Chapter 23
Charlie
I was looking over the coding for a new game in development when Chase walked into my office.
“Here are the reports for the last quarter.” He grinned. “I think you’re going to like what you see.”
I took the report from his hand and reviewed it.
“Damn. We beat out the last quarter.” I smiled.
“We sure did. So, what time did Marley get home last night?”
“Around nine o’clock.”
“I hope you weren’t too hard on her.”
“I was at first. We talked, and I told her how I felt. I told her everything, Chase.”
“And how did it feel?”
“It felt good. We’re taking it slow and one day at a time.”
“You have no idea how proud I am of you.” A smile crossed his lips. “Doesn’t it feel good?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. It does.” I picked up my phone and furrowed my brows when I checked Marley’s location.
“What’s wrong?”
“Marley is at an ice cream shop.”
“And? She’s pregnant.”
“Isn’t it kind of early for ice cream?” I looked at him.
“Isn’t it kind of weird you’re being a damn stalker?”
“You’re right.” I sighed, setting my phone down.
After I left the office, I headed straight home. When I stepped off the elevator, I set my briefcase down and walked into the kitchen, where I saw some shopping bags sitting on the island.
“What’s all this?” I asked, gripping her hips and kissing her lips.
“The last things I needed for the Bradshaw birthday bash.” A beautiful smile crossed her face.
I stared into her eyes and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“What?” she asked.
“I kind of missed you today.”
“I kind of missed you too.” She grinned.
“Did you decide what you wanted to do tonight?”
“I have.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I want to get hot dogs from a hot dog stand on the street and eat them while we ride through Central Park on a horse and carriage.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” I kissed her forehead. “I’ll reserve a horse and carriage for us online.”
“I already did, Charlie.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t risk them selling out.”
“Then you should have told me earlier, and I would have done it. How much was it?” I pulled my wallet from my suit coat.
“I’m not telling you, and you’re not paying. I am. It’s my treat tonight. You can pay for the hot dogs.”
“We’ll discuss it later. Let me change out of this suit, and we’ll head out.”
“I’m going to change too. It’s kind of chilly out.”
As I removed my suit, I watched her put on a pair of black leggings and an oversized NYU sweatshirt. I smiled, and she caught me.
“What?” A grin crossed her lips.
“You look adorable in that outfit.”
“You’re sweet. You don’t think I’m way underdressed, right?”
“Not at all. In fact, I think I might wear a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, too.”
“Seriously? You, Charlie Stone, would go out around the city in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt?”
“Yeah. Why not?” I winked.
We headed down to the lobby, where Mateo was waiting for us. When we stepped out the door, he smiled.
“Love the casual look, Charlie. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you leave the penthouse in clothes like those.”
“Thank you, Mateo. Marley and I are having a very casual night.”
“Excellent. Where to?” he asked, climbing into the car.
“Billy’s Hot Dog Cart and then to the horse and carriages at Central Park.” Marley grinned.
“You heard the beautiful woman, Mateo.” I smirked, grabbing Marley’s hand.
We stood in line at the hot dog cart, and I asked her what she wanted.
“Two hot dogs with relish and a pretzel. Oh, and a bottle of water.”
“Two hot dogs and a pretzel?” My brow arched.
“Hello, I’m eating for three.”
I chuckled as I kissed the side of her head. After receiving our order, we walked over to where the horses and carriages were.
“Good evening. How are you lovely folks tonight?”
“We’re great.” Marley smiled, pulling out her phone. “We have reservations.”
“Excellent. Climb aboard.”
I held all the hot dogs, pretzels, and bottled water while Marley climbed into the carriage. Sitting next to her, I handed her two hot dogs with relish and her pretzel.
“This might be kind of messy,” I said.
“It’s okay. Whatever we get on our clothes will come off in the wash.” She smiled.
The horse and carriage ride started. It was a chilly night but calm and peaceful. There was no place else I’d rather be.
