20. June
20
JUNE
“ I can't believe we're doing this.”
“You said we needed to get away.” Changing his mind? What the hell? “Why do you sound like you're backing out now?”
He shakes his head, smiling. “I'm not. I just mean, I'm surprised I was able to talk you into this.”
“Oh.” I sit back against the passenger seat and stretch. “Well, I mean. I guess I get that. I have been a little intense.”
“Not you, baby. This situation has been intense. It's not every day you get called into questioning for a homicide.”
“Thankfully.” As the miles pass by, I wonder what people would think. Well, not people. A jury. I’m not sure what to think of it myself. But Anderson was right. We need a break. I can’t think straight in the city.
God, he looked handsome in profile. Or any other angle. Maybe my hormones are getting the best of me, but with the idea of relaxing comes the hormones. My sex drive has definitely been on the fritz. Stress, I guess. That shit really is a killer.
“Baby, why don't you go to sleep? We've already called everybody that we need to call to let them know that we're sick, and there's nothing else for you to worry about right now. I've got this.”
“That's not fair to you. I should stay up to keep you awake.”
He just smiles. “I'm not worried about what's fair to me. I want to see you bright and chipper when we get there.”
“I know you said Vermont, but where specifically are we going?”
“I booked an Airbnb for us. It's a little cabin in the woods.”
I groan happily at the thought. “That really does sound perfect. Okay, I guess I could use the nap.” I was right. The moment I close my eyes, I'm out. The next thing I know, he's shaking my thigh. “Hmm? What?”
“We're here.”
I glance out the window. Moonlight glitters on the snow. Trees stand like sentries to guard the A-frame log cabin. It's a little place tucked in the middle of the woods with no visible neighbors anywhere. A deck wraps around, and I can see the hot tub from here. Perfect for just the two of us.
“Wow.”
“I hoped you'd like it.”
“I didn't bring a bathing suit.”
He grins. “Neither did I. Come on.” Anderson bolts out of the car and around to the back for our luggage.
As soon as the door opens, I'm hit with a blast of frosty air. I'm not sure I'm getting naked for the hot tub in this. But looking at my handsome fiancé, it might be worth it. I've never had sex in a hot tub.
Once I'm out of the car, the cold really hits. I dash through the snow, straight to the front door, right behind him. My teeth chatter as I rattle, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.”
He laughs while he gets the door open. Thankfully, the code worked. He turns on the lights after I've run in. It is a beautiful cabin inside. Walking in, we're in the living room, where there's an enormous tan stone fireplace and a few loveseats. A small but efficient kitchen sits off to the right. And to the left, a master bedroom that takes my breath away.
The first thing that catches my eye is the enormous A-frame-shaped windows. They have a view deep into the forest. Then there's the bedroom’s fireplace. It looms near the foot of the bed, perfect for keeping our feet warm. Plush navy blue throws sit across the bed on crisp white sheets.
“It’s perfect here, baby,” I gush.
“I hoped you'd like it.” He sets our luggage near the dresser. “How about we unpack, and then we’ll bundle up; I will get us some wine and start a fire in the fire pit outside.”
“That sounds perfect. Thank you.”
The firepit is on the deck and lined by comfy loungers. Once we're settled in at the fire, I feel the knots of tension begin to release. It’s a good start to our little vacation.
Anderson says, “This is living.”
“I could not agree more.”
“You know, I'd always thought that I might retire to the Maldives or someplace tropical like that, but I could get used to this.”
“You think about retirement?”
“Of course. Don't you?”
I sip my wine and sort of laugh. “It used to be all I thought about. That was what got me through my days at my old firm.”
“I get that. But if you hated it so much, why did you stay?”
“You know how it goes. You start making good money, and then you don't ever want to stop.” I pause. “Wait, maybe you don't know how that goes.”
He laughs. “Not really, but I understand the idea of it. It's hard to imagine going backward once you're used to a certain level of wealth.”
