Recovery (3 page)

“Blake! I love it!” His light green eyes shift from mine to the shirt.

“Well obviously it required a feminine touch, so I recruited a little help. GI Joe didn’t turn out so well, but hopefully Nycole’s master craftsmanship will ensure that you’ll have it forever. Go ahead, take it out. Let’s see it.”

After giving him a quick hug, I turn back to my gift and begin to pull the shirt out of the box. As I lift it up, a smaller box falls from its folds. Surprised, I give Blake a sideways glance. “What’s this?”

“It’s your real present.”

Intrigued, the right side of my mouth curves into a smile and I gaze back down at the velvet covered black rectangle lying in front of me. I reach for the box and excitedly flip it open, only to let out a gasp when I see what it holds. “Blake, you shouldn’t have!” I exclaim, peering down at the teardrop shaped diamond earrings and matching solitaire necklace. “They’re beautiful.”

Moving in behind me, Blake places a soft, warm kiss on my neck and nuzzles behind my ear. My whole body immediately begins to throb.

“As are you,” he says, taking the box from my hands. He removes the necklace and I stay in place so he can hook it around my neck. Facing back around, I remove my old pearl stud earrings, placing them in the box while Blake hands me the diamonds. I slide them into my ears with a smile.
Something New.
Well, I have something
new
for him too.

“Your turn, mister. Open yours.” Childlike expression full of excitement fills Blake’s face. My hands instinctively rub my stomach as my nerves cause it to flutter. He delicately unwraps the gift,
completely opposite of my earlier paper carnage
, to expose a small, square box. As the top creaks open, Blake’s eyes broaden and his brow shoots up, the smile on his face slowly falling as the realization of what my gift is telling him becomes clear in his mind.

Wide eyed, he stares.

And he stares.

And he stares.

Finally, his eyes let go of the box to find mine. A huge knot in my throat forms when they finally meet because staring back at me are those gorgeous light green eyes filled to the brim with tears.

“Are you sure, Alex?” I give him a slight nod. Smiling a bewildered, crooked smile, he looks back down at the box. I move in closer to him, wrapping my arm around his waist and snuggling my body into his, placing my head against his chest. Holding each other, we both stare at the solid silver diamond shaped charm that simply reads “Baby on Board”. I laugh silently, remembering my joke in the car with Harlow. Soon after, my silent snicker turns into full on laughter as a thought crosses my mind.

I lift my head off of Blake’s chest and peer up at him from underneath my eyelashes. Memories of all the charms he’s given me since we were kids enter my mind, my crucial mistake becoming clear. “Blake, I
totally
just gave
myself
a present. I’m such an
idiot
! I get two and you get nothing? That’s not fair. I’m so sorry. I swear to God, this baby is sucking the brain cells out of my head already.”

Blake simply shakes his head and swallows back his tears. He places his finger under my chin, tilting my head back just slightly before he speaks. “Alex, you’ve given me more than you could ever imagine. There’s nothing more perfect than this moment, right now.”

Leaning down, he brushes his soft lips against mine. The tenderness of his kiss sends a wave of pleasure rippling through my entire body. I wrap my arms around his neck and part my lips ready to accept his warm, soft tongue into my mouth…

“Ewww!” Three sets of high pitched giggles immediately follow. “Blake and Mommy, sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…”

My lips miss the warmth of Blake’s when he pulls away slightly, pressing his forehead against mine. With heavy breaths, we stare at each other until the serenade is over.

“First comes love, then comes marriage,” more giggling, “
then
comes baby in a baby carriage.”

Laughter erupts and we can’t help but join in. “Welcome to fatherhood,” I say, removing my arms from around his neck. “You can kiss your privacy goodbye.” After lacing my fingers through his, I turn around to face my little devils.

I lock eyes with my brown haired beauty, Nycole. The huge, dimpled grin on her face brings a content smile to my own. Reaching my arm out for her, she walks over to me and leans her body into mine, wrapping her arms around my waist. I place my cheek on the top of her head and squeeze her tight. Taking in a peaceful sigh, I think about how nice it is to see her being a kid again. With Blake around, she eased back out of her grown up role rather quickly, and I couldn’t be happier to see my little girl
being
a little girl. All is as it should be.

Releasing Blake’s hand, I turn to face her. “You look beautiful, Nyc,”

“Thanks, Mom. So do you.”

As the breeze blows lightly, I raise my hand to move some of her long, curly hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. She smiles, happiness filling her eyes. Signaling for her to turn around, I watch in amazement as she spins slowly. Her dress is a white sleeveless solid satin top, with a matching dusty rose satin sash similar to mine and a double layered white tulle skirt. When she does an about-face, I catch the shine of her light layer of lip gloss and my mind strums up the image of my little girl in her own wedding dress one day.

