Chapter 2
Chapter Two
H aving had several dreams, the sort that flitted from one obscure thing to the next and had people gathered together who would never be in each other’s company including the dead and the living, Steph found herself in another dream with just her and Jon. She was in her hotel bed on holiday and Jon was there too, creeping into bed and leaning over her, brushing her hair back before gently nuzzling her neck, her ear, across her jaw, then finally finding her lips that he began to tease and caress making her whimper. It was as she reached out to pull him closer, to hold him tighter that she realised this dream was different, far more lucid than usual, he felt real when she touched him and that’s when she realised it wasn’t a dream. Jon was there with her in her bed in her hotel room on her girly holiday.
It was real, all of the feelings and sensations weren’t figments of her imagination meaning Jon was lying with her and she was pregnant.
Shit! How the hell was she going to tell him that despite him thinking she was on the pill, that they were having protected sex, they actually weren’t? And now, they were having a baby. Like she’d told Lindsay, this wasn’t a conversation they’d ever had. Their relationship had been built on a concept that was non-permanent, and although things had changed since she’d discovered the truth about his wife and they’d reconciled, this was huge. A baby.
How would Jon take the news? How was she even going to broach the topic? Hi, Jon, funny story, you remember the herbal remedies I was taking, well they meant every time we shagged, we were using zero contraception, and here’s the really great part, we’re having a baby. Fuck! This was a mess of astronomical proportions.
After everything he had gone through with his and Penny’s baby, did he even want children or had the pain of that tragedy scarred him so much that he couldn’t do it again? And if he didn’t, where did that leave her and the baby?
She warred with her own rambling thoughts as she considered that he might actually think she had done this on purpose. Trapped him.
The sensation of Jon’s lips gently kissing her shoulder broke her thoughts. Pulling away and suddenly startled, reminded that they were together again, Steph opted for a question rather than the secret she was keeping and whispered, “You’re here. Why aren’t you at home, in London?”
Moving closer to her again, Jon stroked her cheek with one hand while the other one was resting on her hip ready to bring her closer to him again.
“It would seem that three days without you is my limit, darling, in fact one day was my true limit but I had a business associate coming in from New Zealand so I couldn’t rearrange, but everything else has been postponed, cancelled, whatever, oh and you defied me and wore those fucking hot pants.”
Steph allowed Jon to draw her closer until she was pressed against him and smiling.
“I don’t recall sending you a photo of the hot pants,” she teased.
“No, but Charlie shared his from Lindsay and the bikini. We need a serious conversation, darling.”
“Not now though. Did you really miss me after a day?” she asked far too happy that he had.
“Yes. You see Steph, pathetically I can no longer function without you in my life, my building, my home, my bed which means when I go away on business for more than a couple of days, you, my Head of Financial Services will be coming with me.”
“I missed you, too, but we can talk about business trips later,” she said wondering exactly how far he would have got with his kissing and touching before she’d woken.
“Nothing to talk about, now where was I before you interrupted?” he asked rolling her onto her back to resume his kissing.
Waking several hours later enveloped in Jon’s embrace, Steph smiled as she realised that it really hadn’t been a dream, he was there. Her smile soon evaporated when she remembered that she was pregnant which Jon had no clue about and she was going to have to tell him at some point. Freeing herself from his embrace she got as far as sitting up on the edge of the bed before he pulled her back down next to him.
“Good morning.” His devilish grin caused her to smile back.
“Morning. I still can’t believe you’re here. How did you get in?” she suddenly asked.
“I own the place, darling, and I warned my people that I was coming over and it was booked for you and Lindsay in my name so they gave us a key.”
“Us?” she asked.
“What?” replied Jon confused by her question.
“You said they gave us a key, who is us?”
“Me and Charlie, who else would us be?” he asked kissing her shoulder gently, causing her to tense knowing she was keeping secrets from him.
Suddenly she was irritated by his words, presence, and his total disregard for her girly holiday with Lindsay. She hadn’t needed her holiday upgrading, nor for him to arrive with Charlie in tow, making this a couple’s holiday rather than the one she and Lindsay had planned. The type of holiday the two women had been taking since they’d become adults, although with them each carrying a plus one, the food choices might need modifying, the cocktails would be alcohol free and the shots lined up would be non-existent. Yet here they were, in typical Jonathon Brooker style, he had changed everything, done as he’d pleased without so much as a word or thought for her.
