by Jean Joachim
Happiness washed over her as the XK flew down the highway. It seemed like most people had reached their destinations for the day because the roads were empty.
"Will your parents be mad?"
"My mother has been waiting for you since I was twenty-five, honey."
"I can't wait to meet your family and see that fabulous house."
"It pales compared to you." He glanced at her for a moment.
"Spoken like a man in love."
She glanced out the window, feeling the rapid beat of her heart.
"Now I can spend my time writing fiction."
"I have the perfect room for you. It's on the second floor faces south, gets the morning sun. You can sit in there and write all day long. No more new business pitches, late nights…except with me, of course,"
"I'm moving into your townhouse?"
"Of course, you're going to be my wife. I love your apartment, but it's too small for the two of us…and eventually the three or more of us."
"Children?"
"How many?"
"Two?" She held up two fingers and shot him a questioning glance.
"Sounds good to me," He chuckled.
Carrie couldn't get over how high she felt…floating on air.
****
The XK pulled up in front of the imposing three story Victorian house at about two thirty in the afternoon. Grey chuckled to himself assuming all the chores had been done and he managed to skip out on all of them.
When they got out of the car, he glanced at the house and saw the entire family crowded around the two giant living room windows peeking through the drapes. He smiled at their eagerness. Grey went to the truck and picked up Carrie's suitcase. When he turned around, she was there, slipping her hand in his. He laced his fingers with hers. She wore a frown.
"Nervous?"
"A little."
"Don't be. You can't possibly be as nervous as they are," he said, indicating the house with a nod of his head.
As they approached the house, Grey saw his mother disappear from the window first, then each family member peeled away from the glass and filed into the large entry way to descend on Carrie when they walked in.
The door opened before they even reached the front steps and his mother stood, her arms folded across her chest as it was cold out with a big smile lighting up her face. Grey's eyes locked with hers and the smile on his face grew to match hers.
"This must be Carrie," Fran Andrews said, opening her arms.
She drew Carrie in right away, engulfing her in a warm hug. Carrie smiled and closed her eyes.
"Good guess, Mom," Grey teased.
"Come inside, come inside, it's cold out there," Grey's father insisted, pulling on his son's arm, reaching for Carrie's bag.
"I've got it, Dad." Grey held onto the bag as his father backed into the house.
The rest of the family was huddled by the front door. Jenna pushed through the crowd to be the next to hug Carrie. She pushed back from her and grabbed Carrie's hand. Jenna's gaze took in the large diamond ring. She shrieked.
"You're engaged?" Jenna jumped up in the air.
Carrie moved to Grey's side, slipping her arm around his waist and smiled.
"Had to propose or lose this one. Now she's mine." He smiled down at her, placing his arm around Carrie's shoulders.
Fran Andrews wiped a tear from her eye. "Come in, Carrie. Grey, take her bag up to your room. Dinner won't be until five o'clock. But we have some nibbles in here." Fran took Carrie by the hand and guided her into the living room.
"Don't think we didn't save some chores for you, Grey," Colin shouted.
"Thanks, Colin!" Grey hollered back from the hall.
When he came down the stairs and turned into the living room, he stopped at the archway. His heart leaped at the scene before his eyes. Carrie was on the sofa and the rest of the family was huddled around. Jenna had claimed the seat next to Carrie. Fran was on the other side. His father sat next to Barbara on a loveseat. The in-laws took club chairs and Colin sat on the ottoman near the sofa. Everyone was talking, shooting questions at Carrie too fast for her to answer. She was laughing.
When he came into the room, they quieted down for a moment and looked at him. I have a lot to be thankful for this year.
"One at a time, one at a time. Give her a chance to breathe," he said, sinking down next to her in the space made by Jenna who straddled the arm of the sofa right behind Grey.
Carrie looked up at him and he brought his mouth down for a quick kiss.
"Hey, wait for mistletoe, horny guy," Colin piped up.
Chapter Sixteen
November twenty-third, the day before their fourth Thanksgiving together, was cold and rainy. Remembering back to their first Thanksgiving together, Carrie gazed at her engagement ring, now nestled comfortably against a matching wedding band for the past three years. She sat by the full length window facing the charming backyard of their townhouse on ____________. Cold rain drizzled down the windows making the view fuzzy. Carrie sat warm and cozy in fleece pants and shirt sipping a cup of hot tea, watching the occasional bird stop at their feeder.
