Damon walked in with a few loosened buttons, white pants and his hair messy. He smiled as he walked out cockily from the bathroom. “You would make a terrible spy if you pass out on the job at hand,” he teased as he crawled over the bed and kissed me.
“You moved me?” I murmured and rubbed my eye tiredly.
“Well I couldn’t possibly leave my fiancé with wedding articles plastered to her face from drool could I?” He laughed. I lightly shoved him returning his smile. I wiped my mouth just in case I had drooled. He laughed even harder. “How did the dress shopping go today?” He asked trying to act suave but he was beaming far too excitedly to pull it off. He sat beside me with his back firmed against the leather backboard of the bed.
“A woman never tells,” I teased. He smiled charmingly but I could tell that him not knowing something was out of his comfort zone and usual control. I laughed at him and jumped out of bed. “If you will excuse me, this drooling woman has to go scrub up before you announce to your family that they are stuck with me for life,” I teased. He smiled back sweeping his eyes over me favorably.
“They will be stoked, about all of it,” He smiled earnestly. “Do you know my father and Michelle were rousing on me months ago for not already proposing? And hearing about our expectation of joy, Clover you couldn’t have made my family any happier.” He stood up and walked over to me placing his hands around my stomach and curving on to my waist. “I couldn’t be happier,” he reiterated leaning down and kissing my stomach. He lifted his head to mine and pressed another kiss to my lips.
Damon knew how to fill me with joy and whatever small doubt I might’ve had, he could so quickly cast it away. I was very conscious of the time he had recently taken away from work of which I was appreciative. I knew he would have to soon go back to the long days and weekend work. But, right now I enjoyed having him by my side and supporting me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “I better start getting ready before I start trying to achieve other things from you,” I growled lovingly and wanting to be utterly consumed by him. I nipped at his bottom lip slightly with a promiscuous smile. I had to admit, now knowing that I was pregnant made so much sense to me as to why my hormones were raging and I wanted Damon- constantly and unnaturally so. From what I have heard from other mothers and women, it was normal.
Megan was watching television in her PJs with a large bowl of popcorn when we left. She had made herself at home before we knew it. Not that I minded, it was nice to have her around so much. It felt like we were once again living together.
We drove up the long white pebbled driveway of Michelle and Phillip’s home. We rounded the water fountain and parked in front of the path which led to their front door. I saw the irony in tonight because it was only half a year ago that Damon and I had arrived in the same style when Michelle and Phillip told us of her pregnancy. Now it was reversed. I wondered how nervous Michelle must have been when she had to announce the same. I was nervous now. I knew they would be happy, but butterflies continued to swarm my stomach and pounding chest.
Damon walked around to my side and opened the door for me. When I got out he rested his hand on my waist comfortably as we walked up to the front door. My heart pounded as we walked up. Before we even reached the door, Michelle opened it with a smile and Rosalie in her arms in a bundle of pink. Phillip was standing proudly behind her. They were both wearing sweaters despite the warmer season. I smiled, they looked like one of ‘those’ families now. So much had changed since the very first time I met them in the Bahama’s.
“Quick, quick,” Michelle said flagging us in. “You can’t make Dad wait forever you know. I swear I can hear his stomach growling even from here,” she said with a smile. I looked at Rosalie with admiration and instantly Michelle offered her to me. She was awake but content. A small little smile tugged at Rosalie’s lip when I collected her from Michelle and pulled her close to my chest. “That means she has gas; do you know they don’t actually smile at this age?”
Damon looked up at her as if shocked. I shook my head with a smile at his alertness. I definitely needed to buy him some books. Their home was always beautiful. The room on our right was open as it always was with its lounges and memories of drunk board game nights we’ve had. On my left the wooden doors were closed. The room which could fit many for a dinner or event was closed off. I imagined that we were probably the first to be invited for dinner since the birth of Rosalie.
She had beautiful blue eyes through thick eyelashes and a few wisps of hair which sat perfectly. I continued admiring her as she let little smiles out. I don’t care what Michelle said, it was cute as hell and it looked like she was smiling at me.
We walked into the smaller dining room where we often dined. Mr. Brogardt was already waiting. He greeted us friendly and stood to shake Damon’s hand.
“How have you been son?” He asked. They both began to talk about the business and then Michelle swept in with her own ideas and judgement. They were discussing the ideas Damon had on expanding the magazine. Phillip and I gave one another a similar smile, this often happened. Phillip began dishing out the food as the others continued in heated discussion.
Phillip started light conversation with me, most of it was about Rosalie, he had taken six weeks off work and was enjoying the break. Although I could tell he already missed it. Michelle was a hard worker and so was Phillip. This was completely different to what they were used to, or even what Damon and I are used to, but it looked like they had already settled in.
Michelle continued to talk to the others as she grabbed Rosalie from me. She continued to focus on Rosalie with smiles as she partook in the conversation. It was a beautiful roast meal with vegetable and gravy. I felt like I was drooling almost as soon as I saw Phillip bring out the trays and set them in the middle of the table.
