My Head or My Heart?

Chapter 40

NICO'S POV:

------------------------------------------------------3 years later------------------------------------------------------

My phone buzzed in my pocket alerting me of a text message. I pulled it out and saw it was Luca responding to the text I sent him earlier. We were finally in a place where he communicated more. It was nothing along the sorts of every day conversations but we did check on the other every week now instead of once a year, or once every few months. I smiled at his message before I pocketed my phone again. He was back to calling me "dad." I honestly wasn't sure he ever would again and I didn't blame him for it but he was my son. I can't excuse my behavior but I loved and missed him. I always would.

LUCA: All is good in the neighborhood dad. Really busy with work and loving it at the top. Of course :) Hope things are well on the home front over there. Have a great weekend.

It's been a long few years following all that had occurred with him, Jaya, and myself. Things were a little tense after that meeting because everyone had to get into the new line of things. We had to get used to the fact that Luca was gone and communication would be sparse if any to start with and Jaya and I had to hold off on any type of PDA for quite a while because she had to ironically publicly show she and Luca were no longer together for the people at the hospital who knew she had been previously taken. We went about a year as nothing more than co-workers that became close friends. No one at the hospital knows that Luca and I were related outside of Saraj, who took her precious time accepting Jaya and I. I can't fault her. In her defense she had to be sure we were actually going to make this a real thing because to her the flare from the excitement of an affair could have been what was driving us in the first place. Which was rude as hell but I am an understanding man so I put myself in her shoes and she did the same, eventually.

Jaya continued being head nurse up until about a few months ago when she took her exams to become a doctor and passed with flying colors. She held off for a couple years because she wanted to be the best next to me, soaking up all the knowledge and experience she could. She started heading the surgeries with me as a back up and nothing was more beautiful than watching her take charge and own the hell out of the operating room. My girl was a force to be reckoned with and I couldn't be more proud.

She was currently at the hospital for her shift as I took the opportunity to use my day off to run around to get her surprise ready. We had the next few days off and I had a spectacular trip ready for us. I consulted with the hospital to make sure we were really off and not the "on-call off" that constituted as the norm. I wasn't having any interruptions so I had to plan this months in advance. Which was no problem because I had made this decision years ago. It was a little hard to play as though we've only been dating for the last year when in reality we've been together this entire time. Luckily I was able to keep my calm through all the male doctors who were seeking Jaya's attention once they caught wind of her being back on the market. When I tell you I had no idea how many men were truly into her until the dam broke and the thirstiness was revealed. She had flowers, cards, and numbers left damn near everyday for a month. She always politely declined and I was doing so well up until that last week when one young new doctor came up to her while we were having lunch and rudely tried getting her attention.

~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~

"Babe," she whispered as I looked up at her from the file I was reading with a raised brow.

"Yes?" My deep voice answered completely ignoring the fact she was whispering.

She looked around making sure we were out of ear shot, "what do you want for dinner?" I immediately started laughing. She did some of the most adorable things without even knowing it. She could have easily texted me that or called me once we left the hospital to meet at our home but no. Jaya had to do things her own cute way. I must admit things like this touched my heart. It's absurd how we began but to truly be with her, no sharing, was like a piece of my dream coming true. It does suck that we have to be discreet for a while considering it would look unprofessional and messy if we came out about our relationship now.