I smile, “No, you sure aren’t.”
“Ideas?” she asks, holding the pen to the paper.
“Well, I think we need to wait until after Brea and Vincent’s wedding to have our wedding. We don’t want to interfere with their wedding.”
“Good point,” she taps the pen to paper. “So any time after October 23rd.”
“You will be due when… around February? We won’t know for sure until you see a doctor.”
“February? If everything goes right, it’ll be a Valentine’s baby.”
“Well, yes, assuming everything does go right. It will be right around that time.”
“So when would we get married? New Year’s?” she asks, looking over at me.
“Yes, I was thinking New Year’s Eve. We can get married and start our new life together at the beginning of the New Year.”
“At your parents’ house, down by the water, at midnight?”
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. We can have just our family and friends. Small and intimate…”
“Just the way I like it,” she smiles and leans into me.
I wrap my arms around her, “Just the way you like it, Beauty, small and intimate.”
“Do you think they’ll agree to have it there?”
“I think they will argue with us if we don’t have it there.”
She places the pen and paper back on the nightstand.
“I love you,” she says, snuggling into me.
I reach over and turn off the lights, “I love you, more.”
I wake up for work and Angel is already out of bed. I look into the bathroom and the light is off. I walk out into the kitchen and I can smell bacon cooking.
“You’re up pretty early this morning,” I say, walking over to the coffee pot to pour me a cup, after kissing her good morning.
“Yes, well, I couldn’t sleep.”
“Oh, are you feeling all right?” I ask, pouring myself a cup of coffee.
“Just a lot on my mind, that’s all,” she says, while flipping the bacon over.
I look over and Angel has her notebook and pen lying out on the kitchen island.
“We’re going to have to start keeping decaffeinated coffee in the house.”
Angel holds up a glass of milk. “I know. I’m going to miss my caffeine in the mornings.”
“Are you coming up with some ideas for the wedding?” I ask, nodding towards the pen and paper on the island.
“Pre-wedding things, more like it, a lot of things have been running through my mind. I don’t want to forget anything.”
“Like what?” I say, sitting at the bar and watching her.
“Like, I think it’s time I start looking for office space for my Interior Design business. I would really like to get that started. I’ll be taking time off work and I don’t think it will be fair to Sara or Brea.” Angel turns the bacon over again and pours some scrambled eggs in a frying pan. “And we have other homes that we own. We need to discuss what we are going to do with those. Right now, they are just sitting empty and that is a waste of money and I’m going to need to find a doctor.”
“Wow, you didn’t get much rest last night, I see.”
“No, I guess I didn’t, but I feel fine.”
I walk over and butter the toast while she places the scrambled eggs and bacon on the plates.
“Let’s eat and we can try to resolve some of your dilemmas, shall we?”
“Do you think it’s that easy?”
I follow her to the bar and I take the seat across from her.
“Dilemma number one: finding you a doctor. I know a few obstetricians but I can also ask around at work today to see whom people use and whom they like. I can ask some of the patients whom they have used. That way the staff doesn’t get suspicious,” I say.
“Really? It will be that easy?”
“I hope so. When someone has a good doctor, they love to share it. Believe it or not, it’s hard to find a good doctor. You have to like them, trust them, and be able to tell them all kinds of personal things. You have to trust them with your most personal problems.”
“Ok, sounds good. I’ll also bring up a conversation with Brea to see who they use. I don’t think we should announce the pregnancy just yet. We need to make sure we are out of the ‘danger zone,’” she says, using air quotation marks.
“I agree, we don’t want to announce it too soon. And when we do, we’ll announce that it’s mine.”
“I want to, yes, but some people will know the truth.”
“If they aren’t family or close friends, they won’t know any different.”
“Mason, you know I love you, right?”
“I do, and I also know you are going to be Mrs. Mason Myles in the near future.”
“I like the way that sounds.”
“Me, too. From here on out, I want this baby to be referred to as my baby. No more Jim. This baby is our baby, mine and yours, got it?”
“Yes, Mason, I got it and I love you.”
“Good, I love you, too. Dilemma number two: office space. I think you should work from home. We have empty rooms here you can use. You can set up your office in one of them. Eventually, I want to fill this house up with babies. But until then, you could borrow one of their rooms,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee and trying not to smile.
“Babies? How many babies are you talking?” she asks, with a raised brow.
“We can start off with one and stop when all the bedrooms are full.”
“Mason, you own a five-bedroom house.”
“I know and we occupy only one of those bedrooms.”
“Mason, that leaves four other bedrooms.”
“I know, I can count.” I laugh. Now would be a good time to change the subject. “Dilemma number three: extra homes.”
“We have two other homes that are sitting vacant. I think we should decide what we are going to do with them. It’s a waste of money to pay for them to sit empty. We could be saving the money we are spending to keep them. And don’t think I forgot about the baby — make that babies — comment,” Angel says, smiling.
