Adore Me

by Kelly Elliott

  “I’m going to come,” I whispered against her ear, spilling myself into her and wondering if this would be the time she got pregnant.

  Leaning over on my elbows, I dragged in a few deep breaths as Morgan looked up at me.

  “Why does it always feel like the first time?”

  I rubbed my nose with hers. “I don’t know, but my goal on this trip is to get you pregnant.”

  Her cheeks flushed, and she wore the most beautiful smile.

  “Right now though, it’s time to get up and into a shower. We have somewhere to be at nine.”

  Morgan’s smile faded as she let me help her up.

  “Where?”

  “It’s a surprise,” I said as I scooped her up into my arms and carried her up the winding staircase to the bathroom.

  “Oh my goodness. Blake, this place is amazing.”

  “It is. And it’s ours for the week.”

  Setting her down in the large bathroom, I turned on the water to the shower.

  “If it were up to me, we wouldn’t leave this suite. I would stay naked the entire time.”

  Lifting my brows, I replied, “As tempting as that sounds, I have too many places I want to show you. Let’s get cleaned up.”

  After cleaning up in record time, I slipped out of the shower while Morgan washed her hair. I wrapped the towel around my waist and walked into the bedroom. When I opened the closet, I couldn’t help the way my chest squeezed at the sight before me.

  Fighting back the emotion, I reached out and touched the satin fabric. Attached to the hanger was a note. Taking it off, I read it.

  Blake,

  I know your mother is with you and Morgan this week, and I know she would be honored to have Morgan wear her dress. I want you to surround yourself with all the amazing memories we made up on that mountain. Take Morgan to Scoops and Hoops for their famous chocolate fudge brownies. Be sure to stop and eat at Bernies—you know how much your mother loved their hamburgers. And remember Mom’s rule: you have to eat in the hotel restaurant at least once.

  I also want you and Morgan to make new memories, Son, but never forget the ones we made there as a family. Simply add to your stockpile.

  Someday I hope we’ll all being heading up there with your own children to make a whole new set of memories.

  Congratulations, Blake. Kiss Morgan for me.

  I love you, Son.

  Dad.

  I folded the note and set it on the dresser next to me. Looking back at the gown, I drew in a shaking breath and closed my eyes.

  “I miss you, Mom, but I know you’re here with me.”

  The sound of the water turned off, alerting me that Morgan was finished. I took out my mother’s wedding dress and shut the closet doors some, hanging it over the top of one. I opened my suitcase and took out the pair of Jimmy Choos Charlie insisted I buy for Morgan. The small black pouch my father had delivered along with the wedding dress sat on the bed. I opened it and took out the pearl necklace and diamond drop earrings I had bought specifically for this day.

  “There is a view from every window! I mean, everywhere I look I see—”

  Morgan stopped talking when she walked into the bedroom. There was a large set of windows behind me, showcasing yet another view.

  “Wow. Look at that sunset! Look at those colors!”

  I smiled and walked up to her. “Will you close your eyes for me?”

  She did as I asked.

  “Another surprise?” she asked, a slight giggle slipping through.

  “Yes,” I replied, guiding her over to stand in front of the dress.

  Leaning down, I placed my mouth at her ear and whispered, “Open your eyes, princess.”

  The moment she did, she leaned back against me, her hands coming up to her mouth.

  “Will you do me the honor of marrying me again this evening?”

  Morgan stood there, staring at the dress. Then her body started to shake, and I knew she was crying. Turning her to face me, I gently pulled her hands away from her mouth.

  “Happy tears?”

  Her chin trembled as she said, “Blake, that’s your mother’s gown.”

  Shock hit me as I took a step back. “How did you know that?”

  “You have their wedding picture on your mantel. I’ve looked at a million times. I know that dress.”

  I looked past her to the dress, and I smiled before focusing back on Morgan.

  “Well, aren’t you a perceptive little thing?”

  She shook her head. “I never even thought you might want me to wear her dress for our wedding. I’m so sorry.”

  “What? God, no, Morgan. The day we got married I told Nash I was already looking at possibly coming here during the holidays to get married. I hadn’t mentioned it to you yet. I know how much you love Christmastime, and in my mind, I imagined you getting married surrounded by snow-covered mountains, with lights and tress everywhere.”

  “Oh Blake,” Morgan said.

  Shit. I wasn’t making this any better.

  “I loved our wedding, Morgan. I loved that you did that for me, in a place that had meaning behind it. Now I want to do the same for you. I want to give you the wedding you dreamed about when you were a little girl.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “How do you know?”

  Smiling, I pulled her to me. “Kaelynn told me that when you were little, you dreamed of getting married with snow falling all around you and Christmas trees everywhere. You selfishly gave up your wedding for me, so now I’m giving it back to you. It was my father’s idea to have you wear Mom’s dress.”

  Another tear slipped free. Lifting my hand, I wiped it away with my thumb.

  “So, will you do me the honor?”

  She laughed and let out a sob at the same time. “Yes! I’d marry you a hundred times if you asked me to.”

  Kissing her softly on the lips, I took a step back. “I have a wedding present for you.”

