by Amy Brent
He set the plate in front of me and handed me a fork, leaning over and kissing me on the top of the head. I shivered, feeling butterflies float from my stomach up through my chest. He gave me butterflies every single time he touched me. It was something I had never felt before with a man.
“I have to go into the office for a couple of hours,” he said.
“No problem,” I replied with a smile. “I’m sure I can find things to do, naps to take.”
“I’m sure you can.” He laughed. “I was thinking, if you want, we could take a ride through the city when I get back. You can see the sights but not get that little pregnant body exhausted from all the walking. The car is available anytime, and we won’t have to drive, so it would be a nice stress-free ride.”
“I would love to,” I said excitedly. “I didn’t see the whole city last time I was here. I think I saw the inside of every store that Caroline dragged me in but none of the actual city.”
He laughed. “There definitely is a lot of shopping here. If you can’t find it in New York, you might as well give up on whatever you’re searching for. All right, I have to get going. I could stand here all day talking to you.”
“Have a wonderful couple of hours.” I kissed him tenderly on the lips.
I watched as he walked out of the house and shut the door behind him. I smiled to myself shaking my head and turning back to my breakfast. I ate it pretty fast, realizing how hungry I was when the eggs hit my lips. I stopped for a moment when it occurred to me that I didn’t wake up with any nausea, which was a first since I’d found out I was pregnant. Maybe it was another sign that all of this was meant to be. When I was done eating, I ate my breakfast, took a shower, and then went out on the balcony and texted with the girls until he got home. They had a million questions about the penthouse, so I sent them a view from the balcony. They were freaking out, and it made me laugh.
When he got back, Brandt came out on the balcony and kissed me, pulling his tie off. It was really nice being there to greet him when he got home. He was so handsome in his suits, and I could already imagine him in the boardroom being super serious. It was sexy in a way I had never thought about before. He changed his clothes, and we headed down to the town car out front. We started off by driving straight and then turning, making our way around the outskirts of the city. I watched as we passed through the different sections, or boroughs, as I was instructed by the driver. I could remember the night that I met Brandt, making my way through the crowded streets, trying not to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who were there. I could remember thinking about driving in that mess and how I would never be able to survive.
Brandt pointed out different architecture in the city, telling me all about the history behind the buildings. He showed me where the Italian Mafia from the forties used to hang out, where the twin towers used to sit, which was humbling, and where he worked. It was a huge mirrored building, and on the outside, there was a constant motion of roving armed guards. It was some serious stuff for sure. After that, he took me over into Jersey City to show me the city and the Statue of Liberty from a distance. I was overwhelmed at how beautiful the city was, both inside and from across the water. The buildings twinkled and sparked under the sunlight, and Lady Liberty was dwarfed by the enormity of the towering concrete jungle.
I couldn’t help thinking about my life and what it would be like if I moved there and called New York home. It was a huge place with enough to do that I would never get bored. The only thing I really worried about was feeling that small again, like I felt the last time I was there. I knew things were different then, though, and my experience with the city would be more positive. If I were to move there, I knew I would miss Camden and the small-town life. It was really all that I had ever known. At the same time, though, I didn’t feel whole without Brandt by my side, and I knew that wherever he was, I would feel like I was home. It was something that I had never felt before about anyone. Brandt and I were like magnets, and now that he was there in my life for good, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I knew I would be miserable without him.
“I realized something today,” I said, looking over at Brandt in the back of the car with me.
“What’s that?”
“I realized how much I needed you in my life, how much you’ve given me in such a short amount of time,” I said. “I didn’t even know I was missing something so important. I feel at home wherever you are, and that is such an amazing feeling. I know how my parents feel now. I think I could be happy in New York City.”
“Really?” he said, scooting forward and taking my hand. “That’s the most amazing news. You make me feel like I’m home as well. And I love Camden, I really do, and if it weren’t for the company, I would consider moving all of us, me, Sicily, and my mom, out there so Sicily could have a more normal childhood, but I can’t leave.”
“Sicily needs the school she goes to,” I added. “There’s nothing like that in Camden. She would be so bored in those schools. This is perfect for her. I think it’ll be perfect for our child too. Now, I’ll eventually have to go back to Camden. I have a lot of things I have to take care of there. My house, my friends, my family, my job are all important, and I don’t want to abandon it all. I have to make things right and set it all straight. But life never felt as right as it does here with you. In fact, it started feeling that way as soon as you walked up to me outside of the café. I just didn’t realize it because I was so shocked.”
“And angry,” he pointed out, laughing.
“True.” I flinched. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he said. “You had every right to be mad. You thought I was a married man, sleeping with you and then chasing you down in your hometown like a crazy person. I would have reacted the same exact way.”
