*****
Shelby was fit to be tied! How dared he pissed all over her dreams! He had told her that he believed in her and she had taken him at his word. Now he was talking about paying off loans and behaving as if she would be the one to pull the damn store down! She stood there looking at the boys they had created, the beautiful combination of both of them. Caramel skin so flawless that she could not believe it was real! The full head of thick dark curls so much like hers and those long curling lashes. Their eyes were like their dad’s and each time she looked at them she felt a lurch in the pit of her stomach. She pulled the covers over Anthony first and then over Joshua before going over to the pull-out sofa and settled in. She was going to be mad at him for a while!
*****
She ignored him when he came downstairs the next morning while she was having breakfast the next morning. He didn’t come in as usual to help her with the feeding and she was happy for that or so she told herself. The good thing was that Anthony did not wake up at the same time as his brother and she could feed Josh and put him back to bed before he woke up. The first interviewee would be coming at ten and she wanted to get them settled before she started. Clarissa had already arrived and was preparing breakfast and the maid; Teresa was busy cleaning up the place and watching the boys while she ate breakfast.
She did not look at him when he came into the dining room, determinedly concentrating on her tea and the grits that had been placed before her. “Good morning.” he said softly, stopping at her chair. She could smell the distinct cologne he always wore and felt herself weakening.
“Morning.”
“You are going to have to talk to me,” he told her teasingly. “Unless we are going to be silent when asked to repeat our vows.”
She looked up at him then and felt her heart jumped in her chest. He was wearing dark blue dress pants with a light blue shirt, minus the tie and his blonde hair was brushed back from his forehead.
“Maybe there won’t be a wedding.” she said coolly.
His eyes narrowed. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
She pushed away her plate and got to her feet, making sure she did not brush against him. “I have interviews to conduct and you have a business to run. Don’t let me keep you.”
Chapter 14
“This is the third time I am calling, and she is not picking up.” Gray said in frustration as he hung up the phone. “I have called the house twice and left a message with the housekeeper and she has not gotten back to me.” He sat back against his chair and pinned his uncle with his hazel gaze. “Was I wrong to tell her what I did?”
“What do you think?” Benjamin asked him in a reasonable tone. “You have instincts Gray and know what is right for the store, you always know and that is why they do so well. As I understand it – Shelby’s designs are quite unique and have been taking the fashion world by storm.”
“So what are you saying?” Gray demanded. “That I should give her an entire floor? Romano’s have an entire floor to themselves, but they are top of the line designers. Shelby is just now starting to get recognition.”
Benjamin got to his feet and went to pour himself a drink before coming back to take his seat. “Maybe you need to take the business side out of it and think about pleasing the woman you are in love with. In my opinion it is better to have peace at home than to make a killing. But what the hell do I know? I have never been married.”
“Maybe you are right.” Gray said with a sigh. “I did not sleep at all well last night because I was thinking about her and the fact that she was mad at me. I could not sleep without her,” he laughed in derision. “I have now become that man – the one who cannot do without a woman.”
“Then tell her you are sorry, and you have thought about it long and hard and have met with your board of directors and it is a go. You own the majority shares in the business Gray, which means you have the ruling power. This is her dream, celebrate her by doing what you can.”
“She told me that there might not be a wedding.” he said grimly.
“We both know that was something she said in the heat of the moment.”
“She said it this morning.” He pointed out.
“Then you have your work cut out for you. Another thing – I have not seen her with an engagement ring.”
“I had one especially made for her. It’s arriving this afternoon.”
“Then you need to plan a romantic dinner and set the tone. Tell her you love her and would do anything for her and give her the ring and the damn space. Nothing is worth fussing over that much. It is just space and even if you are giving it to her because she is the woman who bore your children and sleeps in your bed, so what?”
“She is more than that.”
“There you go.”
*****
“You don’t get to do that,” Gray said in his quiet authoritative voice as she made to get up from the dinner table. He had come home with the intention of them dining where they would get some privacy, but she was already at the dining table when he arrived. She had told him politely about the two women she had hired and who would be starting tomorrow and had refused to say anything else to him. He had been forced to curtail the conversation because the housekeeper had been there serving the meal. Now she was getting to her feet with the intention of heading upstairs.
“I am tired, and I need to go and relieve Teresa so that she can go home. I will be upstairs.” Without another word she left the room.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to finish the meal, giving her time to be with their sons before he went on up. He sat back against the chair and sipped the wine contemplatively. He had the ring in his pocket and had every intention of setting the tone as his uncle had advised him to do and she was not going to spend the night in their sons’ room tonight. He finished the wine and left the room, bounding upstairs and into the nursery to see her seated on the wide comfortable chaise lounge with their sons’ in front of her.
“I am sorry I did not come and help you last night.” He tried at apologizing, realizing that it was leading up to the big one.
“That’s fine.”
He hunkered down in front of them, a smile coming to his lips as he stared at his sons. “Why are they so quiet?”
“Teresa gave them a bath and I fed them. I think they are about ready for bed.”
He gently put his hands beneath Anthony’s neck and back and took him into his arms, cradling the almost sleeping baby who was gazing up at him in silence. “This is your daddy.” He whispered, placing a kiss on his forehead. “You are going to go to sleep like a good little boy because mommy and I need to sort some things out.” He lifted his head and met her gaze.
“I don’t want to talk.”
“That’s not an option. We put them to bed and then we go into our suite and make up. That’s the deal. We are not supposed to go to bed upset with each other.”
“I am the one upset with you. You on the other hand are being a moron.”
“Moron or no, we are going to talk it out.” He told her firmly as he got to his feet and went over to the cot to put his son down. “He is fighting the sleep as usual.” He said wryly. “What is it with this kid? Does he think he is missing out?”