I woke up the next morning in a hospital somewhere in Dade County. My head was killing me and apparently, a tree was blown into my and Nick’s hotel room. I don’t remember what happened except a nurse told me that the paramedics found us naked on the bathroom floor.

Now, I’m lying here in this bed wondering if my father has found out. The nurse told me that Nick was in the room next door and has been awake for a few hours. They said that he would be released soon and he would come to my room as soon as he did. I can’t believe any of this happened.

We make love last night and tell one another “I love you” and I wake up like this. I was expecting to wake up in his arms, not with an IV leaking some weird liquid into my veins.

“Erin,” a raspy voice said as I looked towards the door. It was Nick. “Are you okay?” I smiled, relieved to see him. “Can I come in?”

“Of course, get your ass in here,” I said, watching him as he walked in, limping slightly. “What happened exactly?”

“I’m still not quiet sure,” he said, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek, and then on the lips. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I wanna go home.”

“Your dad is sending us a private jet right now to go home. He doesn’t know about us, thank God,” Nick said, sitting on the edge of my bed. “He’s upset that he sent us there and didn’t get back to us until it was too late to leave so I’m sure he’s going to be very affectionate with you.”

I smiled. Great, now I have to lie to my father even more.

“Nick, maybe we should just tell my father,” I said, staring at him. “Maybe all of this was some sign from God that we need to stop seeing each other behind his back.”

“Erin, I don’t want to loose my job or you,” he whispered, leaning over to kiss me again. I smiled against his lips and pushed his face away gently.

“You won’t loose your job, I’ll make sure of that,” I replied, looking him in the eyes. “I’ll get my mother to help me. She owes me a few hundred favors from our stormy relationship over the years. She owes me.”

“Erin, are you sure about this?”

“Nick, I hate lying to my father after they told me the truth about everything. Things with my family have been a lot better and I want them to stay that way,” I said, staring him in the eyes. “We’ll go home and I will sit him down and just tell him. He wants me to be happy and well, you make me happy.”

“You make me happy too,” Nick whispered. He leaned over to kiss me gently on the lips again until a nurse walked in, clearing her throat. We both giggled a little, and I prayed that she was about to release me.

She did and now it was time to go home.

It was time to go home and confront my father that I have been lying to him the past few weeks. I have to confess to him that I’m in love with our new head designer and that he makes me happy.

I’m just kind of scared as to what he’s gonna say.

After arriving back in Los Angeles, I immediately went to my apartment to shower, and change into some comfortable clothes. My parents were on their way over to see me and I was scared to death. Nick tried to talk me out of it on the way back from Miami but I refused. I want to tell my father about and I’m tired of lying.

I tried to tell my mother on the phone that I was going to tell my father about Nick and I but he came on the phone so I never could tell her. Hopefully she will act like she didn’t know so that he doesn’t get mad at her.

Just when I heard a knock on the door, I became deathly scared. Was I about to make a mistake? Was I about to loose my father forever?

“Hey guys,” I said, opening the door. Just as I opened the door all of the way, my father grabbed me into an embrace, kissing my cheek. “Okay Daddy, I’m fine.”

“I’m so sorry for not getting back to you two sooner,” he said as he finally let me go. I tried to tell him that it was okay as I hugged my mother but he wasn’t letting down. He wanted me to know that he was sorry and he said that he was going over to Nick’s as soon as they left here to let him know how sorry he was.

“Really, its okay,” I said as I walked over to sit down on the sofa. “Come on over and sit down.”

“Did you do something to the apartment?” my mother asked, looking around. “It looks a little different.”

“I rearranged some stuff,” I said, looking at my father as he sat down in the chair beside my end of the sofa. “Dad, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Work can wait for a few days. You and Nick need to recuperate.”

“Dad, it’s not about work,” I said, looking at my mother who sat beside me. I winked at her and a look of shock came over her face. She knew I was about to tell him. “It’s sort of personal.”

“Did they find out something was wrong with you while you were in the hospital?” he asked, leaning back in the chair.

“No Daddy, it’s nothing like that. I’m fine, just a few bruises, but that’s it.”

“Well, what is it?”

“How did you feel when you realized that you were in love with Mom?” I asked. He looked at me questionably and then smiled.

“I know our anniversary is coming up but you don’t need to get us anything yet,” he said. I sighed, looking at my mother who stared at my father in return. She knew just as well as I did that he was about to blow a gasket.

“No, Daddy, I’m asking because I think that I feel that way,” I said, staring at him. “I met someone and I know that I loved Daniel, but what I had with Daniel is nothing like it is with him. I’m in love with him, and I just wanted to let you guys know.”

“Well that’s great darlin’ but I didn’t realize you were seeing anybody,” my father said, smiling at me. He didn’t get it. I sighed, leaning back on the sofa and looked at my mother.

“Dad, you always said that you wanted me to be happy, right?”

“Right.”

“And you want me to live happily ever after, right?”

“Get with the point, Erin.”

I was beginning to get upset. My mother could tell and put her arm around my shoulders. “I didn’t mean for it to happen Dad, but I couldn’t help it.”

“Couldn’t help what?” my father asked, staring at me intensely.

“First you have to promise me that you won’t fire anybody.”

“Erin, you better talk,” he said, standing up. He crossed his arms and stared down at me.

