Chapter 24
Marley
When I arrived home, I saw Charlie’s briefcase in the foyer. Glancing at my watch, it was only four o’clock.
“Charlie?” I shouted.
“In my office.”
I set my bags on the island and went into his office, where he sat on the couch, playing a video game.
“You’re home way early.” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck from behind and kissing his cheek.
“I was at a meeting not too far from here, and I figured I could do the rest of my work from home since Olivia threatened me about being late for the party. I didn’t want to take any chances.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t text me and ask where I was.”
“I knew where you were. Did you have fun at Target?”
“Stalker.” I walked around and sat beside him.
“If you were stalking me, you would have known I was home.” A smirk crossed his lips.
“True. I guess it slipped my mind. See, I would only stalk you if you were supposed to be home at a certain time and you weren’t.” I ran my fingers across the back of his head.
“Fuck! This isn’t right.” He scowled, pulling out his phone.
“New game?”
“Yeah. I swear I’m firing Lenny.” He sighed.
“Don’t be a meanie.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m going to change for the party.” I stood up from the couch. “Oh, guess what?”
“What?” His eyes diverted up to me.
“I got a phone call today from a woman named Allison. She’s coming by the penthouse tomorrow at noon to discuss my planning her upcoming nuptials.” I grinned.
“That’s great news. Congratulations, babe.”
“Thank you.”
“Um, one thing,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Why does she have to come here?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It’s quiet, and I don’t have to carry my portfolio and books with my prices.”
“Where did you meet clients before you moved in here?”
“Why are you asking these questions?” My brows furrowed. “Do you have a problem with one of my clients coming here?”
“Yeah, a little bit. I don’t want strangers in my home. You really should have asked me first.”
“Right,” I spoke with irritation. “I apologize, Mr. Stone. It won’t happen again.” I walked out of his office angry.
Grabbing my phone from my purse, I went into the bedroom and sent Allison a text.
“Hi, Allison. Change of location for our meeting tomorrow. I forgot our cleaners will be here. I hope this location is okay with you.” I sent her the address to Love At First Sip.
“Oh, I love that coffee shop! I’ll see you tomorrow, Marley.”
In his home? HIS home. I thought it was our home, but I was mistaken. He walked into the bedroom as I was changing.
“I didn’t like the way you left my office,” he said. “You’re pissed off at me. I can tell.”
I turned and smiled at him. “I’m not mad at you, darling. It was wrong of me to invite a stranger into YOUR,” I emphasized the word “home. It won’t happen again. But to say I’m MAD IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!” I shouted as I walked past him.
He reached out, grabbed my arm, and pulled me into him.
“Are you finished?” He held my head against his chest.
“Maybe.”
“I’m sorry, Marley. I really need you to understand that I don’t want strangers coming in and out of the penthouse—our penthouse.”
“Fine, Charley. I get it.” I broke our embrace and placed my hands on the sides of his face. “I’m sorry I went psycho. It’s hormones.” I kissed his lips. “Normally, I meet my clients at their home, but Allison said their house is being renovated, and it’s a mess, so my first thought was here.”
“It’s fine. She can come here tomorrow, but nobody else after her,” he said.
“I already texted her and told her to meet me at Love At First Sip.”
“Okay.” He kissed my forehead. “Mateo will drive you and help you with your things. Let’s get ready for the party, or Olivia will have both of our heads.” He smirked.
I was in awe of the decorations when we stepped into Chase and Lila’s penthouse. Beautiful, tall floral arrangements made up of pink and baby blue carnations greeted us.
“Oh, my gosh.” I smiled when we stepped into the living room and saw the rest of the decorations. “You three did this?”
“We learned from the best.” Penelope grinned, hooking her arm around me.
“God knows I’ve been to enough of your events. I know what I’m doing.” Olivia smiled.
“Whoa, Marley.” Chase smiled. “I know I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks, but good lord.” He pointed to my belly.
“They’re growing fast.” I smiled.
Lila asked everyone to take their seats for dinner. As soon as we finished the elegant meal the chef they brought in cooked for us, it was time to find out the gender of our babies.
