I zip my fingers across my lips. “I won’t say a word. It’s cold out there, though. Would you like me to have the guard bring it up?”
She shakes her head no. “My boots and coat are downstairs. I’ll be fine.” She kisses my lips, then taps the elevator button.
“Meet me in my study in twenty minutes and we’ll go get lunch.”
Her eyebrows waggle. “It’s a date, Mr. Blake.” Her smile widens. “I like the sound of that.”
“I do, too, Mrs. Blake.”
I wait until the elevator doors close before taking my phone out of my pocket and dialing Anders. “Hey. Bella is on her way down there to fetch a delivery. Keep an eye on things.”
“You got it.”
I end the call and put my phone back in my pocket as I walk back down the hall to my study. She’s got something up her sleeve. Says it’s a surprise, and I didn’t have the nerve to tell her I hate surprises. They make me anxious, and I don’t like that feeling.
Back in my study, I go over to the wall-sized window behind my desk and look out with my hands stuffed in my pants pockets. I can’t see her from this view. I begin pacing the floor, thinking about what she could be up to.
A surprise that involved a delivery from the main island? Could be something for a new position with the company. Maybe something for the new house that isn’t even in the first phase of building. Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s already purchasing decor. Sounds exactly like something she’d do.
I could always contact her bank and see where the purchase came from.
What the hell am I thinking? I can’t do that. Let the girl have her surprise, Cal.
It seems I have some work to do on myself, if I plan on being a good husband. Old habits die hard and all that shit. Might take some time before I stop peering over her shoulder, out of fear that she’s going to run off or get taken away from me. Baby steps. That's all I can do.
I sit down, then stand back up, opening then closing my laptop. I pace the length of the room three times and check the time twice. And now a third time. It’s been twenty minutes, and she’s still not here.
I grab my jacket off the hook by the door and go to leave when I meet Bella face to face. “Oh hey. I was just coming to look for you. You’re late.”
She cranes her neck, looking at me with a crease on her forehead. “Yeah, by two minutes.” Her hands run down the sleeve of my jacket. “You really need to chill out.”
I blow out a heavy breath through my nose. “I’m chill.”
“Come on, you. Let's go eat.” Her fingers intertwine with mine, and we head down to the yacht. It’ll be nice to get out of here and get some fresh air. We’ve both been cooped up for a while. Cori Cove is the perfect location, but winters can be a real drag.
Once we’re off the elevator on the ground level, I pry, trying to figure out what she’s hiding. “Did you get your package?”
“Mmhmm.”
I nod in response as we approach the main doors. “Was it in good condition? I mean, if there was any damage, I can make a call.”
“Cal,” she drawls with a giggle behind her audible breaths, “you’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope.”
Bella releases my hand and scours the area. “Darn it! I think I left my boots upstairs.”
There’s at least a foot of snow out there and her feet will be icicles if she walks outside in those shoes. I step in front of her, slouch down, and say, “Hop on.”
A second later, she’s jumping on my back with her legs wrapped around my torso. “It feels like it’s been forever since you've given me a piggyback ride.”
“It has been. At least twelve years.” I didn’t do it often, but there were a few times I’d give Bella piggyback rides just for fun. One time, we had a piggyback race with some of the other kids in the house. We won, of course.
I step out the door and carry her through the snow, and once we’re on the dock, I let her fall to her feet.
We walk hand in hand to the cabin of the yacht. A fire is lit in the electric fireplace, the table set with our hot meal already waiting in platters.
Bella shivers, so I grab a throw blanket from the closet next to the sofa and wrap it around her shoulders before pulling out her chair for her.
“This is perfect, Cal. You really do think of everything, even when it’s just a simple lunch.”
“It’s all for you. I plan to spend our entire lives giving you everything you deserve.”
She reaches for my hand over the table, her smooth fingers grazing my scarred knuckles. “You once told me that you wanted to buy me all the dresses in the world to prove they don’t hold my beauty. And now it’s my turn to tell you that all the objects in the world do not hold my love for you. I only want you, Cal. Rich. Poor. It’s you and me, forever.”
I’m not sure how I will ever convince myself that I’m worthy of this girl, but right now, I’m definitely not. I have so much to make up for.
Bella lets go of my hand and digs her hand down into the cup of her bra. I laugh at the expression on her face. “What are you doing?” She pulls something out and slides it across the table. “What is this?” I pick it up and…I’m speechless. I know exactly what this is. I might live a life of solitude, but I know what these two lines mean. “Seriously?”
“Looks like it’s you, me, and a baby, forever.”
I jump up so fast that my chair tips over as I round the table and embrace her. My mind is going a million miles a minute. Is this real? Is she pranking me? We’re having a baby? I’m going to be a dad? Fuck. I’m going to be a dad.
I pull back and look at her, frozen in place. “When? How? Is this what you had delivered?”
Her head nods up and down. “I suspected it when I got sick this morning, then I remembered the fertility pills I took. My body has been out of whack, so I did a little research and the effects of those pills can last through a couple cycles. I didn’t think it was true, but I ordered a test just to find out. And…well, it’s true.”
I’m stunned. Trying to put together the right words, but I’ve got nothing.
Bella looks longingly into my eyes and there’s a sliver of worry. “You’re not disappointed, are you?”
“What? Hell no, I’m not disappointed. We’re having a baby, baby.” I’ve never been more excited for anything in my entire life. This is what I’ve always wanted. Bella—a family with her.
Then it hits me. “We have to tell your parents, and they fucking hate me.”
“Hey,” she lays a hand on my cheek, “you and me.”
She’s right. It’s us against the world, and Bella and this baby are my entire world.
My lips press to hers. “Forever and always.”
“Until kingdom come.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
FIVE MONTHS LATER
Mom is shuffling around like a mad woman as we all pitch in and help set up for the Fourth of July picnic in the park. “You can just set that on the picnic table, sweetie,” she says, referring to the large bowl of mixed fruit I’m holding. “Wrong table, Dave. Food goes on this one,” she barks at Dad, who’s carrying a plate of hot dogs.