“All right, we’ll revisit the baby — make that babies — conversation at a later date. Good point on the homes; they are just sitting empty and that is costly. Your cottage was a gift to you from your aunt, right? Aunt Rosie?” I ask.
“Yes, Uncle Raùl’s sister.”
“Why not re-gift the cottage to him and Maria? It will give them a place to stay when they are in town and it will also remain in the family. Maybe one day, they’ll decide to retire here.”
“Mason Alexander, that is a wonderful idea. You are so much more than good looks and charm. Who knew that you were also brilliant?” She laughs. “That would be so great if they would move here. I miss them so much.”
“I know you do. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe one day they’ll decide to make Florida their home.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I believe they love you and if they could be closer to you, they would.”
“I hope so.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you that I am meeting Madison for lunch today,” Mason says.
“I haven’t seen her in a long time. We should invite her over for dinner.”
“I can do that. I’ll invite her over next weekend. I can also ask her to list the condo for us with her real estate company. Maybe she can put it on the market to see if anyone is interested. The economy and real estate are getting better. This might be a good time to list it.”
“Mason, you love the condo. I didn’t mean for you to sell it. I don’t want you to get rid of it because of me.”
“No, you’re right, it has been sitting empty. I loved it when I bought it, but my life has changed since then.” I look over at her and smile. “It’s not really a family home. I want something our kids can run around in and I won’t be in fear of something happening to them.”
Angel looks around the house and smiles. “This is going to be a great
family home for our children.”
“I think so, too.” I look around the house before taking our plates into the kitchen. “I need to shower; I’ll use the guest shower and you use the master,” I say, looking at Angel.
“I’ll hurry so we aren’t late.”
“Take your time, we still have plenty of time,” I say, trying to sound cheerful.
“Ok,” she says while walking away from me.
I shower and finish loading the dishwasher when Angel enters the room. She looks beautiful. She is wearing a black knee-length dress and black heels. Her hair is down, curly, and still wet.
“You look beautiful.”
She smiles and walks over to me and kisses me, “Thank you, are you ready?”
“I am, do you have everything you need?”
“Yup, lead the way, Handsome.”
I drive Angel to work. Sara and Brea are already there when we arrive.
“Want to come in and tell them about our engagement?”
“I can’t wait,” I say, smiling.
I get out of the car and walk over to Angel’s side to open her door for her. I reach my hand in and she takes it and smiles. We walk into the office hand in hand; both of us are smiling. The bell over the door rings, alerting Sara and Brea, who smile when they see us.
“Good morning, everyone.” I smile.
Brea walks over and says, “I didn’t realize you were starting work here today, Mason?” She laughs.
“Ha, ha, very funny. I’m not. Angel and I have some news we wanted to share with you both.”
They both stare at Angel then me. Angel raises her hand and wiggles her ring finger back and forth, drawing attention to the ring there. They both squeal and scream and run over and hug Angel to the point I’m afraid they may hurt her. I back away from the interaction among them.
“I need to get going,”
“Mason, I forgot all about you. Congratulations,” Brea says, standing on her tiptoes to hug me.
“Thank you, and that’s ok. Have you always been this short?” I say, leaning down to hug her.
“Shut up, Vincent won’t let me wear my heels until after the baby’s born.” She pouts. “He’s afraid I’ll trip and fall, or topple over from the excess weight; I’m not sure which.”
“I can understand that; no man wants to see potential harm done to their child, or their girl.”
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing, I was just agreeing with him, that’s all.”
“Umm mmm.”
Sara comes over and hugs me next. I bend down to hug her. “It took you long enough. Donovan said you were going to propose on her birthday,” she says, hugging me, so no one else can hear.
“Cold feet,” I lie.
“Well, better late than never. Congratulations,” she says, kissing me on my cheek.
“Thank you.”
“I need to go,” I say, walking to the door.
Angel walks with me and kisses me goodbye. “I love you.”
“I love you. I’ll pick you up right after work.”
“Be careful.”
I head into work, thankful that it’s Friday. I look at the appointment book and notice the last patient is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. I may be able to leave early and run a few errands before I need to pick up Angel after work. I make a list of things I need to do after work and stuff it in my pocket.
I start to see patients and break only for lunch. I check my phone and there is a text from Angel.
A: Mr. Myles, I hope you have a great lunch date with your sister. Thinking of you. I love you, Miss Perez.
M: Miss Perez, soon you will be Mrs. Myles and I can’t wait for that day. I also hope you have a great lunch and please eat healthy. My baby likes fruits and vegetables with each meal. Dr. Mason Myles.
A: You’re going to make me cry. I love you.
M: I’m sorry, don’t cry. Have a good lunch and I love you, too.
Madison and I have lunch next door at the Fast and Fresh Deli. I tell her that Angel and I got engaged and I would like to put the condo up for sale.
“Oh my God, Mason. Do you know how many times a week I get asked about condos in your building? A penthouse with your view, my commission will be through the roof.”
