Chapter Nineteen
Reese
Did I hear her right? Did she just say she wants to try for a baby?
Now?
When I fell for her, I knew she was going to be the mother of my children; I just didn't expect it so soon. A million thoughts race through my head to the point that I'm not sure how much time has passed.
Her laughter pulls me back out of my head.
“Baby, I'm kidding. I just wanted to see your reaction,” she says with a huge smile.
Why do I have this instant feeling of loss now? I know I need to say something, so I say the truth.
“I want nothing more than to have kids and a family with you, but I always thought we'd have a little bit of time to ourselves first, where I can have your full, complete attention to myself,” I tell her, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
I'm not sure what her reaction is going to be, but as she melts into my arms and looks up at me, her eyes softening, I know that we're on the same page, at least for now.
“I'd like that, but you need to take me on an actual honeymoon. Here, in Vegas, doesn't count,” she says with a smile.
I have to get home to the office and get things moving with solar-powered batteries, but after work, having another trip and more alone time with her sounds very appealing right now.
“Anywhere you want to go. We'll go home and get these solar-powered battery contracts taken care of, and then I will take you anywhere your heart desires.” I kiss the tip of her nose.
“Well, what I really want right now is to take your mom out to dinner to say thank you and celebrate. She didn't get to celebrate our wedding with us, and she was willing to put on a whole other wedding, but when I said that's not what I wanted, she backed off so gracefully. I want to take her to dinner to thank her and give her the celebration that she wants. Plus, we're in Vegas, and I'd like to see a bit more of it. And, I need a reason to buy and wear that silver dress I saw downstairs earlier.” She gives me a flirtatious wink, and even though I would prefer nothing more than to stay locked in this room all night and keep her in my bed, I know this is her first time in Vegas and she's excited to actually see more than what we have.
Plus, I'm pretty sure her cat has been plotting my death for the last few hours, judging by the way that he's staring at me, so maybe a little distance will be a good thing for the two of us.
“Why don't you call downstairs and have them deliver the dress to the room? Then I will go invite Mom to dinner. I know exactly where I'm taking you,” I tell her with a smile. Judging by the gleam in her eyes, that's exactly the right thing to say.
Just over an hour later, my limousine pulls up in front of one of my favorite steakhouses in Las Vegas.
“How did you get last-minute reservations here? I've heard it's booked out for at least two years,” Ava gasps when she sees where we are.
“Sweetheart, when you are married to my son, there will be no waitlists for anything,” my mom says before she steps out of the limo.
She's not wrong. Just the mention of my name and this place was falling over backward to get me a table for tonight.
“Places like this leave a couple of tables open for people like me who don’t have time to make reservations two years in advance. They want me to be seen eating here because it makes it even more exclusive and justifies the two-year wait for everyone else,” I tell Ava as I help her out of the limo.
She shakes her head and smiles. “Still a lot to learn about your world,” she admits, but the smile never leaves her face as we enter the building.
The ma?tre d' greets us right away, and since this meal is about the women, not me, he pays them attention on the way to the table.
He pulls out my mother's chair as I pull out Ava's. My mom and Ava talk about Ava’s new dress, and I sit back and watch. I’m enjoying this relationship forming between the two most important women in my life.
Both of them try something from the drink menu, and I decide to just have a glass of water, figuring someone will need to keep an eye on the two of them.
By the time we finish another first-class dinner, my mom and Ava are pretty drunk.
“Ooh, can we go to that store your mom was telling me about? It's right on the strip, and I'm pretty sure we pass it on the way back to the hotel.” Ava giggles as we get into the limo.
“Anything you want, love. Just tell the driver where to go,” I tell her and help her buckle her seatbelt.
My mom drunkenly pulls up something on her phone, shows it to the driver, and we are off. Just as we pull into traffic, my mom breaks open the mini bar in the limo, and both girls have another drink.
I just sit back and enjoy the smiles on their faces. Seeing Ava so happy and carefree means the world to me, and I hope that I can give her this as often as possible.
“Here we are. I'm telling you, you're going to love this place,” my mom gushes as we pull up to one of the hotels housing many shops inside. I let my mom lead the way since it could be any or all of the stores inside. Who knows with Mom.
