He put gentle pressure on my back, closing the space between us, and dipped to my level, touching our foreheads together.
“Thank you,” he said, and I laughed. He did as well, chuckling as he shook his head. “I mean, I love you. I love you and me.”
He placed both of his hands on my stomach, feeling him and me. I loved us both, too.
Griffin
I’d heard a lot of beautiful sounds in my life. The winning buzzer following an intense game on the court. The sound of my wife when I made her laugh, made her come… They were just a few of many I found myself fortunate enough to receive.
And then I got this.
The audible thump, thump, thump played subtly through the room like it wasn’t the most wonderful sound in the world. I had heard it before, so many times but each listen always felt like hearing it for the first time. It flowed through me like the first time. Somewhere in a far off place, someone told me everything was okay. The heartbeat was fine, but they were wrong, the medical professionals. The heartbeat wasn’t just fine. It was perfect, damn perfect, in every way.
A hand squeezing mine showed my wife’s preparation for something we hadn’t experienced before, and I leaned in, pressing a kiss to my Roxie’s mouth.
“You ready for this?” I asked her sucking a bit on her plump lips. They were always so succulent.
Roxie’s hand came into my hair, her mouth smiling while her big ‘ole glasses smashed between us. She looked so cute in those things. A nod of her chin, and then we both faced the sonogram screen, waiting and breathing together.
“See that there?” the technician asked, smiling at us. She moved the little ultrasound stick around on Roxie’s swollen belly as her other hand pointed to the screen that held my world—Roxie’s and mine. A little nose showed with a small mouth underneath it. Little balled up fists covered the eyes directly above—always covering the eyes. The tech brought our attention to a certain area on the screen—her lips forming words, but I didn’t hear anything after what she said next.
“A boy,” she said.
A boy.
Jackson.
Roxie said the word at the same time my thoughts had even comprehended it all. Those large eyes of hers coated in unshed tears, making them a shiny shade of aquamarine green.
“Jackson,” she repeated, and I nodded at her, confirming the name we’d picked out for a boy. Her tears started to fall and I kissed them away when she removed her glasses to wipe them.
“Yeah, Jackson,” I told her, finding her cheek, her ear next. “Our Jackson.”
About thirty minutes or so later, we were left alone after the tech, and later, the doctor came and went. We’d been given the okay once again—a good exam and healthy baby.
I helped Roxie dress, admiring her body. Her breasts were so swollen, her whole body flushed and filled with warmth. Her dark nipples erect, I couldn’t help touching them, my fingers brushing the hard peaks before covering them with her bra. They were such a shame to cover up.
I went to clasp the bra behind her, but the resistance grew to be too much. I tugged her to me by the straps, kissing her shoulder as I fastened the clasps. She gasped as she placed her hands on her belly, her body shaking beneath my hands and so sensitive to my touch these days. Her chin tilted up, and I brushed a kiss against her cheek, admiring her rich, dark skin, and the ultra glow of her flesh. God, she’d never been more beautiful or sexier.
“God, Griffin…” she sighed, and I knew what that meant.
Forcing myself to stop, I pulled her dress up, painfully hard in my jeans. I slid the straps over her shoulders, and she laughed a bit upon rocking her plump little bottom back into me. She knew why I had to stop, too. I’d have her right back up on that exam table only too quickly. We had a few close calls before.
She had our pictures in her hand when we made it outside moments later, and that was okay by me because I got her other hand.
I gripped it, watching her while she lifted our baby’s images into the Miami sun. Getting a little ahead of me, I noticed the bell of her dress swung across her shapely legs. It took all I had to get her to wear it today, my favorite dress on her, but it was hers, too, and I knew it made her feel pretty.
I kissed her hand. “You wanna tell everyone today?” I asked, referring to our news. I’d also known she’d have an opportunity to do so this afternoon—at least to a few of our close friends. Though, she didn’t know that.
Shaking her head, she surprised me. “We should do something special,” she said.
She yelped a little with glee when I spun her around, bringing her to me. We’d made it to my Range Rover at this point, and I leaned back on it, taking her with me when I brought her back into my arms.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked her, kissing the shell of her ear. She pushed all her hair up above her head that day. Between that and her glasses, she looked like an adorable little nerd and I squeezed, pushing a giggle out of her.
I warmed her neck with my mouth. “What did you have in mind?”
“There was this couple I saw online,” she said, her lids closing over her eyes. “They did this thing with chalkboards and wrote the sex and the baby name on it and—”
“I wanna do it.” I left her neck to shift her body and see her. I tipped her chin. “Whatever it is, I want to do it.”
Her hands came down flat on my chest, moving up to go around shoulders. “But will you have time? To do a photo shoot? I know, you’ve already been stretching yourself thin with all these appointments for the baby and stuff.”
Yeah, but God knew I could stand to do more. I’d been pretty present, but unfortunately, the unpredictability of my training and event schedule had left her to her own devices during enough of these appointments to know I wasn’t being stretched thin as much as I should be.