  “What? Blake, you’ve already—”

  I placed my finger to her lips and shook my head. “Let’s get dressed, and then I’ll give it to you.”

  Morgan turned and looked at the dress. “I’ll need help.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  Morgan threw herself into me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck.

  “Why do you do all these amazing things for me?”

  Pulling her tighter against me I replied, “Because I love you, Morgan Greene.”

  She pushed back and then did a few happy little hops and spins. “Oh my gosh! I need to do my hair! And put makeup on!”

  Then she disappeared.

  Exactly one hour and twenty minutes later, I put the pearls around her neck as she stood in front of the mirror in my mother’s gown. It looked beautiful on her and fit her like a glove—again, thanks to Kaelynn for giving my father the measurements from Morgan’s June wedding gown.

  “One more thing.”

  Her hands were on her stomach as she watched me in the mirror. “Blake, the necklace is enough. I never even knew there was a such a thing as blue pearls. I love how they make my eyes—”

  She stopped talking when I opened the next jewelry box.

  “Are those?” her eyes snapped up to meet my gaze.

  “Blue diamonds.”

  Morgan’s hand slapped over her mouth as she said, “Blue diamonds!”

  “They are rare and precious, just like my wife.”

  Morgan cupped my face in her hands and lifted up to kiss me.

  “Blake Greene, you are precious. More precious than any rare gem, and you are mine.”

  The knock on the suite door pulled my attention away. Stepping back, I asked, “How do I look? My tux okay?”

  “You look so handsome I’m already looking forward to slowly peeling it back off of you.”

  Wiggling my brows, I kissed her and then headed out of the room quickly to answer the door. Opening it, I saw Greg, the manager of the hotel, standing there with a wide smile on his face.

  �
��Mr. Greene, we are ready for you and your wife.”

  “Perfect. The flowers?”

  “Ready.”

  “The trees?”

  “All lit up like you asked.”

  Turning, I saw Morgan descending the stairs. I could not believe this stunning creature was mine.

  I cleared my throat and said, “My God. She takes my breath away.”

  “She is very beautiful, indeed. You are a lucky man, sir.”

  Without taking my eyes off of her, I nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  “So, are we ready?” Morgan asked, a hint of pink on her cheeks.

  The blue diamonds and pearls made her eyes stand out even more against the white satin dress. She was the most stunning thing I had ever laid eyes on.

  “Is it possible to fall in love all over again, Greg?” I asked.

  “I believe it is indeed possible, sir.”

  Morgan winked and took my offered arm.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as I grabbed the key to the suite and we followed Greg.

  “To your winter wonderland, my lady.”

  Morgan smiled. “I feel like a princess.”

  “You look like a queen.”

  Leaning in closer, she spoke so only I could hear her. “If you’re trying to get lucky, you already had that in the bag with the Jimmy Choos.”

  I tossed my head back in laughter. I was going to have to thank Charlie for that one.

  Soon we were being whisked down the elevator and through the lobby of the hotel. People stopped and stared at Morgan as we walked by.

  “Congratulations,” one couple said as we passed them.

  “Thank you,” Morgan and I answered at the same time.

  We stopped at the door, and the same girl who checked us in stood there with a white blanket for Morgan.

  “You’ll need this, Mrs. Greene.”

  Morgan looked up at me. “What in the world are you up to?”

  “You’ll see.”

  As we walked out of the hotel, a horse drawn carriage waited for us. The slight amount of snow that was falling made it look even more romantic. That one was on mother nature.

  “Blake! Oh my gosh! You didn’t!” Morgan said, rushing ahead of me and walking right up to the horse.

  “It seems your wife is rather taken with horses, sir,” Greg stated.

  “I guess so.”

  “Mrs. Greene,” I said, holding out my hand for her.

  “Mr. Greene.”

  Once we were both in the carriage, I pulled her to me and draped the wool blanket over us. The ride to the area where we would be renewing our vows wasn’t far. And thank goodness, because it was freezing out.

  As we turned the corner, Morgan gripped my arm.

  “Blake Greene! What have you done?”

  The sight before us was exactly how I had hoped it would be. A clear tent was set up, and all you could see were Christmas trees and lights strung up everywhere inside it.

  “I remembered when I was younger, there was a wedding here. They had a clear tent set up so you could still see the mountains. I knew it would be dark out, but with the moon full, you can see the mountains perfectly tonight.”

  Morgan wiped a tear away.

  “I don’t have words. It’s all so beautiful.”

  The carriage came to a stop, and I helped Morgan out by lifting her. I gathered up the dress, and we walked down the blue carpet and into the tent.

  “It’s warm in here!” she exclaimed.

  “Thank God, my balls were freezing.”

  Hitting me on the arm, Morgan rolled her eyes.

  “I’ve never seen . . . this is . . . I can’t believe . . .”

  Morgan walked further into the tent and spun in a circle, taking in every single detail. I loved that she did that. When she was excited or trying to take a scene in, she spun around in a circle.

  She walked up to one tree and lightly touched the ornaments.

  “This must have cost you a small fortune, Blake. You shouldn’t have.”

  “I should have. Is it like you envisioned when you were little?”

  Her eyes sparkled from the cast of all the lights surrounding us.

