by Sandi Lynn
“Well?” she spoke.
I turned around and gasped when I saw her standing there in her dress with her hair swept up in a beautiful updo.
“You look gorgeous.” I smiled as I walked over to her.
“And you look handsome.” She straightened my bowtie.
“I want to show you something?” I held out my hand.
She placed her hand in mine and I led her up the stairs and to the rooftop, where I had an elegant table with rose petals and candles lit.
“Wes, this is beautiful. You did all this?”
“I did. I wanted our first night here to be as special as possible. It’s a beautiful night and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than a romantic dinner up on the rooftop overlooking Paris.”
“You are truly a dream come true.” She smiled as she kissed me.
I pulled out her chair and she took a seat. Pulling out my phone, I sent a message to the chef that we were ready for dinner. Within moments, a waiter came up and filled our glasses with champagne and brought an appetizer to start.
“This is truly amazing, Wes. Look at that view.”
“As beautiful as it is, I’d rather look at you.”
I nervously placed my hand in my pocket, pulled out the ring box, and held it under the table while I took in a deep breath.
“Anna, I love you.”
“I love you too.” She smiled.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we were here, in this room together, sharing a beautiful night of passion. I never told you this, but I considered staying because there was something about you that pulled me in. The more I thought about it, I couldn’t, because I knew once we had our time here, I’d never see you again and it would be too hard. Then you showed up at my office, and once again, you were in my life. I can’t even explain to you the happiness that consumed me when I saw you standing in the doorway of my conference room.”
“I felt the same way,” she softly spoke as tears infiltrated her eyes.
I got up from my seat, walked over to her chair, and got down on one knee while I opened the lid of the box and held it up in front of her. Immediately, she placed her hand over her mouth.
“I love you, Anna Young, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me and do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She placed her hand on my cheek as a tear fell from her eye.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. I will marry you, Wes Carter. I can’t believe this.”
I removed the ring from the box, took her left hand, and slid it on her finger.
“It’s a perfect fit.” She smiled as she stared at it. “Wes, it’s stunning.”
“You’re stunning, Anna.”
I helped her up from her chair and wrapped my arms around her waist while hers wrapped around my neck. We stared into each other’s eyes before our lips met with desire. My heart filled with happiness that she said yes, but I had another worry.
Chapter 29
Anna
His lips grazed my neck as he held my arms above my head and moved in and out of me at a steady pace. I gasped for air with each long stroke as my body took him in, stimulating me beyond glory. I let out a moan as my body tightened and an orgasm rushed through me. His breath became heavier as he picked up the pace and came with me.
He hovered over me with a smile upon his lips as little beads of sweat covered his forehead.
“I don’t think I can move.” He chuckled.
“Me either.” I smiled.
He gathered the energy to roll off me and I snuggled my body against his, resting my head on his chest, staring at the beautiful ring that sat upon my finger.
“Isn’t it ironic that the last time we lay in this bed together, we were complete strangers, and now we’re lying in this bed for the second time in our lives and we’re engaged. Who would have thought that our one night in Paris would have led to this?”
“I agree.” His grip around me tightened.
“Oh my god,” she spoke as she sat up and looked at me.
“What is it?”
“This is the reason why you were so mad at me when I told you that I couldn’t come to Paris with you.”
“I wondered how long it was going to take you to figure that out.” He smiled as he brought his finger up and softly traced my lips.
“Ugh, and to think I almost ruined it. I’m sorry, Wes.”
“You’re here and that’s all that matters, sweetheart.”
“You don’t have a meeting tomorrow, do you?”
“No.” He grinned. “It was an excuse to get you here.”
“I have to Facetime Franco,” I excitedly spoke as I reached over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand.
“Here, put on your robe first.”
I took the robe he handed me and slipped it on. I brought up Franco’s number and Facetimed him.
“Hello, my love. Oh. I see you’re already christening the hotel room.” He smiled.
“We are.” I grinned. “Say hi to Wes.” I turned the phone to him.
“Hello, Wes.” Franco waved.
“Hey, Franco.”
“Guess what?” I beamed with excitement.
“What?”
I held my hand with my ring on it up to the phone.
“Wes asked me to marry him!” I squealed.
“AH! I’m so happy for you! Holy shit, look at that ring. It’s gorgeous, Anna.”
“Thank you. Okay. I have to go now. I need to get back to my fiancé. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you too, baby doll.”
“When we get back to New York, I want you to permanently move in with me.”
“Is that a command, Mr. Carter? Or a request?”
“It’s a command and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Good. Because I love your commands.” I grinned as I leaned over and kissed him.
Paris was amazing and we were now back to the land of reality. With Franco’s help, I moved all of my things out of his apartment and over to Wes’ penthouse, which was now my new permanent home.
