashion faux paux a mile away, and weren't afraid to voice anything that popped into their heads. Her mother was the calmest of the four, but that wasn't saying much in that group.
They drove her nuts, but she couldn't imagine her life without any of them.
Walking back over to Nathan now, she began the introductions.
"Alright, everyone this is Nathan Scott, and Nathan, this is my mother Lydia, and my four aunts: Mary, Leslie, and Betty." She pointed each of them out.
Nathan shook all their hands and gave them each his most charming smile.
"Why don't you two have a seat?" Lydia suggested, and her tone implied it wasn't up for debate.
Nathan made a move to sit, but Leslie touched his arm softly, stopping him immediately. "Aren't you going to pull her chair out for her Nathan dear?" She smiled sweetly.
"Uh… yes ma'am." He stuttered out and then quickly rushed and pulled Haley's chair out for her.
Mary zeroed in on him. "So Nathan, is it true girls really wait outside the locker room for you athletes?"
Nathan opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it trying to think of how to best answer that question.
Lydia laughed at his shell-shocked expression. "I'm sorry Nathan, we're a tad blunt in this family, but you'd know that if you had bothered to meet us before your quickie wedding."
Haley bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. The women in her family were experts at delivering an insult cleverly disguised as a compliment. Of course, any true Southern woman could do that.
"I am sorry about that…" He responded somewhat shyly, still unsure of how to deal with these women. It was obvious they were as deceiving as Haley was. From appearances they looked like any normal well bread ladies you'd come into contact with, but beneath, there were layers that would take a man three lifetimes to figure out.
Leslie turned to Nathan and Haley now. "So are we going to need to announce a premature baby in about seven months?"
Nathan blushed and Haley had to hold back from laughing at him He looked like a little boy that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. With a shake of her head she faced Leslie. "No Leslie, the only thing I was carrying when I walked down the aisle was a bouquet."
"That's my girl." Mary cheered as Lydia breathed a sigh of relief beside her.
Haley rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"Are you alright sweetie?" Lydia James looked at her daughter with concern.
"I just feel a little headache coming on Mom…I'll be fine."
Perplexed, Nathan watched as all the women around her grabbed Altoid boxes out of their purses. At first he found it odd, that they all suddenly needed to freshen their breath, but when all four opened the boxes he realized those boxes were holding things much stronger than Altoids.
Mary reached in and picked up a bright blue pill. "Here baby, my doctor gave me these migraine pills last week, they are brand new on the market."
Leslie rolled her eyes and grabbed a small yellow pill out of her box. "She doesn't need that. Here darling, this Valium will calm you down."
Scoffing, Betty produced a bright red capsule. "Here, this is something I can't remember, but it sure chases any ailment away."
"Uh, I can go get her some aspirin." Nathan spoke up.
All four women burst out laughing and Leslie patted his hand." Oh Aspirin is for amateurs' honey. "
Haley could tell he was kind of freaked out. "Oh Nathan it's fine. All of their medication is prescribed and the only reason they use the Altoid boxes is because it fits perfect in an evening bag without having to carry around tons of bottles."
"And because a lady can't be seen popping pills in public, but she can be seen placing a mint in her mouth." Mary added with a wink.
Leslie looked over at Betty. "Give me one of those red ones. I'll try it out after I go with Mike to that boring dinner with his crazy sister."
Nathan looked on as they exchanged pills like it was nothing. As an athlete it had been drilled into his brain that you should never take unidentified pills or switch medications. Not only could you react badly, but also who knows what would happen if you got caught. However, he doubted Haley's mom and aunts really had to worry about. They definitely seemed to know exactly what they were doing.
"Nathan, when you get our age you need a few things to get you through." Betty divulged.
He laughed, "Actually, I think it's pretty funny. Why waste time always going to the doctor when you have each other."
Haley laughed and grabbed a bottle of Excedrin migraine out of her purse. There was no way she was taking anything stronger with Nathan around. Knowing her aunts, they would slip her some kind of aphrodisiac "Just never accept a pill from then unless you see the bottle. They think all white pills are the same. One time I was stressed out for finals and Mary over there gave me what I thought was a small dose of Valium. Turned out it was one of her high dose sleeping pills. I slept for two days straight."
Mary waved her hand dismissively at Haley. "You are such a lightweight."
"I missed my finals completely." Haley reminded her.
"Quit being a drama queen, your mom wrote you a note."
Lydia ignored the banter and faced Nathan. "So where are you parents from Nathan? We have to get together with them soon."
"I'm sure they would love that, and we're from North Carolina ma'am"
Betty's eyes lit up. "Thank god, that's still the South, even if it has North in its name."