She admitted, at least to herself that she had known that this beautiful hotel had been one of his with its wall to wall five star service and facilities. It was like nowhere she had ever been before and she couldn’t deny that she’d been enjoying all it had to offer. Briefly she reminded herself that Jon had been transparent from their arrival that he was behind everything here, intent on making sure she and her friend had the best of everything, but for now, she pushed that knowledge away, instead focusing on his controlling ways.
“You really are something else,” she commented as she got up again.
“Steph, where are you going?” Jon’s confusion was clear in his voice, and she didn’t doubt his expression would confirm it, meaning Steph couldn’t bring herself to turn and face him as she replied.
“Breakfast and then Linds and I had planned on a day out so I need to get moving,” she replied tersely.
“Darling, will you at least look at me and tell me what’s going on here. You seemed pleased enough to see me when you woke up and found me here but this morning, it’s like you’re pissed off by my mere presence,” he told her sadly.
Turning to face him, tears began to rise along with a burn in the back of her throat.
“Stephanie, please,” he pleaded with her.
“Sorry, look, I am really pleased to see you and I love that you changed all of your plans to be here with me, but it’s a bit of a shock, a good one, but still a shock,” she said sincerely but knew she was being less than honest and Jon turning up wasn’t the biggest shock she’d had that week.
“Let’s have some breakfast and see what Linds and Charlie want to do.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “You jump in the shower and I will order breakfast up here, but I have a couple of things I need to do today, that I’d like us to do.”
“Okay,” she agreed thinking he was being incredibly reasonable so maybe he could sense there was more to this than met the eye and was just waiting for the right time to push her further.
Freshly showered and dressed in a pair of white shorts and vest top, Steph found Charlie sat beneath a grinning Lindsay and opposite an uncomfortable looking Jon. Taking the seat next to Jon, he poured her some tea and smiled across at her and then frowned.
“Are you okay?” he asked as she winced as the first taste of the tea and the smell of food filled her mouth and nostrils causing her stomach to object in the form of a churn making her heave suddenly.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, hoping last night’s dinner wasn’t going to put in an appearance and contradict her.
“You don’t look fine,” commented Charlie while Lindsay said nothing and attempted to look innocent in her knowledge of exactly what was wrong with Steph. “Although, you two have usually drunk the bar dry of cocktails and shots by the second day.” He chuckled.
Jon didn’t think she had seemed drunk when he’d arrived and didn’t appear hungover now. “Are you still taking those stupid bloody herbal remedies?” Jon’s question had Lindsay staring wildly at Steph.
“No, no,” she protested. “I’m not,” she insisted at Jon’s disbelieving expression. Finally muttering, “They’ve already worked their magic!” Then instantly regretted the words slipping from her mouth.
“What?” asked Jon confused.
“Nothing. So what are our plans today?” Steph hoped to change the subject because she’d already nearly told him her secret.
“I was hoping to take my wife for a little retail therapy followed by a nice relaxing and celebratory lunch.” Charlie grinned proudly signalling to Steph that Lindsay had obviously shared her baby news with him and he was suitably thrilled.
“What are you celebrating?” asked Jon.
“We, Lindsay and I are having a baby!” He cheered making the others laugh at him.
“Congratulations,” cried Jon, leaping up to kiss Lindsay and hug Charlie in that manly way men do.
Steph waited to hug Charlie and as she did so Lindsay pulled her into a tight hug and whispered, “Tell him.”
Relief washed over Steph as Charlie pulled her into his embrace preventing any more advice from Lindsay.
“So you two do your shopping and celebrating and I have a couple of things to do while I’m out here so we can meet up for dinner and a nightclub if you’re up to it, Lindsay?” asked Jon directing his question to the one he figured may not be, while the others nodded. “Right then, Steph, give me half an hour to finish eating and to shower and then we’ll go.”
“Where exactly are we going?” asked Steph curiously.
“Not far, consider it a surprise, darling.”
She nodded because what difference would one more surprise make?
Jon had hired a car, a very nice sports car that was winding along the local roads near the coastline with total secrecy about their destination which kind of suited Steph as it meant the limited conversation was comfortable and she didn’t feel obliged to chat and risk saying something untoward. They had only travelled for about half an hour along the coast when Jon turned through open gates and drove along a drive that led to a residential property, a villa.
