by Tia Siren
“It’s dinner time. Eating is expected. You are going to grow fat and happy with our child growing inside you. I will love you no matter how big you get.”
“You say that now, but we’ll see what you say if and when that happens.”
We walked into his kitchen hand in hand. “I don’t know what I have to eat. I guess that’s going to change. We need to actually buy groceries and have them stocked for all the snacks you are going to need.”
“I think we should go out for a celebratory dinner tonight. We’ll worry about grocery shopping later.”
He kissed me again. “I love you.”
We headed out and found a place nearby. It was strange to order a meal and know it wasn’t just me that was going to be eating it. I had to start eating better. I was going to do everything I could to make sure my baby was healthy.
“Want to stay at my place tonight?” he asked as we walked back to his building.
“Sure.”
I thought about how that was all going to work out. His apartment was big and in a good neighborhood, but it had that same cold feel that mine used to. I was jumping the gun. I was moving as fast as Brian and Kali.
Once back at his place, we kicked back on the couch and watched old episodes of Friends. It was nice, cozy and completely normal. I lay cradled against his chest with my hands on my belly. He would occasionally put his hand over mine, both of us holding our child.
“Ready for bed?” he asked.
I yawned. “I am. Does this mean I have to start going to bed early now?”
He chuckled. “From the way I understand it, and based on experience with patients, you’re going to be wanting to go to bed early.”
I nodded. “That’s true. I read that. I need to get one of those books.”
“I can get you some. I have a library at the office. We hand them out to mothers as part of their congratulatory package.”
“We’re pregnant,” I said again. The words felt strange crossing my lips. I had never really expected to be able to share the moment with anyone after Mitchel. The fact that I got to share it with Mason made me very happy.
“Yes, we are. You’re going to be a great mother.”
“You’re going to be a great daddy.”
He sighed. “I hope so. I don’t have the best first-hand experience, and I’m sure I’ll make plenty of mistakes, but I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all we can do.”
Soon, I crawled into his bed. I loved sleeping naked with him, enjoying the feel of his skin on my own. He was all warmth and hardness, and I figured I’d better appreciate these nights while I could. Once we had a baby in the house, it wouldn’t be quite so easy to go to bed together, especially nude.
His arm came around me as I cuddled in close to his body. Maybe it was the hormones, but I was in desperate need of his body.
“Mason?” I whispered.
“Hmm?”
“Make love to me.”
He chuckled. “As if you have to ask.”
Chapter 38
Mason
With my briefcase in hand, I bolted out of my office without making eye contact with any of the nurses. If I looked at them, they would want to remind me of paperwork I didn’t sign or tell me about the test results of a patient. I didn’t want to be delayed. Not today.
“You’re out of here already?” Junie asked in surprise as I rushed past her.
“Yep, and I’m not sticking around another minute and catching one of those emergency calls. I have to go,” I said hastily.
“What’s the rush?”
I grinned, unable to hide my excitement from one of my closest friends. “I’m going ring shopping.”
She raised one eyebrow. “You’re doing what?”
“I’m buying a ring and proposing marriage to the mother of my child. To my baby mama,” I added, testing the words on my lips.
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me.”
“About which part?”
“Your baby mama,” she said dryly.
“Nope. Not kidding. She’s pregnant, and it’s my baby. We got it the old-fashioned way,” I said with a wink.
She blushed. “Mason Chambers, you dirty devil. Congratulations! I knew you two would figure things out. I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thanks. Now I’ve got to go buy a ring and then ask her big brother for his blessing. Not that I care if he gives it to me. I’m going to ask her regardless of what he says. I want the woman to be my wife. How weird is that?” I muttered, hearing the words come out of my mouth. “I want a wife.”
“Good for you. I want to see that ring once you pick it out. Don’t deny an old woman these little joys in life. It better be big and sparkly. The woman likes her bling.”
“It will be stunning, just like her. And of course I’ll show you the ring. I wouldn’t dream of denying you anything, Junie.”
“You’re such a flirt. You better tone that down or your wife will be putting you on a very short leash,” she warned.
I laughed and headed out the door. There was a bounce in my step as I made my way to my car and headed for the jewelry store.
The second I walked in, I was targeted by an eager sales person. “What are you looking for today?” the woman asked.
I looked at her, debated the idea of asking the male associate to help me, but then decided she would probably have a better idea about what a woman wanted.
“I need something big, unique, classy, and elegant.”
She smiled. “I can do that. Let’s start over here.”
I looked at her hand and noticed she was wearing a large rock on her finger. That made me feel a little safer. Sally had made me paranoid. I didn’t want to get caught talking to a beautiful woman ever again and give Lara any reason to doubt me.
The woman pointed out several rings, but none of them were what I was looking for. I started to panic at the thought that I may not find the perfect ring. I didn’t want to settle for an okay ring. It had to be spectacular.
“Do you have something with color? She loves bright colors,” I said, hoping that didn’t sound too ridiculous. I wanted big and eye-catching, but not gaudy. It needed to match her personality.
