Aubrey
Chapter thirty-one
Julian the builder.
~ The Next Day ~
We make our way home after being discharged from the hospital this afternoon.
They wanted to keep me under observation for the night just in case I went into labor after my fall.
Even though Shane did catch me, they said it could still be enough to cause it, then add on the fainting spells, they didn’t want to leave anything up to chance.
Shane spent the night with me in the hospital, after managing to get us Chinese food delivered.
We didn’t sleep much through the night due to the nurses coming in every few hours to check on me and the baby.
So instead, we talked and laughed about our wedding and what crazy things his sister might be coming up with.
It was nice spending time alone, just talking about everything. It felt like we were reconnecting, even though we’ve always been connected. It made me realize how much has changed over the eight months Shane and I have been together.
We laughed about how awkward we used to be together; how nervous we would get when we were in each other’s presence. Back then, I couldn’t imagine us getting past that stage, let alone making love every night and having a baby. But I’m happy we did. I love my life with Shane.
“Are you hungry, Angel? We can pick up something along the way?” Shane interlocks our fingers and kisses the back of my palm as he drives us home.
“No, just a little tired. But I’ll eat something at home before my nap.” I smile at him, knowing the drill.
He smiles back, and we stay silent for the rest of the ride. When we pull up in front of the house, I spot a car parked in the circular driveway. “Whose car is that?” I lean in, trying to see if I recognize it, but I don’t know anyone who owns a black McLaren.
Shane frowns as he answers, “Julian’s.”
My eyebrows skyrocket. “Julian has a car?” He smirks at my reaction. “I just assumed he got driven around everywhere he went.”
“You’re not wrong. He rarely uses his car.” He chuckles. “I just don’t understand why it’s here.”
“You didn’t know he was coming?”
He shakes his head. “Come on, let’s see what this is about.”
He turns off the engine and steps out of the car. Marianne had it dropped off at the hospital this morning so we wouldn’t have to take a town car home. She’s amazing and deserves a raise.
We walk into the house to find Marianne in the living room vacuuming.
When she sees us, she immediately shuts it off and comes running to us, taking me in her arms. “Oh, dear. You gave us such a fright! I stayed up all night praying for you.” She pulls back and wipes her eyes.
“I’m glad to see you back on your feet. You can’t give an old lady like me a heart attack like that.
I won’t recover,” she jokes with a smile.
“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to scare any of you. I’ll try to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” I hold her hands and smile apologetically.
“All that matters is that you’re home and safe now,” she says with tears in her eyes.
She then breathes out, releasing my hands, and flaps hers in her face.
“Woah, I need to get these emotions under control. How about I make you a nice strawberry and mango smoothie? Maybe a chicken sandwich with that?”
“That would be lovely, thank you, Marianne. I’d also go for a bowl of Froot Loops if you don’t mind.” I blush, feeling like a pig all of a sudden, although it is nice to get my hunger back.
“Not at all.”
“Marianne, where is Julian?” Shane asks before she heads off to make my request.
“Oh, that boy has been here all morning. He’s in the nursery, cursing to himself in a very sophisticated manner, may I add.” She chuckles and leaves for the kitchen.
“Why is he in the nursery?” I ask as Shane furrows his brows, takes my hand, and brings us toward our daughter’s room.
“What uneducated ignoramus came up with this plan? It is not hard to tell what school he attended. I will need to have a word with his superior,” we hear Julian mutter from inside the room as he stands in the middle with a hand on his hip and what looks like an instruction manual in his other hand.
“Uh, Storm. What are you doing?” Shane looks around the room with amusement lingering on his lips.
Julian’s head whips our way. Clearly, he was deep in concentration and didn’t hear us coming.
His hair is slightly disheveled, even with its short state.
He’s dressed in a suit, like usual, but he’s removed the jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and apparently, kicked off his shoes too.
This does not look like the Julian I know at all.
“I am trying to build this concoction, but whomever this…” He squints his eyes and flips through the papers in his hands, looking for a name and apparently finding one. “Neilson Thomas is, clearly does not know his right from his left.”
I take the time to look around the room and notice almost every box that was in here yesterday is now open.
There are two dressers that are now built, a nightstand, and a changing table.
There’s also a mini bookcase, two rocking chairs and a few other things that have been set up, and on the floor are pieces of what I assume is supposed to be the crib.