“What’s this?” Steph turned to a grinning Jon who was dressed in blue and white checked, knee-length shorts with a white vest and already getting out of the car.
Before she could even think about why they were there he was opening her door and helping her out of the car, leading her towards the front door as she continued to ask questions.
“Jon, why are we here? Neither of us is dressed for business so why are we here?” she asked impatiently as they arrived at the front door and waited for a response to their knock on it.
“All will be revealed, darling, trust me,” he said before leaning in and kissing her gently on the cheek. “Are you feeling better now, you looked a bit out of sorts first thing.”
“Yeah, fine,” she replied hoping to brush him off but obviously that wasn’t going to happen.
“Steph, that’s a crock of shit, but we’ll talk about whatever ‘it’ is after,” he said as the door flew open revealing a short and slim brunette woman of around thirty-five in a business suit surprising Steph.
“Maybe we are dressed for business then,” muttered Steph looking back as Jon guided her through the front door with a hand in the small of her back so that she followed the other woman who now spoke.
“Buenos días Senor Brooker, Senorita Pryor,” she began but as she continued to speak in Spanish, Steph became lost.
“Gracias, Consuelo,” Jon said.
Steph looked between the two of them as Consuelo offered her hand to each of them in turn and then began chatting to Jon in Spanish, who she didn’t even know spoke Spanish; she was having the baby of a man who was obviously fluent in a foreign language and she was oblivious to it, what else was she oblivious to she wondered, feeling her mood swinging to irrational fear and then jealousy as Consuelo giggled and handed some keys to Jon before throwing in a token,
“Adiós.”
“What the fuc . . . I mean what was that all about?” asked Steph reconsidering her use of expletives with Lindsay’s words ringing in her ears.
“Are you turning over a new leaf, darling, showing such restraint?” he asked laughing.
“It’s Mary Bloody Poppin’s influence. I have been forbidden from swearing in front of her unborn baby,” Steph explained and laughed too as Jon roared at her explanation.
“This house, Casa Tranquilidad, meaning Tranquillity House is for sale and Consuelo Garcia, who just left is the agent. We have agreed a price in principle but now we need to view the place and decide if it’s for us before signing on the dotted line.”
“Jon, I don’t understand, you want to buy this place? Why? Do you plan on moving out here?” she asked with anxiety in her voice and she was sure on her face at the prospect of him upping and leaving England.
What would she do if he left her? How was she going to bring up a baby with him, never mind without him? She could feel bile rising in her throat and was genuinely unsure why, whether it was fear or pregnancy.
“Darling, don’t look so scared and let me repeat, we need to view the place and decide if it’s for us before signing on the dotted line. We as in you and me, together . I told you last night that one night was my limit without you and I am well aware that we haven’t ever had a conversation about living together properly, in one home rather than across two, but I don’t think moving to a foreign country to do it would be the best move. Oh shit, Steph, this is not how this was supposed to be. I meant for this place to be somewhere for us to get away from work and the hectic lives we live, somewhere together to relax and this place looked ideal online with all the room and facilities and as a holiday place I thought it would be ideal for us and with all the room for kids . . .”
She didn’t hear anything after that one word. What the fuck did that mean? Kids? Was this Jon’s way of broaching the subject of them having a family one day? One day . . . little did he know that one day was in about eight months’ time. Unless . . . did he know that she was pregnant, or at least suspected? How could he? She began to panic. Where had she put the pregnancy tests? Were they still in the bathroom bin and had Jon seen them and that’s why he had said about this house being big enough for kids. Shit! This was not the way she wanted him to find out, accidentally rather than her telling him, properly.
Looking at his face, she struggled to read his expression. Was he happy? He didn’t look unhappy, but was that due to him knowing she was pregnant or his ignorance to that fact? He cocked his head slightly, warmth in his eyes. She needed to tell him and soon but what if it ruined things between them? Again she considered the possibility that he would feel deliberately trapped by her and she understood why Jon, or any man in his position, might think that and then she imagined the anger that would be directed her way. If it hadn’t been for Lindsay’s own pregnancy, Steph would never have found herself peeing on the plastic stick that really had changed her world by revealing the reality of her baby, hers and Jon’s.
She needed him to believe that this was as much of a shock to her as it would be to him, assuming he didn’t know because the last thing on her mind had been a baby . . . she still wasn’t sure that a baby should be part of her future right now.
“Kids, what do you mean kids?” she asked panicking again.
