Nico

Toni fidgeted in the front passenger seat of his car, and Nico knew she was nervous about meeting his parents. Hell, he was nervous too. Ever since crossing into Massachusetts, he felt as though he were on a roller coaster and couldn't get off. His stomach was doing flips, and his mind replayed the last visit he had with his parents—that didn't end well. His father told him if he took the job on the Isle of Palms, he wouldn't be welcome back home—ever.

"Are we still sure this is a good idea?" she quietly asked. Nico could hear the concern in her voice, and he wouldn't let on that he was worried about the same thing. They could be walking right back into his family's bullshit problems, and he hated that would put Toni in the middle of his mess. She already had enough going on, she didn't need to deal with his overbearing father and judgmental mother.

He reached across the center console and took her hand in his. "I'm not going to sugarcoat this, honey. We could be walking into a rather hostile situation. My father hasn't spoken to me since I left to take the research position on the island. He basically told me that if I took the job to not bother coming back. My mother would never go against my father's wishes, so I have very limited contact with them both. I call home occasionally and have talked to them both, but it's extremely strained."

"I'm so sorry, Nico. My father wasn't an easy man to love. I wasn't blind, I know he did things that weren't ethical, but he was my father. I wanted him to do better, to be better, but in the end, I guess he just did the best he could." Toni shrugged. Nico had a firsthand account of just who James Bernston was.

"I guess we both come from difficult pasts," he said.

"Yes, we did," she agreed.

"What happened between you and my father?" Toni questioned. "You said you had a few run-ins with him and from what Zac said, they weren't pleasant." Nico worried about just how much to tell Toni. He didn't want to hurt her, but she didn't seem to live under any disillusionment about her father's true nature.

"When I decided to head up the research team, to work on the erosion problem on the island, I thought my only issue was going to be solving the mystery of how to get the island to stop sinking into the ocean. When I first got there, more than a quarter of all real estate on the southern tip of the island had sunk into the Atlantic. I guess I made more of a fuss than your father hoped for, and when his development deals started to stall, he began causing trouble for me. James had friends in high places, and I found my research money dwindling with all the brick walls we were hitting." Nico paused. He hated that he and Toni's father had a troubled past, but she needed to hear the whole story. He owed her that much.

"I'm so sorry he did that to you," she whispered.

"When I was finally able to scientifically prove the island's erosion problems stemmed from overdevelopment, my money was almost completely gone, and your father was relentless in persecuting me and my team. My extra funding came through just about the time we found you a little over a year ago." Toni's gasp had him stopping again.

"All that time, our paths crossed but we never met," Toni said. Nico looked over at her, trying to figure out just what she meant.

"I'm not sure I'm following you, honey," he admitted. "How did our paths cross exactly?"

Toni looked as if she regretted her statement, but he wouldn't let her off the hook. He needed her honesty in return, and now she had her memories, he wanted to know everything about her.

"Toni," he warned. She sighed and took her hand from his.

"I worked for my father's company before I had my accident." He hated that she felt unsure about sharing that part of herself with him. He wished she knew she could share just about anything with him, and it wouldn't change how he felt about her.

"Go on," he prompted.

"Well, I had no idea what was going on with the environmental issues that surrounded his development deals. Dad told me he had things handled and that I should concentrate my skills on finding buyers for his projects once he had them under construction. I have a real estate license and I was the lead for sales on the island under his development company. It was his way of monopolizing the market, using me in-house. I coordinated group sales and hired other realty companies to sell off large blocks of his condominiums. If I had known he was hurting the environment, cutting corners to lower his bottom line, I would have never been a part of his company." Toni shot Nico a guilty look and he wanted to laugh. He would have never guessed his girl would ever be a part of anything shady, she was just too good—too pure.

"Baby, I have no doubt you would never be involved in hurting anyone, that's just not who you are." Nico linked their hands again and pulled hers up to gently kiss her knuckles.

"I wonder what my father would think of us being together now?" she asked.

Nico coughed out his laugh. "I'm pretty sure he'd roll over in his grave if he knew you were falling into my bed every night."

"He never had a funeral," she whispered. "No memorial service—nothing." Toni looked so lost again, he wished there was something he could do. James hadn't been gone long, but enough time had passed for someone to plan his services. Besides, if Nico had to guess, Zac wasn't going to put much thought or effort into planning anything for his ex-business associate.

"How about we do something when we get back to the island?" he offered. Toni gifted him with her smile, and he felt his heart flutter. She was so fucking beautiful. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve another chance with her, but he'd take whatever good fortune was smiling on him.

"I'd like that," she said. "I'll make a few calls while we're in Boston to get the ball rolling. Zac gave me the number to my father's attorney. I'll call him first, and maybe he can help me with the arrangements. I don't have much money to pay for anything elaborate," she said.

"I'm sure whatever you come up with will be great, baby," Nico offered.

"So, what are we going to do about your parents?" she asked, changing the subject. He wasn't quite sure how to answer her question. He wished they were going for a visit under better circumstances, but he was going to use their situation to make the most of strengthening his relationship with both of his parents.

"I don't know, honey, but I think it's time to let my father and mother meet the real me," Nico said. He had never told his parents about his hopes and dreams, knowing they would probably shoot them down. His dreams and desires didn't align with his parents, and that usually didn't sit well with them.

"Well, I'm pretty sure they're going to love you, Nico. I mean, what's not to love?" She chanced a look over at him and for a split second he hoped she was admitting she felt the same way about him, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Toni didn't remember him, and he needed to keep that in mind. He had a lot of work in front of him to get her to remember the life they shared. He'd help her get there no matter how long it took, and one day he'd hear her say those three little words to him again.