by Sandi Lynn
“Well?” I said.
“What?”
“What’s my surprise? I’ve been dying ever since you told me.”
“I need to go to Paris for a meeting and you’re coming with me.” He smiled.
“Wes, that sounds wonderful, but I can’t.” I pouted.
“What do you mean you can’t? Yes, you can, and you are.”
“I can’t leave the shop. Not now.”
He took in a deep breath and set down his fork.
“Anna, you can leave the shop. It’s only for a week. The shop will still be there when you get back.”
“But it’s only been open a month. I can’t just walk away.”
“You’re not walking away, sweetheart. You’re taking a much-needed vacation. You have worked your ass off in getting that shop up and ready, not to mention the countless nights we didn’t see each other during the whole process. I want to take you away for some fun and relaxation and spend time alone with you. Please let me do that!” he sternly spoke as he pounded his fist on the table.
I sat there and stared at him in disbelief. His anger was turning me on.
“Okay. When do we leave?”
“We leave in a week. I already rented the private jet.”
“It’ll be good to see Paris again. I love it there.” I smiled as I reached over and placed my hand on top of his.
We climbed into the car that was waiting for us at the airport when we arrived in Paris. Wes told me we were staying at the Shangri-La Hotel, but the car pulled up to the Peninsula.
“I thought we were staying at the Shangri-La,” I said.
“Oops. Did I say that? My bad.” He smirked.
We climbed out of the car and headed into the lobby.
“Ah, Mr. Carter, nice to see you again. Miss Young, welcome.”
“You remember me?” I asked.
“Of course. How could I forget the beautiful American woman who made a fuss because the Rooftop Garden suite was already booked? The key to your suite, Mr. Carter. As always, enjoy your stay.”
“Thank you.”
“What suite did you get us?” I asked as we stepped into the elevator.
He glanced over at me with a smile on his face but didn’t answer my question.
“You got us the Rooftop Garden suite, didn’t you?”
“I did.” He grinned.
“Shut up!” I playfully slapped his arm and he chuckled.
He opened the door to the suite, and the minute I walked inside, a surreal feeling washed over me as the memory of the first night we met flooded my mind.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. It’s just the last time we were here together, we were strangers, sharing a beautiful night and expecting never to see each other again.”
He grabbed hold of my hand and led me to the living area.
“I know. That’s why I wanted to stay here, in this very room, again, with you.”
“I love you, Wes Carter,” I softly spoke as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“And I love you, Anna Young.” His lips gently touched mine. “We need to change. I booked us a couple’s massage and we need to be down in the spa in about fifteen minutes.”
“Oh my god!” I spoke with excitement as I threw my head back. “That sounds wonderful.”
“I knew you’d love it. So we better get moving.” He slapped my ass.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wes
After the long flight, a couple’s massage was just what we needed. It was what I needed to try and calm the nerves that were flaring up inside me. Tonight was the night. The night I’d propose to Anna and ask her to be my wife. What if she said no? Would she? I didn’t think she would, but with her, you never knew. If she said no, it wouldn’t be because she didn’t love me. I knew she did. It would be because she wasn’t ready. It wasn’t all that long ago that she planned a wedding and ran from it as fast as she could. She was also still in the midst of putting everything that happened back in California behind her. I believed that was one of the reasons why she took on Francine’s business, to keep herself busy to drown out the hurt she’d felt from the betrayal of her family. She hadn’t spoken to her father since that day. Not because he hadn’t tried to reach out to her, but because Anna said she could never forgive him. Both Nina and Matthew were indicted on embezzlement charges and received prison time.
“That was amazing.” She smiled as she hooked her arm in mine and we went back up to the suite. “I’m starving. Can we go somewhere for dinner?” she asked.
“Of course.” I kissed the side of her head with a smile.
We stepped into the suite and Anna and I went into the bedroom. Hanging on the closet door was the dress I ordered for her to wear tonight along with the tuxedo I ordered.
“What are these?” she asked. “They weren’t here earlier.”
“I had them delivered while we were down at the spa.”
I took the white garment bag from the door, unzipped it, and revealed the long strapless black dress.
“This is for you to wear tonight for dinner.”
“Wes, it’s beautiful. Are we going somewhere super fancy?”
“Yeah.” I grinned. “We are.”
“How exciting! What’s in this bag?” she asked.
“That’s my tuxedo. We better start getting ready. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you in that dress since I bought it.”
“Thank you. I can’t wait to put it on.” A bright smile crossed her face as she pressed her lips against mine.
I was standing in the living area, looking out the large window with my hands tucked into my pants pockets, when I heard Anna’s voice.
“Well?” she spoke.
I turned around and gasped when I saw her standing there in her dress with her hair swept up in a beautiful updo.
