New Beginnings (37 page)

The first month following our honeymoon was a busy one. As promised, Xavier helped Renatta get a storefront location near Pike Place Market for her photography business. She was fast becoming a household name within the wedding and portrait photography circle. I spent a great deal of time at her location helping her edit pictures from the latest wedding she worked or portrait session she had done. She was getting so busy that she even lured Devlin away from CoolPix to join her.

My parents had found, and immediately fell in love with, a beautiful house on Bainbridge Island. It sits on close to four acres that is beautifully landscaped with firs and fruit trees, a rose garden, a Koi pond, and an in-ground pool. The house sat up from the backyard so the large deck had beautiful views of the pool and access to the private beach and dock that juts out into Puget Sound.

The house itself looked like an East Coast lodge, which I think was the main reason my parents had fallen in love with it. The interior walls were nothing but knotty pine, exposed wood beams, and large, open rooms with hardwood floors. There were a total of five bedrooms, two of which were already being outfitted as rooms for the twins as per my mother’s request.

I questioned my parent’s choice when I discovered the house was over sixty years old, but upon further inspection, I realized it had all the updated modern amenities that you would expect to find in a home built today. Besides my parents were so excited about the house and its location that I didn’t have the heart to rain on their parade.

What I did question was Xavier’s involvement. I knew how much the house had cost, and even if I didn’t, the location alone would have been a big enough clue. Every time I tried to question him concerning it, he would blow me off by telling me he wanted to have a fun, but safe and secluded place our children could visit their grandparents. There was no arguing with him on this. Case closed.

The drama that Carline tried to incite by releasing that photo of Devlin and me while Xavier and I were on our honeymoon had quickly become old news much to my relief. As a matter of fact, over the last month we have not heard from nor seen Carline or Stephen. My mystery caller even stopped calling, which only solidified the fact that it was Stephen at least in Xavier’s mind.

The only thing I did regret about the whole Carline debacle was the strained relationship that seemed to be developing between Carline’s father and Xavier. I knew that Carline’s father had been an important figure within his organization when his father had been CEO; so to see the strain develop between them was difficult for me to handle. Of course, Xavier blew that off, too. At least he tried to when in front of me. He kept insisting that it had nothing to do with me or Stephen and more with the nonexistent relationship that was now between Carline and himself. He tried to tell me that it was difficult for her father to see him happily married when he still had hopes that he would end up with Carline. The man was obviously delusional. I was beginning to understand why Carline was the way she was. In my mind, she clearly took after her father.

Then there was this feeling of dread that I just couldn’t shake. Things were finally starting to head in the right direction for me. I did my best to ignore this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that something horrible was about to happen.

Here I was, now two months following our honeymoon, standing in my parents’ house with Marissa directing the furniture delivery men on where items needed to go. My parents only planned on moving clothes and personal items from New Jersey. All big-ticket items, such as furniture, were being sold before they moved. Things were right on schedule for their scheduled move in May, which was just two months away.

As the last few items for the living room were being brought into the house, Marissa’s phone chimed alerting her to a new text message. Stewart needed her back at Xavier’s office as soon as we were through. She needed to get her picture taken for the new security badges that were being issued.

By the time we got to Xavier’s office it was close to three in the afternoon. Marissa exited the elevator and headed off in the opposite direction of me to find Stewart. Carmen waved from the front desk as I made my way back to Xavier’s office.

Walking down the hall, I noticed Patrick wasn’t at his desk, but Xavier’s office door was open. I headed into his office only to find it empty. I placed my coat and pocketbook on a chair at the conference table before heading over to his desk.

I sank down into his office chair. The soft leather creaked as I made myself comfortable. Immediately I noticed a beautiful silver frame that contained a picture from my latest ultrasound. It had pride of place on his desk. I picked up the photo and caressed the smooth glass with my fingertips.

It was from two weeks ago. I was eighteen weeks pregnant. Xavier surprised me by not wanting to know the sex of the babies. He wanted to be surprised at birth instead. I, on the other hand, was dying to know, but I respected his wish even though it was driving me crazy. I secretly hoped for a boy and a girl. The technician had kindly labeled them Baby A and Baby B. One appeared to be lying on top of the other while their little heads clearly visible on the ultrasound.

I placed the frame back on his desk. My hand wandered down to my prominent baby bump as soon as I started to feel the gentle flutters of their movement. It was almost like they knew I was thinking about them. It made me smile.

I was so engrossed with feeling their movement that I didn’t pay much attention to the voices coming down the hall. The laughter of a woman didn’t register in my foggy brain until it pierced the quiet of Xavier’s office. I glanced up just in time to see Xavier strolling into his office with Monica.

I jumped up so quickly out of his chair that it rolled back into the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk. My hands immediately went to my swollen abdomen. The feeling that I was intruding on something hit hard even though the smile on Xavier’s face just grew as he looked at me.