“We have some diamond rings surrounded by emeralds or sapphires,” she said, moving a few cases down.
“Sapphire? That’s blue, right?” I asked, getting excited.
She smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s what I need. What do you have with sapphires?”
“Is this an engagement ring?” she asked.
I nodded. “Is it wrong to get sapphires in an engagement ring?”
“It’s unconventional, but there are no rules these days. You’ve got to get the ring that you know she’ll love. You want her to say yes, right?” she teased. “If she likes sapphires, then that’s what you get. Don’t worry about being conventional,” she said, smiling at the man standing to the side.
“Absolutely.”
She pulled out a couple cases and showed me a variety of rings. None of them screamed Lara.
The man who had been standing back approached. “Babe, what about that new shipment that came in? Wasn’t there a sapphire ring in that lot?”
The rock on her finger made sense now. These were the married owners.
“There is! I know it’s going to be perfect. Sit tight and I’ll grab it,” she said, dashing to the back.
Her husband smiled at me. “It’s tough, huh, trying to find that perfect ring? Trust me, finding the ring that she would go gaga over wasn’t easy. She has seen them all.”
I laughed. “How’d you decide?”
“I just knew. I think it’s the same way when you meet the woman you want to marry. You just know.”
I nodded my head in agreement. I hoped the ring the woman brought out was the one.
The sales lady came out from the back room. “Ready?”
I nodded, holding my breath. When she opened the box, my mouth dropped open. �
��That’s it. That’s the one,” I said, staring at the ring. “It’s perfect.”
She took the ring out and held it up. “It’s a two-carat, princess-cut diamond in the center with smaller diamonds in the band. Each of the sapphires surrounding the band are a round cut, giving them that stunning appearance. The white gold band makes it really pop,” she said.
She was wasting her breath. I didn’t need her to sell it to me. I didn’t care how much it cost. I was going to have that ring.
“That’s the one. I’ll take it,” I said, reaching into my wallet and pulling out my credit card.
The husband and wife team were beaming. I knew I had just made their day with the sale, but they also appeared to be genuinely happy for me.
With the ring safely tucked away in my pocket, I called Brian and asked him to meet me at my place. He said he could stop by for a few but then had to get home to Kali. They had dinner plans.
I only needed five minutes. It was a cursory call anyway. If he didn’t like my plan, it was too bad.
He was right on time.
“What’s up?” he asked, clearly in a rush.
“I’m going to ask Lara to marry me,” I said, not wasting any time on small talk.
“Oh.”
“Oh? Is that a good oh?”
“I’m surprised. Well, maybe not. I think I knew this was coming,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “You should. I know she’ll say yes.”
“I hope so.”
“You got a ring?” he asked.
I grinned. “Yep.”
“Let me see it. You know I have to compete with you now? She’s going to show Kali and then Kali is going to expect me to do the same. I need to know how bad this is going to hit my bank account.”
I chuckled and pulled the ring out of the drawer and handed him the box. He opened it and gave a low whistle.
“Damn,” he said, staring at the ring. “That’s a pretty big rock. Why blue?”
“Have you seen her bathroom?” I asked.
“Can’t say I have, but I know she’s always liked bright colors. Nice ring. Don’t tell me how much it cost, but at least tell me the size of that stone.”
“Two carats,” I said as if I were telling him it was sunny outside.
“Holy shit. I’m going to have to take out a loan.”
That took me by surprise. “Are you going to ask Kali to marry you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Not today, but I think soon.”
“Wow.”
He laughed. “Wow is right. I didn’t expect this to be happening, but here we are.”
“Here we are.”
“Okay,” he said, handing me the ring back. “I better get home before Kali gets cranky.”
“Thanks for the, uh, blessing, I guess,” I joked.
“You got it. You two were meant to be together.”
It felt good knowing I had his approval. I didn’t want any animosity between us. Now all I had to do was get Lara to say yes.
I put the ring back in the drawer and headed into my living room. I stopped, seeing my home through fresh eyes. My apartment was cold and lifeless. Not only did I need to ask Lara to marry me, but I needed to ask her if I could move into her place. Her house was better suited to raising a baby.
I wanted our child raised with vibrant color and a warm, homey place. Lara had created that in her condo. I could put my apartment on the market. I knew it would sell quickly. The money could be used as a college fund or to pay for a big wedding.
I called Lara just to check in. She was working late tonight and was going home after work. I would miss having her in bed next to me, but I knew that one day soon, I would never have to sleep apart from her again.
“Hi,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey. You’re not working too hard, are you?”
“Nope. Sitting on my ass going over the monthly report. What are you doing?”
I looked at the drawer where the ring was stashed. “Nothing. Watching TV.”
“I miss you,” she said in a husky voice.
“I miss you, too. I can meet you at your place.”
“That’s okay. I’m going to be late. You don’t have to wait around for me.”
