Spencer
It had been four days since the confrontation with Ainsley’s father.
Ainsley had asked me repeatedly when I planned to speak to Jon. I could see the stress piled not only on her face, but in her actions and body language. However, I took it upon myself to decide it was just best to let things calm down before I tried to speak with him. I wanted things to be as stressless for Ainsley as possible, and I figured letting him calm down first would help the situation and make him more receptive to hearing me out.
Even though I knew this, I was still worried about her. She hadn’t been feeling well the last few days, and I was concerned for not only her wellbeing but that of the baby too. I feared if Jon wasn’t receptive to talking this through, our situation would become worse, and that would only upset Ainsley more, which was the last thing I wanted.
I got up from my chair and walked over to my printer when my office door opened and Ainsley appeared. “I made myself a tea, thought I’d bring you a coffee,” she said, placing the mug down on my desk. She didn’t make any eye contact with me, instead, she walked over to the window, looking thoughtfully at the city beyond and saying nothing.
I frowned. “How are you feeling?”
She looked at me over her shoulder. I tried to hide the worry from my face, but I knew she could see it. She turned and went back to silently looking out the window.
“Ainsley, how are you feeling?” I repeated.
“Okay,” she answered, then she began quietly humming a song to herself as she looked back out the window. I guessed she was only trying to wash away my fears, but I also knew by the look on her face, and this odd behavior that she wasn’t telling me the truth.
“You’re sure?” I questioned.
She nodded. “I sent through the reports from Max,” she said, picking up a sliver of paper off the floor. “Did you get them?”
I nodded. “I did. I’ll be going over them shortly. When do you have your next visit with the doctor?”
“My family doctor booked me in with an OB/GYN. I’m just waiting for the appointment date.” She walked over to me and placed her hand on my chest and looked me in the eye. “Please, , I’m okay. I’ll order you some lunch. What would you like?”
“Just order from the same place you are ordering from for yourself.” She didn’t respond. She just walked over and looked out the window again. “Ainsley, did you hear me?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“I told you to order me whatever you were having. Now I know you heard me.” I frowned.
“Oh, sorry, I’m not eating today. I’m not really all that hungry,” she muttered.
As it was, Ainsley ate like a bird. Her family doctor had told her she needed to make sure she was getting enough at the very first appointment when they’d gone over her diet. There was no way she wasn’t eating. She’d barely touched dinner last night, and I was sure she’d thrown her breakfast in the garbage this morning, after I’d told her I may need to make a trip to Denver.
I cleared my throat. “Don’t order me anything. We are going out for lunch,” I said, putting an end to what I feared would become an argument. “Be ready for one, right after my meeting.” I glanced at my calendar, making sure I had nothing booked until at least three.
“Fine,” Ainsley huffed. She made her way to the door and stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind her.
My meeting made my head ache. I’d gone over all the documents with Max over the phone again and to say they did not impress me was an understatement. I was glad I’d decided to take Ainsley for lunch; I needed to get out of this office to clear my head.
I glanced at my watch and grabbed my suit jacket off the back of my chair. I stepped out into the hallway and saw that Ainsley had stepped away from her desk. I was about to text her when she came walking around the corner, holding her stomach.
“You feeling okay?”
“Yep, of course. Just a little upset stomach is all.”
“It’s because you haven’t eaten. Let’s go.”
“I’ve eaten, ,” Ainsley bit back.
It was out of character for her to snap back at me. I ignored it. “Ainsley, half an egg does not count as eating.” I walked over and grabbed her coat from the rack in the corner and helped her into it, and then I grabbed her hand and guided her to the elevator where we both stood in silence, waiting.
Once at the restaurant, Ainsley sat with the menu open in front of her, trying to decide what it was she wanted to eat. I’d decided ten minutes earlier, and I glanced at my watch as she continued to go back and forth between the three dishes.
“Okay, I think I’ve got it,” she said, closing the menu.
Immediately, I signaled for the server. Once we’d ordered, I sat back in my chair and looked at Ainsley.
“How did the meeting with Max go?” she questioned.
I knew she was trying to avoid me asking her anything, which was fine for now.
