All of Me (Heart of Stone Book 11)

by K. M. Scott

  Nina looked up toward the ceiling like she was deciding when she wanted to show me her real surprise. Lowering her head, she smiled. “Hmmm…well, I should make you wait, but I probably won’t since you’re such a good husband. But I’m not giving any hints, so no more asking for them.”

  I held my hands up as if to surrender. “Okay, I won’t ask again. I’ll just have to wonder until I get home.”

  “Exactly. You wonder, and I’ll take a bubble bath. See you in the dining room at six-thirty. Until then, I love you.”

  She blew me a kiss, and I blew her one back.

  “I love you too, Nina. And remember, I’m having dinner delivered, so no eating.”

  “Got it. No late afternoon snack. I can’t wait to see you, honey.”

  “I can’t wait to see you, too. Love you.”

  Nina blew me one more kiss and then the screen faded to black. I stared at the dark monitor where her face had been seconds before and smiled. In my mind, I could still see her beautiful cornflower blue eyes looking at me full of love and her gentle smile that always made me happier than I ever thought I could be.

  I thought about our life together all these years. I’d been blessed with so much before I met Nina, but of all the good things I’d gotten in life, none came close to how lucky I was to have her fall in love with me. She’d given me three beautiful children and a life most others would envy, and in return, I hoped she knew how deeply my love for her grew day after day.

  Like all couples, we’d weathered some rough times. Having three children was a challenge, but having triplets amped that challenge up by a hundred percent. Then Diana being sick so much when she was a little girl made life hard for all of us. Always a Daddy’s girl, she clung to me for strength more than her mother, but Nina had two other children to take care of, in addition to worrying about Diana. I never doubted how much she had to deal with after those times when it seemed our daughter would get well just to get sick again only days later.

  But we came through those times and others that tested us.

  We’d started out like a whirlwind in the beginning. I loved her from the first time I saw her. I had a feeling she fell in love with me a little later since I had a tendency to be a bit aloof and mysterious back then. Anyone who knows our story knows why I had to be that way, but even though she’s never said it, I had a sense I fell in love first.

  Now that our kids were grown and we could be alone more, we found the outside world intruding on our life together. Just when Ethan, Tressa, and Diana found the happiness we always wanted for them, the world came looking for Tristan and Nina Stone. There were deals to be made in business, and Nina’s sculptures became the hottest things in the art world.

  But through it all, we were by each other’s side, Nina as the woman standing with the businessman I still loved being and me as the man who couldn’t be prouder of her achievements in the art world she so loved.

  After finding the success so many dreamed of, we wanted to go back to the time when it was just the two of us. Tristan and Nina. I’d be leaving Stone Worldwide soon, and she planned to retire from her art, the two of us finally able to devote ourselves to one another like we’d never been able to before.

  I looked forward to that, but for today, I had roses to pick up and a long drive home to see the woman I loved. Grabbing my suit coat, I slid it on and loosened my tie just a bit before closing the door to my office. Brenda sat at her desk still working and stopped to look up at me.

  “Time for your date?” she asked with a sly smile.

  “Time for my date. Why don’t you take off early today? Go home and have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, late.”

  Brenda’s face lit up. “Thank you, Tristan. I think I will. It’s going to be a beautiful night out tonight, so maybe I’ll see if my husband wants to go swimming. We haven’t done that in ages, but your romantic plans have inspired me.”

  I tapped on her desk and laughed as I walked toward the elevator. “Sounds like fun. Tell Jack I said hello. See you tomorrow!”

  As I rode down toward the main floor of the Stone Worldwide building and headed to the florist to get the flowers, I thought there was nothing better than a hot July night for romance and a swim. Maybe I’d tell Nina we should do that.

  After dinner, of course, and after all the other great things I had planned for us tonight.

  Chapter Two

  Nina

  My phone rang not a minute after Tristan and I ended our conversation. I knew it couldn’t be him again since he adored the whole seeing people when he talked to them thing. Glancing at the number on the screen, I saw it was Jordan, so I answered.

  “Hey, you! I thought you and Gage were away until August?” I said as I mentally calculated how long I could talk to her and still get a bubble bath in before my date night with Tristan.

  Jordan laughed. “No, I said we were going away in August.”

  Clearly, I was as attentive as my husband. We both needed to work on listening better.

  “Oh. Sorry. I was just complaining to Tristan that he doesn’t pay attention when I talk, and here I am doing the same thing with you. So what’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I wanted to see if you and Tristan would like to come over for a cookout. Gage has this new grill that looks like it might be able to take over the world or fly to Mars it’s so elaborate, and he’s dying to fire the thing up. I thought it might be nice for us all to get together since we haven’t spent any time together in months.”

  “Oh, I wish we could, but tonight’s date night for us. I was just about to make him the peach cobbler dessert he loves and then take a nice, relaxing bubble bath before I get ready.”

  Jordan sighed. “Oh, okay. I can see how a romantic night with your husband would take precedence over grilling meat and vegetables on Gage’s jumbo grill.”

  “Can we do it another night this week?” I asked, hoping we could. I hadn’t seen my friend in too long.