I rocked her by the hips. “I’ll let Deanna know. She’ll handle it. She’ll schedule the shoot and make sure I’m there,” and she knew my agent would. The woman was a tank and handled anything I threw at her and had since Roxie found her for me. I was technically Roxie’s first client, with her before the official business of her consulting firm broke ground. She’d found Deanna for me through research and hard work, which made me one of the many players Roxie made sure ended up with good people around them. Since Deanna came into my life, I had no problems, and my woman made that happen for me.
That settled, I took Roxie around the silver SUV. A few paps lingered across the street, on standby to capture whoever they could and the shutters snapped our way.
I waved, acknowledging them before helping my wife into the car, and after I had, she did the craziest thing. She actually rolled the window down, waving back to them, and I could kiss her for it. In fact, I did after we took off and halted at a stoplight. Coming to Miami, living in the limelight had been weird for us both at first, but together we got through it.
“I think I want snicker doodles,” she hummed, gripping her belly at the thought. She turned her head on the seat. “The bad ones with sugar and frosting and terribleness. Can we stop at a bakery on the way home?”
Chuckling, I smoothed my hand down hers, kissing it before checking my watch. I guess we had a little time.
She had her snicker doodles by the time we pulled up to the house, the driveway lined with the pink flowers she planted just last summer. I told her we could get a landscaper, but she wanted to do it all on her own, knee deep in the dirt.
So I got down there with her.
We’d filled the boxes outside the windows with them, as well, the terra cotta roof of the white-walled home I built for us once upon a time complimented by them. Our running fountain surrounded by a circle driveway led up to the whole shebang, and that driveway was filled. In fact, completely to the brim.
Vehicles of many different makes and models filled the driveway, some flashy and some not. The orange Bugatti, I had a feeling, was one of my guests. My friends tended to show off when they knew other folks would be around. My boys and I wo
uld stay out of Roxie’s way, though. I’d just be there for support.
“What’s going on?” Roxie was licking her fingers at that point, sugar all around her pink tinted lips, and I laughed, taking the cookie box from her.
“Baby, let me help you,” I said, taking one of the napkins the bakery gave us to her face. She’d never let me live it down if I let her go in there all sugary.
Her hands came up to mine, fighting me a little.
“What? I…”
I got her wrists. “Relax. Your only job is to look pretty, which you do, so we’re good. Just be easy.”
“Be easy? Pretty?” Alarm hit her eyes, making them flare in their jade color. “What are you talking about? What did you do?”
I popped a kiss on her nose. “You got your last question five of them ago. So come with me, and just, well, have fun.”
I wasn’t going to lie. The questions ensued, but I held to my guns, being more than evasive as I managed to get her to allow me to hide the cookie box. We left it in the car and headed up the walk, the oak doors opening seemly by themselves for us.
The entire home was open when we got inside, the curtains drawn and light bouncing throughout the foyer. In that foyer stood people and I had to say, each and every one of them put a surprise in my wife’s eyes.
I had a bit of that surprise, too, at who’d been able to make it out, but not really. Even with our friends’ busy schedules, they dropped everything to be here today, support Roxie and our baby. I invited some of our closest friends in Miami, a small baby shower of what I knew would be many for Roxie down the road. Hell, she’d already had two, one thrown by her co-workers at her consulting firm and even my family had already thrown one for her, as they all just couldn’t wait. Roxie’s close friends had shown up to that last one, too, everyone excited.
Today’s event was to see our Miami friends, the connections we’d developed over the years since coming here. Some of my fellow players, their wives, and many others who’d found their way into Roxie’s and my life turned up. We’d gained a lot of support since coming here, a lot of love, and each one of them had something that had my wife put her hand to her chest.
We were surrounded by colorful balloons, gifts, and all kinds of stuff, and at the root, it was all there for Roxie. I had a gift myself in the crowd, too, something special I thought she’d really like. I couldn’t give that woman enough, but well, I thought I’d try.
A collective “surprise!” hit the air, and the cute, little pregnant woman in the room jaw dropped. Her hand came up to her cheek, and almost instantly, her lashes flashed when her pinkie touched her eyeglasses arm.
She ripped her glasses off, pulling her hair down next.
“Griffin,” she edged out through her teeth, shoving her glasses behind her. “Why didn’t you say something? I could have done something with my hair. I…”
After taking her glasses for her, I grabbed her by the hips.
“You’re not in sweats, babe,” I whispered in her ear, knowing I had at least succeeded in that. “And you look beautiful. You always look beautiful.”
A smashed kiss on her face elicited an “aww” from the group, as well as a few taunts from who I knew to be my buddies in the group. I’d deal with them later, but right then, I had to show my wife to her first of many surprises. She went willingly, her hand in mine, and outside our French doors, could only be described as crazy. I knew because I approved it all prior to the party.
She had the whole set up, my girl. Pretty music and food for days. Roxie had a thing for owls, and they decorated nearly every piece of edible art, and that’s exactly what it all was, from her cake to her cookies. The theme of purple, gray, and blue splashed throughout. Her favorite colors. Even the punch was decked out in an ice sculpture design, and to the right of it, a guy sat oh so casually in an arrangement of folding chairs placed for the soon-to-be mom and her guests to open gifts.