“I want to show you something,” Franco said as he grabbed his sketchbook. “I’ve been working on a design for your wedding dress. Tell me what you think.”
I took the sketch from his hand and studied the drawing.
“Franco, it’s beautiful. Oh my god, I love it.”
“Do you like the style? I wanted to do something different than your last one. This one is going to be even more spectacular.”
“I love it. It’s perfect.” I gave him a smile.
“Good. I’m glad the two of you already set the date, so now I know what kind of timeframe I’m working with. By the way, have you told your father?”
“No.” I looked away and went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “And I’m not. He’s not a part of my life and he doesn’t need to know. Which brings me to this. I would be honored if you would walk me down the aisle.”
He brought his hand up to his mouth and I could see a hint of tears filling his eyes.
“I would be so honored to walk you down the aisle. You are my best friend in the whole world.”
“Stop!” I waved my hands in front of my face as the tears swelled. I gave him a hug and thanked him.
Chapter 30
Three Months Later
Anna
Happy wasn’t a word that could describe how I felt inside. My life was finally perfect—the kind of perfection I’d always dreamed of. Something I never thought I’d have or experience. I was sitting on the couch, going over some orders for the shop, when I heard the elevator ding and Wes stepped out.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He smiled as he walked over to me and kissed my lips.
“Hi. How was your day?”
“Exhausting. If anything could go wrong, it did.”
He walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch.
“Do you want one?” he asked.
“No. I’m good.” I smiled.
He downed his drink and poured another one.
“Serena brought her baby in the office today for the first time. She’s due back from her maternity leave next week. Her son is so cute and tiny. I held him.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. For quite a while. He seemed to like me.”
“That’s because you’re extremely likeable, Mr. Carter.” I grinned.
“You know, I got to thinking about how we have never talked about children. How many kids do you want?”
I looked at him and gulped. There was a reason this subject never came up.
“Wes, I don’t ever want children.”
“What?” he asked as he walked over to me. “What do you mean?”
“I never have, and to be honest, I don’t plan on having any.”
“Anna, I don’t understand.”
“I assumed you never wanted them either since we never talked about it.”
“I love kids, and yes, I want them. I guess we never talked about it because we were so wrapped up in everything else. You’re seriously going to sit there and tell me that you don’t want to have children with me?”
“You act like you’re taking this personally, Wes. I just don’t want children period.”
“Why? Because of your mother?” His eye narrowed at me.
“Don’t. Don’t do this.” I shook my head as I got up from the couch. “Don’t bring her into this.”
“I am doing this.” His voice grew louder. “If it’s because of her, maybe need to get some therapy.”
“Excuse me? You’re standing there telling me that I need therapy because I don’t want kids?”
“Who the hell doesn’t want kids, Anna?” he yelled as he held out his arms.
“There are lots of people in this world that don’t want kids.”
“That’s just insane.” He finished off his scotch and walked back to the bar.
“Oh. So now I’m insane because I don’t want kids. Do you hear yourself?” I shouted.
“We’re having kids, Anna.”
“Is that so?” I stood there with my hands on my hips. “I hate to tell you this, Wes, but it’s my body, and if I don’t want kids, I’m not having any.”
“Man, I wish we would have discussed this before—”
“Before what, Wes?” I asked in a harsh tone.
“Nothing. Listen, Anna, let’s discuss this like mature adults. I want nothing more than to have a baby with you someday. It doesn’t have to be now or in a year,” he calmly spoke. “I can wait until you’re ready.”
“I’ll never be ready. I don’t want children. Not now, not ever, and I’m not going to stand here and tell you okay and give you false hope, and then in a couple of years, we’re standing in this exact spot having the same argument. I don’t want children. Period.”
He stood a few feet away from me with anger in his eyes. An anger I’d never seen before from him.
“Then why are we doing this?” he asked.
“What? Getting married? Because we love each other. Have you forgotten that? You’re going to let something like me not wanting children ruin us?”
“It’s like I don’t even know you, Anna. You won’t even consider it a possibility?”
“No, because I’m not going to lie to you. I’m being honest, Wes. I’m being real and raw here.”
“Relationships are based on compromise. I’ve compromised a lot with you on all sorts of things and now you won’t even extend me the courtesy of considering having a family?”
“No. I won’t. There’s nothing to consider. I don’t want kids.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way. Maybe this isn’t going to work out after all,” he somberly spoke as he held out his hand.
I couldn’t believe this was happening as my body shook from head to toe and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I removed the ring from my finger and placed it in his hand.
“Don’t do this, Wes,” I spoke as numerous tears fell down my face.
“I’m sorry, Anna. You and I want two totally different things, and if this is something we can’t see eye to eye on, then there’s no point in moving forward.” His eyes swelled with tears. “I’m leaving. I’ll give you a couple of hours to gather your things and move out. If you need more time than that, let me know.”
