chapter 6

The week passed by as a blur. I haven’t gone home yet, and I don’t even want to go back, although I miss Nora terribly. I got to know the brothers more; we spend most of the time doing puzzles.

I enjoyed spending time with them. Tay is a wonderful cook. You would swear that he went to culinary school. Ria came to visit Tay, but he ignored her the whole day, using work as an excuse. Andrew doesn’t like her so much, so he also made work as an excuse.

The brothers are amazing. The love they have for each other is incredible.

“Morning,” Nana says, walking to the fridge. I’m in my gym gear and my hair is up in a messy bun.

“Morning Nana and see you,” she chuckles, and I walk to the front door. I have been going for runs during the past week. I inhale the fresh air and start running.

When I get back from my run, I find the brothers eating breakfast.

“Did I tell you, you look sexy when you are all sweaty? Sister-in-law,” Nate compliments and takes a bit of his toast, and I let out a chuckle.

“Good morning to you too, Nate.” Andrew chuckles.

“Go take a shower, dear, and come back to eat, okay?” Nana says, and I nod. I run up the long staircase and rush into my room. I throw my phone on the bed and make my way to the shower.

I take a quick shower and put on my black leggings with a cream shirt dress, short soft boots, and leave my hair hanging down over my shoulders. I walk out of the room and make my way downstairs.

I take a seat next to Tay and fill my plate. Tay is drinking his black coffee, and he screams billionaire and it’s the truth.

He’s in black trousers and a white shirt. I fill my glass with orange juice and take a sip before looking at Tay.

“What?” Tay asks, and takes a sip from his coffee mug.

“Why do you drink coffee without milk?” I ask.

“Because it’s good,” he replies, and I shake my head.

“Try it?” he hands me his mug. I hesitate at first, but end up taking it. I take a sip and God! It is so bitter. I hand him the mug back, shaking my head. He just chuckles and takes a sip.

“Oh my God!” Nate exclaims with a smirk on his face.

“What?” the three of us ask in unison.

“Tay just took a sip from where sister-in-law’s lips were placed. So that means they practically kissed, right?” Nate asks, with a bright smile on his face.

“They just shared their first kiss. Aww isn’t that cute?” Nate asks. Andrew shakes his head in disbelief at his little brother. Tay and I lock in each other’s gaze. He is still holding his mug. A sound of a throat clearing breaks our intense moment, or at least that is what I thought.

I quickly take a sip from my glass of orange juice. Tay places his mug on the table and eats his toast. The front door opens, revealing Carmen and Chris.

“What are you guys doing here?” Tay asks as he pushes his chair back.

“That’s not how I taught you to greet your elders,” Carmen says, and I see a smile appearing on Tay’s face. He hugs his parents, Andrew and Nate do the same, and they walk towards us. I stand up and hug both of them.

“You look beautiful, Olivia.” Carmen says with a bright smile on her face.

“Thank you, so do you,” I tell her. She is wearing a blue embroidered lace dress and her hair hanging down her shoulders. Chris is wearing blue trousers, a white shirt, and a blue suit jacket.

“What are guys doing here so early?” This time Nate asks, and I bring the glass of orange juice to my mouth and drink.

“First, it’s not that early, it’s 9 am, and secondly we came to have lunch with you guys And I wanted food cooked by my soon to be daughter- in-law. You don’t mind right, honey?” The food part makes me spit the juice back into the glass, and my eyes widen. I am a terrible cook.

“Of course, I don’t mind!” note the sarcasm.

“You should see your face right now,” Nate says, laughing. Andrew is holding back his laugh and Tay has a smirk on his face.

“This I have to see,” Tay mutters to himself.

“Honey, don’t worry, you will do great,” Carmen says with an angelic voice, and I wish the ground would just swallow me right here, right now.

“Oh God!” I mutter to myself. Tay must have heard me because he bursts into laughter, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“What happened?” Nate asks, desperate to laugh too, but Tay just replies with “remembered one of your jokes, that’s all.”

We continue with our breakfast; I excuse myself after what felt like an eternity and rush up to the staircase. I grab my tablet from the bedside counter and start reading recipes online — watching videos of some big-time chef cooking.