“You’re so patient with me,” I said, smiling. “I know I can be a handful sometimes.”
“I can, too, believe me.” He laughed. “But I think on you, it’s adorable. I don’t want to be without you, even for a second. But I do understand that you’ll eventually have to go back and take care of everything, plus I kind of will need my artist back.”
“Nah, let Greg have him.” I laughed.
“He would kill me,” Brandt said, shaking his head. “I don’t think small-town is going to suit him well.”
We laughed with each other, no longer paying attention out the window, and instead, paying attention to each other. I could tell without a doubt that I was falling head over heels in love with this man, and it didn’t scare me, even in the slightest. I knew Brandt was the guy for me. I knew he was my future. In my mind, there was nothing in the world that could take that from me.
Chapter 25
Brandt
I sat at my desk flipping through an article about moving. I hadn’t ever moved farther than Yale to New York City, and when I did, it was me and a suitcase. Emma was moving her entire life from Maine, and I wanted to make sure I was as helpful as I possibly could be. She was pregnant, and even more than that, she was the woman I was falling madly in love with, and I wanted to do everything I could to make this move as seamless as possible. She was going to struggle with leaving her life in Camden behind. I knew that, and I wanted to try to keep the stress as low as possible. The fact that she had decided on her own that she wanted to come here and live with me was so exciting. If someone had talked to me two months before and told me this would be happening, I wouldn’t have believed it. Knowing she would be permanently with me in just a couple of months’ time was unbelievable, and I didn’t want to waste any time preparing for that. I was letting her work on her own schedule, but when she was ready, I wanted to be prepared, get the process moving and done with as quickly as possible.
I sat back and stared down at the box I’d used to toss all the failed attempts at locating her into. All the time I had spent waiting, searching, and wanting had finally come around, and it was a really good feeling. I no longer felt crazy for all the searches
and late nights I spent trying to find even a whisper of this girl. It only had made the moment my eyes fell on her that much more rewarding and special. She now knew how much she’d moved me that crazy Valentine’s night. She continued to move me, too, every day with her kindness, her want to take care of me, and the way she was with my daughter and my mother. My mother loved her, loved her so much she was constantly checking in on her and making sure she had everything she needed.
Sicily loved her, too, in a way that I had never seen Sicily be with a woman before. She had attached herself to Emma, and Emma did the same thing right back to her. They had become so close, and I couldn’t imagine a better woman to have in Sicily’s life. I didn’t know what I did to deserve all of it, but I wasn’t going to ask any questions. I was just going to enjoy it.
“Hey, man,” Trevor said, walking into the office. “Did you see the preorder numbers for the AI?”
“I did.” I laughed. “It’s absolutely nuts how many people want one of these in their homes.”
“And they aren’t cheap either,” Trevor said. “I was thinking of coming up with a proposal for you for some sort of financing options. We can work with one of our banks or something like we would for a car. I figured it might open up the option for more people to be able to have the thing in their homes.”
“I like that idea,” I said. “Write it up, and I’ll take a look at it. If I like it, I’ll present it to the board and then talk to the bank.”
“Great,” he said. “How’s everything else? You looked like a kid on Christmas when I walked into the office.”
“Man, I tell you what, I feel like a kid on Christmas.” I chuckled. “Emma decided to move to New York City. She’s going to hang out here a bit longer with Sicily, my mom, and me and then go home, sell her house, pack up and come live with us. Sicily couldn’t be happier, and my mom loves her more than she loves me. She’s incredible with my family. It is crazy. She and Sicily bonded the first night she was here, and they’ve been inseparable since then. She’s really good for our family and not just for me but for everyone involved.”
“That’s great, man,” Trevor said. “I’m sorry for being hesitant. You know I care about you, and I want you to be happy. I just get worried, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. I really am happy for you, though. I can’t wait to meet her, especially if she’s as amazing as you say. I’m sure if you love her, I’ll love her too. I didn’t love Josie, but you never talked about her the way you talk about Emma.”
“No one loved Josie.” I laughed.
“Oh, actually, speaking of Josie, I saw her the other night at a pub across town,” he said. “She was drinking alone at the bar. I avoided her at all costs and left to go somewhere else.”
“Ugh,” I said, rolling my eyes. “She’s shown up at my house twice now. I was hoping that after the last time, she had gone back to wherever they lived.”
“What does she want?”
“To be in Sicily’s life,” I said. “The first time, I slammed the door in her face, but the second, I heard her out. Then Sicily came home with my mom. It was rough. Sicily really let her have it and told her she needed to leave. Needless to say, Sicily was not happy with that response at all.”
“What did she expect? Sicily’s like a grown person in a little girl’s body. She wasn’t going to have any of that nonsense. Not to mention the fact that she’s loyal as hell to you,” he said.