I cleared my throat. “Well, I am not pleased. I am going to need to make a trip out there for a few days. Max has never overseen something this large before, and to save a disaster, I’d rather take control and set things right at the beginning, as opposed to waiting.”
Ainsley nodded her head and muttered, “That’s understandable,” then looked away from me. “I know how hard you’ve worked to get Denver up and running.”
“Would you be willing to stay with Nikki at the house for a few days while I go?”
When she didn’t immediately respond, I leaned forward. “Ainsley? What is it? Talk to me, please.”
Her chest heaved as she took in a full breath. Avoiding my eyes, she shrugged. “Are you sure you’re not running away from things here… from me?” Her voice cracked as she choked out the last two words.
“From you? Why would I be running from you?”
“Oh, I don’t know, because of everything that has been going on in our lives as of late. I am sure you’re growing tired of everything with my dad, the wedding, Brittany, the new baby, the new house, and probably a million other things I forgot to add to that list. I don’t doubt that you’d be looking for space,” she said as she counted items on her fingers. “Oh, and don’t forget the baby shower invites.”
I frowned. “No, Ainsley, this isn’t about needing space. This is about business. While all of those things are going on, and yes, it can be stressful, you need to keep yourself focused on the end goal. That goal is us and our family.”
“I know. It just feels like all we are doing is treading through rough waters, and it’s been that way since all this started. It’s literally killing me that the two most important people in my life are showing me zero support.”
“Your father will come around. That I can promise you. I assume Carly would be the other one.”
Ainsley nodded. “Yes.”
“She is throwing you a baby shower. Doesn’t that count as showing you support?”
“Sure, but it’s a baby shower I asked her to wait for. Other than that, her entire focus has been coming up with reasons I should just find someone else.”
“Well, all I can say is that she will understand much better when she meets someone.”
“I never looked at it that way. She hasn’t ever been in a relationship. She has no idea how I feel about you.”
“Exactly. When it’s true love, nothing should stand in the way of it. No matter what anyone says. Deep down, I know Carly is there for you. She puts on a good game, but you mean a lot to her. I can see that, otherwise she wouldn’t be there every time you need her. I also know you mean the world to your father, so please never think for a moment he’d disown you. I know how that man feels about you. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t fly off the handle every time. He’s just having a hard time accepting what is happening, but eventually he is going to have to accept it. He will come around.”
Ainsley nodded. I watched as her eyes fell to her hands. I cleared my throat. “Look at me.” I waited until she lifted her head and her eyes met mine. “I meant what I said the other night. I regret nothing about us. You need to know that. But you also need to ask yourself the question, is this what you really want?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you really want us?” I replied, praying, and hoping she said yes, because I didn’t know what I would do if she said no. I’d grown to love her more than anyone I’d ever been with. She meant the world to me, and I had vowed to myself that I would fight to keep her, no matter what, because my world would shatter the day she ever walked out of my life.
“I do, but I also want everyone else to be happy for us, too.”
“Well, love, that is impossible. There will always be someone who doesn’t approve of every relationship, especially ours. What matters is that you and I are happy. That is it. That’s all that matters.”
Her eyes met mine, and she sat there for a minute saying nothing, then she softly smiled. “I want this. I want us so badly. Those few weeks we were apart were hell for me. I never want to feel that way again.”
“I feel the same way. Without you was hell. So how about we focus on us and put a lot of this noise behind us? Everything will work out,” I said, taking her hand in mine.
“Thank you for being here. I love you.”
“I love you, Ainsley. I’ll always be here for you, for whatever you need. Now let’s get back on track and focus on my question…”
“Of course, I’ll stay with Nikki.”
“Good. I thought you could work from home and possibly take her shopping for some things for the new house. She was showing me some new bedding she’d like. I told her to put it on her Christmas list, but I don’t see any reason to make her wait.”
“Yes, I could also begin packing, too.”
I shook my head. “No, I am hiring a company to do that. They will begin after I am back. Now what you can do is call those venues we contacted and find out what ones are available.”
“I can do that,” she said with a smile.
“Good, and after lunch, can you also book my flight?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll do it as soon as we get back to the office.”
“Perfect. Now let’s enjoy this beautiful day and our lunch.”