Chapter 34
Stella
“Who is the most handsome boy in the world.” I smiled, holding Ben up in the air.
“I thought I was,” Miles said, pulling one of his ties from the closet.
“You’re the sexiest man in the world.” I smiled, and suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, holding Ben on my lap.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I waited for the nausea to pass. “Can you take the baby for a minute?”
“Of course.” He walked over and took Ben from me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” His brows furrowed.
Placing my hand over my mouth, I jumped up from the bed and ran into the bathroom. Miles followed and stood in the doorway. When I was finished, I grabbed a tissue and wiped my mouth. Standing up, I turned and faced my husband, holding our six-month-old son.
“Stella, are you?—”
I slowly shook my head. “No. I can’t be. It’s probably the food we ate last night.” I left the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed.
“We both ate the same thing.”
“Why do you assume I’m pregnant because I threw up?”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s about that time.” A smirk crossed his lips. “Let’s see. If my calculations are correct, our children would be fourteen months apart.”
“You—you stop it right now.” I pointed at him as I stood from the bed and walked out of the room, hearing him chuckle.
Walking into the kitchen, I said good morning to Dora and made a cup of coffee.
“I hope that’s decaf,” Miles said, handing Ben over to Dora.
“What’s going on?” Dora asked.
“Stella is pregnant.” Miles smiled.
“I am not! Stop saying that.” I leaned against the counter, trying to sip my coffee as waves of nausea overtook me. Setting my cup down, I ran to the bathroom off the kitchen. Shit. Shit. Shit. When I finished, I walked into the kitchen, where Dora and Miles stood staring at me.
“I’ll make you some tea.” She smiled.
“And I have to get to the office.” Miles walked over and wrapped his arms around me. “I love you,” he whispered in my ear and then kissed my forehead.
“I love you too.” I placed my hand over my mouth and ran back into the bathroom. I heard Miles chuckle as he said goodbye to Dora and Ben.
After showering and getting dressed, I took my son with me to the drugstore, picked up a pregnancy test, and headed to Bradshaw Capital.
“Ah, my baby is here!” Isla jumped up from her chair and ran over to us. “Hi, Stella.” She smiled. “And hello, you handsome little man.” She took Ben from his stroller.
“Hi, Isla. Is my husband in there?”
“He’s in a meeting in the conference room.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for him.”
“Would you mind if I kept him out here with me?” she asked.
“Not at all.” I smiled.
I walked into Miles’ office and into his private bathroom. Pulling the box from my purse, I took out the test, took a deep breath, and let the urine stream soak the test strip. Setting it on the counter, a rush of emotions flooded me like a turbulent storm swirling around in my chest. Gripping the edge of the counter, my gaze turned to the strip test as I watched the word Pregnant slowly appear in the faintest pink and then darken as the seconds passed, confirming what I already knew.
“Stella?” I heard my husband’s voice from the other side of the bathroom door.
Grabbing the stick, I held it behind my back. Opening the door, I stood there, staring at him as he held our son.
“Surprise.” I held the stick up.
A wide smile graced his face as he set Ben on the floor and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace.
“We’re having another baby,” he spoke with happiness.
“I guess we are.”
“Are you not happy about it?” He broke our embrace.
“I am happy, Miles. Who wouldn’t want two children under the age of two? I think we need to start interviewing nannies.” I bent down and picked up Ben.
“Really? You said you didn’t want one?”
“That was then. This is now.” I smiled. “We’re going to need the help. Dora can’t help with two kids and keep up with the house.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He kissed me.
* * *
Miles
I was happy—happy we were having a second child. Leaning back in my chair, I pulled my phone from my pocket.
“Grant Roman.”
“Grant, it’s Miles Bradshaw.”
“Miles, it’s good to hear from you. What can I do for you?”
“I’m in the market for a townhome.”
“Excellent. I have a few listings. I’ll email them to you now. Take a look and let me know what you think.”
“Thank you, Grant. I’ll be in touch.”
After setting down my phone, I turned to my computer and opened my email, waiting for Grant”s listings.
