Never Giving Up (Never #3) (16 page)

“It’s
so
beautiful, Porter. I can’t believe we get to live here.”

“It’s ready to go, all finished, we could move in tomorrow if we wanted.”

“Really?” My excitement was palpable. This would be our first real home together and I couldn’t wait to start the new chapter of our lives.

When we reached the front door he opened it but stopped me before I could go in. I laughed and yelped as he bent down and picked me up, one arm under my knees, the other behind my shoulders, carrying me over the threshold. When he put me down, all I could do was gawk at the gorgeous house. It reminded me a lot of the beach house with its open floor plan, but it was different still, newer and a little more modern. Where the beach house felt much like a beach house, this structure had more of a country feel.

The front door opened into an entryway with a built-in hall tree that I wanted to run my hands over. I could tell from looking at them that Porter had built them. He pulled me by the hand through the hallway and we entered into one great big room that was the living room, family room, and kitchen all combined into one.

Between the kitchen and the family room was a big island that had a tall counter that served as a breakfast bar. All the cabinets were the same wood that the beams outside were made of and the chestnut color was warm and comfortable. The kitchen boasted stainless steel appliances and I itched to cook in this kitchen.

“This is so incredible.” I spun around slowly, trying to take it all in. “And so big.”

“It’ll shrink down a little once we get some furniture in here. Come on,” he said, tugging on my hand, leading me up the stairs, “I’ve got something to show you.”

He led me slowly up the stairs, letting me take my time and admire his work. When we got to the master bedroom, he slowly pushed the door open and let me walk in first.

Of course Porter had something planned; he always had something planned. My heart lurched when I saw the picnic he’d prepared for us and my thoughts immediately went rushing back to all the romantic picnics he’d planned: the first one on the beach, the picnic we had while hiking Multnomah Falls, the picnic on the floor of Dahlia before it had opened when he proposed. Porter gave good picnic.

“Babe, this looks wonderful,” I said, my eyes sweeping through the room. Our room boasted a large gas fireplace and a cozy fire was lit, casting a romantic firelight over the room. On the floor there were blankets spread out with an abundance of pillows. A picnic basket sat in the middle of the blanket, along with an ice bucket with a bottle of sparkling cider and two champagne flutes.

“I made sure there were enough pillows because I know sitting on the floor won’t be comfortable for long, and that’s apple cider in there, not champagne.”

I giggled because he sounded nervous. I had never really seen Porter nervous before. Anxious, yes. Angry and protective, yes. But never really nervous. I found it to be terribly endearing.

“It looks incredible, Porter. You’re too sweet.”

“I just always want you to remember our first meal in our new home.”

All I could do was nod in response, my lower lip being worried in between my teeth, trying to keep my eyes from watering. How did I manage to find him? How in the world did I ever manage to live before him? I tried to shake away the feelings as he placed a soft kiss on my forehead. I looked up at him and smiled.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

He shrugged. “Just trying to take care of my baby momma.” He led me over to the stack of blankets and helped me sit which, in reality, turned more into a lean because there weren’t enough blankets in the world to make my ass comfortable on a hardwood floor. But I found a comfortable spot and relaxed, taking in the view of the fireplace and the sun setting outside of the French doors that led to our room’s balcony.

“We’ll have to get some nice chairs to put out there so we can enjoy the sunset when it’s warm.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said as he poured me some cider.

We talked throughout the meal, making plans for the house, decorating ideas, plans for the yard and the property. Somehow I had talked him into getting some animals. Nothing too crazy, maybe just some chickens and a goat. What was the point in having all this property if we weren’t going to use it? He laughed at my logic and just made me promise I’d wait for at least a year before obtaining any animals.

The food was delicious and simple. He’d brought strawberries and pretzels with hummus, and I smiled when he brought out the celery sticks with peanut butter because I’d been craving those every night for nearly three weeks. He was a smart man.

“I didn’t give my mom enough notice for cheesecake, but I did get these brownies at a bakery in town.”

“Shut. Up.” I said, nearly drooling over the brownies he hadn’t even managed to unwrap yet. What was it about chocolate and pregnancy? For just one split second I had an image in my mind of wrapping a soft, warm brownie around a stalk of celery with peanut butter on it. It sounded like the most delicious thing on earth, but I knew in the back of my mind that anyone not growing a person in their belly would think it weird. So I kept my craving to myself, vowing to try it one day while Porter was at work. When he finally handed me a brownie, it was just as warm and soft as I had imagined it to be and I couldn’t help the overtly sexual moan that escaped my lips as I chewed.

I heard Porter startle, choke and cough, having inhaled a piece of his brownie. “Damn, Ella,” he said between sips of cider, trying to clear his throat. “You can’t make noises like that right now.”

“Why not? This brownie is absolutely orgasmic.”

“Because it’s not fair. No respectable man would have sex with his six month pregnant wife in a house with no furniture, and when you moan like that it makes it impossible for me to think about anything besides, well, that.”

“Sex?” I asked with a smile.

“Listen, what I’m imagining doing to you is more than just sex.”

I swallowed loudly. “Oh.”

“Yeah. So cool it with the moaning.”

“Well, why don’t we bring some of these brownies home with us later and then we can both get what we want.”

