Their Second Chance by April Angel, Milly Taiden Page B

wine to her lips and stopped. Her stomach burned and still felt pretty sensitive. Wine was probably not the best thing to add to the mix.  She left the table and returned with a pitcher of iced tea.
    “What’s wrong with the wine?” He asked between bites.
    “Nothing. I’ve just had a lot of stomach issues lately, and I didn’t want to aggravate it with liquor.” She took small bites of the delicious-smelling roast pork shoulder. It tasted almost as good as her mom’s.
    “This is delicious. How long have you been hiding this new cooking skill?” He continued to eat with gusto, and it made all her hours laboring over the stove worth it.
    “I haven’t been hiding it. I took some classes early in the year, and a couple of the things stuck. I can’t live on take out forever.” She sipped on her iced tea. “By the way, thanks for the food and groceries. They were life-savers. I’ve been so busy, I’d forgotten to go food shopping.”
    He wiped his mouth and drank some wine. A moment later, he grasped her hand on the table. “I wanted to help ease some of your stress.”
    “Thank you. It really helped.” She smiled. His thoughtfulness wasn’t something new, but it was nice to be the recipient of it again.  “How’s the business going?” She asked, poking at her food. Her stomach was still feeling delicate, and she didn’t want to eat much. Watching Nick enjoy her food spread a nice accomplished feeling through her. It had been the right thing to do.
    “Great. Busy, but great. I am still in awe at how much it’s grown recently,” he said between bites.
    “I know! I’m so amazed with your success. I mean you went from a local building company to a giant corporation in less than two years. How did you do that?” She had been so wrapped up in herself she’d missed his climb to success. All due to her internal turmoil and inability to cope with not being able to conceive. God. He’d been working so hard at the same time they’d been trying to have a baby. No wonder he was never around.
    He shrugged. “I tried so hard to keep my name from being connected to my father’s. Not wanting to be seen as Nick Parker Sr.’s boy. I wanted to be my own man. To control my success, and for it to be based on my achievement alone.”
    She’d known that about Nick. He’d always tried to push away from his father’s name and money. It wasn’t just the tattoos or the blue collar workman clothing either. He was one hundred percent hands on when it came to his business. She’d seen him put in long hours whenever he’d gotten the smallest contract.
    “So what changed things?” She stopped trying to force food down her throat and focused on him.
    His gaze lifted from the plate and locked on to hers. There was that open door again. Allowing her to view his shifting emotions. He looked a little unsure, and that bothered her. Nick had never had anything to worry about when it came to his work. He was damn good at it.
    “I was hired by one of my father’s friends and things sort of took off from there.” He took a gulp of wine and sighed. “What I didn’t want was what ended up happening. His friends started hiring me, and all of a sudden, I had bigger jobs. Bigger contracts. Huge clients wanting me to do overseas projects.”
    She nodded. Understanding dawned over his insecurity. “Nick, you got those jobs because your work speaks for itself. Not because of your dad or how big he is in the architecture world.”
    He smiled, showing off a tiny dimple by the corner of his mouth. “I like to think that. But sometimes I wonder.”
    “Wonder what? Do you honestly think that if you weren’t as good as you are, those huge companies would want to do business with you, father or not? No. Trust me on this. When it comes to business, you can suggest someone, but nobody wants to recommend a company that won’t live up to their recommendation. You’ve earned your success. Enjoy it.”
    He cupped her hand on the table