CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Nate needed an extra second to step in, still pondering about whether it was a good idea. Still, he Lara pulled him by the hand, he followed.

In the end, he just had to be careful not to reveal anything about wolves. As for the rest, Lara seemed to trust that doctor. And she was happy he went there with her.

It was important, for her.

He didn\'t believe it had any use, especially for him, but it was working with Lara. He had thought a psychologist would just talk with their patients a little and solve nothing, but it was not that simple.

«Lara told me a few things about you, but she\'s so reserved about her family,» Skyler Mason said. She smiled at Nate when his eyes turned from diffidence to curiosity.

«Yes?» he said, suddenly listening.

They could start the part about therapy later, he first needed to know!

«She told me you two met again after a long time, and that you\'re currently living together. The rest is doctor-patient confidentiality.»

«Oh,» Nate sighed. And there he thought he could know something new.

«But I\'m curious to hear what you\'re thinking about it. If you\'re comfortable to tell it out loud, of course.»

«Sure.»

He had nothing to hide. He must have said everything already, hadn\'t he? He was more curious about Lara\'s thoughts.

«Are you still living together? It was temporary, right?»

«We are,» Lara replied, smiling shyly. «We decided to continue like this. We will live together from now on.»

«It will be especially positive for the children. They\'ll see how it feels to have both parents around at the same time. They will grow attached to you as a couple, now that they seem to have accepted both of you separately.»n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Doctor Mason opened her notebook on a white page, wondering where to start. Lara had asked to do a session of couple therapy, to show Nate what she did when she was with a psychologist. It was more because she wanted to share that experience than because they needed it, apparently. Their relationship was evolving at their pace, and they didn\'t seem to need any help.

Nate Woods had accepted to come there and have a chat, for goodness. He was a busy man, yet he was doing his best to build a family.

Skyler Mason couldn\'t believe it when she read that the Nate Lara talked so sweetly about was actually CEO Woods. After the scandal - let\'s call it that way - with the paparazzi, Lara couldn\'t come for therapy for a couple of weeks. Moreover, just to add strange events over strange events, she had been contacted by a handful of celebrities asking to be their patients.

«Let\'s start, then», she said. She noticed how Nate Woods immediately straightened his back, on alert. It was understandable.

First of all, he wasn\'t used to meeting with a psychologist and didn\'t know how they were going to act. And, second, he had been dragged there against his will. Explore stories at empire

It was clear enough. He was there because Lara asked him to be. How could a man like him be so smitten with a woman was still a mystery, but Skyler Mason had given up on unfolding the mysteries around Lara Clayton. There were many things she didn\'t understand, and she had accepted she would never know.

As long as her patient progressed and felt better, it didn\'t matter as much.

«Can you tell me what you like about the other?» she asked.

She would ask a few questions like that and send them home with more awareness about their relationship. That should have been enough for an hour of work, wasn\'t it?

Nate turned his eyes on Lara. He could talk all day about how much he liked her. But what he liked? He wasn\'t sure.

Why was the doctor already asking difficult questions? He liked Lara. He loved her. Wasn\'t it enough?

«Select just one thing,» Doctor Mason added before hearing «everything!» as an answer.

She could read through Nate. He was being a little too transparent.

Lara bit her lower lip, thinking about the matter with the awareness she had started developing with therapy. What she liked about Nate? Selecting one thing?

She wanted Nate to feel better after her choice, not disappointed. She couldn\'t just pick a random thing.

«I like how he takes care of our children,» she said, then. «He\'s a loving father, and sometimes he knows how to be strict. I\'m so happy every time he takes care of the twins, even when he scolds them. It\'s the attention he puts into everything related to them.»

His ears twitched at her words, and he took mental notes about scolding the pups more often. Would that convince Lara to have more immediately?

He woke up from his daze just in time - before his ears appeared. They were in public: he should keep some control.

«And you?» Doctor Mason said, turning to him.

«I like when Lara praises me,» was his first reply. «Especially about being a good father. It makes every hardship worth it.»

Lara\'s cheeks turned red like pepper, and she lowered her gaze to hide her embarrassment.

Skyler Mason could finally find something to talk about. Those two loved each other, but there was something slowing them down. She could make use of that hour to do her job, fortunately.

She just needed to make them realise without telling it directly.

«You like being a father,» she said.

«Oh, yes. At first...» He wasn\'t sure whether to say it out loud.

It was something better left unsaid... But Lara was being honest. She would tell her mind without a second thought. That was how it worked, in there. As such, Nate should do the same. He should be honest.

«At first, I wasn\'t sure I wanted to be a father. I didn\'t especially like the twins. They were... a surprise? But now, now I can\'t imagine life without them.»