“I’m in love with Nick,” I said, looking at him. I could see the fire in his eyes. “Dad, it’s not this little affair that’s going to end badly. It’s not one of my little flings that I have every once in a while. I love him and he loves me and we didn’t want to lie to you anymore.”

“Anymore?” he asked while raising his voice. “Erin, I told you both distinctively that there are no relationships within the workplace.”

“Dad, I know that, but really it didn’t happen in the work place,” I said, standing up. “You sent him to Atlanta with me and over here to my place to check up on me when I found out about my real paternity. You sent me to Miami, this beautiful place, with him. I didn’t tell you this but I met him twice before I ever found out that he was the new designer.”

“You lied to me again?!?”

“Dad, it’s not like that. It’s not like that at all,” I said, trying to clarify myself. “We were both embarrassed because the night before I had to show him around, we almost slept together, but we didn’t and we were already interested in each other.”

“You are just digging yourself in a deeper grave, Erin.”

“Daddy, I love him. I really think this is something special for me and it’s not making work complicated. It’s only making it better because we work good together, right?” I asked, staring at him.

“Yes, you do work well together,” my father said as I smiled. “Erin, you both broke the rules.”

“I know Daddy, and I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to lie to you anymore because I love you.” I said, practically begging him.

“I want to talk to your mother alone, and I want you to meet us at Nickolas’s in about thirty minutes. You leave to go there now and let us talk,” he said, staring at me. I looked at my mother who shrugged her shoulders.

“Okay,” I said, reaching over my purse. I zipped up my velour pink jump suit and picked up my keys. As I walked to the door, I could hear my father growl. He only growled when he was angry and I could tell that he was very angry right now.

I walked out of my apartment and was practically in tears. Maybe telling my father was a huge mistake – a huge, HUGE mistake. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him at all.

Now I had to prepare Nick for the battle we were about to embark on with my father.

“Erin, damn, I told you not to tell him,” he said, putting his hands on top of his head. I stood there, staring at him in return. “Did he seem mad or what?”

“Yes, he was mad but he wanted to talk to my mother alone and then he was coming over here,” I said, looking around. “Where’s Katie?”

“Asleep,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “Just know that whatever happens, I love you and that’s not going to change.”

I smiled, looking up at his face. “I love you too,” I whispered. I was about to lean up and kiss him when there was a knock at the door. “Oh God, they’re here. He’s going to hate me, I know.”

“Maybe your Mom was able to calm him down or something,” Nick said as he walked up to the door. He opened it to see my mother and father standing outside. “Hey Mr. and Mrs. Davidson,” he said, opening the door wider for them to come in.

My father walked past him, giving him a dirty look. That was not a good sign. He walked into the apartment and took his jacket off, handing it to my mother.

“So Nickolas, Erin tells me that you two are in love,” my father said, staring at us. “What do you have to say about the fact that not only did you lie to me, my daughter and my wife lied to me.”

“Mom,” I said, looking at her. I couldn’t believe she actually tried to talk to him.

“Well I know what we’ve talked about and I tried to calm him down,” she said, looking at my father. “Obviously he’s still as stubborn as he was the day we got married.”

“We didn’t mean for it to happen Mr. Davidson, I swear we didn’t. I tried to fight it as long as I could and so did Erin, especially after we found out who each other were. After I found out about the policy, we put a stop to it. I didn’t want to risk my job,” Nick said as he looked around, hearing Katie starting to cry. “Excuse me for a minute.”

“Dad, really and don’t blame Mom for this. You always wanted us to be closer and we’re becoming that. I went to confide in her and she told me that if I told you that you would understand,” I said, pleading with him. “Don’t fire Nick because you and I both know that it would be a horrible mistake.”

I watched Nick as he walked back into the living room with Katie in his arms. I looked back at my father who was staring at them. I knew my father was upset. I just prayed that he would somehow forgive both of us and not ruin Nick’s career.

“Mama,” a little voice said, as I looked over at Nick. Katie was reaching out for me. What just happened?

“Did you hear that?” Nick said, looking at Katie. “She just talked,” he said, looking at me. “She just called you ‘mama’.”

Okay, now I was deathly scared, not just because my and Nick’s future was in my father’s hands right now but also because someone just referred to me as their mother.

Me! A mother! Yeah, right.

“I’m disappointed in both of you,” my father said, crossing his arms. “Nickolas, I like you. I think you are a great young man and a talented designer and you’re an asset to this company.”

I smiled, watching Nick as he thanked my father. My father was starting to sound nicer about the whole situation. Maybe everything was going to work out after all. Maybe Katie calling me her mother as her first words were the turning point for my father to realize that this is for real.

“But you both lied to me,” he said, causing both Nick and I to stare at him and although it’s in the rules that I would fire both of you –“

“Thank you Daddy –“

“Erin, I’m not finished,” he said, looking at my mother. I watched his eyes move back at Nick and I. I was scared. “One of you have to go and I’m going to leave that up to you two to make that decision. Be at my office at ten in the morning and one of you will be there to pick up your things.”

Nick, my mother, and I were in shock and watched as my father walked out of the apartment. He just fired one of us. There was no way he could fire me. I’m his daughter. I’m his flesh and blood, the one that he wants to pass the company down to. He can’t fire Nick because he’s the future of this company. He’s designing the current line. Nick can’t be fired in the middle of that. It would ruin the company and cause the stock to drop, leading to the closing of Stellar Designs. That could and would happen… never.

I guess I know what I’ll have to do.