“You did all of this while we were away?” I ask, astonished.
“Yes,” he answers simply, still going over the manual like him building our whole nursery isn’t a big deal.
“Why?”
He sighs, clearly annoyed with all my questions.
“Aubrey, you may not have realized this yet, but yours and the baby’s health are important to me.
It seems that all this is causing you an extreme amount of stress.
Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to take it out of your hands.
” He finally lowers the manual in his hand and looks at me.
“I have also contacted Mrs. Burkley. She will be here tomorrow morning to finalize the decor of this room.”
“Morgan? But she’s still on maternity leave.” I frown. I had thought of asking Morgan to do my nursery, but given as she already had her hands full, I didn’t want to add onto it.
“Yes, and she will be highly compensated for her work.” He then flaps the manual toward Shane and me. “Now, will someone please explain to me this trivial gibberish, before my intelligence is reduced to one of a five-year-old’s?”
“Sometimes I really question the words that leave your mouth.” Shane chuckles and shakes his head.
I want to laugh with him, but instead, I find my eyes welling with tears. Because Julian just admitted that he cared about me, and he even went as far as to beg Morgan to help finish the nursery.
I see the look of horror take over Julian’s face when he notices my tears quickly staining my cheeks. But that doesn’t stop me from speedwalking to him and throwing my arms around his head as I sob into his neck.
“Lord, why does this keep happening to me?” Julian mutters with displeasure, but a second later, his own arms wrap around my waist.
“Thank you,” I whisper to him.
I feel his rigid muscles loosen under my hands. “It is my very pleasure.”
I giggle wetly. “I highly doubt that.”
“You are right, it is not my pleasure. But I believed it would help you feel better, which is why I did it.”
“It is making me feel better,” I tell him, not letting go just yet.
Julian is a strange man, but the more I get to know him, the more important he’s becoming to me, too. He might seem cold, but that man clearly has a heart of gold underneath all those layers.
“Aubrey,” he finally says with a warning tone.
“What is it?”
“You know I do not do affection, and I am unsure as to what degree pushing a pregnant woman away would be considered unethical.”
I laugh, my cheeks quickly covering with a blush as I take a step back. He clears his throat and nods. “Thank you.”
“How did you know we were at the hospital?” I question, now realizing we still haven’t told anyone about our unexpected trip yesterday.
Julian gives me a bored look, then turns to Shane. “She is not very quick, is she?”
“Hey!” I smack him on the arm, earning me a death glare while Shane laughs behind us.
“It’s the pregnancy brain,” Shane says to him.
Julian narrows his eyes. “I do not believe that is a thing.”
“Oh, it is. Just last week, I went to the supermarket with two different shoes on. I didn’t even notice until we came back home.” I laugh, placing a hand over my belly.
Julian looks at me like I might be deranged, then back at Shane. “You should probably have her checked,” he says jokingly to Shane. At least, I think he’s joking. It’s hard to tell with his facial expressions sometimes.
“Dear, everything is ready for you.” Marianne pops up at the bedroom entrance.
Shane takes a step toward me, cupping the back of my head and tilting it back to make me look at him. “Go eat, Angel. I’ll help out here and join you when we’re done.” He presses his lips to mine and lets me go.
I smile as devotion blooms deep inside my heart, and as I walk out of the room, that smile still won’t leave my face. “Marianne, can you tell me how I got so lucky?” I ask her with a slight blush.
She chuckles and wipes the counters down as I take a seat at the island. “I’m not sure, but whatever you do, don’t let it go.”
“I don’t ever intend to.”
SHANE
~ One Week Later ~
I made a mistake.
I know that. The sound of incessant yapping in the back of my car is proof of that.
I have no idea what I was thinking…
Aubrey’s going to kill me.
I left the house earlier this morning with the excuse that I had some last-minute shopping to do for the baby.
When Aubrey asked me if she could come, I told her no because it was a surprise…
Not entirely a lie. Our daughter will be more than happy with this gift. I’m just hoping Aubrey will be, too.
But the closer I get to home, the more I begin to doubt myself. I may have overdone it.
When I pass through the gates and reach our house, I park my trunk facing the front door and step out. Swiping my sweaty palms on my shorts, I pull out my phone and call up my girl.