Michelle walked over to my side and offered me a glass of bubbly as she spoke with her father. I declined with a smile and continued to listen to their conversation about the market. There was silence for a long moment and I looked around uncertain of why everyone was staring at Michelle. I too looked at her. She stared at me for a moment with a shocked excited expression. Phillip collected Rosalie from her as if anticipating the outburst that would come.
“You’re pregnant?!” She said. Damon and Mr. Brogardt ended their conversation and looked between Michelle and me. “Are you?” she asked. I looked at Damon, my expression conveyed I hadn’t yet told her and I wasn’t yet sure if now was the right time. Her eyes instantly diverted to my finger. I was surprised she hadn’t seen it sooner; I actually hadn’t thought about taking it off since Damon proposed to me. She swiped my hand and stared at it admiringly.
“This is Mom’s ring. . .” she began. That moment of sentiment vanished as she boomed with excitement again. “Does this mean. . .” she looked at Damon with anticipation. She reminded me so much of Damon’s secret childish side that I’d recently discovered. They were definitely related. “You’re going to be my sister and I am going to be an auntie?”
Phillip spoke before either Damon or I could. “Michelle, breathe, they haven’t even said anything.” She looked between us and Phillip and straightened out her sweater. I smiled as she tried to contain her impatience.
“Clover and I are getting married,” Damon began. Michelle made a theatrical clapping noise with her hand.
“And I’m pregnant,” I said placing my hand on my stomach out of habit now. Michelle began clapping and smiled cheerfully.
“It’s about time,” she said hugging me. I hadn’t noticed Mr. Brogardt who had walked around the table and gave me a warm hug. I was always so nervous and cautious around him, but no longer held such reservations.
“Congratulations Clover and welcome to the family, officially,” he said. He shook Damon’s hand with a gleam in his eye. “I am so proud and so would your mother. She’d be happy to know you gifted Clover with her own ring. Well done son, you couldn’t have found a more wonderful woman.”
&nb
sp; “Look at that,” Phillip said as he hugged me still with Rosalie in his arms. “We are a trend setter Michelle.” Michelle slapped him on the back lightly with a coy smile. “I am glad that Rosalie will have a little cousin her own age to play with.”
Damon rubbed my arms lightly and tenderly. He shook Phillips hand in congratulations and Michelle hugged us both with kisses. Her voice was a pitch higher in excitement. I couldn’t help but reflect the same as she did.
“This is so exciting, when is the wedding and how far along are you?” she asked.
“Actually, I needed to talk to you about that,” Damon said. “I found a nice venue which is somewhat difficult to book, but if I pull the right strings I might be able to book it. The only thing is, that is in three weeks time.” I looked at him with boggling eyes. Three weeks?
“Is that where your mother and I got married?” Mr. Brogardt asked as he drifted back in memories.
“It is, but only if you want to. I can show it to you all tonight. We haven’t really spoken about a theme or anything, and I want to make sure you are happy with everything,” Damon said sincerely.
“Don’t let Mr. Control over here take all the fun in planning your wedding,” Michelle teased.
Phillip coughed lightly. “Excuse me, but who organized most of our wedding?” he said. She crawled under his arm comfortably with a smile.
“Well that’s just because you were better with the final detail,” she said with amusement. I wondered what their wedding was like and how much time had gone into the planning. I then realized it didn’t matter how much planning we put into it or when it was, I wanted to marry Damon. If this particular place was special to him then I was grateful that he wanted to take me there.
“Clover, I want you to be happy,” Damon said with closure.
“I am happy,” I said with a smile, reassuring him. “Show me when we get home.” He kissed my forehead. I hadn’t thought much about anything for the wedding. My parents were married before we were born and admittedly we didn’t have any special place. They married in their local church in a separate town to where we were born. I liked the idea of marrying somewhere which held a little more sentiment.
“So how far? When did you find out?” Michelle began as we all sat down to start our meals. “I could’ve imagined Damon’s face, was he stunned when you told him? I could just imagine that shocked expression I love to terrorize so much.”
Damon began to defend himself in humor. I smiled at the two and looked around the table. Everyone was smiling and happy. This was now my new family and they had accepted me unconditionally and unquestioning. That by itself, amongst all the beautiful things that was happening, brought a smile and sense of pride to me.
“Oh and we are going to have to organize a bucks and hens party. Have you thought about your honeymoon?” Michelle continued. These were all other things I had not yet considered. I watched the conversation roll out as they offered suggestions and memories of their own. Damon seemed like a shining knight to me, how had he already achieved so much in such a short amount of time when I was exhausted simply from looking at dresses? I was relieved to not have that amount of stress on me. I knew women who didn’t like not having full control of their wedding, but I found myself to be the opposite and lax. Damon had enlightened me to the joy of surprises and receiving. I was completely safe and looked after by him and I thought no differently when it came to our special day.
Chapter Twenty
The space was seemingly perfect. It was in a butterfly sanctuary which wasn’t far from a church. Damon mentioned that the church was where his parents had gotten married and then went to the butterfly sanctuary afterwards for their reception.