“I’ve been to this park a thousand times, and tonight, it feels like I’m seeing it for the first time,” Marley said.
“That’s because you’re with me.” I winked.
“True.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek.
Two Weeks Later
Marley
I stared at him as he peacefully slept, watching the subtle rise and fall of his chest with each breath. There was no doubt that I was in love with him. For the first time in my life, I let my emotions and feelings escape the grip I’d held them in all these years. I wasn’t looking for anyone or anything, but here I was, in love with this man and having his babies.
I sat up in bed, hoping the horrific heartburn I’d felt would diminish. Placing my hand on my belly, the babies grew overnight. The alarm went off. Charlie rolled over and shut it down, then rolled back and smiled at me.
“What are you doing?”
“Heartburn. Bad heartburn.”
“I’m sure those large chili cheese fries you ate before bed last night didn’t help.” A smirk crossed his lips.
“Why did you let me eat them?” I asked, cocking my head.
“Like I could stop you.” He sat up, kissed my lips, and climbed out of bed.
“All you had to do was take them away from me!” I shouted as he went into the bathroom.
“And risk getting kicked in the balls? I don’t think so.”
Climbing out of bed, I went to the kitchen and pulled the antacids out of the cabinet, praying they would work fast.
“Wow,” Charlie said, walking into the kitchen. “Your belly expanded overnight.”
“It’s from the chili cheese fries.” I smirked.
“Ah, okay. If you say so.” He picked up the cup of coffee I’d made him from the island.
“So, before you leave for work, let’s talk about your sperm.”
“What about them?” His brow arched.
“You know your sperm determines the sex of our children, right?”
“Yes. I’m aware.” He tipped the cup to his lips, leaning against the island, staring at me.
“So, what gender do you think our babies are?”
“Honestly, I haven’t given it any thought. But we will find out tonight at the gender reveal party.”
“What do you want?” I asked out of curiosity.
“It doesn’t matter. As long as they’re healthy.”
“Good answer. Me too. But, wouldn’t one of each be nice?”
“Yes, one of each would be nice. Or two boys or two girls. It really doesn’t matter to me.” He set his cup down and kissed my lips. “I have to go. I’ll see you later.” His lips tenderly brushed mine.
“Have a good day.” I smiled.
As he headed toward the elevator, he stopped and turned to me. “If one of the babies happens to be a girl, no boys will be coming around until she’s at least twenty-one.”
“You think so?” I arched my brow.
“I know so.” He winked.
When I had my last doctor’s appointment to go over the genetic test results, Dr. Gregario handed us a sealed envelope with the genders of our twins. I handed it over to Olivia since she and Penelope wanted to do a gender reveal for us. The party would be at Chase and Lila’s penthouse, and the three of them had been in cahoots planning it. Even though event planning was my thing, they wouldn’t allow me to do anything. It was going to be the six of us. Penelope thought we should have invited my mom and dad. I shot that down immediately. Having the two of them in the same room with each other’s exes was stressful, and I didn’t need that.
As I was running some errands, my phone pinged with a text from Olivia.
“Six o’clock, sharp. DO NOT BE LATE!”
“You don’t need to tell me. You need to tell Charlie that.”
“I already did. He said not to worry.”
“Then we’ll be there at six sharp. Maybe we’ll even be there five minutes early.”
Just as I put my phone in my purse, it rang. Pulling it back out, I saw a number that was unfamiliar.
“Hello.”
“Hi, is this Marley Monroe?”
“Yes. This is she.”
“Hi, Marley. My name is Allison, and I got your number from a friend of mine. I just recently got engaged and would love to talk to you about planning our wedding.”
“Congratulations, Allison. I’d love to talk to you. What day and time were you thinking?”
“Is tomorrow at noon okay? I’d love to meet at my home, but we’re doing some renovations, and it’s a mess.
“Tomorrow at noon is perfect. We can meet at my house. I’ll text you the address.”
“Sounds good. Thank you, Marley. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I ended the call with a smile. “Yay, me! A wedding.”