“Here’s the proposal you wanted typed up,” Isla said as she stepped into my office. “I could just eat up that baby of yours. He’s so adorable. Why are you just staring at your computer like that?”
“I’m waiting for Grant Roman to send me some listings.”
“Listings?”
“Stella is pregnant again.”
“What? Oh my God, Miles. That’s wonderful.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “I’m not so sure she’s thrilled about having two children under the age of two. I think it’s time to move out of the penthouse and into a bigger home.”
“Good idea. I’m heading to lunch. Can I get you anything?”
“No. I’m good. Thanks, Isla.” I smiled.
The email I’d been waiting for popped up. Opening the listings, I carefully studied them.
Later that afternoon, my office door opened.
“Grant Roman is here to see you, boss.”
“Oh? Send him in.” I stood from my chair. “Grant.” I smiled, walking over and extending my hand.
“Good to see you, Miles.” He placed his hand in mine.
“Have a seat. What brings you by?”
“I was in the area showing an apartment and wanted to stop by and bring you this.” He handed me a file folder. “It’s not on the market yet, but it will be soon. The owner just filed for bankruptcy, and he needs to sell quickly. I wanted you to be the first to take a look at it. It’s a hell of a deal for the Upper East Side.”
I studied the listing and looked at the sale price.
“Seriously?” My brow arched.
“Seriously.” Grant smirked. “We just got the call after I got off the phone with you.”
“Set an appointment for tomorrow, and Stella and I will come look at it.”
“Perfect. I’ll get in touch with the homeowner and let you know a time.”
I left the office around five o’clock. When I stepped out of the elevator, I heard Ben screaming as Stella walked around the living room with him, trying to console him.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, setting down my briefcase.
“I think this little guy is teething. I gave him some Tylenol. Just waiting for it to kick in.”
I took him from her, and he quieted down, laying his head on my shoulder.
“It’s okay, Ben. Daddy’s home.” I kissed his head.
“Since Daddy is home, Mommy is going to take a long hot bath.” She kissed my lips and walked away.
I took him into the nursery and sat in the rocker, rocking him and softly stroking his back. He fell asleep, so I carefully lay him in his crib. I walked into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub.
“He’s sleeping?” Stella asked.
“Yes. I need to talk to you about something when you get out of the tub.”
“It sounds serious? And frankly, I can’t do serious right now, Miles. I need five.”
“Five?”
“Five minutes to myself.”
“Well, I think you’ve already had five minutes to yourself while I was getting our son to sleep.”
“Have you already forgotten that I’m pregnant with your second child, and my hormones are all over the place?”
“Right.” I leaned over and kissed her. “Relax, it’s not that serious. We’re moving.” I walked out of the bathroom.
“What? Wait!” she shouted. “Miles, get back here.”
I smiled as I changed out of my suit.
“What do you mean we’re moving?” Stella walked into the bedroom, tying her robe.
“We’re having baby number two. We need a bigger space.”
“And this monstrous penthouse isn’t big enough for the four of us?”
“It could be, I guess. But I want a townhome for us.”
“Oh.” Her eyes lit up.
“I knew you’d like the idea.” I kissed her forehead. “Grant Roman sent over some listings earlier. He also brought me one in person. We’re going to look at it tomorrow. It’s in foreclosure, and the seller needs to sell it immediately. It’s a hell of a deal.” I walked out of the bedroom and into the living room, where my briefcase was. Opening it, I pulled out the listing and handed it to Stella. She took it and sat on the couch.
“Nine thousand square feet?” She looked at me. “Dora isn’t going to like that.”
“We’ll hire her some help.” I smirked.
“Oh, it has an exercise studio in the cellar. I think I like this already.” She grinned.
My phone pinged with a text message from Grant.
“The homeowner will be out all day tomorrow. Will eleven o’clock work for you?”
“Eleven o’clock is fine. Thanks, Roman.”
“Roman said eleven o’clock tomorrow morning to tour the home. I’ll have Sean pick you and Ben up.” I smiled.