“Kids as in children, not goats!” Jon smiled as he pulled her into his calming embrace where he held her firmly and yet gently. “I am not saying that I expect you to shell out a dozen kids or anything and I meant for friends and family, like Charlie and your best friend Mary Poppins and their offspring.”
“Ah, those kids . . . not goats,” Steph said with a small smile, relief washing over her at his explanation. He didn’t know she was pregnant and didn’t appear to even be suspicious at this stage, however, if she didn’t get her mercurial thoughts and moods in check, he would.
In that moment, Jon looked nervous. He swallowed. Hard. “I have something for you,” he almost blurted out.
Steph allowed herself a short laugh. “You’ve caught me out with lines like that before, Mr Brooker.”
His own laughter followed, his nervous expression and demeanour relaxing. Reaching into his pocket caused a frown to mar Steph’s brow, a brow that deepened when she saw what he was holding, a plastic card attached to a lanyard, a Brooker’s staff ID.
“Is there your way of asking me to work today?”
He chuckled. “Not at all, but this is yours.” Extending his hand, Jon offered the card to a very confused Steph.
Accepting it, she turned it over, a whole new level of confusion settling over her. Looking back from the innocuous looking plastic card was her face, her job role, her name, except it wasn’t because she was Stephanie Pryor and the name she was looking at was Stephanie Brooker. “Jon . . .” was all she said as she attempted to order her thoughts and the questions those thoughts were generating but it was Jon who actually gained her full attention.
“I have something else for you, and this goes with the lanyard. You kind of can’t have one without the other.”
It was like watching a scene unfold in slow motion as Jon blew deeply before reaching into the pocket of his shorts and dropping down onto one knee where he gazed up at her holding a large diamond solitaire between his finger and thumb. Nervously, he asked, “Stephanie Pryor, will you do me the complete and utterly fucking crazy honour of becoming my wife?”
Stunned, Steph stared down at him, unsure what to say or do. What would she have said had she not been keeping this huge secret from Jon? She knew she would have said yes immediately, this short time apart and their previous separation and reconciliation had proved to her that she couldn’t bear the idea of him not being in her life and she loved him, more than she thought was possible, so she did the only thing she could do.
“Yes,” she whispered, tears clogging her throat as a grin spread across her lips and the tears broke for freedom, pouring down her face.
“Thank fuck for that, you had me worried there for a moment,” he said as he slipped the ring on her finger before getting to his feet and pulling her in for a gentle, delicate, loving kiss. She yielded immediately until she remembered Penny, his wife.
“Penny . . .” was as far as she got before he responded.
“We’re divorced. Everything was finalised a couple of days ago. I told you that Kramer had been working on it for a while, some weeks, a couple of months maybe. She’ll always be taken care of. I’ve had money set aside from the business and my personal assets for her care. There’s enough there for her long-term care and in the event that anything happens to Penny before the money has been spent it would go to charity.”
“You’re divorced,” Steph said, almost in order to absorb it and believe it with the words ringing out loud.
“Yes I am.”
“Divorced, like single?” She grinned making him shake his head.
“No, divorced like able to get married, to marry you,” he replied with his own grin that matched hers that increased slightly. “I might be the least single person I know, except for you.”
“Jon, there’s something you should know,” she started as he took her hand.
“Let’s start upstairs,” he said leading her up the huge and ridiculously wide marble staircase.
“Are you looking for a bedroom, Mr Brooker?” she asked suspiciously.
“No, yes, several, but not for what you mean, although that is a mighty fine idea Miss Pryor, Miss Pryor for now anyway, wait til you’re Mrs Brooker, then I will become really demanding.”
“Maybe I’ll stay Pryor then,” she retorted.
“Never gonna happen, darling, I’ve seen your Brooker’s I.D. Now let’s find a bedroom,” he said as they got to the landing.
There were several bedrooms that they looked at, all fairly typical in their Spanish style with light airy rooms, marble floors, lots of windows and light linens. They reached another door at the end of the hallway that overlooked the back of the house including the lush gardens, pool and beach beyond.
“This is the master suite,” said Jon in his best estate agent pitch.
“The beach is at the bottom of our garden.” She smiled as she opened the doors onto the balcony or terrace, whatever it was.
“Our garden? I knew you’d like it.” He grinned smugly. “But that is our, or could be our beach, our private beach. I could fuck you on our own beach,” he said more darkly suddenly making her swallow hard as she investigated the walk in wardrobes, dressing rooms and enormous en-suite bathroom with twin basins, huge shower and ridiculously large sunken bath.