“You look gorgeous.” I smiled as I walked over to her.
“And you look handsome.” She straightened my bowtie.
“I want to show you something?” I held out my hand.
She placed her hand in mine and I led her up the stairs and to the rooftop, where I had an elegant table with rose petals and candles lit.
“Wes, this is beautiful. You did all this?”
“I did. I wanted our first night here to be as special as possible. It’s a beautiful night and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than a romantic dinner up on the rooftop overlooking Paris.”
“You are truly a dream come true.” She smiled as she kissed me.
I pulled out her chair and she took a seat. Pulling out my phone, I sent a message to the chef that we were ready for dinner. Within moments, a waiter came up and filled our glasses with champagne and brought an appetizer to start.
“This is truly amazing, Wes. Look at that view.”
“As beautiful as it is, I’d rather look at you.”
I nervously placed my hand in my pocket, pulled out the ring box, and held it under the table while I took in a deep breath.
“Anna, I love you.”
“I love you too.” She smiled.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we were here, in this room together, sharing a beautiful night of passion. I never told you this, but I considered staying because there was something about you that pulled me in. The more I thought about it, I couldn’t, because I knew once we had our time here, I’d never see you again and it would be too hard. Then you showed up at my office, and once again, you were in my life. I can’t even explain to you the happiness that consumed me when I saw you standing in the doorway of my conference room.”
“I felt the same way,” she softly spoke as tears infiltrated her eyes.
I got up from my seat, walked over to her chair, and got down on one knee while I opened the lid of the box and held it up in front of her. Immediately, she placed her hand over her mouth.
“I love you, Anna Young, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me and do me the h
onor of becoming my wife?”
She placed her hand on my cheek as a tear fell from her eye.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. I will marry you, Wes Carter. I can’t believe this.”
I removed the ring from the box, took her left hand, and slid it on her finger.
“It’s a perfect fit.” She smiled as she stared at it. “Wes, it’s stunning.”
“You’re stunning, Anna.”
I helped her up from her chair and wrapped my arms around her waist while hers wrapped around my neck. We stared into each other’s eyes before our lips met with desire. My heart filled with happiness that she said yes, but I had another worry.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Anna
His lips grazed my neck as he held my arms above my head and moved in and out of me at a steady pace. I gasped for air with each long stroke as my body took him in, stimulating me beyond glory. I let out a moan as my body tightened and an orgasm rushed through me. His breath became heavier as he picked up the pace and came with me.
He hovered over me with a smile upon his lips as little beads of sweat covered his forehead.
“I don’t think I can move.” He chuckled.
“Me either.” I smiled.
He gathered the energy to roll off me and I snuggled my body against his, resting my head on his chest, staring at the beautiful ring that sat upon my finger.
“Isn’t it ironic that the last time we lay in this bed together, we were complete strangers, and now we’re lying in this bed for the second time in our lives and we’re engaged. Who would have thought that our one night in Paris would have led to this?”
“I agree.” His grip around me tightened.
“Oh my god,” she spoke as she sat up and looked at me.
“What is it?”
“This is the reason why you were so mad at me when I told you that I couldn’t come to Paris with you.”
“I wondered how long it was going to take you to figure that out.” He smiled as he brought his finger up and softly traced my lips.
“Ugh, and to think I almost ruined it. I’m sorry, Wes.”
“You’re here and that’s all that matters, sweetheart.”
“You don’t have a meeting tomorrow, do you?”
“No.” He grinned. “It was an excuse to get you here.”
“I have to Facetime Franco,” I excitedly spoke as I reached over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand.
“Here, put on your robe first.”
I took the robe he handed me and slipped it on. I brought up Franco’s number and Facetimed him.
“Hello, my love. Oh. I see you’re already christening the hotel room.” He smiled.
“We are.” I grinned. “Say hi to Wes.” I turned the phone to him.
“Hello, Wes.” Franco waved.
“Hey, Franco.”
“Guess what?” I beamed with excitement.
“What?”
I held my hand with my ring on it up to the phone.
“Wes asked me to marry him!” I squealed.
“AH! I’m so happy for you! Holy shit, look at that ring. It’s gorgeous, Anna.”
“Thank you. Okay. I have to go now. I need to get back to my fiancé. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you too, baby doll.”
“When we get back to New York, I want you to permanently move in with me.”
“Is that a command, Mr. Carter? Or a request?”
“It’s a command and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Good. Because I love your commands.” I grinned as I leaned over and kissed him.
Paris was amazing and we were now back to the land of reality. With Franco’s help, I moved all of my things out of his apartment and over to Wes’ penthouse, which was now my new permanent home.
“I want to show you something,” Franco said as he grabbed his sketchbook. “I’ve been working on a design for your wedding dress. Tell me what you think.”