"Oh Nathan, you're going to make me some gorgeous babies." Lydia mused randomly, imagining a curly dark blonde haired little girl with big blue eyes, or a dark headed little boy with Haley's big brown eyes.
"Mom, I just got married, let's hold off on turning me into your personal grandbaby making factory just yet."
Lydia frowned. "Well, I was only making conversation."
Deciding to turn the focus off Nathan and their "so-called" future, Haley had to do the only thing that would distract her mother, compliment her. "Mom, you did an amazing job on such short notice."
Lydia James looked around at the twinkling lights in the Magnolia trees. Then she glanced around at elegant table' spread out with cream colored linens that matched the Magnolia blossoms to perfection. Many of the blossoms were also placed in the beautifully lighted pool and sparkling Jacuzzi. The food, thankfully Mary had dealt with, helping to create a large buffet under a matching tent that was filled with nothing but real southern comfort food, including Haley's favorite, mashed potatoes and homemade macaroni and cheese. Last, but certainly not least, Jimmy had taken care of all the alcohol, constructing five bars stocked to the brim. It all did look fabulous if she did say so herself.
"Well, thank you honey, but I would have much rather planned a wedding." Lydia winked at her daughter.
"Lydia, leave my sugar dumpling alone." Jimmy James's voice boomed from behind them.
"Daddy!" Haley sprang out of her seat and flew into her father's arms.
"Oh angel, you have been gone way too long. How are you?"
"I'm fine daddy." She promised while squeezing the life out of him.
Jimmy pulled back slightly and looked into his daughter's eyes. "I wish I could have walked you down the aisle sugar."
That was Haley's breaking point, and the tears fell. She launched her arms back around her father's neck, needing him to tell her it was ok. "I'm so sorry Daddy," she whispered.
Jimmy laughed and patted her back. "It's alright dumpling. I could never look into those big eyes of yours and stay mad"
Haley backed away slightly, embarrassed she had lost it in front of Nathan, but when she looked over at him he had nothing but understanding in his eyes. She hadn't thought that maybe he hated lying to his own parents about this whole thing.
Getting out of his chair now, Nathan asked if she needed a drink, wanting to give her some time alone with her family.
Haley gave him her request for a margarita and quickly sat and joined in with her aunts, who were busy gossiping about whomever hadn't shown tonight.
Nathan watched from the bar, amazed at how many people lit up when Haley came into their line of sight. It was as if everything else stopped and she was the only thing that mattered. It had to be why she was such a successful actress; she could just memorize her audience in a way no one else quite could.
John spotted Nathan at the bar and waved him over.
Nathan weighed his options, but knew he had to go join him and the four other blonde haired Abercrombie clones sitting next to him. Whenever he thought of Texas or the Deep South in general, he pictured people in wranglers and cowboy hats, but that definitely was not Haley's family. They all had looks and knew how to dress. You could tell they always wanted to have a good time and enjoyed being together. He figured that if it was the civil war they'd definitely be the ones sitting out on some massive porch in the latest attire, sipping on cocktails and banishing anyone who dared tried to bring a stop to their good time.
Sitting down, he was aware all the other guys were staring him down, as if trying to figure out his angle. They didn't like newcomers and it was obvious blood ran thicker than water around here.
"So Nathan, I thought you'd like to meet Haley's other cousins. Although, in this family we don't like labels and we're more like her brothers than anything." John added, making it clear they were Haley's protectors.
"Yeah sure."
John went clockwise, introducing the four other guys at the table. "This is Jeff, Mark, Lee, and Ty.
They all exchanged short pleasantries and sat in silence for a minute or so, till Ty took the reigns.
"So do you hunt Nathan?"
"Um, I don't remember ever going."
Ty eyed his cousins and grinned. "Well, maybe one day you can come out with us. That is, if you can handle a gun."
Nathan shrugged and took a big gulp of his drink. "It doesn't sound too hard."
Lee chuckled, "You'd be surprised, but luckily you married into a family of excellent marksmen.
Downing the rest of his drink, Nathan shifted in his seat. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, for instance, there was this one time when Haley and I were at one of our family's deer leases." Ty paused as if trying to remember something. "I think we were only about eight. Anyway, she ran off without anyone to the lake. Then we heard her scream so loud I think she woke the dead."
Everyone laughed except Nathan who just seemed uncomfortable.
"I ran to the top of the hill and she was a good hundred and fifty feet away, but I could see she was only inches away from a water moccasin. So, I grabbed my rifle and blew him away.
Nathan looked at him like he was some whack job. "You could have shot her!"
Haley walked up and put her hands on Ty's shoulders. "God Nathan, chill out. In the South a nine year old boy is a better shot than any military guy."
Lee yanked Haley away from Ty and sat her on his lap. "I can't believe you married a boy that can't shoot."
