Belle glanced up, a wide smile carving her face and beckoned me to join them. We opened gifts for minutes or maybe hours. It hardly seemed to matter. Edward had given Belle some fancy shoes she’d scene when they were in London.
“I told you—I have nowhere to wear them,” she said, her eyes lingering on them longingly.
Edward shook his head, his curls still tangled from bed. “Find somewhere to wear them. Life is about making moments not waiting for them.”
I made a mental note to find an opportunity to take her out. We might not be able to go as far as London with Penny at home, but once Nora was back in town, we could at least go to this restaurant so that I could meet the famous Tomas that had Belle and Edward giggling behind my back. I wasn’t sure if I needed to be jealous of the man or not.
Belle had taken to supplying me with everything a man who owned a country estate might need, from wellies to a new quilted gilet to a truly shocking array of thick, flannel shirts. All I was missing was a hunting dog. I was half-worried I might find a Labrador somewhere under the tree.
“Tired of seeing me in suits, beautiful?”
“I’ll never get tired of seeing you in suits,” she whispered as I leaned over to kiss her. “But whatever you and Rowan are digging up in the backyard, you probably shouldn’t be doing it in a five-thousand-pound, three-piece suit.”
I raised an eyebrow. She had a point there. Still, she was digging herself—for information. She’d brought Rowan up a couple of times since yesterday. Thankfully, I could finally tell her what it was.
“There’s one more thing I have for you,” I told her. “But you have to get dressed first.”
“Tell me it comes in Ferrari Red,” she purred.
“It’s not a car this year,” I said, ignoring the way my dick twitched at the thought of her behind a fiery red sports car. Sometimes, Belle seemed to suggest those days were behind us. But I’d be happily fucking her on the top of an Italian sports car’s hood when she was ninety. And this year my mind was on our future. And our future wasn’t just about her and me or even the baby. We had more to look forward to than the country estate, and it wasn’t just about the dreams we shared, but the ones she was building as well.
“I'll watch the baby,” Edward offered. Belle dashed upstairs with me right behind her, and we heard him call, “You two better not just be running off to shag!”
She laughed, racing me to get dressed. A few minutes later, she stepped out of her side of the closet dressed in tan leather boots that reached her knees, a thick pair of high waisted pants that hugged her hips with a flannel shirt tucked in to them, showing off her narrow waist. She rolled her eyes when she found me already dressed in jeans and a sweater and pulled a navy Barbour jacket on. I strode closer, tugging it together and buttoning it at the waist.
“I don’t want you to get cold,” I said.
She stared up at me, like she was looking up at the stars. “You can always warm me up.”
“I do believe we were told not to shag.” I kissed the tip of her nose, sliding my hand into hers.
Belle wasn’t surprised when I led her outside, but she did hesitate. “It’s really not a car?”
“I forget how easy you are to please.” I couldn’t help but smirk. When I first met Belle, I found it stunning when she revealed she loved cars—I knew I’d found my soulmate.
“That’s okay,” she said huskily. “We have an anniversary coming up.”
“Noted.” I pulled her toward the grounds.
“Wait,” she said as I guided her, “is that what Rowan was up to?”
“Maybe.” We walked until we reached a small grove of trees. I paused and drew a blindfold out of my pocket.
She eyed it with interest. “Kinky.”
“No shagging, remember?”
“And waste a perfectly good blindfold?” she pouted.
When she put it that way, I made another note: to make sure I knew where it was later. I tied the silk blindfold around her eyes and leaned to murmur in her ear, “Do you trust me?”
“Forever,” she said. It was the promise we’d made to each other two years ago. I moved behind her, gripping her waist and slowly leading her past the grove until we reached my Christmas present. When it was in sight, I untied her blindfold. She blinked for a moment, as her eyes readjusted to the daylight.
“You got me a...barn?” She cocked her head, trying to understand. Her eyes skimmed across the once dilapidated building and I saw her beginning to see it was more than that.
Belle hadn’t been able to go out on the grounds when we viewed the home. She’d never seen the old stables, but the first time we’d toured Thornham, I’d immediately known what they were meant for. It had taken months and crews coming and going through a back road so as not to draw attention to their presence, but I’d managed to have her Christmas present done in time. When her eyes landed on the reimagined stable doors, she finally saw the sign: Bless.
“Is this…?” She clapped a hand over her mouth, turning to me with tears in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, beautiful,” I said softly. I’d seen that too many times lately.
“I’m crying because I’m happy. How did you do this?”
“I’ll tell you later, but now I want to show you.” I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the new offices of her company. When I opened the arched stable doors, I stepped to the side so she could enter first. Belle’s mouth fell open as she entered the large room.
We gutted the place entirely, making it into two large spaces. I took her to the offices first. It was open air, the stable walls plastered over and painted a clean white. We’d kept the beams criss-crossing overhead, their dark, weathered room a perfect contrast to the modern interior we’d designed below. A polished oak floor had been installed and there were several workstations set up throughout the space. But the centerpiece was a large marble top table with gold cage office chairs for ten around it.
“I’m going to have to hire more people,” she said, spinning around to take it all in. She paused when she saw the special spot I’d designed in the corner. Three half walls and a gate surrounded a child’s dreamland, complete with stuffed animals and books, a rocking chair, and a crib.
“For Penny,” I said, adding, “just in case.” I didn’t want to pressure my wife to take our daughter to her new offices, but I wanted her to have the option.
“You thought of everything,” she said breathlessly.
“Lola helped,” I admitted.
Belle snapped her fingers. “That’s why she had to come to Briarshead.”
“I’m sure she actually wanted to see you, too,” I said dryly. I took her hand. “Come on. There’s more.”
The other half of the space had been made into a sleek warehouse that kept all the unique needs of their clothing rental company in mind. There was a shipping station, organized down to the correct tape for each size box, as well as aisles and aisles of custom-designed racks. Most of the choices here had been Lola’s doing.
“I wanted you to be able to work here,” I told her. “I know you missed your office in London. It’s still there, but—”