“Then it should sell quickly at a good price.”
“Wait, I thought you loved it there?”
“I do, but with Angel and me getting married, we need only a family home. The condo was great for a bachelor pad, but it won’t do for a family.”
“Please tell me, she isn’t pregnant?”
“Madison, stop it. We are just planning ahead. The real estate market is going up, and this is prime property. We should be able to get a good price out of it.”
We order our lunch and talk about having her over for dinner next week.
“I’ll clear my personal things out of the condo this weekend, and if you can, you should try to sell it furnished. Try to get it on the market next week.” I swear that I can see dollar signs in Madison’s eyes.
“Sounds good, I’ll need your key. You have a spare, right?”
“I do, and Madison, I want the best price you can get me.”
“I will. I’m good at what I do, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“I know I don’t. Here’s the spare key.”
Angel
Mason leaves for work, and Sara, Brea, and I have a difficult time getting into work mode. We talk about Brea and Vincent’s wedding and the completion date of their new home. Their home should be completed in another month. They have already started shopping for baby furniture and other essential items they’ll need for the baby. Once they move into the new house, the baby will be due in a little over a month.
We also talk about Sara and Donovan’s new living arrangements. Sara is very excited with the progression of their relationship and mentions that they both will make a great aunt and uncle to Brea and Vincent’s baby. She says that they have also started to baby-proof their house and are buying a few baby items to keep at their home for when the baby visits. Donovan went out and bought electrical outlet covers for the house — believe it or not, when babies are old enough to crawl, they explore things with all their senses and will so such things as lick electrical outlets — and she says that he also cleared out all the cleaning supplies from under the cabinets and moved them out to the garage to a top shelf. I think that is so sweet and a great idea. I think we need to do that, and I also think of how blessed my baby will be to be surrounded by people like them.
They ask me if Mason and I have any plans for a wedding date, and I tell them we were thinking about this year on New Year’s Eve. They are excited and think that is a great time to get married and to start over. To finally leave the past in the past. I agree, it is a perfect time to do that. The beginning of a new year and a new life together. I don’t want to talk much about our wedding because I don’t want to take anything from Brea’s wedding. There will be plenty of time to talk about and plan our wedding later.
We finally dive into work and stop only when there is a food delivery. Donovan had soup and salads delivered for everyone from Sweet Tomato’s Salads and Soups. Brea and I dig right into the food while Sara leaves the room to call Donovan.
After lunch we work non-stop until quitting time. Mason texts me and tells me he’ll be outside when I’m ready. Sara, Brea, and I lock up and walk out of the office together. Mason is leaning against his car and looking handsome when we reach the parking lot.
“Hi,” I say, walking over to him.
Mason pushes off from the car and walks over to meet us. “Hi, yourself.”
“Don’t mind us,” Brea says, laughing.
“Hello, Brea and Sara.”
“Have a good night, Mason and Angel,” Sara says, getting into her car.
“Good night and drive safely,” Mason says, waving her goodbye.
Mason walks over and opens Brea’s car door for her. He stands beside the car while she gets in a
nd buckles up. I watch them interact, and I see when he places his hand on her belly. He waits only a few moments and they both smile. He waves as she backs up and then he walks over to me.
“I missed you.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. “I missed you, too.”
“Ready to head home?” he asks, while walking with me to the car. “We need to get the groceries put away.”
“You went to the grocery store?”
“I finished with my last patient early so I had some extra time.” Mason opens my car door for me and waits for me to get in.
“I didn’t realize we were low on groceries.”
“We’re not, now buckle up,” he says, while shutting my car door. He gets in and buckles his own seat belt, smiling.
I look in the back seat of the car and see that it is full of grocery bags. “If we weren’t low on groceries, then what is all that?” I ask as he pulls out into the main road.
Mason looks over at me still smiling, then looks into the back seat. “Just some extras I thought we needed until grocery day on Sunday.”
“It looks like more than extras.”
Mason and I drive to the beach house, and he tells me he made an appointment at an OB/GYN for me for next Friday. He also adds that he found the perfect doctor in Sarasota for me. The daughter of one of his patients is seeing her, and the mother swears by the doctor’s work. He tells me that is good enough for him. If it’s good enough for Mason, then it’s good enough for me. I also notice the doctor is a female, although I don’t say anything.
We arrive at the beach house. As usual, I stay seated and wait for Mason to open my car door for me. I reach in to get some bags from the back seat when Mason asks that I check the mail instead. Mason on occasion can be very overprotective and it is very sexy. I love overprotective Mason. Usually this happens when a lot of people are around and when he fears for my safety, like when Jim was alive. Now Mason is in overprotective mode because I am pregnant. He probably doesn’t even know he does it.
By the time I get the few pieces of mail from the mailbox, Mason already has everything gathered in his hands and is waiting for me.
“Do you want me to take some of those bags from you?”
Starting Over Trilogy Boxset Page 39