His eyes grew dark and he leaned in towards me slowly. “And what is it that you want, Mrs. Masters?”

I closed the distance between us, placing my lips right over his. “I want more brownies, but this time I want them . . .” I pressed my lips into his, kissing him slowly, but firmly. I pulled away just enough to look in his eyes. “With milk.”

It took him just a few seconds to take in my words, but eventually he threw his head back and laughter filled the room. His laughter quieted although he continued to chuckle as he started cleaning up our picnic. “I can provide you with milk,” he said, still laughing.

“Are we headed home?” I asked as I finished folding the last of the blankets, piling them up against the wall.

“I’ve got one more thing I want to show you,” he said, plopping some pillows down on the mound of blankets. He took my hand and interlaced our fingers, leading me out of the room and down the hallway. He stopped at a door just a few down from ours which I knew, based on the blueprints and plans we made, was to be the nursery. He gave me a shy smile and then opened the door.

Surprise was the first emotion I felt when I saw the room, but surprise soon morphed into overwhelming love and appreciation for the man standing beside me. I looked at him, again with tears brimming my eyes. I stepped farther in the room, both my hands coming to cover my mouth, trying to hold in the cries I knew were coming.

The walls were painted to look like a sky, only not the sky you’d see from the ground, it was as if you were sitting on clouds. White, cotton ball-looking clouds lined the entire room, ending at about waist height, giving way to a deep dark blue sky, complete with metallic stars painted in all different sizes all over the room. The most impressive part, however, was the ceiling. I looked up to see thousands of tiny lights shining down and twinkling. Some lights were bigger and brighter than others, making it look absolutely realistic.

“Porter how did you do this?”

“Well, I commissioned a local artist to come and paint the clouds and stars, and then the guys and I installed these fiber optic lights in the ceiling. It was pretty fun actually. We got to be a little creative and actually try to make it look like a starry sky. Plus I figured it would make a pretty good nightlight for the baby. There’s a dimmer on the wall and you can make the stars as bright as you want.”

“It’s so beautiful,” I said, wiping my eyes.

“You’re not mad?”

“Mad?” I asked, turning to him with a shocked expression on my face. “Why in the world would I be mad?”

“Well, I kind of hijacked the nursery. I don’t want you to feel left out or like I went over your head. I just wanted to give you something beautiful.”

“Porter, this is perfect and so much more beautiful than anything I could have come up with. It’s spectacular, really. And I still have so much to do in here like decorate and pick out furniture. You didn’t hijack the nursery, you just gave it a jump start. I love it.” I turned to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to pull him close but found my belly always to be in the way. I felt him bend his knees slightly and lower himself to me, making it easier to reach around his neck. His hands came to rest on my lower back, gently rubbing circles where I always asked to be massaged.

“You are a remarkable husband, Porter. And you’re already a phenomenal dad. Our baby is so lucky to have you.”

He was quiet for a moment, still rubbing my back, making my eyes flutter closed with the wonderful feeling of the tension leaving my body.

“Are you hoping for a girl or a boy?” He asked quietly. I thought about his question. It wasn’t as if we hadn’t had this conversation before, but usually the common answer came out of my mouth—that I would be happy with either sex as long as the baby was healthy. That was still true, I wanted a healthy baby beyond anything else, but I also wanted a baby that had his wonderful traits.

“I really don’t care. There are days I think I want a little girl and then the next day I think I want a boy. But in reality, I just want the baby that’s already in here,” I said, placing my hands on my belly. “This baby was made out of the best love I’ve ever experienced and is going to be the luckiest baby ever. I don’t care, either way, but I won’t complain if he or she has your gorgeous brown eyes and dark hair.” I tilted my head back up to smile at him and found him looking at me with wonder.

“You’re going to be the best mother, Ella.” His hands came up to frame my face. “I’m so honored that you wanted to have my children. The best gift I’ll ever give our kids is you.”

He kissed me and I simply melted. I would never grow accustomed to Porter and his beautifully woven words that instantly and easily liquefied me, leaving me a puddle of emotions. I loved his words and what they did to me.

“I want to take you home and feed you brownies in bed,” he said huskily against my neck, running his nose along the curve from my shoulder to my ear, sending goose bumps all down my arms. “And then I want to do other things to you in that bed.”

All the parts of me that had melted just moments before were suddenly afire, and growing warmer by the second.

“I think after all your efforts here today, I’m willing to let you do just about anything you’d like to me.”

“And I thought the look on your face when you saw the nursery would be my payoff.” He nuzzled in further, his tongue darting out to taste the skin behind my ear, making my knees wobble. “Looks like the real payoff is going to be the look on your face when I slide inside of you.”

I gasped as his tender licks and kisses turned into bites and nibbles.

“Those are some pretty big promises,” I managed to rasp, my fingers threading through his hair.

I shrieked as he slapped my ass and then pulled away to look me in the eyes.

“Let’s go, Baby. I plan on delivering.”

“If you make me trip and fall at my own baby shower, you’ll officially win the prize for worst sister ever.” Megan led me through my parent’s house, insisting on covering my eyes. She wanted a big reveal moment when I saw the shower decorations, and her enthusiasm convinced me to trust her enough to lead me blind.