She laughed. "There's a good explanation for that. See, when I met him, he told me he was a shooter, but it wasn't until after we were married I found out he meant a shooter for the NBA."
Again, Nathan sat back and watched as Haley interacted with her family. He could tell they would do anything for her and she'd do the same. She wasn't Haley James, the movie star, she was just Haley, and that's all they ever wanted from her.
Abruptly, the clinking of glasses brought them all out of their thoughts and conversations.
Haley's father was standing in front of the French doors to his house, gathering everyone in front of him
"I'd like to thank everyone for coming here tonight and celebrating the marriage of mine and Lydia's baby girl. It may not have been the way we always planned, but nonetheless we are thrilled to have a new member of our family." He raised his glass in Nathan's direction as everyone applauded.
"Settle down now." He playfully warned the crowd. "Now, since it's every father's duty to embarrass his daughter, I thought I'd tell Nathan over there a little bit about the Haley he never got to see.
Haley immediately covered her face in her hands, not knowing what her father was going to say.
Nathan had to admit he was enjoying seeing this shy yet carefree side of her. It was obvious that what he was seeing now was reality and the over confident non-caring attitude he'd first encountered, was the real act. He couldn't help but feel a slight longing to make the real Haley come out just like her family did with just their mere presence.
Almost on instinct, he reached for her hand and pulled her towards him. She stumbled a bit, getting off Lee's lap, but quickly settled comfortably into Nathan's. She gave him a weird look, but he just shrugged, wrapping his arms securely around her tiny waist and focused on her smiling father, forcing her to do the same.
"So, as many of you know our little Haley has always been as stubborn as the day is long, which she gets from her mother's side, I might add." He paused while everyone laughed; including Haley's mother and aunts who knew it was all true.
"Well, she would fight you on anything and always demanded to be included. John over there is her age, and those other heathens around her right now are within a year or two of it. Sufficed to say, she followed them everywhere, even though she hated what they were doing most of the time. She would go hunting with them and would cry when they killed something, but never left because to her, being left out was more devastating."
Haley laughed with her cousins and felt Nathan pull her back closer to him. Deciding to go with it, she relaxed her body back against his chest and let herself enjoy his embrace. It was just part of the show; at least that's what she would keep telling herself.
"She forced them to play her games too, though, and they were putty in her hands, We'd catch her putting make-up on them, and dancing around with them in tiaras. Sometimes, she'd even line them up to choose which one looked pretty enough to be her husband that day."
The crowd laughed hysterically and the boys groaned.
"I will say those boys came in handy when my baby girl went to high school. I think it was her sophomore year when one day she came home crying. It took Lydia forever to calm her down. Luckily, our Haley was shy with boys in school, but one day she got up the nerve to talk to one and he literally ran away from her. My lovely wife did a little detective work and found out Haley's cousins, who were all on the football team, threatened to beat anyone within a inch of their life, if they went near her."
James and Lee started to laugh as Haley gave them a death glare.
"But they didn't get to Nathan in time and he snatched up our angel." He looked over at his daughter and smiled. "We were only blessed with one child, but Haley was more than we could have ever dreamed of. She was a beauty from the moment she was born, inside and out. When she smiles, and I mean truly smiles, it shines in her eyes, and I hope you're lucky enough to see one of those everyday Nathan. Haley loves with everything in her too. When she was two, I asked her how much she loved me, and she grinned and stretched her arms as wide as they would go. Then she stared at me, visibly upset, and said 'Daddy my arms won't go cross da worb.' She ran out of the room and went missing for about ten minutes. Finally, she wobbled into the kitchen carrying the globe from my office that was almost as big as her. She plopped it at my feet and with one of her signature smiles said, 'This much Daddy.' " Jimmy paused and smiled at his wife who had tears in her eyes.
"So Nathan, you take care of her, because her cousins may look tough, but they've got nothing on her aunts." He half teased and raised his glass.
"Let's toast to Haley and my new son Nathan. May you both be blessed with a lifetime of love, laughter, and family."
Nathan kissed Haley's bare shoulder lightly and couldn't keep the grin off his face.
"To Haley and Nathan." The crowd cheered as they raised their glasses in honor of the couple.
Turning around, smiling, Haley gazed into Nathan's eyes. Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the love that surrounded them, but in that moment Haley couldn't hold back. Stroking his face gently, she gradually brought her lips to his in a sweet tender kiss that left them both breathless. After their lips parted ever so slowly, their eyes opened to find the other's staring back.
Nothing else seemed to exist around them as they desperately tried to hold onto and understand the feelings that were swirling within them. In that one simple kiss, they had never wanted the other more, and yet had never been more terrified of the other. It wasn't just lust that was overtaking them, but something real, something they had never felt with anyone else, and something that was starting to become completely out of their control.
Cath