With tears surfacing in my eyes, I break my stare from Nycole to find Kyndall standing just behind her. She sheepishly smiles, and with her arms behind her back as she swishes her dress back and forth, I know she is anxiously awaiting
her
compliment. As Nycole steps aside, I take a small step forward and reach both my arms out to gather her in a tight embrace. Releasing me, she steps back and curtsies. “Kyndall, you look absolutely gorgeous.” And she does. The sun hits her eyes just right, bringing out the flecks of light green mixed in with her greyish-blue irises; her light brown hair loosely tied back with a rose ribbon matching the sashes. Although their dresses are identical, where I see Nycole as a future bride, Kyndall exudes only youthful innocence.

“You look gorgeous, Mama. You turn around too!” she giggles. I twirl in a full circle for her, smiling at Blake when our eyes meet during my revolution. Completing my turn, my eyes lock on Rylie in the distance, crouching down in a small patch of grass and picking a yellow dandelion. At least, I hope that’s what she’s doing. I bend down and kiss Kyndall on the forehead before making my way over to the youngest of my girls.

She looks picturesque as the sun is setting right behind her head, bringing out the highlights in her curly hair. She’s sitting on her haunches, the bottom of her dress surrounding her body. She looks like she’s sitting in a marshmallow. I giggle to myself. If anyone would be sitting in a marshmallow, it would definitely be Rylie.

Her thick rose sash tied in a big bow, with little matching roses sewn onto her tulle overlay, makes her the most beautiful baby flower girl. Well, not
baby
, she’s five now…as she likes to remind me every day. Her hair is perfect, with two tiny braids lying on top of her head, one on each side, coming together in the back and tied with a matching rose ribbon. As I approach her, she looks up at me and all I can see are her trademark dimples. She stands up and hands me the flower. “It’s for you, Mommy. You can put it in your hair, then you’ll look like a real princess.”

I accept her gift and slide it into my hair, right above my ear. “Better?” I ask her.

“Much better! Now you’re as pretty as Cinderella!” She hugs my leg, and then looks up at me with her huge brown eyes, brows pressed together in obvious frustration. “Mommy, when are you gonna marry Blake? We’ve been here forever! I’m ready to go home!”

Blake belts out a ridiculously loud cackle from behind me and I can’t hide my own smile as I run my finger down her cheek, then graze the top of her nose. “Well, I guess we should get started then, shouldn’t we?” The girls let out an excited shriek, jumping up and down. I happily point them in the direction where the guests are starting to take their seats. “Go to Harlow!” I yell after them adding, “And don’t run!” before one of them falls. That’s all we need right now, one of those little scratches that in their mind is a huge, gaping wound which will only be healed with a band aid and ice cream.

Not that I ever do that.

Turning back to Blake, I glance up at my sexy husband-to-be and reach for him. He saunters towards me with all the confidence in the world and takes my hand into his.

Just when I thought he couldn’t get any sexier…

As soon as I turn to lead us towards the lake, I’m suddenly whipped around and my body folds itself into Blake’s as he wraps his arm around my back. Dipping me gently, he brings his face to mine. My eyes once again find his
perfect
mouth, my lips parting to give him entry. He plunges right through them and when I feel the warmth of his tongue I let out a moan. Holding onto the lapels of his jacket, I pull myself closer to him, raising my body until my chest is flush with his. My tongue enters his mouth on a massive exploring expedition, claiming every single inch as my own. When I hear him groan in response, I figure it’s time to stop because I can
feel
his excitement, which reminds me that we really need to discuss the mandatory one-hundred foot policy during the nuptials.

He brings me back to a standing position and ends the kiss with a light, feathery soft peck to my lips. “Wow,” I sigh, still trying to catch my breath.

Blake raises his hand to move one of the curled sections of my hair off of my face. I reach back to make sure my bun in still intact, and find it’s still holding strong. Not that I’m surprised. Harlow put a whole package of bobby pins in the thing.

After a few seconds of gathering ourselves, Blake offers his arm, and I loop mine through, hugging his massive shoulder as we walk together.

“Last chance to back out,” I say smiling up at him.

“Nah,” he simply states. “I’ve been waiting to call you mine my whole life, and tonight I plan on showing you just how
mine
you are.” The air is sucked out of my lungs as I come to a standstill.

He says nothing else, just leans over to give me a sensual kiss on the neck before leaving me on my own to practically orgasm in front of our family and friends. I can hear him laughing as he walks away and a grin breaks across my face.

Jerk.