“Exactly.” Even with our completely different socioeconomic backgrounds, it’s nice that we have some common ground. “So you're slated to become CEO at West Media, but you still think about retirement? And I get the impression that your dad would never even consider retirement if you weren't around. Why is retirement on your mind when it would never cross his?”
“Once I'm in the CEO seat, I plan on doing things very differently than he does. He always works too hard. And he uses work to avoid the family. I'm never going to do that. Honestly, I can't imagine not racing to come home to you every night.”
That might be the sweetest thing he's ever said to me. He's so getting rewarded for that one. “I know what you mean. Like I'll never understand the people who text on their phone on their whole commute home. It slows them down. I always want to ask them, don't you want to get home? Why would you rather sit in traffic and text versus being home? But I assume that those people are going home to something that they don't want to go home to. And I can't imagine that being the case with you ever. I always want to come home to you. You’re what makes it home.”
He warmly smiles, and I think I've touched him. “That's very good to hear. So, what about kids? We haven't had a chance to talk about any of that in any real way.”
“I'd like a few, I think. But also, the thought of being pregnant scares the bejesus out of me.”
He laughs. “It would scare the bejesus out of me too.”
“And what if you don't like my post-baby body?”
“Not possible.”
I smirk at him. “Well, now you sound naive. There are plenty of guys who are not happy with their wives’ post-baby bodies.”
“They're assholes.”
It makes me giggle. “Well, that much is true.”
He takes my foot into his lap and starts massaging it. I could melt right there. “Sweetheart, if you grow me babies, I will love every inch of that body. Possibly even more than I do now.”
I can't figure out why this conversation is turning me on, but it is. “You really think a baby won't change things between us? Sexual things, I mean.”
“If anything, I think it would just make you sexier.”
“Do you have one of those MILF fetishes?”
He laughs, shaking his head. “The only MILF that I want is you, once you’ve had plenty of time to recover from carrying my child. It's not about a mother's body or anything like that. It's about this intrinsic, cosmic connection that we would have. June, it's not just a physical thing. It's never just been a physical thing between us. It's us . And creating new life together … I can't think of anything better.”
He has this look on his face that makes me swoon. I don't know if he's getting better at saying all the right things or if I'm just happier to hear them now that I’m relaxing. It might be the foot massage.
Just then, my phone rings. “Sorry. Thought I turned this off.” It's my dad. I have no urge to talk to him right now. The only person I want to give my attention to is Anderson. So I text him back and let him know that I'm sick with laryngitis—hence why I didn’t answer the phone—and that I'll need a few days to myself.
Thankfully, his response is quick. “OK, Junebug. Just checking in for our next lunch. Feel better soon.”
With that out of the way, I turn my phone off and my focus on the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. His brows lift in question, and with the fire lighting his face, somehow, he’s even more gorgeous than usual. “Everything okay?”
“Just Dad. He wanted to know about our next lunch.” I shrug. “No big deal. How many kids do you want?”
He gets this faraway look as he stares into the fire. “As many as you want to have.”
“What does that mean?”
“When I’m CEO, I’ll have the means to support as large a family as we want to have, and I’ve always liked the idea of having a big family. Growing up, it was just me and Cole, and he’s … different from me, so it was a little like growing up with a stranger. I don’t want that for my kids.”
That sounds like he wants a lot. I gulp my wine down. “Throw a number on that for me.”
He grins. “Maybe … seven or eight?—"
“What?” Damn. I almost spilled my wine. How is there no air outside?
“We can negotiate a number. I don’t want to put your body through hell, and I love the idea of adopting if that puts your mind at ease.” He takes my other foot to work on. “Thoughts on adoption?”
“I kind of love the idea, truthfully. I mean, I would like some of my own, too, but I especially like the idea of adopting some older kids. The ones people usually ignore because most people want babies.” I sigh. “It just feels like the right thing to do, and I don’t mean a moral obligation, but it feels right in my heart. Like I’m supposed to do that.”
“I didn’t know I could love you more. But here we are.”
“You’re up for adopting older kids, too?”
He nods. “I think it’s a great idea.”