I took the sketch from his hand and studied the drawing.
“Franco, it’s beautiful. Oh my god, I love it.”
“Do you like the style? I wanted to do something different than your last one. This one is going to be even more spectacular.”
“I love it. It’s perfect.” I gave him a smile.
“Good. I’m glad the two of you already set the date, so now I know what kind of timeframe I’m working with. By the way, have you told your father?”
“No.” I looked away and went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “And I’m not. He’s not a part of my life and he doesn’t need to know. Which brings me to this. I would be honored if you would walk me down the aisle.”
He brought his hand up to his mouth and I could see a hint of tears filling his eyes.
“I would be so honored to walk you down the aisle. You are my best friend in the whole world.”
“Stop!” I waved my hands in front of my face as the tears swelled. I gave him a hug and thanked him.
Chapter Thirty
Three Months Later
Anna
Happy wasn’t a word that could describe how I felt inside. My life was finally perfect—the kind of perfection I’d always dreamed of. Something I never thought I’d have or experience. I was sitting on the couch, going over some orders for the shop, when I heard the elevator ding and Wes stepped out.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He smiled as he walked over to me and kissed my lips.
“Hi. How was your day?”
“Exhausting. If anything could go wrong, it did.”
He walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch.
“Do you want one?” he asked.
“No. I’m good.” I smiled.
He downed his drink and poured another one.
“Serena brought her baby in the office today for the first time. She’s due back from her maternity leave next week. Her son is so cute and tiny. I held him.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. For quite a while. He seemed to like me.”
“That’s because you’re extremely likeable, Mr. Carter.” I grinned.
“You know, I got to thinking about how we have never talked about children. How many kids do you want?”
I looked at him and gulped. There was a reason this subject never came up.
“Wes, I don’t ever want children.”
“What?” he asked as he walked over to me. “What do you mean?”
“I never have, and to be honest, I don’t plan on having any.”
“Anna, I don’t understand.”
“I assumed you never wanted them either since we never talked about it.”
“I love kids, and yes, I want them. I guess we never talked about it because we were so wrapped up in everything else. You’re seriously going to sit there and tell me that you don’t want to have children with me?”
“You act like you’re taking this personally, Wes. I just don’t want children period.”
“Why? Because of your mother?” His eye narrowed at me.
“Don’t. Don’t do this.” I shook my head as I got up from the couch. “Don’t bring her into this.”
“I am doing this.” His voice grew louder. “If it’s because of her, maybe need to get some therapy.”
“Excuse me? You’re standing there telling me that I need therapy because I don’t want kids?”
“Who the hell doesn’t want kids, Anna?” he yelled as he held out his arms.
“There are lots of people in this world that don’t want kids.”
“That’s just insane.” He finished off his scotch and walked back to the bar.
“Oh. So now I’m insane because I don’t want kids. Do you hear yourself?” I shouted.
“We’re having kids, Anna.”
“Is that so?” I stood there with my hands on my hips. “I hate to tell you this, Wes, but it’s my body, and if I don’t want kids, I’m not having any.”
“Man, I wish we would have discussed this before—”
“Nothing. Listen, Anna, let’s discuss this like mature adults. I want nothing more than to have a baby with you someday. It doesn’t have to be now or in a year,” he calmly spoke. “I can wait until you’re ready.”
“I’ll never be ready. I don’t want children. Not now, not ever, and I’m not going to stand here and tell you okay and give you false hope, and then in a couple of years, we’re standing in this exact spot having the same argument. I don’t want children. Period.”
He stood a few feet away from me with anger in his eyes. An anger I’d never seen before from him.
“Then why are we doing this?” he asked.
“What? Getting married? Because we love each other. Have you forgotten that? You’re going to let something like me not wanting children ruin us?”
“It’s like I don’t even know you, Anna. You won’t even consider it a possibility?”
“No, because I’m not going to lie to you. I’m being honest, Wes. I’m being real and raw here.”
“Relationships are based on compromise. I’ve compromised a lot with you on all sorts of things and now you won’t even extend me the courtesy of considering having a family?”
“No. I won’t. There’s nothing to consider. I don’t want kids.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way. Maybe this isn’t going to work out after all,” he somberly spoke as he held out his hand.
I couldn’t believe this was happening as my body shook from head to toe and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I removed the ring from my finger and placed it in his hand.
“Don’t do this, Wes,” I spoke as numerous tears fell down my face.
“I’m sorry, Anna. You and I want two totally different things, and if this is something we can’t see eye to eye on, then there’s no point in moving forward.” His eyes swelled with tears. “I’m leaving. I’ll give you a couple of hours to gather your things and move out. If you need more time than that, let me know.”
He walked away and pushed the button to the elevator. I ran to him and grabbed his arm.