Time rushes way too fast and now it is time to cook lunch. Oh! God, I am screwed for real. I turn my hair into a messy bun, grab my tablet, and walk out of the room.

I find Nate, Andrew, Nana, Carmen, and Chris in the living room watching television. At least Tay is not home. I don’t need him telling me how bad my cooking is. “Are you ready?” Carmen asks and I nod.

“I can’t wait!” Carmen says, clapping her hands together like a 5-year-old kid.

Oh, God! Only you can save me now. I walk into the kitchen, grab the apron, and put it on. I decide to cook chicken first; I take out my phone and read the instructions. I put the pot on the stove and switch it on. I read the first instruction, spoon of olive oil, and I do just that. I take out the chicken and continue with the rest of the instruction. I read online while waiting, but God is not on my side today — and I end up burning the whole chicken. I let out a frustrated sigh and switched the stove off — a deep voice chuckles and I snap my head up. Tay is leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.

“What are you doing here?” he walks towards me.

“Did you think I was going to miss this? No way!” he laughs this time and I cross my arms over my chest.

“You are a terrible cook; look at the mess you made?” I scan the kitchen and my eyes widen. Holy shit!

I made quite a mess here.

“Let me help you?” Tay proposes.

“No,” I answer too quickly.

“Do you want Carmen Payne to go home disappointed?” Carmen is pretty excited, and she will be disappointed if I don’t cook. I sigh in defeat.

“Fine,” I say, defeated.

“What? I didn’t hear from you. What did you just say?” Tay brings his ear close to me.

“I will let you help me, happy?” Tay smirks.

“I will help you, only on one condition, though,” he says with a smirk on his face.

This can’t be good.

“Which is?”

“From today, you will sleep in my room; we are going to get married, so we might as well practice.”

“No!” I blurt. There is no way in hell I am sleeping with him on the same bed. I have never slept with a guy in the same bed before.

“Come on, we will do nothing. I promise.” he seems sincere and I fear the trust I suddenly have in him.

We are going to get married in two weeks, so we might as well take the next step. I try to convince myself that it’s just a bed.

But you know you are not ready. My subconscious reminds me, but I push her to the back of my head.

“Fine,” I decide, and a smile forms on his lips.

“Now let’s give Carmen the best food she has ever tasted,” he says, and put on an apron. I take a seat on the stool and watch as he cleans the kitchen counter. After a while, he has finished cleaning and is chopping onions. I grab an apple next to the fridge from the fruit basket.

“How did you learn how to cook?” I ask and take a bite from the apple.

“Nana taught me,”

“What convinced you to change English lit to nursing?” Tay’s question makes me freeze for a while, not knowing what to say to him. No one has ever asked me that question before.

“Just personal reasons,”

“Well, that’s a major change.”

“What are you making?” I change the subject and take a seat across from him.

“Chicken and chorizo jambalaya,” he replies.

After a while, he switches off the stove and removes his apron. He makes me taste it and God! It is delicious. I close my eyes, enjoying the flavor, and when I open them, Tay is looking at me with a smirk on his face.

“What?” I ask, and he leans in. He brings his thumb to my bottom lip, and I shut my eyes at his touch and the next thing I know, his thumb is gone. I let out a deep breath and opened my eyes, confused. Tay shows me his thumb and shows me a piece of chicken.

“Thanks,” I say, and he moves away.

“I think you can handle the rest. I’m going to freshen up. I smell like food.” he says and I nod. He walks out, and I turn back my focus to the food. The kitchen is clean. He didn’t even make a mess.

Wow!

“Something smells good,” a voice says, and I snap my head up to find Nana walking towards the kitchen counter.

“I tried my best.” I fake a smile and she smirks.

“I will help you set the table,” she volunteers, and we take out plates and walk towards the dining table. After we set the table, Nana goes to call the others.

“Oh, my God, this looks good, Olivia,” Carmen says with an excited tone.

“Mm, I see you have outdone yourself, sister-in-law.” Nate says, taking a seat. We all take our seats, I fill my plate, and Tay sits next to me. His scent fills my nostrils, consuming my entire body—he is wearing a long-sleeve white t-shirt and slim grey hyper stretch jeans. His hair is still wet; you can see his muscles contract as he fills his plate.