We end up at one of those little boutiques that sells a little bit of everything, from jewelry to handbags and even cat items. As they start shopping, I head over to the salesgirl at the counter.
“Whatever the two of them want is on me,” I tell the sales associate and hand over my black card.
She looks at the name, and her eyes widen before she looks up and smiles at me.
“Of course, Mr. Donovan.” She hurries over to help my mom and Ava.
I sit down in one of the chairs by the dressing rooms and watch them try things on as I review emails about some of the contracts for the solar-powered batteries.
I could sit here and watch Ava try on clothes all day. I love seeing her sexy little body in outfits that give me ideas of what I could do with her in them when we get home.
“Have you seen Nina?” Ava interrupts me after she's done trying on clothes and is back in the dress she originally wore.
“I saw her. She said she was going to get the shirt she had in her hand in a new size and was looking around. Why?” I ask, putting my phone away.
“She found the shirt, but then she got a phone call. She said she was going to take it, but that was a while ago and she's not in the store,” she says.
I pull up my phone and call my mom, but it rings and rings until it eventually goes to voicemail.
So, I pull up the tracking app that I put on her phone, and it shows that she's down the strip at the wedding chapel.
“Do you have one of those trackers on me, too?” Ava asks, looking at my phone.
“Of course. I’m not taking any chances with your safety,” I tell her and lead her over to the counter.
I turn to the sales associate behind the counter who’s packaging our stuff up.
“Charge all this to my card and have it delivered to my room,,” I instruct as I scribble the room number, hotel name, and the hotel manager's name on a piece of paper she has at the counter.
“Of course, I'll see to it,” she says with a huge smile.
I take Ava's hand and lead her back out front to where the limo should be waiting. However, my driver is nowhere in sight, so I call him, and thankfully, he answers.
“Where are you?” I ask because it's not like him to not be here.
“Your mom came out and said you told her to take the limo and that you would find another way home, so I am here with her at the wedding chapel,” he says.
“I did not tell her that. I had no idea she had even left. What is she doing there?”
“I don't know. She told me to wait outside. She arrived alone. I thought maybe she was meeting you guys here,” he says, sounding just as confused as I am.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Donovan?” A guy in a fancy suit approaches me, but his name tag shows that he works at the hotel.
“Yes, it seems my mother took off with my driver. Is there any way to get a ride?” I ask him with a smile as I hang up with my driver.
“Of course, sir, right this way,” he says as he leads us to a black SUV with tinted windows and speaks to the driver before opening the door for us.
“This gentleman will take you anywhere you need to go,” he says.
I shake his hand, slipping a several-hundred-dollar-tip into his palm before helping Ava into the car.
I give the driver the address for the wedding chapel and look at the tracking map to make sure my mother doesn’t leave before we get there.
The moment the car stops, I jump out, making sure Ava is behind me. We rush into the quaint wedding chapel and come face to face with my mother in the office area.
“Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're here to celebrate the happiest day of my life,” she says in a drunken giggle.
“What are you talking about, Mother?” I ask. She giggles again just as Leon appears behind her, and my heart sinks.
“What did you do, Mother?” I ask, my tone now ice cold.
Ava appears at my side, gripping my arm so tight like she's afraid I'm going to launch forward and knock Leon out, which is still a possibility.
“Well, Leon called me and wanted to talk and explain himself. He did, and we have decided to get married,” my mom says, wrapping her arms around Leon's neck.
When I finally look at the slimy bastard, I expect to see a smug look on his face. Instead, I see one of remorse.
“I meant what I said. I really do love your mother. This is not a ploy to get closer to you or your company, and I hope that this proves it,” Leon says as he hands me a thick manila envelope.
I stand there frozen as a million thoughts run through my head. What could he possibly do to prove that he loves my mother and is not using her?
“What is it?” Ava asks, nodding toward the envelope in my hand.
I open it up, pull out the papers, and scan them over.
“Are you serious?” I ask, looking up at Leon.
“Completely serious. I will do whatever it takes to prove that I love your mom and am not in this to hurt you or her,” he insists.
“What do the papers say?” Ava asks, pulling down my hand that's holding all the paperwork.
“He just signed over the battery company to me, as well as a non-compete for my company and any companies that might be used in any products that we use.”