"Oh my God" Abby said, "You guys are fighting again, aren't you? Oh, please don't tell me you guys are fighting again." she said in a frustrated voice. "The last time you guys fought I had a lot to deal with from the both of you. You're both miserable without each other, so can you please stop. What the hell? What is the problem now?"
"It's alright, Abby" Julian said, but he kept his attention on the food.
"Relax Abby. At least I get to stay with you longer" Nina said, trying desperately to ease the tension in the room. "Or do you want me to leave that bad?"
Abby dropped her hands, looking dejected. "You know that's not true. I love having you here, but having you here means something went wrong with the both of you, and that's the last thing I want. The both of you belong together. What's the problem this time?"
Nina said nothing, so Julian said :" Nothing serious," he said smoothly."Just that your friend here decided that she doesn't want to get married."
Abby gasped. "What?"
Nina glared at him. Her anger was in full blown mode now. "I never said that" she yelled. "I said that I had a lot to do at the moment and I didn't want to rush into getting married now. I never said that I didn't want to marry you. Why do you always do things like this whenever you don't get your way?"
"All I can say is that I'm surprised you're still wearing your ring. If you have so many doubts then maybe you should take it off" Julian shot back.
Nina couldn't hold back her tears. "You asshole" she said. She slipped the ring out of her finger with more force than necessary and slammed it on the table. "Here, you can have your ring back, Julian."
Nina pushed her food away and stood up, suddenly losing her appetite, then she headed for her room. Ignoring Abby's call for her to come back.
Julian stared at the ring she had dropped on the table. Gosh, he thought, he had to admit to himself that she was right. That was a big asshole move. He hadn't meant what he said…he didn't want his ring back. He still wanted to marry her and he couldn't imagine not having her in his life. He picked up the ring. It felt so wrong holding it. It didn't belong with him. It was Nina's and it's place was on her finger.
When he raised his head again Abby was glaring at him. "You just had to say something, didn't you?" she asked. "You know, that is the most stupid statement I've ever heard come out of your mouth. You practically asked her to give you back your ring. You know what?"
She grabbed the plate away from him. "No more breakfast for you. You do not deserve it."
Julian said nothing because he knew she was right. He slowly got up and headed for Nina's room.
"Nina, please may I come in" he asked after he got no response after knocking.
He heard her sniff and knew from her voice that she was crying. "Go away, Julian" she yelled.
Gosh, she was crying, he thought, but he couldn't do she asked. He couldn't leave her like this, so he opened the door and came in anyways.
"I said go away" Nina said when she saw him. She was sitting on the bed and her face was buried in her hands. "That's your problem. You never listen to me. I don't want you here. Leave!"
"I'm sorry, Nina. That was way out of line" he said. "I shouldn't have taken this that far. The last thing I want to do is give you more reasons to doubt if getting married to me is the right thing to do and I know that I just made the situation worse. I'm sorry, Nina."
She lifted her head. "I never said that I didn't want to marry you, Julian" she replied. "I never said that because I do want to be your wife…."
Julian came to kneel in front of her. "I know, baby. I know. Please don't cry anymore. I guess I was just too scared that you'd leave and I panicked, but that's still no excuse. I was wrong. Please forgive me."
Gently, he wiped her tears with his palms. Waiting patiently until she calmed down before he showed her the ring he was still holding.
"I still have this," he said softly, "and it's okay if you don't want it back right now, but I'll hold onto it until you are ready to be my fiance again… I'll be here. I'll be here because there's no other woman I'd like to spend the rest of my life with. You're my woman, my best friend and the most beautiful thing that has ever been to me."
He tried to withdraw his hand but Nina stopped him. "I want it back now." she said. "There's no need for that."
She watched as Julian slowly slipped it back into her finger and smiled at her.
"Thank you. Whenever you are ready to be my wife," he said again. "I'll be here. I'm all yours… I've always known it, and I'm determined to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Evan wants me to go on a trip so that I can meet up with our client," said Nina. "I'll try my best to wrap things up as soon as I can…. And when I get back, I will move in with you."
Julian's face lit up as she spoke. He couldn't hide his happiness. "Do you really mean that Nina? He asked.
She nodded."Yeah. We can start… moving forward… as you said. One step at a time…"
He sat next to her on the bed and he pulled her down, rolling her to her side so that he could position himself over her, all rock-hard, towering male strength. His kiss was like a release and he lost himself in it, covering her mouth with what started as a lazy exploration but rapidly turned into a blazing assault. She was sweetly, wildly irresistible, and he groaned as their tongues entwined. He felt as uncontrolled now as he had the first time he had ever touched her.
"I love you so much, Nina" he whispered against her lips. "As long as I have you in my life, I'll be fine. You do whatever you need to do, then come back to me when you are ready and be my wife."