“Yeah, but Josie didn’t know that. She never paid any attention to Sicily.”
“Just be careful with her lurking around the city,” Trevor warned. “You know she’s devious, and you know that if she’s still here, she has some sort of motive. I don’t want to see her messing anything up for you.”
“I don’t see how she could,” I said. “Emma knows all about her. She wouldn’t even give her the time of day.”
“I know,” Trevor replied, standing up. “Just be careful.”
“I will,” I said. “And thanks for caring.”
He laughed. “You know me, the caring guy. All right, I’ve got a couple of things to do before heading to happy hour. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good time,” I said. “Tell Missy I said hi.”
“Uh, no.” Trevor laughed again as he walked out of the office.
I smiled and looked over at the time, realizing it was getting close to dinnertime. I didn’t want the girls to have to wait on me, so I packed up my things and headed out for the day. It was nice having something to look forward to when I got off work. My girls were going to be there waiting for me to come home so we could start our evening together. It made the days go by slower, but the reward when I got there was worth every grueling second at the office.
When I got home and walked into the apartment, I took my shoes off and hung up my jacket, noticing that the lights were dim. I stuck my hands in my pockets and slowly walked in, looking at the dining room table in awe. There were candles lit everywhere, and there was a full dinner prepared, sitting on the table waiting for me. I was taken aback by everything, and I didn’t hear Sicily anywhere. I looked around the living room, but Emma wasn’t in there.
“Good evening, Brandt,” the AI said. “Tonight, we have prepared you a succulent rack of lamb, some golden potatoes, and fresh green beans. For dessert, there is a tiramisu cooling in the fridge.”
“Thank you, Lily. That will be all,” Emma said, walking out of the bedroom.
“Thank you, Emma. Powering off,” the AI said.
“How did you ...?”
“I was tinkering with your toys.” She smiled.
I watched her as she walked forward in a short, tight black dress and heels. Her hair was down around her shoulders in big curls and her makeup was dark and seductive. She looked nothing like the hometown girl I had brought back with me, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the way her hips moved as she approached.
“Welcome home,” she said, leaning in and gently kissing my lips.
“I’m sorry. I was expecting my sweet, pregnant girlfriend. Have you seen her?”
“She’s napping,” Emma said with a laugh. “I took over for the evening.”
“I’m not going to complain,” I said, following her over to the table.
“Your mom took Sicily for the night, and I thought it would be nice to have some quiet time,” she said. “Just me and you and a good meal at home.”
“I like how you say home.” I smiled.
“It feels like home,” she said. “Especially now that Lily and I are best friends. I didn’t know you had something like that in here. She scared me when I went to shower in your bathroom.”
“I forgot she was attached to the temperature system for the shower.” The image of Emma naked in my shower started off enticing and went to outright amusement as I pictured her encounter with my AI. “But I’m impressed you got used to her so fast.”
“I’m pretty smart when you give me a chance.”
We sat down at the table, and she passed the different dishes back and forth. The meal looked like something I would find in a fancy New York restaurant. The smell was wafting through the entire apartment.
“I didn’t know you could cook,” I said.
“All of my many talents are being revealed.” She laughed. “I’ve loved to cook since I was a little girl. When I was seventeen, I took an internship in a restaurant to see if it was what I wanted to do with my life, but I really hated what it was like in the kitchens. It wasn’t as romantic as I had imagined, so I went back to the arts and went from there. Now, I cook whenever I have someone to cook for.”
“Well, you can cook for me anytime,” I said. “This is amazing.”
“Thank you. Did you know that Lily can temp your meat in the oven? It’s like magic.”
“Yeah.” I laughed. “It was one of my favorite parts of her. I actually incorporated that into our new project that’s going up for sale to the private sector. It’s a fully formed robot that’s capable of cooking, doing dishes, tend
ing to the children, cleaning, and anything else you would hire a nanny or a maid for.”
“Will it talk to me about girl stuff?”
“I’m pretty sure I could arrange that,” I said. “We can put a blond wig on her and name her Caroline.”
“I’m sold.” Emma laughed.
We sat laughing and joking about the different projects that we had going on. She told me I was an inventor, except not the kind who blew up stuff in the basement but the kind who actually made really incredible things. I told her about my idea to break into the medical field, and she thought that was an amazing idea. About halfway through dinner, things got quiet, and I watched as she put her fork down, wiped her mouth, and stood up from the table. She walked slowly around to my side and pulled me away, climbing on top of me and straddling me in my chair. She pressed her lips against mine and kissed me passionately, and instantly I forgot how hungry I really was. Her body was so perfect, and I could feel the warmth of her crotch rubbing up my hard shaft, trapped in my pants.