Of course Monica looked gorgeous as usual. She was taller than I remembered. Her voluptuous curves were accentuated by the form-fitting dress she was wearing.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.” I dropped my gaze to the floor as I quickly walked around his desk to the conference table. I was determined to get my coat and bag so I could leave. Suddenly, I realized I didn’t feel any jealousy towards Monica in the slightest. The realization made me pause for a moment as I reached out for my coat. I paused long enough to give Xavier the opportunity to speak.

“Ella, it’s all right. You aren’t disturbing me.” He continued to smile widely at me. “Monica just stopped by-”

“I just stopped by to apologize, Ella,” Monica said, totally cutting off Xavier as she focused her green-eyed gaze on me. “I behaved like a spoiled little brat back in December. I had no right to treat Xavier as I did or to make any kind of demand on his personal time.” She smiled sheepishly at me. “I was never interested in Xavier romantically, and I was blinded by my own selfishness to see just how happy he truly is with you.”

“Oh. Well …” What exactly do I say to that? Before I could recover, she continued.

“Congratulations on your wedding and the news of your twins. I wish you nothing but the best.” She gave me a genuine smile now.

“Yes. Uh, thank you.” I was too dumbfounded by our little conversation to even think about offering her a smile in return.

She turned to Xavier. “I think you should continue to deal with my board of directors directly. I wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

Xavier frowned at this. “Monica, I really don’t think that’s-”

“No, Xavier, I insist,” she said, glancing over at me. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

She stepped over to me, and surprisingly, pulled me into a hug. “I’m glad he’s found someone like you. He deserves to be happy,” she whispered in my ear before pulling away.

“Thank you, Monica. Take care of yourself,” I said sincerely.

She turned to Xavier and gave him a small smile before exiting his office.

I was stunned into silence. Not only did I not feel an ounce of jealousy, I was shocked that she had come to apologize for how she had behaved.

Xavier stepped in front of me with a look of concern marring his handsome features. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was planning on stopping by.”

I raised my brows at him. “Oh, no. That’s fine. I’m fine. Really.” I smiled widely at him.

His look of concern quickly morphed into a look of surprise. “What has happened to my little green-eyed goddess?” He grabbed my face between his hands and kissed me thoroughly. “This confident, beautiful woman before me is just full of surprises. So, tell me, wife, what brings you here this afternoon?”

I was in such a good mood I couldn’t help but tease him. “Well, I was actually hoping for a little bit of your time.” He raised his brows at me. I ran my fingers up his tie. “You see, since I’m in my second trimester now, my energy level has increased.” Wrapping my fingers around his tie, I pulled his face down to mine. “My hormones are raging,” I said against his lips. “I was hoping for a little one-on-one time with you.” I let go of his tie, running my fingers up his chest and shoulders and into his hair. Wrapping my fingers around the silky strands, I held his face to mine as I kissed him deeply. He let out a soft moan as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

“Mr. Hart, I have the paperwork from-”

I jumped in Xavier’s arms and broke the kiss. I completely forgot that Xavier’s office door was left wide open. Patrick unknowingly walked in on us. He quickly looked away and started apologizing profusely. Xavier chuckled softly beside me, refusing to let me go even though I struggled against his hold. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment.

“It’s all right, Patrick. You caught us before we could do anything.” Frowning up at Xavier, I lightly elbowed him in the ribs. “What do you need?” he asked Patrick, smiling down at me.

“I just received the paperwork from Thomas Technologies as Monica promised. They’ll require your signature in a few places before I can fax them back.”

Xavier let go of me so he could move to the chair behind his desk. I walked over to the conference table to retrieve my coat and bag. A light knock on the open door had me turning my head to see whom it was. Marissa stood in the doorway.

“Are you ready?” she asked me.

I glanced over at Xavier who was looking at me with a frown on his face. “Give me a minute?” I asked Marissa, holding my index finger up.

“Sure. I’ll wait for you by the elevator,” she said. I nodded in response.

Xavier finished signing the papers and handed them back to Patrick, who smiled at me as he walked by. He was sure to close the office door behind him on his way out.

Xavier walked over to me and gently took my face in his hands. “I thought you were looking for a little one-on-one time?” he asked huskily. His thumbs gently caressed my cheeks.

“I was only teasing you. I’m sorry.” Disappointment flared in his eyes. “Oh, please don’t look at me like that,” I groaned, closing my eyes.

“Why, sweetness?” he whispered in my ear. His hot breath tickled my neck. “Will it weaken your defenses?” He kissed me softly below my ear, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine.

“Yes,” I whispered. My eyes sprung open when I felt him move away from me. He softly chuckled.

He stepped back a few steps and winked. “Go. Marissa is waiting. I’ll see you later.”

“You are such a tease,” I said playfully, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Me?” he asked incredulously. “I’m the tease?” He pressed a hand to his broad chest, as his eyes grew wide.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Okay, so maybe I started it,” I said, backing up to the door.

“Payback is a bitch, baby,” he said jestingly. “I’ll see you at home,” he said more seriously, winking at me.

“I look forward to it.” I blew him a kiss before dashing out the door. I was smiling like an idiot as I made my way to the elevator. Whoever said they hated Mondays, obviously didn’t have a Xavier Hart in their life.