  “It’s everything and more. Thank you.”

  Leaning in, I kissed her on the lips. “Let’s renew our vows, shall we?”

  I WAS IN a wonderland of sparkles and snow, with a light shower falling as Blake and I renewed our vows. It was just the two of us surrounded by Christmas trees that were decorated so beautifully I almost felt as if I were in a dream. He’d made everything perfect. Right down to my bouquet of anemones and stephanotis. The red and white in the flowers paired with the greenery to make a gorgeous bouquet. My mind was swirling as I tried to figure out how in the world I could save it and bring it back to Texas. I needed to take a picture of it so I could paint it.

  After we renewed our vows, a photographer took a million pictures of us in the heated tent. I needed a picture with each of the trees, and Blake was so patient as we took photo after photo. Not every woman was lucky enough to have two amazing weddings. I wanted to have not only my memories but pictures to show our children what an amazing father they had.

  “Ready to head back up to the hotel?” Blake asked in a deep, seductive voice. My insides trembled thinking about his hands touching my body. Those perfect lips placing soft kisses over my sensitive, exposed skin.

  “Yes,” I replied in a voice that said I was as eager as he was to get back to our suite.

  Blake walked me back to the awaiting carriage, the same white blanket wrapped tightly around me.

  “Have I told you how beautiful you look?” he asked as I snuggled up next to him in the seat.

  “About a dozen times, but I don’t mind.”

  “I have one more wedding gift for you.”

  Looking up at him, I smiled. “Another one? How could you possibly top all of this?”

  He winked. “I’ve saved the best for last.”

  Once we returned to the hotel, Blake asked if I wanted to go to the bar for a celebratory drink. That was the last thing on my mind.

  With a shake of my head, I answered, “I think I’d like to go up to our suite.”

  He frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes! I’m more than okay.”

  “Tired from all the excitement?”

  With a chuckle, I replied, “No, just the opposite. I’m flying high. I want to be alone with you, that’s all.”

  “That I can arrange.”

  We rode up in the elevator in silence. I could feel the sexual energy bouncing around in the elevator, and I knew Blake felt it too. He was already removing the tie on his tux and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt.

  Once we were in the room, I pulled him to me. Our mouths collided, and we both moaned.

  “God, I love you so much.”

  Smiling against his lips, I replied, “I love you more.”

  “Impossible.”

  Taking my hand in his, he led me over to the large table, where a set of plans was laid out.

  “When did you do this?” I asked.

  “I have my ways.”

  Lifting a brow, I was beginning to think Blake had more pull at this hotel than he was letting on. Dresses being delivered, plans being laid out on the dining room table . . . I was going to have to press him for more, but right now I was too curious about the plans.

  The title across the top read, “Morgan and Blake Greene.”

  “This is the first draft of the house I’m designing for us.”

  My hand went up to my mouth as I squealed in excitement. “Blake! Let me see!”

  He lifted the first page, and I gasped. Drawn out on the paper was a beautiful, two-story, ranch-style house. There was a wraparound porch that looked like it went completely around the entire house.

  “Does that porch go all the way around the house?”

  “Yes.”

  “I love that, Blake!”

  He grinned. “Here’s the
back. I’m thinking we can find some land with a view. I can see us sitting on the porch at night, maybe even in a porch swing, watching the sunset.”

  I watched him as he talked. He looked so happy envisioning our future home. My hand went to my stomach to settle the rolling sensation in there. If he thought he was saving the best wedding gift for last, I had my own surprise for him.

  “That sounds wonderful,” I said as Blake turned the page.

  “Here’s the downstairs. If you want the kitchen bigger, I can make it bigger.”

  My eyes burned as I fought to hold back my tears.

  “It’s perfect,” I managed to say.

  “It opens up into the family room. I know it was important to you to have that open space. I put a fireplace in the family room because I figured that would be where we would be most of the time. The formal living room doesn’t have one, but if you want one—”

  “No. I love it just how you designed it.”

  My fingers were at my lips as I took it all in.

  “Here is the master bedroom. I put floor-to-ceiling windows so we can take advantage of the view.”

  I nodded, no longer able to speak from being so overwhelmed and nervous.

  “I put a nook off to the side of the bedroom here so you could set up an area for painting if you wanted.”

  A single tear slipped free, and I quickly wiped it away. Blake was so focused on the plans, he wasn’t paying attention to me.

  I drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out then said, “But first we could use it as a place to put the baby. So he or she is closer to us.”

  “That’s a great idea. Then there’s another room next to ours that I thought we could both use as an office.”

  I smiled. My goodness. He wasn’t going to make this easy.

  “I love that idea. Or it could be used as a nursery for the baby, since it looks like all the other bedrooms are upstairs.”

  Blake nodded. “We could do that. There are four bedrooms upstairs, we can make one into an office and . . .”

  He stopped talking and turned to look at me. My hand was over my stomach, and I was smiling like a silly schoolgirl.

  “You keep mentioning a baby.”

  “I do.”

  “Morgan?” his voice cracked with emotion, and I nodded again.

  “I believe I saved the best wedding present for last, Mr. Greene.”