Tonight she and Grey were going to cook together for tomorrow's feast. They were scheduled to leave at seven o'clock in the morning to arrive in time for the Andrews' family Thanksgiving breakfast. It would have to be an early night for them.
Grey was at a business meeting, an unexpected one that arose from a new business opportunity too good to pass up. She stretched out and put the cup down, picking up her red pen. She was editing her third mystery novel but felt restless. Where was Grey? She missed him. He had been so preoccupied with this new deal they had not spent much time together in the past week. Carrie felt sexy, desire tingling inside her. She needed Grey. They hadn't made love in over a week, the longest they had gone in their three married years, and she felt itchy.
She got an idea how to bring him home. She looked at her watch, jumped up from her chair, grabbed her cell phone and headed to their bedroom where she stripped off her shirt and bra. Facing the large dresser mirror, she stuck several coy poses. Aiming the phone camera, she took a picture of her naked breasts, as close up as she could get. She checked her watch. Right now, in the middle of his meeting. She smiled as she sent the photo to his phone with the words, "missing you, hurry home for a good time." Then she lay down on the bed and giggled.
****
Grey looked at his watch as his partner broached another question to the president of the company they were considering investing in. It was four o'clock and he needed to get home. He missed Carrie. He was horny, restless and wanted to leave but the president droned on. In his pocket, his cell phone vibrated.
He excused himself and went into the hall to retrieve the message. It was from Carrie. As soon as he saw the picture and read the note, he burst out laughing. He looked at it several times feeling desire course through his veins before clicking his phone shut. His luscious wife was waiting for him. Time to leave the meeting and return home.
He sent a text back to her, "On my way, don't start without me."
Taking a minute to compose himself and wipe the lustful grin off his face before returning to the conference room, Grey stopped at the water fountain and took a deep breath.
"Gentleman, I have an urgent call from home, so I must leave you," Grey said.
"Carrie? Is everything all right?"
"Nothing serious, John, but something that needs my immediate attention."
Grey worked hard to keep the smile off his lips and succeeded until he reached the parking lot where he broke into a huge grin. The XK couldn't jump over the cars, so the slow trip home from downtown Manhattan took forty-five minutes instead of the usual twenty. He texted Carrie back every fifteen minutes but the frustration of the stop-and-go day-before-Thanksgiving traffic, put him on edge.
When he finally arrived home, Carrie was on the phone with Delia. He caught the tail end of her conversation.
"I have the last item on my
list, Delia…Oops, Grey's home, gotta go."
She hung up the phone and turned to him with a guilty look.
"Did I hear the word 'list'? You have a list?" he asked, raising his eyebrows while he took the glass of cabernet sauvignon she handed him.
Carrie wore a cream-colored, short negligee with a matching silk robe over it. She blushed a becoming shade of pink.
"A marriage list?"
"After you came up with your list, I thought it was a good idea. So I started one, too." Carrie tucked one leg under her and sank down on the sofa.
"And all this time you didn't tell me because…?"
"You never asked."
"But once you knew…"
"I suppose I should have."
"A marriage list?"
"It started out that way. After we got engaged, there was only one thing left on the list. And today, my final wish came true."
"One wish? And what might that be?" Grey knelt down on the sofa, looming over her, desire in his eyes.
She looked up at him, opening her robe. His hands slid the sleeves down over her arms and off. He leaned over and nibbled on her neck. She closed her eyes, feeling the heat from his lips travel to her core.
"I'm waiting," he whispered in her ear as he proceeded to yank his tie loose and unbutton his shirt.
Carrie helped him by unzipping his pants.
"You are going to tell me aren't you?"
"Thinking about it." A devilish smile played at her lips.
"Soon…please…before we get…preoccupied."
He moved back and stood up to slide his pants and boxers to the floor then returned to the sofa. Kneeling over her, he untied the bow holding the negligee together so his hands could massage her breasts.
"There's something different about you but first…give. What's the last thing."
He buried his face in her neck, awaiting her response.
"The last thing on my list was to get pregnant," she whispered in his ear.
Grey froze in position, then picked his head up as his eyes searched hers.
"You're pregnant?" His eyes wide, his lips breaking into a grin.
She smiled and nodded "I found out today."
"Another dream come true," he said as she pulled him down on top of her.
Moonlight Books