We both agreed however that we liked the idea of having it in the butterfly sanctuary itself. From the photos I saw it looked beautiful. There were butterflies fluttering about everywhere, beautiful greenery and bold colors of stunning flowers. There was a small stream running through it, which was where Damon imagined the altar. He had already started looking at a few designs of altars we could place in there. There was a glass enclosed room that was used for events and catering. As he explained, if we didn’t want our food and drinks outside, then we could have it inside as well. We stayed up rather late last night flicking through the photos and ideas of themes.
Today Damon was busy in our home office working. I took this time to meddle and create some arrangements of my own. I hadn’t even thought of a bucks and hens night party. But not wanting to stray too far from tradition I still wanted Damon to have that night out. I called Hayden to organize one for him, to create a makeshift plan and to put it into action next weekend for Damon.
If we were to reserve the butterfly sanctuary which we had our sights on, it meant that in only three weeks we were getting married. My body flushed at the thought. I always imagined I would have commitment issues or something of the sort, but with Damon it seemed like I couldn’t wait any longer. It was all moving so fast but at the speed that Damon and I best functioned at.
I made him a salad roll. Well I attempted, Megan stole and ate the first one I made and made herself cozy on the couch until I was able to pay her attention. I made the second one and walked into the office. His head was buried in a book as he looked through it and began typing vigorously. His slim reading glasses were always sexy. He noticed that I came in and got up instantly to take the plate. I pushed him back and laughed at him.
“Please I am pregnant, not dysfunctional,” I laughed as I placed the plate down on his table. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss.
“You could’ve fooled me,” he teased. “You’re the perfect distraction I was waiting for.” He nibbled on my ear in a playful manner. I kissed him again with a feverish smile, imagining myself sprawled over his table in a very appealing position. With my sister in mind, I gravitated towards control.
“I’ve been thinking about that butterfly sanctuary you showed me,” I began shyly. “I really like it and think it is perfect. If you can get it booked in three weeks, then I would very much like that.”
His eyes widened in excitement. “Really Clover? Are you sure, this is your decision, if you have any other place in mind then we-” I placed my lips to his cutting him off. I toyed my tongue against his leading him to utter silence.
“It’s perfect,” I purred. “But you have to promise me that you are free next Friday night after work, I have a surprise for you,” I charmed. He gave me a skeptical look. “I will accept that as a ‘yes’, now go and make that reservation Mr. Brogardt,” I said slapping him on his firm graspable cheeks. Ahhh, I was internally frustrated. I was so horny now all the time. The slightest touch of his skin or thought of something happening made me so very interested instantly, every time.
“As you command soon to be Mrs. Brogardt,” he teased. The way it rolled off his tongue gave me shivers. I loved this man. “Saturday, the 30th of August.” I gave him a confused expression trying to think of what date that was for. “That is when we will be getting married.” I smiled brightly and wrapped my hands around his neck kissing him and rolling my hand through his dark hair.
“Then I will prepare the invitations and send them out,” I said beaming. There wasn’t too many to invite so in light of things I still had an easy job ahead of me. I walked out and grabbed a pillow from the couch as Megan was still fixated on the television. Pudding was right beside her comfortably being lazy. I pegged the pillow at her and it smacked her right in the side of the face. She snapped to attention and looked at me at me with childish shock.
“Get up lazy bones, we have a big day today,” I said full of vigor. She looked up at me and rolled her eyes. She collected the pillow and rested it against her stomach. I looked at her for a moment. “Are you okay? You seem off.” She beamed instantly and got to her feet.
“I am fine, I’ll go get ready,” she said walking off towards the spare room. I watched behind her as she left confused by her odd outburst. I took to the kitchen to
do the dishes and noticed there were two wine glasses from last night which had been washed up.
A smile played at my lips as I collected both of them as my evidence. Unless Megan had been drinking out of two wine glasses last night, it meant that she wasn’t alone while here. I opened the door as she was changing. She slipped her head through her shirt. I leant against the doorframe with an inquisitive smile.
“Who was here last night?”
“What?” She looked stunned for a moment when she saw the glasses. “No one.”
“Was it Hayden?” I asked with a Cheshire smile. She began tightly pulling up her jeans and started doing little bunny hops to fit into them properly. She blew away parts of her hair that fell in her eyes.
“Leave it Clover, nothing is happening between us. You are starting to sound like an old hag in a nursing home with no real entertainment,” she said bitterly.
I twisted a smile and began to walk off. As I did I added. “Whatever you say.” And dashed out before she could respond with anything. I heard her stepping after me in the hallway but had already taken flight. No matter how old we got, I didn’t think that our childish sibling taunts would end. If she didn’t want to talk about it, I wasn’t going to push her for it. She would tell me in her own time.
I washed the last of the dishes before we decided to head out. I had a particular dress I had to go out and purchase. After thinking it over and having my mother’s admiration for the dress as well, I decided I loved it and it was perfect.
Damon walked out with a beaming smile. “It’s all ours!” I tried to contain my excitement of joy.
“Alrighty,” I said throwing the tea towel over my shoulder and placing my hands on my hips. Well, you organize one end of the list and I will organize the other,” I said. He beamed and came over and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“You’re okay with all of this and the theme we have instead? I don’t want you to feel rushed in this. I want this to be perfect Clover,” he said.
My Expectation (My Escort Series Book 3) Page 9