  Immediately, she perked up. “Sure! What about Friday night? I’m sure by that time Gage will have mastered all the gadgets and buttons on that grill of his so nobody will get hurt. Say seven?”

  “That sounds perfect. Seven it is!”

  As I opened the cabinet to look for the baking dish for the cobbler, she asked, “So what’s with this date night thing? You guys have been married for a long time to be going out on dates.”

  Standing on my toes, I craned my neck to search the back of the cabinet as I explained, “I thought we needed to get back to basics, so I came up with reinstating date night. Between the kids and the rest of the world, Tristan and I haven’t been together without other people around more than a handful of times since Christmas. We got to a point where I’d only see him in passing, for the most part, and I didn’t like that. And you know how he can get with work, so I’m not even sure he saw what was happening.”

  She clucked her tongue and made that noise that told me she thought I was being silly. “You have a fantastic guy there, Nina. I have a hard time believing Tristan Stone has suddenly become just some ordinary husband who basically ignores his wife.”

  I spied the baking dish at the very back of the cabinet and stretched to reach it, finally clutching it between my fingers. Pulling it out, I set it on the counter and took a breath. I definitely needed to get back to yoga class.

  “I’m not saying that Tristan isn’t a great husband, but he’s a workaholic. You know about that with Gage, too. I think you two figured things out way earlier than we did, though, because Gage has a different way of handling his work responsibilities.”

  Jordan laughed. “I get the whole thing with them being workaholics. That I understand. I think the problem with you two is that you’re too involved in the dozens of charities and public events you have to attend.”

  “I agree. That’s why date night is so important. So tonight we’re going to act like we did when we were first dating.”

  This time she laughed even harder. “Into revi
sionist history now? You two never dated, Nina. He swept you off your feet, and then you moved into his house. That’s not what most people call dating.”

  She did have a point there. Tristan and I had never really done the traditional dating thing in the beginning, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t do it now. As far as I was concerned, it was never too late.

  “Point taken. That only means we’re technically dating for the first time, although we’ve done this off and on for our entire marriage.”

  “So what does date night entail? Are we talking going out to a nice restaurant and seeing a movie?” she asked, suddenly curious about my idea.

  As I gathered the ingredients for the peach cobbler, I said, “Maybe sometime we’ll do that, but for this date night, we’re having dinner delivered and I’m making him one of his favorites for dessert. Peach cobbler. Then maybe we’ll curl up and watch a movie, or maybe we’ll just jump right to the hot sex. I haven’t figured that part out yet, but the sex will definitely happen at some point.”

  “I like this idea! Gage and I don’t have as big a problem with our schedules as you two do, but after years of being married, I have to admit I have wondered if things are getting a little stale. I’m not talking about installing a trapeze swing on the ceiling in our bedroom, but this date night idea sounds nice. Since Gage and I actually did date like normal people, it could be a cool thing to do again. I think I’m going to bring it up to him when he gets back.”

  I emptied the peaches into the dish as I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder. “I think you should. People are living past one hundred years old these days. The time of people letting their lives get stale and boring at fifty are long in the past.”

  “You’re right. I’m going to see what Gage thinks of a date night for us. How often do you do this?” she asked.

  “We’ve done it over the years since the kids were babies, but then we stopped because things got so busy. This time, we’re starting again tonight, and I’m planning on date night happening at least once a week. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, though. It’s just to make sure that we both devote time to one another instead of getting wrapped up in all the stuff that happens outside the house.”

  I took a last look at my peach creation and smiled. Tristan was going to be over the moon for this dessert. I knew my husband’s weakness for it, and I planned to use it along with all my other feminine wiles to seduce him like never before tonight. I made date night sound so casual to Jordan because I knew Tristan wouldn’t want anyone thinking we needed to spice up our private lives.

  That wasn’t it at all. We were just two busy people who sometimes needed to shut out the rest of the world and focus on one another.

  “Well, I’m going to talk to Gage and see what he thinks. He’s been so interested in that damn grill that I think it’s time he started looking at his wife like he does that contraption,” she said with a chuckle.

  “That’s right! What’s a grill compared to the woman he loves?”

  “Exactly. I do have to admit it’s a pretty impressive thing, though. Wait until you see it, Nina. I have a feeling if you look out your window tonight you might see the billows of smoke coming from my backyard once he fires the thing up,” she joked.

  I set the oven to the correct temperature to bake my cobbler and said, “If tonight goes as I have planned, nobody’s going to be looking out any windows, Jordan.”

  For a moment, there was only silence, and then she said, “Wow! Okay. So maybe tonight Gage’s grill won’t be the only thing smokin’ hot, huh?”

  I couldn’t help but giggle. We sounded just like we used to all those years ago when we shared that apartment in Brooklyn. Just two friends telling one another about the guys we were crazy about, but now those guys were our husbands.

  “That’s the plan. So are we on for Friday?” I asked.

  “Friday at seven. I’ll tell Gage to buy some nice T-bones for him and Tristan. What do you want me to tell him to get you? I’m more of a filet kind of girl. Those T-bones are way too much for me.”

