Chapter Ten
GEMMA
I wake up with the sun beaming on my face. It’ll be another hot day, but luckily, I won’t be in the office sweating my ass off. Daddy sometimes goes into the garage on Saturdays to catch up on maintenance, sign for special deliveries, or to clean, but I take the weekends off.
Turning, I notice Robert’s side of the bed is empty and the sheets are cool. He never sleeps in with me and is typically drinking coffee in his home office by the time I get up.
“Morning,” I say when I find him in the kitchen.
He’s already showered and dressed while I’m in comfy shorts and a T-shirt.
His black hair is combed and he’s freshly shaved.
Robert never stops working, and on a typical day, he wears slacks and a button-up shirt or a suit if he has a business meeting.
His motto is to dress for success because he never knows who he’ll meet that day.
While I admire his drive, always having to be on my A game when we leave the house is exhausting. I’d love to lounge for an afternoon and watch old eighties movies, but he never has time for that.
“Good morning, darlin’.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “How’d you sleep?”
Robert takes a seat at the kitchen table, and I pour myself a cup of coffee and add creamer before sitting across from him.
“I slept fine. How about you?” I hold the warm mug in my hands.
“Great.” He smiles at me before grabbing the newspaper and giving it his full attention.
I normally sleep at his house on the weekends, though I wish he’d stay at mine every once in a while.
Although he insists I keep my things here, I still pack a bag every time.
He’s almost become militant about me moving in, but I haven’t caved yet.
I’m biding my time, which is quickly running out, because soon, we’ll be married.
“Did you eat breakfast yet?” I glance around, noticing the counters are spotless.
“No, I was waiting for you.”
I blow on my coffee before taking a sip. “What’re you hungry for?”
“Something light. I have a lunch meeting with Greg Klein at one. Eggs and toast would be great,” he says without looking up at me.
Biting into my lower lip, I swallow down the words that will inevitably start an argument. I wasn’t aware he had a work meeting scheduled, and I was hoping he’d spend the day with me, but I shouldn’t be surprised. He’ll do his thing, I’ll do mine, and we’ll meet up for dinner like usual.
“Sure.” I move behind the large marble island, then grab a pan and the ingredients from the fridge.
As I prepare our food, I contemplate texting Katie to see if she’s busy this afternoon. Everleigh’s working at the boutique until six, and while I could go visit her, Saturdays are the busiest, and I don’t want to get in the way.
Once Robert’s breakfast is done, I set his plate in front of him with a smile.
“Could you get me a glass of orange juice, darlin’?”
“Of course.”
After he’s settled, I prepare my food. By the time I join him, he’s nearly done eating.
“You should skip the toast,” he suggests without hesitation, flipping to a different section in the paper as I dip it into the yolk.
I blink hard, freezing before I take a bite. “What do you mean?”
“Do you think you’ll be wedding-ready by March?”
I clear my throat before setting my food down on the plate. “I thought Winnie was coordinating—”
“Not that. Your body. Will you be ready to wear a dress and be photographed? Our wedding photos will be posted all over the internet.”
He finally makes eye contact with me.
“You think I need to lose weight?”
I’m a size four, sometimes a six when I’m bloated, but I’ve been petite my entire life. I’ve always struggled to gain weight and have been self-conscious about it since I was a scrawny teenager.
I hit puberty late and didn’t get hips or boobs until I was nearly twenty.
“Doesn’t every bride-to-be stress about being in perfect shape for her big day? I assumed you’d go on a diet so you look the absolute best. It’ll be the event of the year and so many eyes will be on us.”
I’m not sure how I should take his assumption since I’ve hardly mentioned the wedding, and I’ve never talked about dieting. If anything, I’d like to be at least ten pounds heavier so I can fill out the bodice.
“Well, to answer your question–yes, my body is ready,” I say through clenched teeth. “Most dresses have to be altered to fit properly anyway.”
“When do you think you’ll go try some on? I’d love to join you. We can make a day out of it.”
Narrowing my brows, I dive back into my food that’s getting cold.
“That’s breaking tradition.”
“Can’t the groom have an opinion on his bride’s gown?”
“You should think I’m beautiful in whatever I pick.”
He flashes a small grin. “Of course I will.”
“I haven’t had time to look, but now that we set the date, I could. I’ll try to schedule something with Katie and Everleigh soon.”
“In that case, why wait until March? Find a dress next weekend and let’s move up the date.”
