“I was thinking of opening up my own stores, selling handmade jewelries and handstitched sandals from the Caribbean. Not just African designs but things from other countries as well. Unique items to go along with the clothes I design.” She gestured with her chopstick and glanced at him. “It is still in the idea stage. I am doing very well with the items I put into stores and I don’t want to rock the boat. Owning my own stores is going to take a lot of work and with me carrying these babies, I am going to have to cut back some.”
“Do you regret sleeping with me?” he asked her suddenly.
“What we did could not qualify as sleeping,” She reminded him ruefully. “And no, I don’t. it was very good between us, Gray. The end result is these babies that I am carrying, and I could never regret that. Do you?”
“Not at all,” he started to tell her that it was the most passionate experience of his life and decided against it. “As you mentioned before, the end result is the babies and I am happy for that. But you should not give up on your dreams.”
“Who says I have? They have just been put on the back burner for a little bit.” She shifted and placed a hand over her stomach. “As sick and irritable as I get, I am enjoying this. I have been looking at baby stores at the mall and had to stop myself from buying anything. I want one of each: a boy and a girl. What about you?”
“Two boys,” he said with a grin.
“Typical male.” She grumbled. “I want balance. And I want them to get your eyes. You have amazing eyes and that strong chin. Of course, I want them to have my hair and nose. Yours is too straight, it makes you look like a male doll.”
“I am sure that is not a compliment.” He said lightly, his heartbeat picking up.
“It was not,” she said with a grin. “You are way too beautiful for a guy.”
“I believe the appropriate word is handsome.”
“Okay man, whatever you say.” She told him with a laugh.
Chapter 5
“You look like hell.” Benjamin commented as he opened the door to let him in. “And you are here at ten in the night. What happened to your apartment?”
“I need a drink,” Gray muttered as he headed straight into the living room where a cheerful electronic fire was giving warmth to the room. “Do you ever think about hiring someone to clean up?” he grumbled as he looked at the clothes strewn over the sofa.
“The last person I hired wanted to do more than clean.” Benjamin said dryly as he took up a faded denim from the sofa to make room for him.
“Hire a middle-aged female.”
“She was a middle-aged female,” his uncle said with a grin as he pulled the sweater over his head. “And married too.”
“Hire a guy then.” Gray poured himself a scotch and drank a mouthful before moving towards the fire. “Your place is a mess.”
“You have known me for thirty years and I have never been the clean freak you are. What is getting your panties in such a twist?” Benjamin asked him mildly.
“Shelby is moving into the house in a couple of weeks. She likes the place.”
“And you are pissed because…”
“I am not pissed.” Gray tossed back some more scotch and felt it burning his stomach. “I want her.”
“Ah,” Benjamin said in amusement.
“Is that all you are going to say?”
“I have no need to say anything else. I told you that it would happen. So, what’s the big deal. You are two adults and she is carrying your babies. Nothing is wrong if you two get naked and have a round or two. I am sure she would appreciate it.”
“You are a moron,” Gray muttered darkly. “She is not even thinking about sex.”
“Trust me, she is.”
“She is pregnant.”
“I have had a few pregnant women myself and they have proven to be the greatest roll in the hay I ever had.”
Gray stared at the man in surprise. “You slept with pregnant women?”
“Don’t look so shocked.” He said with a grin. “They came onto me, begged me to be with them and I obliged. They were already pregnant, so I did not have to use anything and believe me when I tell you that the sex was unbelievable.”
“You are disgusting.”
“That might be true, but I am right. I bet Shelby is feeling downright horny.” He eyed his nephew speculatively. “It is not like you to hold back, why are you doing so now?”
“Because this woman is carrying my babies. If I do the wrong thing, there is no going back for us and I do not want an uncomfortable situation.”
“How is it going to be uncomfortable?” Benjamin asked him impatiently. “You are two consenting adults and you have been down that road before. Was it good before?”
“The best I ever had.”
“There you go. You are both going to be living in the same house. Get creative or not. You can either have your housekeeper prepare a romantic dinner and then seduce her into your bed. I am sure she will be grateful that you made the move. Where is all that Cox charms?”
“I am going to be a father,” Gray muttered.
“So, did you stop being a man?” His uncle scoffed. “Stop disappointing me and go get the girl.”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it. In the meantime, I have something to discuss with you.”
“You have decided to mend your ways?” Gray asked him dryly.
“What ways?” Benjamin asked with a grin. “An idea I have to tighten the security in all the stores.”
“I am listening.”
*****
Shelby sat on the side of the bed and looked around the room. She had taken the day off to pack her things in readiness to move on next Sunday.
“It’s okay to feel a little melancholy,” Monica murmured as she came in bearing the tray with tea and biscuits. “You have lived here for the past seven years, honey.”
“I know,” She sniffed the air. “What is Barbara cooking?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs, the only thing she can cook halfway decent,” her friend said with a smile as she sat on the bed next to her. “Are you going to hold onto it?”
“In case Gray and I do not get along?” Shelby asked dryly as she sipped the tea. “No. In the first place, this apartment is not big enough for twins and in the second, I like the place that Gray bought. It is big and homey and have this large yard where the kids could run all over the place. “She took a deep breath and cradled the cup in her hands. “Is it weird that I am already thinking of the place as home?”
“Not weird at all. You are carrying two kids and living with the man you are carrying said kids for. Like it or not, you are a family.”
“Without the wedding.”
“Do you want a wedding to take place?”
Shelby shook her head. “I cannot think about that right now. All I want to concentrate on are these two children growing inside me. There was a moment last Sunday when we were sitting around the counter in the kitchen eating Chinese food and it brought me back, but I cannot afford to get involved with him again. He is not satisfied with just one woman, Mon. He is a player, as my mother said, and as much as I hate how judgmental she is, she happens to be right. I cannot get myself in that position again, knowing what the end result will be.”