  The oven dinged to let me know it had reached the right temperature for the cobbler, so I slid the baking dish into the middle of the oven rack and closed the door. “I know what you mean. Tristan eats ribeyes sometimes, and all I can think is how much there is to that cut. If you’re doing a filet, I’ll do that too.”

  “Great! Friday at seven. Any chance any of your kids are going to be around and want to come by? I haven’t seen the Stone triplets in so long. I’d love to see them, you know.”

  I thought about my recent conversations with all three of my children in the past few days. Killian was still going to be out of the country at some unknown place that night, but Tressa probably would be working then instead of going back to their place. Diana had mentioned coming up to the house on the weekend, so she and Cole might enjoy a cookout at her Aunt Jordan and Uncle Gage’s house. As for Ethan and Summer, they were out of town for another week on vacation in the Bahamas, a well-deserved break from the animal photography the two of them had made into a very profitable business.

  “I don’t think Tressa will be out, and Ethan is with Summer on vacation, but Diana and Cole might be interested. Do you want me to ask her?”

  “Oh, that would be great! I’d love to see her, and Cole, too. The last time I spoke to her she said she was going to be starting her job with the government. How has that been for her?”

  I quickly checked the time because I knew myself and how long I could talk about any of my children’s achievements. It was already a little after five, so if I wanted to get that bubble bath and have time to enjoy it, I couldn’t spare too much time to tell her about Diana’s new job.

  “She’s loving it! I think she wasn’t sure what it would be like working for the government. I mean, how much does the federal bureaucracy need with sign language interpreters? But you’d be surprised. She’s working with the Housing Department, and she’s so happy. I’m so glad she’s found a career she loves. Now I can finally say I can die a happy woman knowing all three of the kids found their niche.”

  Jordan laughed at my hyperbolic way of talking about my children. “Since you’re only halfway to the average life expectancy of an American woman these days, I think we can safely say you’re going to have a lot of years to see those three do incredible things.”

  Since she’d asked about my kids, I had to ask about her daughter, Marina. The only problem was I didn’t know how things stood with them at that moment. The last time we spoke, she’d told me Marina had stopped talking to her because Jordan and Gage didn’t think much of her boyfriend. The fact that he’d ended up in jail not a month later may have changed everyone’s opinion of the situation, but I didn’t know.

  So, I quietly asked, “How is Mar doing?”

  I heard her let out a heavy sigh and then there was a long pause before she answered, “You know how it is with us. Marina is strong-willed and has a mind of her own.”

  “Are you two talking again?” I asked with trepidation.

  “Yes and no,” she said sadly. “She and Gage talk, but she’s still angry with me about that boyfriend of hers, who I’m happy to say isn’t her boyfriend anymore since he’s in the big house.”

  I had to stifle a chuckle at the way she answered. The big house.

  “Well, that’s something to cheer about. She knows she can do better than some guy who steals cars, Jordan. She’s just finding her way in the world.”

  “I know, but I thought after she finished college that she’d have some better sense of that way than hanging out with a guy like him. Seriously, grand theft auto? I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about how she could have gotten hurt. But she doesn’t see that. All she sees is me not supporting her decisions. I wish she could understand I would support anything good for her. He just isn’t that in any way, shape, or form.”

  “Well, she’s only twenty-three. Kids are stubborn sometimes at that age, and with you as her mother, what
can you expect?”

  For the first time since I brought up her daughter, Jordan laughed. “True. I remember some of the guys I dated when I was her age. Remember? There wasn’t a bad boy out there I wouldn’t walk ten miles to see. You can’t plant peas and get corn, I guess.”

  “Exactly, but look how good you turned out. And for the record, they weren’t all bad.”

  “Just most of them,” she answered quickly. “Maybe I’ll see if I can give her a call today. That’s if she’s willing to take my call.”

  “Keep trying. Remember, she’s your daughter, so who knows about her stubborn streak better than the person who gave it to her?”

  “Very true. Okay, I’ll do that and I’ll let you get to your preparations for date night. Have a good time, and we’ll see you Friday at seven. Bring your appetite because Gage is going to be grilling everything and anything. He’d probably grill that peach cobbler you’re making, if you gave him the chance.”

  I laughed and shook my head. Gage had always loved his toys, and it seemed that this new grill of his was no exception.

  “We’ll be there. I’m sure as soon as I tell Tristan his mouth will be watering for that steak. Do you want us to bring anything?”

  “Nope. Just yourselves, and be sure to tell Diana and Cole about it too. We’d love to see them.”

  “I will. See you then,” I said before she said goodbye.

  Setting the phone down on the counter, I peeked in through the oven window and saw the cobbler baking right on schedule. I had just enough time to get a twenty minute soak in. I’d hoped to take a much longer bubble bath, but chatting with a best friend was more important than lounging around in a tub anyway.

  I slid into the tub full of white foamy bubbles and sunk down until the water covered everything but my head. The water had cooled a little since I’d remembered at the last minute that I had to put my hair up before getting in. I didn’t have enough time to redo my entire head, so I needed to make sure that my hair didn’t get wet.