I nearly choke on the toast I just shoved into my mouth but quickly recover before he notices.
“Move it? March only gives us seven months as it is.”
“Yes, but we’ve been engaged for a year and a half. Invites haven’t been sent yet. I’m tired of waiting to make you my wife.” He reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “The sooner we get married, the sooner we can have children.”
“Children?”
We’ve talked about starting a family but not right away. I was thinking we’d have one kid since Robert is in his mid-forties, but he works so much that he hardly spends time with me, let alone the children we may have.
“I’d like three, maybe four.”
We should’ve talked about this sooner, but he’s laying so much on me at once, it’s suffocating me.
“Excuse me.” I take my plate and stand. “I’m gonna shower and get ready for the day.”
As I rinse my dish, Robert comes up behind me, moves my hair over one shoulder, and massages my neck.
“Darlin’, you’re tense,” he whispers, then places a tender kiss on my cheek. “The longer we ride out this engagement, the more stressed you’ll be. I’ll call Winnie and have her reschedule everything for November. We’ll have a beautiful fall wedding.”
My eyes widen, and I swallow hard. November?
“That’s only three months away. Most venues book out at least a year in advance.”
It was a miracle we managed to get our dream location for the date we picked. They were booked through the rest of the year.
Robert rubs his hands down my arms. “With enough money, I can secure any venue in town. Don’t worry. I understand you were in love with the place we chose, but I’ve already looked into a few others, and they’d be honored to host our wedding.”
“You did that without consulting me?”
“Just made a couple of phone calls so we had options.”
“Surely, that’s not enough time to figure out all the details. The decorations, the flowers, the invites, my dress.”
“Sweetheart…” His voice lowers as he spins me around and tilts my chin. “That’s why I hired a wedding planner. Let her worry about it. Just tell her what you want, and she’ll get it for you. There’s no budget when it comes to giving my bride what she wants.”
What I want is not to rush into walking down the aisle.
I thought I had at least seven more months to prepare.
My father loves Robert and the idea of us getting married so much he lights up anytime it’s mentioned.
I know Daddy wants the absolute best for me, and I want nothing more than to make him proud.
I inhale a deep breath. “Can I think about it?”
“Sure, dear. But not too long because I need to tell Winnie.”
I smile as he kisses my cheek. “I won’t.”
After Robert walks out of the kitchen, I finish rinsing the other dishes, then load the dishwasher. I try to imagine myself living here and this being my home. I’d cook, clean, and raise our beautiful kids while trying to be the perfect wife for Robert.
Right now, it’s decorated for a man, not a family.
It’s clean and modern, but it doesn’t feel lived-in.
Certainly not like my cottage where I have pictures, candles, and throw pillows scattered on the furniture.
He hired an interior designer after he built this house but never added any personality to it.
If we get married in three months, everything will change.
I’ve barely wrapped my head around the date we set for next year and pushing it up sounds more stressful than waiting.
Robert’s kind, and it’s obvious he has my best interests at heart.
And while I love him, I’ve also been questioning if I’m in love with him.
Though I’ve dated in the past, Robert was the first serious relationship I’ve had and the first guy I told I loved after Tyler left.
I have strong feelings for him, and I care, but I wonder if that’s enough.
How do you know if what you’re feeling is love, lust, or infatuation?
Can you ever know for sure?
After I finished getting ready, I sent Katie a text to see if she could hang out—or rather, talk me off the ledge— and she was all for it. I stopped by the liquor store for margarita ingredients, then made my way there.
“Hey!” she greets as she whips open the door, then pulls me in for a hug. “You look so cute.”
“So do you, sexy mama.” I step inside and follow her to the kitchen. “I brought the goods.”
“Thank God, because honestly, I’m at my wits’ end. If I don’t drink some tequila, I might lose my shit.” She plugs in the blender and grabs the ice while I unload the bags.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Owen,” she says flatly. “He’s been acting out more than usual, and by the time I pick him up from my parents’ after work, I’m exhausted, and he’s found his second wind.”
“Why do you think he’s acting out?” I pour the margarita mix and tequila into the blender.
“Well, I imagine it’s preteen hormones.”
“Already? He’s only nine.”
“I think so. He’s asked about his daddy since he was four. However, I get the feeling he’s bitter or envious he doesn’t have one and his friends do. He’s at that age where he needs a father figure, and nothing I say or do is good enough.”