Chapter Twelve #3
“Sorry but I’m not putting this setting on your finger. We’re starting out with good juju. As soon as we can, we’ll have it reset.” He rises to his feet and slides the ring back into his pocket.
I have no problem with his plan.
“By the way, I would have asked for your parents’ permission, but your mother already told me no grandchild of hers would be born without us being married. And while you were getting ready, she told me your father would approve.”
I groan. “If you hadn’t already come here with the ring in your pocket, I’d kill her.”
“I heard that!” my mother calls out from way too close by.
Both Linc and I laugh.
“She really did a one-eighty about me,” he says, speaking low.
I sigh. “She wasn’t able to keep us apart all these years. When she heard I was pregnant, her blinders came off.”
“Well, I’m glad. I’d rather have her on our side. Now can we go? I’d really like to consummate this engagement,” he whispers.
Popping up from the couch, I stand and grasp his hand. “Take me home. Now.”
“Anything you want,” he says, and I know he means it.
* * *
Jordan
In the last two weeks, my life has changed.
I’ve accepted my place in Linc’s life and let go of old insecurities, while he’s embraced our relationship publicly and enthusiastically, including the fact that he’s going to become a father.
Though I worry about miscarrying, a trip to the obstetrician has assured me I’m healthy and there’s no reason to anticipate a problem.
Now I’m sitting in Linc’s SUV with a scarf wrapped around my eyes as we head … somewhere he doesn’t want me to see.
“Come on, give me a hint?” I ask after who knows how long listening to the radio, him humming, refusing to talk, and keeping me in suspense.
“Nope.” But the car comes to a stop and he shuts the engine. “But you can take off the blindfold now.”
I eagerly pull off the silk scarf and blink as I adjust to the sunlight. When I gaze out my side window, a brand-new house set back on a massive plot of land comes into view. It’s a gorgeous brick Georgian-style manor home that rivals the Kingston Estate in size and surrounding property.
“Where are we?” I ask, my mouth going dry.
“Ready to go in and take a look?” he asks, restarting the engine.
“That’s not an answer,” I inform him.
“It’s a house.”
I shake my head. “It’s more like a mansion or an estate that five families could live in,” I say, panicking as I realize what’s happening.
He shrugs, taking it all in stride. The massive house, the acres of land. This is all normal to him.
“We’re having a baby. We need the room.” He puts the car in drive and heads down a tree-lined road before turning onto a long driveway leading to the house.
Overwhelmed, I curl a knee under me and twist toward him.
“Linc! You’re going crazy. In the last two weeks, you moved me into your place, got me out of my lease, pulled off a huge dinner for both of our families, and bought and demanded my ring be sized and ready in twenty-four hours!
Now we’re looking at this massive house for sale? No. Just no!” I say, my voice rising.
He places a calming hand on my knee. “Okay, I thought you might hyperventilate when you got a look at this place.” He reaches into the side of his seat and pulls out papers. “What about any of these?” he asks in a soothing voice. “They’re more reasonable. We can work up to the estate.”
Rolling my eyes, I accept the Realtor pages and use them to slap him on the arm before looking through the contents and relaxing at the more realistic places for us to live.
“I agree we need more space,” I say. “But no more giving heart attacks, okay?” It’s one thing to adjust to becoming a Kingston, another to buy this land and house.
Thank goodness he anticipated my reaction and gave me options.
In the end, another two weeks after we started looking, we agreed on what I still think is a massive home not far from his family estate.
The location satisfies his mother’s need to be near her soon-to-be grandbaby and is only a half-hour drive for my parents.
Since Linc wants to do some renovations on the house, I convinced him to let us stay in the city until I’m seven months pregnant, giving me time to adjust to our new normal without making so many changes at once.
As for getting married, neither one of us wants to upstage Chloe, so we decided to wait until after his sister’s wedding next month. I want a small, intimate ceremony, and Linc seems happy to keep the event to our families only.
Tonight, he’s at the gym in the building, doing his workout, and I decide to cook dinner.
I’ve gotten used to his kitchen, and he’s accepted that I don’t want a housekeeper handling every meal.
Although I have to admit, after long workdays, it’s nice to come home to a fully prepared dinner that isn’t takeout or delivery.
I’m not the world’s best cook but I can handle some basics, and I make us lasagna and garlic bread. Leaving it to cool a little, I go to change into a silky lounge set before Linc comes back home.
* * *
Linc
I finish my workout and make my way to the penthouse.
I need a hot shower, and then I look forward to sitting down for dinner with my soon-to-be wife.
Since the day in her mother’s house when I apologized and bared my soul, I’ve done everything I can to make Jordan happy and prove to her we have what it takes to last forever.
At times, she thinks I’m moving too fast. More often I don’t think we’re going fast enough.
I want everything with her and I want it now.
But I’m learning the fine art of compromise.
If it were up to me, I’d buy her the world.
She doesn’t seem to want anything more than my love and a lifetime together, and that’s only one of the things that make her so special.
I open the door and let myself inside, kicking off my sneakers near the door. The delicious aroma of garlic wafts through the apartment, and I go in search of Jordan. She isn’t in the kitchen, though dinner sits cooling on the counter.
I stride through the apartment and into the bedroom in time to see Jordan standing in a bra and panties, a light blue silk outfit laid out on the bed.
I take in her sexy profile, her long hair hanging over her shoulders and the barely visible swell of her belly holding my baby.
A desire so strong I can’t contain it rushes through me. “Jordan.”
She jumps at the sound of my voice and turns toward me. “I didn’t hear you come in.” Her gaze sweeps over me, and her eyes darken with a need I recognize.
“You like me sweaty,” I say in a gruff voice.
A teasing smile lifts her lips. “I like you any way I can get you. But I’m sure you’re hungry, so if you want to jump in the shower, I’ll get dinner on the table. I have to get dressed,” she says, reaching for her shirt.
“Don’t.” I’m starving, but not for food. I know Jordan has spent time cooking, and I have every intention of eating whatever she’s prepared, but first I want to devour her.
I stalk toward her, catching her expression the minute she realizes my intent. Her baby blues open wide, and with a tempting smile, she unhooks her bra from behind. It slides down her arms, revealing her gorgeous breasts, which are slightly larger and a lot more tender than they were before.
I stop in front of her, waiting as she hooks her fingers into the band of her panties and pulls them down her legs and kicks them aside.
She stands before me naked, beautiful, and all mine.
I pull my shirt, lifting it from the back collar and sliding it over my head and arms, tossing it across the room. I take care of my shorts, boxer briefs, then socks next.
Before she can react, I grab her around the waist, and together we topple onto the bed. I come over her, making certain not to crush her in any way.
With my eyes on hers, I rise up, my cock settled at her entrance. She’s wet for me, as she always is. “I love you, soon-to-be Mrs. Kingston.”
Her smile lights up my life. “And I love you, Mr. Kingston.”
As soon as I hear the words, I ease inside her, groaning at the perfection of her slick heat as I take her completely.
Afterwards, we lie in each other’s arms, my hand settled on her belly. I’m grateful for everything we’ve found and finally recognize in each other.
“I don’t want to move, ever,” she says, curling deeper into my side.
“You don’t ever have to.”