He walked away and pushed the button to the elevator. I ran to him and grabbed his arm.
“Don’t,” I cried. “Please.”
He jerked his arm out of my grip and stepped into the elevator. The doors shut and I fell to my knees and pounded on them as I screamed his name. I gathered myself from the floor, shaking and crying like my life had just been ripped away from me. I walked up the stairs, grabbed my suitcase from the closet, and threw some of my clothes into it. I went into the bathroom, gathered my makeup and toiletries, and threw them in a duffle bag. Grabbing my phone, I texted Franco.
“Are you home?”
“I just walked in. Why?”
“I need to talk to you. I’m on my way over.”
“Okay. I’ll be here. Everything okay?”
I didn’t respond and tossed my phone in my purse. I grabbed the duffle bag and my suitcase and headed out of the penthouse. I arrived at Franco’s apartment and lightly knocked on the door. I didn’t feel like digging out my key.
“Why didn’t you—Anna, what happened?” he asked as he looked down and saw my suitcase.
I broke down and my bottom lip started to quiver.
“Wes left me.”
“What? Get in here.”
He pulled me into his apartment and then grabbed my suitcase. Placing his hands on my shoulders, he led me over to the couch.
“What happened? Why would he leave you?”
“He wants kids and I don’t. We got into a huge fight about it and he said if I didn’t want them, then there was no use in moving forward.” I cried on his shoulder.
“Shit. It’s okay.” He held me. “Everything is going to be okay.”
Chapter 31
Wes
I took a cab to the heart of Hell’s Kitchen and entered a bar called Pocket Bar. After planting myself on a stool, the bartender walked over to me.
“What can I get you, man?”
“Scotch on the rocks and keep them coming.”
“Sure thing,” he said as he tapped his knuckles on the counter.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Christopher.
“Hey, Wes.”
“Can you meet me in Hell’s Kitchen at the Pocket Bar? I need to talk to you.”
“Sure. Is everything okay?”
“No. It’s not. I’ll see you soon.”
The bartender set my drink in front of me and I downed it like it was water. He poured me another and I sat there, holding it between my hands, thinking about Anna and everything that was said and happened.
“Hey,” Christopher said as he walked up from behind and placed his hand on my shoulder. He took a seat next to me and ordered a scotch. “What’s going on?”
“Anna doesn’t want kids.”
“Why?”
“Because of her mother and what happened to her, even though she won’t admit it.”
“Gee, Wes, I’m sorry. The two of you never discussed kids before?”
“No, and I’m glad I brought it up today. Could you imagine if I married her and then found out.”
“Bro, what do you mean ‘if’?”
“I broke up with her, took the ring back, and told her to move out.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No. I’m not.” I glanced over at him as I brought my glass up to my lips. “I thought I knew her. I guess I didn’t.”
“Maybe she’ll change her mind. She loves you and you love her. You can’t let something like this tear you apart.”
“She won’t change her mind. Bartender.” I held up my glass. “She was very adamant about it.”
“Wes, you love her more than life.”
“I know and I also love children. Yo
u knew how happy I was when Alexa told me she was pregnant. Even though I wasn’t in love with her, I was ecstatic that I was going to be a father. Then you saw what it did to me when I found out she lied. I’ve always wanted a family, and when I met Anna and fell in love with her, I thought she loved me enough to want to have one with me.”
“She does love you. The two of you can work this out. Come on, bro.” He hooked his arm around me. “Don’t let this destroy what the two of you have. I’m sorry that I have to say this, but there’s more to life than wanting kids. You have to step outside the box and look at the bigger picture.”
“I have looked at the bigger picture, and it consisted of me and Anna at home with small children running around us. That was my bigger picture, Christopher, and without that, I don’t see how the two of us together can work. If we were together, in the back of my mind, I’d always resent her for not wanting to start a family, and she’d always resent me for wanting one.”
I threw back the last of my scotch and Christopher helped me home.
Chapter 32
Anna
A couple of days had passed, and I didn’t get out of bed once. I couldn’t. I didn’t have the strength after all the crying I’d done. All of this because he wanted kids and I didn’t. Franco took care of me the best he could, and I willingly let him.
“Anna, you need to get out of this bed. In all my years of knowing you, I have never seen you like this. You’re stronger than this, girl. I’m worried about you, and if you don’t get up, I’m going to have you committed to a psych hospital.”
I pushed the covers back that were covering my head and looked at him.
“That’s a good idea. I think I belong there.”
A smile crossed his lips. “There’s my girl.”
“Franco, I can’t get up. I seriously don’t even want to deal with life.”
“Anna, you haven’t showered in days, and what about the shop?”
“Francine thinks I have the flu.”
“Listen, girl. I love you to pieces but get your sorry ass out of bed right now.”