Troy stood, tugging down his blazer, and if Roxie wasn’t in tears by the set up already, she was then. She cried quite frequently these days at things she found emotional, or beautiful, or really anything at all.
Weeping, Roxie left my hands and went to the man who’d made our day so special once before.
Our old wedding planner hugged her, the little bump outlined between them making him laugh. Sliding from her hands, he held her out, admiring her.
“My bride— Oops!” he paused, covering his mouth. “I guess I should say my mom-to-be. You look gorgeous, sweetheart. So gorgeous.”
The compliment caused her head to lower, shy. She shook her head. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’ve been recruited,” he said, raising her hands to our terrace. The beach was rolling in the background—the setup made quite the scene.
He lowered her hands. “As well as a special project.”
His gaze found mine as he handed her off to me. That would be the last time I intervened before I let her enjoy her party, have her moment. She deserved it all.
I brought her to me. “Troy’s going to design the baby’s room, and he’s ready to get started whenever you are ready.”
It was something she hadn’t had time to get to since my wife was so busy at her firm. We had the space set aside right next to ours, but the room was a canvas at this point, and I figured with Troy, she could make it her own.
The waterworks began after my announcement—my special gift to her, and I let her go for it. I knew they were nothing but happy tears.
Roxie
How did he always manage to do things like that, surprise me in ways that bordered on extraordinary?
The gifts open and farewell wishes bestowed upon me from just a few of the best people in my life, all I could think about was who was responsible for all the day’s joy. I’d been showered with so much love and a multitude of congratulations, as well as, warm regards, and I did nothing particularly special at all to even receive it. It had just been given to me, blessed to me by the best man and soon-to-be father that ever existed.
I found him in the kitchen that night after my guests had left, doing of all things he could do—dishes. Bent over the sink, Griffin had soap up to his elbows, scrubbing away at the dishes inside.
Hitching my hip against the kitchen’s archway, I just looked at him for a moment, his t-shirt stretched over his back and pulled taut over his biceps. His feet bare, Griffin’s distressed jeans covered the tops. I went over to him, sliding my hands into the back pockets of his jeans.
I hugged him, as I squeezed that perfect round curve covered by denim.
“Have I told you that you’re like kinda perfect,” I told him, rubbing my forehead into his back. His scent I could bathe in.
He dashed me a smile over his back, sliding until he turned the tables on me and had my bottom pressed up against him. How was he always able to do that? Using a rag, he dried himself off, then encased his long arms around my waist.
“The last hour I’m drawing a blank on,” he said, smoothing his hands down my hips. “Maybe you should tell me again and boost my ego a little more.”
He got an elbow jab for that one, a fake one, but still. He fought me on it though, a chuckle in his voice as he grabbed my elbow. Dipping down, he pressed his mouth to my neck, his teeth skidding the skin, and something hot struck through me, my entire body flush with heat.
I breathed, closing my eyes, and suddenly my hand was taken. I opened my eyes.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, a giggle in my voice. He was taking me away, out of the kitchen and down the hallway.
His finger went up to his lips. “A surprise.”
I didn’t think I could take any more surprises. He’d been so wonderful, but I kept silent, playing his game. Soon enough, we ended the tour in our bedroom. I had a feeling what his surprise was, but then he left me there, standing square on our Aztec rug. He’d actually hired a decorator for the room, and over the years we both added our personal touches. The rug had been Griffin’s idea.
<
br /> I grabbed the bedpost, sitting down. I actually more so ended up falling down. I was still getting used to the weight I gained from the baby thus far, and I plopped, falling to my back a little.
Griffin saw me the minute I let go of the post.
He rushed to bed.
“Baby!”
Reaching, he got the underside of my arm, and I waved him away, feeling silly.
“I’m fine,” I said laughing a little. “Just a little embarrassed.”
He had my waist then, getting me secure.
“Don’t be,” he said, holding me there. “You okay?”
“Mmmhmm. I swear. Just getting used to my new body.”
Rubbing my tummy a little, I laughed and got that worry to leave Griffin’s face as well, his handsome smile back. My feet aching from standing so long, I tried to rub them, but he took over, pushing the pad of his thumb into my instep and heaven came in the form of his fingers.
I moaned. “You’re going to make me fall back again.”
He grinned. “Is that a promise? I like you on your back.”
He got toes into his side for that one, and that’s when I noticed what was on the bed, a tiny package adorned with curly string. I reached for it, the package so small.
“What is this, Griffin?”
His broad shoulders shrugged. Putting his arm behind me, he got closer, surrounding me with him. “Maybe you should open it.”
I eyed him. I didn’t think I could survive another one of his surprises, but curiosity made me tug at the curly ribbon on the top.
“It’s a gift for the baby,” he said when I got part way through the ribbon. “My gift to Jackson.”
Hearing him say his name made all of it feel so real. I kissed his cheek, popping the top open, and he helped me, reaching inside the box.
“Hold out your hands,” he said, and I did, watching as he placed the tiniest pair of sneakers I’d ever seen. They had a side swoop and everything, black with matching lacing.
Cherished by You: A Found by You Finale Novella Page 2