“Come with me,” Lila smiled, grabbing Charlie’s and my hands. She led us over to the large archway decorated with pink and blue balloons. In front of the arch sat two oversized white boxes labeled Baby A and Baby B. “Marley, you stand behind box A, and Charlie, you stand behind box B. You will do this one at a time. No cheating and opening them together. Got it!” Lila pointed at us.
“Got it.” I smiled.
“Let’s find out what these McBillionaire babies are!” Olivia shouted.
“On the count of three, Marley, slowly lift the lid to your box,” Penelope said.
“One, two, three!” They all shouted.
I glanced at Charlie and slowly lifted the lid, and several pink balloons rose up.
“It’s a girl!” I placed my hands over my mouth as I stared at Charlie.
He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “Remember, no boys allowed until she’s twenty-one,” he whispered in my ear and then kissed my lips.
“Okay, Charlie. Your turn.” Lila said.
“Boy! Boy! Boy!” Chase chanted.
“Shut up.” Lila playfully smacked him.
I stood next to Charlie and took in a deep breath. He slowly lifted the lid, and several blue balloons rose up.
“YES!” Chase shouted.
“One of each, babe.” Charlie grinned as he grabbed me and held me tight.
We continued our celebration with an exquisite cake. After talking for a while, it was time to head home. When we stepped inside our penthouse, I entered the living room and suddenly froze. My heart started rapidly beating, and I began hyperventilating.
“Marley!” Charlie ran over and gripped me. “What’s wrong.”
I stared at him with widened eyes as I couldn’t breathe.
“Relax, babe. Breathe with me. You can do it. It’s okay.”
The sound of his voice calmed and soothed me. My heart started to slow, and my breathing returned to normal. He led me to the couch and gripped my hand.
“What happened?” he asked with worry.
“Oh, I get like that sometimes.”
“You were having a panic attack. Why?”
“Because it just hit me that this,” I placed my hand on my belly, “is real now.”
“What are you talking about? It’s been real since the day you found out you were pregnant,” he said.
“But now we know the genders, Charlie. These little humans inside me have been gender assigned: a girl and a boy. That makes them more real, and I’m scared.” Tears began to fill my eyes.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. “I understand how you feel. I’m scared, too. I don’t know how to be a father.”
“And I don’t know how to be a mother. I mean, look at my role model. At least yours were perfect and in love. You have one up on me.”
He chuckled, breaking our embrace. “You are going to be a great mom. And you know what?”
“What?”
“We’ll figure it out together.” He wiped the tear that fell down my cheek. “I don’t think any first-time parents know what they’re doing. We’ll blend right in.” He smiled.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” His finger softly stroked my cheek.
“For calming me down and making me feel better.”
“Well, my job as our children’s father is to take excellent care of their mother.” His lips tenderly met mine.
I walked into Love At First Sip, and Olivia pointed to a table in the corner, where a young woman with long blonde hair sat.
“Allison?”
“Marley?” She smiled. “It’s so nice to meet you.” She stood up, and we hugged.
I showed her my portfolio, and we went over pricing. She hired me on the spot and wanted to get started right away.
“We already booked the church and the place for the reception.”
I wrote down her wedding date, the church’s name, and the Waldorf Astoria. Since the wedding was going to take place in three months, we needed to get moving on the details and order the invitations.
“If you don’t mind me asking. Why are you getting married so quickly?” I asked.
“My fiancé said he didn’t want to wait to get married. In fact, he suggested we go to the court and do it, but I’ve always dreamed of a big wedding, and my parents would be so angry if we did that. They’re very wealthy and have many social statuses and friends.”
“And what does your fiancé do?”
“He’s a financial advisor at Chase Morgan.”
“Nice. I can meet with you and your fiancé tomorrow if you want to look at invitations,” I said. “We really need to pick one out and get them ordered.”
“My fiancé is out of town on a business trip for the next two weeks. My mom and I can meet with you.”
“Sure, okay.”
“We can meet at my mother’s house tomorrow around eleven o’clock. Will that work?”
“Eleven is fine.”
“Great. I’ll see you then, Marley.”