Knock! Knock!
Nora fixed her dress as soon as she retracted her hand from the door. Richard shook his head at this sight.
"A dress?" He still could not believe it.
"There's a first time for everything", Nora said with little care to her father's attitude.
"Stop while you're ahead", Stella said.
"You never know until you try. Isn't that what you always told me mom?" She flushed her a charming smile.
The door was pulled open and standing before the family of three was Zach. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a jersey. His hair fell in bangs giving him a boyish look with his already handsome face and he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows revealing his veiny forearms. Nora swallowed a hard lump seeing this.
"Welcome. Come on in", he said as he stepped aside to let them in.
"Thank you", Richard said as he pushed his wife in.
Nora felt her throat run dry. She wanted to say something like a 'hi' or 'thank you' but words were stuck in her throat so she just pushed herself into the house. Richard settled on a single sofa next to where he had settled Stella.
"I'll go and get her", Zach said after closing the door.
His brows furrowed when he felt like someone was watching him. He figured they were all watching but why? Unbeknownst to him, it was Nora watching his jeans clad ass.
'So sexy', she mused.
"Nora", Richard whisper shouted.
"I love to appreciate good things", she whispered back with a bashful smile on her face.
Zach came back out with his arm around Amy's waist. She wore a bodycon pencil dress falling to her knees, it nicely embraced her baby bump and curves. The sweetheart neckline decently exposed her cleavage, her breasts were growing bigger, she topped it with a silky floral cardigan that fell to her mid thighs, a simple necklace, and with matching ballet shoes. Her hair had been tied into a ponytail exposing her slender neck.
Looking a the two, Nora felt like her fantasies were coming true! All that was left was for the three of them to be a unit! Richard forced her down on a seat before he went to give Amy a side hug. Zach stepped aside and let the older man when he saw Amy open her arms.
"Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright. And how are you doing?"
"I'm great. This little fella is growing so fast", he commented with a happy smile. Looking at her now, her belly had grown bigger since he last saw her.
Amy chuckled as she rubbed her belly. Then she remembered the man behind her as she took his hand and brought him to her side. Richard moved back.
"I'd like to officially introduce you to cupcake's daddy, Zach, and Zachery, this is Richard, Stella's husband. They have been taking care of me for as long as I've known them. They're special people to me", she said.
The two men exchanged a firm handshake. Zach was familiar with him, he had all the information on Stella and Richard was included. Amy had a pleased smile.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Stella said with a smile.
They walked over with the couple sharing a sofa while Richard went to settle beside his wife. He didn't know how he felt about Zach but he wasn't uncomfortable either. If anything, the couple looked good together and Amy looked happier with him.
"So Jennifer, huh?" He started. Stella had told him everything.
"I'm sorry, Richard", she sincerely apologized.
"Don't worry, kiddo. You could have a hundred names but it won't change anything. You're a good girl, I'm sure you have your reasons", then he turned to Zach and assumed a strict and an authoritative stance. "I don't know your story, the both of you, but I've known Emily for a while and she's someone who means a lot to me. I think I have every right to say that I wouldn't want her getting hurt. So if you do....."
Zach's back straightened before he took hold of Amy's hand. "Don't worry. Hurting her is equivalent to hurting me. I wouldn't intentionally hurt myself, so don't worry."
"Good man!" He stood up. "Beer?"
"Why not?" He moved to stand before turning to Amy. "Would you like anything?"
"I'm good. Stella? Nora?" Amy asked.
"No, dear. Wait, are you going somewhere?" Stella asked.
"Home. There is a game playing right now", Richard replied with a bashful smile. Stella shook her head, it's always soccer for Richard. "I'm sure you don't want us watching football over beer and making comments while you have your girlie chats. We'll be back in an hour and a half."
"Typical", Stella responded with a shake of her head.
"You don't mind me stealing your man kiddo?" He asked Amy.
"Go ahead", Amy said with an amused smile.
"You'll be okay?" Zach asked to which she nodded. He briefly pressed his lips to hers before getting a move on. Nora didn't miss this part.
He slightly felt excited. It was like going to watch a soccer match over beer with his father-in-law. Speaking of which, he was curious to know about Amy's family if she had any. He noted to ask her later on. The two men left for Stella's place while the ladies were left to chat.
True to Richard's words, they came back close to two hours later. Nora had made lunch. She had her mom's cooking skills. They shared a hearty meal with conversation as the day went by. When evening struck, the family of three went back home.
"They're good people", Zach commented when he closed the door after them. He genuinely had a good time with them. He understood when Amy said they meant a lot to her.
"Mm-hm", Amy replied as she walked towards him. "Now, about dinner..."
"About that..... Can we have another lesson?" He requested. He was quite envious of the way Amy reacted to his brothers' cooking.
"Sure", Amy nodded. She would stick to him and supervise every step.
Meanwhile, Richard settled on the sofa the moment they stepped into the house. He really liked the Zach guy. He seemed seemed to genuinely like the girl. In his eyes.... there was love for Amy, he was sure of this. Speaking of love, he turned to his wife who was wheeling herself to their room.
"Oh? You should have told me", he stood up.
"Don't worry, dear. I just need to get something from the room. I'll be right back", Stella said.
"You sure?" He asked.
She hummed in response as she went on her way. Nora had locked herself in her room to shower. Who knew what else she was doing after spending the day and falling in and out of a day dream of her fantasies?
Stella closed the door behind her before she went to the bathroom and locked herself in. She took out her phone from her trouser pocket and saw the message she received from Lilly.
Lilly: Call me A.S.AP.
She didn't waste a second before dialing the number.
"Thought you'd never call", Lilly answered immediately.
"I had something on. What's up? Did you look into it?" Stella quietly spoke into the phone.
"Hmmmm... I found a lot of Jennifer Harpers but none of them are in West Village. I don't know who you're looking for. It's safe to say the person you're looking for doesn't exist", Lilly said.
Does that mean Amy gave them another false name? This just made her more suspicious although she was disappointed in the results.
"If that's all.." Stella wanted to hang up. She didn't want to stay on the phone too long.
"Wait!" Lilly shouted. She chuckled in amusement. "I found something interesting about your neighbor. The pregnant one you work with."
Stella's interest was piqued immediately but her heart was thudding in anxiousness. "What?"
"There's a... She has a different identity, A.J. I don't know what it stands for. But that's not all. There's a bounty on her head. It was issued by the Dark Waters. All underworld organizations have been looking for her, and ours has not been left out of this little party. She's worth millions!"
Stella's heart sunk the same time her hand slowly retracted the phone from her ear onto her lap. A bounty... on Amy's head?
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