Chapter 16
Nia
“What about your meeting?” my husband asks half an hour later. After making love, we stayed in bed while our breathing returned to normal. After that, I crawled into his arms and rested my head on his chest.
“It’s in half an hour. I’m going to join here. When my driver told me you were home, I knew you needed me.” We always know where the other is. That’s something we agreed on after the kidnapping. Whenever my husband is going somewhere, his driver tells mine, who passes the message on to me. Usually, I already know from Drake himself, but not today. “And why didn’t I hear from my husband that he would be working from home today?”
“Your husband was about to call you, but you came home and gave me a midday delight. Thank you, wife.” He pulls me close. “How many more days until our vacation? ”
“Baby, we have to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas first, but it’s going to be great. I can’t wait. The only downside is I can’t get in the hot tub.” I pout. “And I refuse to do midnight skinny dipping if my dad’s there.”
“What? That’s my favorite part,” he whines. “Well, we’re still swimming at night, just with our clothes on. And afterward, we’ll get in the shower, and I’ll have my way with you in there,” he whispers, his husky words full of promise.
I kiss his neck and climb on top of him. While on top, I look down at him. As expected, he looks tired. He looked tired this morning too because he’d barely slept since Saturday night. He didn’t pretend he was okay. He let me know without words how he was feeling.
“You know what I think?” I ask.
“What’s that?”
“It’s more what I know,” I say.
“And what’s that?”
“I know that you’re loved by me, your kids and so many others. I know we found each other again because a power higher than your dad wanted us together. I know you’ll get through this. I know you’re my husband.” I lean down and nip his earlobe and pull.
“That last one is my favorite. I was born to be your husband.” He kisses my cheek. “I know all of that too. I’m okay, baby girl. I promise. You were right. Nothing in there changed anything out here. I want to focus on my family and give you the most amazing Christmas. Even better than last year. You’ve already given me my gift.”
I know he’s talking about the baby I’m carrying. If I wasn’t on top of him, he’d put his hand on my belly.
“You promise you’re okay? ”
“I will never, ever lie to you. It still hurts. I don’t think I’ll ever not hurt over this, but I’m okay. I have so much, and I can either let this take over or I can learn from it. I’m going to be a better father to our children than my father was to me. I’m going to be a better husband to you than he was to my mother. She was betrayed too.”
I smile down at him. If he didn’t mean those words, he wouldn’t say them. “That’s my man,” I say, sighing with relief. I kiss the tip of his nose before I slide off his body.
“Hey!” he says in protest. “Come back here.”
“I have a meeting. I’ll let you sleep while I catch up on some work I need to do today.” He huffs. I know he would love it if I left my human resources position at Paradise Construction and focused solely on the Foundation, but I can’t do that. I love my job, and I told my husband I can do both.
“What am I supposed to do while you work?” he pouts.
“Rest, and when you wake up, Carter will be home, and we’ll spend the rest of the day together. We can take the kids to the park since it’s not too cold today. And don’t let Priya know you’re home. If she does, she’ll break down this door to get to you.” I bend down to kiss his forehead, but he moves and gives me a deep, passionate kiss.