I turn my attention back to my plate, and the rest of the lunch goes by quickly. And now it is time for Carmen and Chris to leave.

“Lunch was delicious, Tay.” Carmen says, and Tay spits his juice back in his glass. Nate chuckles, handing Tay a napkin, and Andrew pats his back.

“We all know that you are the one who cooked. We watched both of you in the kitchen bonding, and everything.” Carmen says with a smirk on her face, and my cheeks burn with embarrassment. She set us up.

“Mom!” Tay blushes and Carmen shrugs.

“Don’t forget about food testing tomorrow.” Carmen reminds me, and I nod. The brothers say goodbye to their parents and Nana helps me clear the table.

After washing the dishes with Nana, I make my way to the living room and find the brothers watching cricket. I sit between Tay and Andrew.

“Which team are you on, sister-in-law?” Nate asks and I look at the big screen. I don’t even know any of those teams.

“The one with a white kit” I pick. Andrew burst into laughter and I look at him confused.

“Tay sided with the same one as you.” Andrew informs me, and I give him the ‘oh’ look. Nate is now sulking; he grabs a bowl of popcorn from Andrew, and Tay chuckles. I lean my back on the couch and watch. Minutes pass, and I feel a hand against my shoulders. I turn to look at Tay, but his eyes are glued to the screen.

After the game, Nate brings two small containers of ice cream. He hands me a container and two spoons, and he shares his with Andrew, leaving me to share with Tay.

Great!

I hand Tay a spoon, and we dig in.

“Are you guys still coming to the exhibition tomorrow?” Andrew asks. I forgot about it. Andrew has his first exhibit tomorrow; he has been working hard on it for the past week. I can’t wait to see his art.

“Of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Tay says with a bright smile on his face.

“I will be there.” I tell Andrew and earn a smile back.

“You know I will be there.” Nate says with his mouth full of Ice cream. We chuckle and share our heads.

Tay receives a call and excuses himself. After a while Nate and I help Nana with dinner—Andrew excuses himself too. I stay behind with Nate and we watch a movie to pass the time.

Two hours later, I make my way upstairs and put on my silk pajamas and brush my teeth. I walk out of the bathroom to find Tay sitting on the edge of my bed with a laptop on his lap.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“You agreed to sleep with me on the same bed, remember?”

Shit! I forgot about that.

“Oh!” that’s all I say.

“Just stay on your side of the bed, and we will be just fine,” I tell him and get under the sheets.

“I’m a gentleman, if you didn’t know,” Tay says with a smirk on his face.

“Don’t switch the lights off when you come to bed,” I tell Tay, and he looks at me with curious eyes. I pull the sheets even closer to my body and drift to sleep after a few minutes.

“What do we have here?” a voice says from behind. I turn to find a guy wearing black jeans and a black shirt standing just a few feet away from me. I ignore him, and he makes his way towards me.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.” He raises his voice and I turn to look at his face, but I can’t see it properly.

“What do you want?” I snap.

“Feisty one I see,” the guy says, I walk away from him, not liking the way he is talking to me, but I didn’t even walk further until a hand grabs my arm with full force pulling me to a dark alley. I tried to pull away, but I was only hurting myself. He pushes me against a cold, hard wall, and I wince in pain. He kisses me all over my face and neck. I try to get away, but earn a punch in my stomach. Tears travel down my cheeks. I clinched on my stomach, and after a while, a punch was thrown in my face. I fall to the ground, groaning in pain. Within seconds, he kicks me on my abdomen. I cry out in pain, but that doesn’t stop him. He keeps going until I’m unable to move.

The next thing I know, I feel him at my entrance. I shake my head no, trying to move, but my body won’t let me.

“No, no, no, please stop!” I beg.

“Olivia, wake up!” a hand shakes me, and I snap my eyes open to find a pair of brown eyes looking at me. For a moment I forget where I am and start moving away from the person.

“Hey, it’s just me, Tay. No one is going to hurt you. You are safe with me.” my mind finally processed everything and fell into his arms. He tightens his grip on me, and I suddenly feel the same feeling I have been getting when I’m with him. I feel safe in his arms. He runs his hand over my hair, muttering soft words in my ear.