“Fine. Did you eat?”
She giggled. “Yes. I ate a big salad for dinner. It was healthy and yummy.”
“Good. Okay, I’ll let you get back to work so you can get out of there. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered and then hung up.
I held the phone in my hand, wishing it was her I was holding. I made something to eat and then watched television for a bit before heading off to bed. I was bored, and lonely. I missed spending the evening with Lara in my arms.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling and my mind began to drift into a daydream. It wasn’t long before I fell asleep and my thoughts of Lara spurred a lovely dream. It started out like many of my dreams about Lara did. Usually, it was us having a grand time and ending up in bed. The dreams tended to be erotic, always leaving me hard when I was startled awake.
This dream was a little different. It transformed at some point from hot and sexy into sweet and full of hope. In the dream, I stumbled into the nursery to find Lara asleep in the rocking chair, holding our sweet baby. She looked like an angel. My heart felt full and filled with a warmth I had never known as I watched mother and child sleep. When I went to her and lifted the baby from her arms, I felt so much love in my heart, it seemed as if it would burst.
When I woke, my arms were folded against my chest as if I was still cradling my baby. I had the feeling of being wrapped in a blanket of love. It was what I had been searching for all my life. I prayed I could make that dream a reality. I wanted Lara to be my wife. I wanted to spend every minute I could with our child. Hell, I hoped we could have several children.
The future looked very bright. Tomorrow I was going to do it. I was going to ask Lara to be my bride. My stomach fluttered with about a million butterflies as I thought about popping the question.
“She better say yes,” I mumbled into the dark room.
Chapter 39
Lara
The new shipment of goods came in from my seller in Laguna Beach. As I unpacked each of the boxes, I couldn’t help but check out each little item. Everything was so perfect. I could imagine my baby wearing the outfits and me snapping pictures. In my vision, Mason was holding the baby in some of the pictures.
In the back of my mind, I could feel that little part of my brain trying to butt in and squelch my happiness. It was warning me that everything seemed too good to be true. Something would go wrong and I would never find the kind of joy I had dreamed about for so long.
I wasn’t going to listen to that part of my conscience anymore. I didn’t like it. I wanted to hold on to the good feeling with every fiber of my being. I hoped that would be enough to keep the tiny embryo inside me growing and healthy.
The chimes on the door jangled, and I walked out from behind the shelf I was busy stocking.
“Hi,” I said with a huge smile when I saw Mason come in the door.
A couple customers browsing the store looked at the man carrying pink and blue balloons and then at me.
“Hi,” he said, kissing me.
“This is a surprise. What are you doing here? With balloons?”
He dropped to the ground on one knee. My heart rolled and then started beating so fast I couldn’t catch my breath.
“Mason?”
He reached into the pocket of his black slacks and pulled out a box. He deftly flipped it open with one hand and held it up for me to see the contents.
Tears streamed down my face as I stared at him and then the box.
“Lara McCall, would you do me the great honor of being my wife? I don’t care if our baby is a boy or a girl or if there are several babies in there. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, raising our family together.”
I was nodding my head, but
the giant lump in my throat made it impossible for me to speak. He was looking at me expectantly. I finally managed to croak out the word he was waiting for.
“Yes.”
He grinned and stood up. He took the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen in my life out of the box and slid it onto my finger before wrapping his arms around me.
The customers in the shop began to clap. Through watery eyes, I could see one of the women crying and wiping her own tears.
“You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet,” he whispered into my ear.
When I finally pulled away, I looked down at the ring on my finger. “This is stunning. I absolutely love it. I can’t believe you picked such a perfect ring!”
One of the customers started chanting. “Kiss, kiss, kiss.”
Mason laughed but obeyed the orders of the women in the store.
“Can I see that ring?” one woman asked. “It is absolutely breathtaking.”
I held up my hand, proudly showing off my engagement ring. I was going to marry the man who had stolen my heart when I was just sixteen years old. It seemed too good to be true, but there he was standing in front of me grinning like a fool.
Mason was looking at the ring with a great deal of pride. He had done an amazing job picking it out and deserved to be standing there like a proud peacock.
“When’s the wedding?” one of the ladies asked.
Mason and I looked at each other. “I have no idea,” I replied.
“We can do it tomorrow or, I don’t know, a year down the road. It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll wait.”
There was a collective sigh from the ladies. I was a lucky woman. I had a very handsome man by my side who loved me.
He kissed me again. “I have to get back to work. I hope you don’t mind, but I made plans with Kali and Brian tonight. All four of us. A celebration dinner.”
“That sounds great. Are you telling me I have to wait until tonight to tell Kali?” I asked in horror.
He winked. I groaned. It would kill me, but I would do it so I could see her face when I flashed the ring.
“Brian knows?” I asked, getting the feeling he did.
“Yes. I asked him if he would be okay with it yesterday. He was completely on board. A little irritated because he says Kali is going to be jealous of the ring, but other than that, he was just fine with it.”
