New Beginnings (20 page)

I glanced up at Xavier and smirked. “Well, we seem to have a difference of opinion. I think it would be nice to have a little boy,” I said.

“And I think it would be nice to have a little girl,” Xavier argued.

“What about you, Gabriel? Are you hoping for a niece or a nephew?” I asked.

He frowned as he gave it some thought. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter, because I’m going to spoil the hell out of them anyway. I want to be that cool uncle that takes them to their first party and their first concert. Teach them all the things that are going to drive their parents crazy,” he said, giving us a wicked grin.

“So, Ella and I will be relocating to the East coast before the baby is born,” Xavier teased and we all laughed.

Letting out a huge yawn, I leaned into Xavier a little heavier. It didn’t go unnoticed.

“We’re keeping you up, Ella. Why don’t you guys head off to bed? Tiffany and I were going to jump in the hot tub for a bit before calling it a night,” Gabriel said.

We said our goodnights and made our way upstairs. I immediately removed my make-up and brushed my teeth while Xavier built a small fire in the corner fireplace. When he went into the bathroom to get himself ready for bed, I stood at the huge window and stared out.

The moon was out and it was almost full. The light from it reflecting off the fresh, glistening snowmaking it look like twilight out instead of almost midnight. The snow-covered pine trees were casting long, dark shadows on the ground. It was beautiful.

Strong arms wrapped around behind me. Xavier rested his chin on my shoulder. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? How the moonlight lights up the snow like that?”

“It is, but it’s not nearly as beautiful as you.” I turned my head and planted a kiss on his cheek.

He glanced over at me. “You stole my line.”

“It’s the truth. You are quite beautiful,” I said.

He turned me to face him. I placed my hands on his waist. Winding his hands in my hair, he lifted it off my neck and ran a trail of soft kisses down my neck. Goosebumps exploded across my skin as I softly moaned.

“Are you very tired?” he whispered in my ear. He sucked my earlobe in his mouth and then ran his tongue along my outer ear causing me to shiver.

“No,” I whispered back.

I could feel his smile against my skin. “Good,” he breathed, as he picked me up and gently set me down on the bed. “Neither am I,” he said, as he climbed up my body and sealed his mouth over mine.

It was a lazy Sunday morning. We all seemed to be moving in slow motion not eager to leave this beautiful, snow-covered home nestled near the river. While Xavier was loading the car, I made my way out onto the back deck for one last glance. It was snowing again. The flakes were small and fine. Once again, I found the sound of the river flowing over the rocks to be soothing. I heard the door open behind me.

“Ella? Xavier is looking for you,” Tiffany said.

“Thank you,” I replied. I knew he would find me out here so I was in no rush to go back inside.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked me, making her way over to my side.

“Very. There is something about the snow falling that is just so peaceful and relaxing.”

“Gabe is very excited about being an uncle. It was all he could talk about yesterday. I have to thank you for that,” she said after a few quiet moments.

“Why is that?” I turned to her and frowned.

“The announcement of your pregnancy seems to have sparked a need in him for a family of his own. I’ve been waiting for a long time for him to start thinking about settling down. Oh, I know he loves me, but I think he’s been afraid to get too close given what happened with their parents. He fears loss of any kind now. Last night he actually started talking about the possibility of getting married and having children,” she said happily.

I smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear it, Tiffany. I hope he comes to his senses and asks you soon.”

“Yes, I think he will.” She paused for a moment. “Gabe was telling me last night about your situation with your ex-husband. How he lied to you about your infertility and the miscarriage and all. He’s worried about you.” She shrugged. “Like I said he fears loss of any kind now. I hope you don’t mind that he shared that story with me,” she said apologetically.

“Not at all, Tiffany.” I reached out and squeezed her forearm giving her a small smile.

“I imagine Xavier is going to be quite protective of you now.” She gave me a knowing smile making me wonder if Gabriel was as overprotective of her as Xavier was with me. Before I could respond, the back door opened again. This time it was Xavier.

“I should’ve known my girl would be out here admiring the falling snow,” he said, coming up behind me and snaking his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder. “It really is quite beautiful.”

The back door opened once again. “What the hell is everybody staring at?” Gabriel asked with a puzzled look on his face. “We need to get on the road.” Tiffany just shook her head as the three of us giggled. “What’s so funny?” Gabe demanded.

Xavier sighed heavily. “Gabe, for somebody who loves the outdoors so much, sometimes you are completely clueless when it comes to its beauty.” He turned his focus to me. “And as much as I hate to admit it, Gabe is right. We need to head out.”

We all said our goodbyes. Gabriel made me promise that I would take extra care of myself. Xavier assured him that he would see to it personally. Tiffany and I rolled our eyes at each other.

“Gabe, I’ll be in touch with you this week concerning the wedding,” Xavier told him.

“I can’t wait.” He paused for a moment. “I couldn’t be happier for you, X. You know that, right?” Gabriel asked his voice thick with emotion.

“Yes, I do,” Xavier replied with the same thickness to his voice.

The ride home was a quiet one. I was feeling a little queasy so I got comfortable hoping sleep would find me. Thankfully, the stretch on I-90 is a long one and I was quickly lulled to sleep.

“We’re home, sweetness,” Xavier said, brushing the hair out of my face.

I sat up in the seat to find that we were already parked in the parking garage of Millennium Tower. Stewart was getting the bags out of the back of the SUV. Xavier got out of the car, walked around to my side, and opened the door for me. He offered his hand as I stepped out. He kept his fingers wrapped tightly around mine until we got to the elevator.

“If you aren’t very tired, I’d like to talk to you about the wedding,” Xavier said.