“Nice big bath,” she mused and found Jon wrapping his arms around her waist from behind with a husky laugh.
“You know what I could do to you in there don’t you?”
Laughing, she broke free of his grip and as she was about to leave the room found another door and laughed even more when she saw what was behind it. Another room lay beyond, a large white room with another door into the hallway. The walls were adorned with murals of children’s characters, balloons, toys and scenes from fairy tales with its own little bathroom. A rocking horse, crib and a rocking chair furnished the room that had its own walk in wardrobe.
“A nursery,” said Jon obviously.
“Apparently so. This is a lovely house Jon but it might be wasted as a holiday home,” she started.
“We could do weekends here if we wanted, the flights are short and frequent, and I do have a couple of planes, company assets technically,” he countered.
“And if it was just us that would be fine, but maybe we should think of finding somewhere at home first,” she said unsure why she was treading this particular path now.
“What do you mean if it was just us, it is just us.”
Shaking her head, Steph sat in the rocking chair after picking up the bear that had occupied it and sat it on her lap where she gently stroked it as Jon looked down at her confused.
“I considered turning down your proposal until I had told you this, but I want to marry you. I realised that when you asked me, but if you want a long engagement or you’re not sure after I tell you this, I will understand.” Several deep breaths later she continued, “It is just us but the twelve pregnancy tests I took yesterday seem to suggest that it’s us . . . plus one.”
Jon dropped to his knees before her with a look resembling confusion, amazement, excitement and genuine love as he took her hands in his. “Pregnancy tests? Twelve of them? You’re, we’re having a baby?” he asked almost in a whisper.
Nodding nervously she confirmed what he thought she’d told him.
“A baby?” he asked bewildered.
“I hope so.” She laughed.
“You’re sure?” He sounded nervous.
“As sure as twelve positive tests mean you can be. I needed a fair bit of convincing myself.”
“Are you okay with it? Is this the reason for your weird mood this morning and Lindsay’s whispers and strange glances?”
Steph nodded again. “It was, still is a huge shock and I am shitting myself at the enormity of it. I was having a major freak out yesterday, still am to be honest and considered all my options, but there seems only one. I need to know how you feel about it though.”
“Darling, when you eventually said yes downstairs I didn’t think my life could get any better, but I was wrong, this is like every Christmas and birthday rolled into one. We’re going to have a baby, me and you,” he cried with a big smile on his face and tears brimming his eyes before nervously asking, “The one option is having the baby, right?”
“Yes,” she replied with a faint smile that turned into a broad one when he spoke again.
“How?” he asked suddenly finding his normal voice.
Laughing, Steph began to explain. “You remember when I stripped in my office and you spread me across my desk?”
“It’s hardly a memory I’m going to forget, is it, darling?” He smirked.
“Well I think that may have been how.”
“I told you you’d never forget that fucking, but I never realised how. I meant how with the pill though?” he asked still grinning at the memory.
“Ah, now this is the really interesting bit. I did some research after all the positives and it would seem that some of those natural ingredients in my herbal cold remedies counteract the pill and here we are, having a baby.”
“Yes we are and we need to think about what we’re going to do.”
“What do you mean, what we’re going to do? I thought you were happy I was pregnant,” she said confused and hurt that he may be having second thoughts now. “I know it’s a shock and you’ve never quite gotten over losing your son.”
“I am happy, happier than happy,” he interrupted. “I don’t know if you ever get over losing a child, even one you never met or knew, but I’ve accepted that loss, got used to it if you like. This, our baby and the son I never had are separate entities. My sadness at losing one doesn’t alter my joy at learning of the other’s existence. I meant we need to sort out a wedding and where we’re going to live as well as deciding if we want to buy this place,” he replied pulling her to her feet and guiding her back downstairs.
“Ah, I see what you mean. I just didn’t want you to think that I’d trapped you with this . . .” she said as they reached the large open hallway at the bottom of the stairs.
“Stop that now,” Jon told her firmly, turning her to face him tilting her head up with two fingers beneath her chin. “I know that you didn’t, that you wouldn’t trap me like this and if I’d thought that was even a possibility I would have been responsible for contraception myself. Now let’s take a look at the rest of this house before you try and talk me out of buying it!”