“Sure. That’s fine,” I said quietly, feeling the panic suddenly rise within me, which I knew was stupid. A marriage to Xavier would be different from a marriage to Stephen, but there was still that ugly fear of getting hurt. Truly, I didn’t think Xavier would ever hurt me or have an affair, but there was once a day when I thought the same about Stephen. I started to break out into a sweat. Xavier still had a hold of my hand so I knew he felt it when my palm got sweaty. He gave me a sideways glance as we stepped off the elevator and made our way to the bedroom. Stewart trailed quietly behind with our bags.

Once we entered the bedroom, Xavier didn’t let go of my hand until Stewart had set our bags down by the bed and left the room. Xavier instructed him to close the door behind him.

“Ella, I need to ask you something and I expect an honest answer from you,” he said sternly. The grip on my hand increased slightly. There was a vulnerability in the depths of his beautiful, blue eyes while he stared into mine intensely. I had an overwhelming urge to comfort him. “Do you want to marry me?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “I’m certain of it.”

There was no response or smile from him at my words. He just kept staring at me intensely for a couple of minutes. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Then why am I sensing fear from you?”

“There isn’t …”

He cut me off. “Ella, please. The mere mention of the word wedding and your palms get sweaty.” He finally let go of my hand and walked over to the window.

“Xavier, please. I’m not scared of marrying you. I know being married to you will not even compare to what I had with Stephen. In the short time we have been together, what we have is so much more.” I walked over to him and stood behind him. “But there will always be a fear in me of getting hurt.” Turning around to open his mouth in protest, I quickly placed a finger to his lips to silence him. “But I trust you. I love you. Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife,” I said sincerely.

He grabbed my face and kissed me long and hard. He broke away and just beamed a glorious smile at me. “Come,” he said as he grabbed my hand again. “We have a wedding to plan and not a lot of time to do it in.”

He dragged me to his office where he perched me on his lap in front of his desktop. While he waited for it to boot up, he kissed me passionately and thoroughly. My head was spinning by the time he broke away from me. I would have agreed to anything after that kissing session.

“How do you feel about a New Year’s Eve wedding?”

“Really? New Year’s Eve? I suppose so.”

“I’ve already been in touch with your parents, and they are available to come out here then,” he said sheepishly.

“You talked to my parents? When did you do that?” I frowned at him in surprise.

“On the way back from Leavenworth. Are you very mad at me?” he asked carefully.

Was I mad at him? He was so excited and eager for this. How could I be? “No,” I said quietly as I shook my head at him.

“I’ve also been in touch with Patrick. I asked him to check on the availability of the Garden Room at the Fairmont Olympic. Are you comfortable with me putting Patrick in charge of the menu and all? I can promise you he’s fantastic at putting a party together. He’s handled quite a few professional functions for me,” Xavier said.

“Of course. That’s fine. I trust your judgment,” I said.

“There’s a bridal shop downtown that came highly recommended called Laveta’s Bridal Boutique. The owner is Laveta Chaney. It’s Patrick’s aunt. He’s already spoken with her and she would like to see you tomorrow. Is that okay?”

I just nodded my head stunned at the pace the planning seemed to be going at.

“Patrick explained that you were pregnant. I’m sorry, sweetness. I had to tell him. She said they can get you fitted and will schedule another fitting two days before the wedding to make sure the dress still fits comfortably. Now I don’t want you to feel obligated in getting a traditional wedding dress. They offer a variety of dresses for all formal occasions. Okay?” he asked.

“Okay. It’s all right, Xavier. I’d like to do the traditional dress, but if you don’t mind I would like it in a color other than white. I feel silly wearing white given that it’s my second wedding and I’m pregnant.” I shrugged at him.

“That’s fine. Just have Laveta let Patrick know what color you’ve chosen. I want to coordinate my tux with your dress.”

“Okay.” I smiled widely at him. “Obviously, I’m going to ask Renatta to be my maid of honor, but I don’t think bridesmaids are necessary. Do you?”

“Probably not. Obviously, I’m going to have Gabe be my best man. That’s all we should need especially at such short notice,” he said in agreement.

I thought I should say something about a prenup since he still hasn’t mentioned it. Bev chose this moment to pop in and let us know that dinner was ready. She had prepared a salad and lasagna, which smelled delicious.

As soon as we were done eating, I chose that moment to bring up a prenup. “Xavier, you haven’t said anything about a prenup. Would you like to meet with your attorneys this week so we can get that squared away if you haven’t started one already?”

He surprised me by dropping his fork and glaring at me. “I thought it would have been obvious to you, Ella. There will be no prenup,” he said decisively.

I sighed heavily. I didn’t want this to turn into a fight. “I think there should be,” I said carefully.

“Ella, I know you aren’t marrying me for my money. You’ve never said a word about my wealth. In fact, I know it makes you uncomfortable. No prenup,” he repeated in that same decisive tone.

“Xavier, please. You have everything while I’m coming into this relationship with nothing. Well, nothing but a crazy ex-husband. A prenup will protect you,” I said quietly.

He shot up out of his chair and came around to me. Grabbing my shoulders roughly, anger flashed in his piercing blue eyes. “Do you have any intentions of leaving me? Now or any time in the future, Ella?” he asked, sounding angry.

“Of course not, but it’s a matter of protecting you and your assets.”

Xavier shook his head at me. “How is that you still don’t understand how much you mean to me? Ella, you bring everything to this relationship. You are my motivation, my inspiration, the air that I breathe, and the reason my heart keeps beating. You are
everything
to me. I already told you once that if I lost the company and everything it represented, that I would still be the richest man in the world as long as I had you. No prenup. It’s not even an option for me.” I went to open my mouth to protest once again when he pressed two fingers to my lips. “No prenup. I will not discuss it again,” he said adamantly.