New Beginnings

by Lori Maguire

  I noted with deep affection that there was also a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a cup of my favorite tea, a small vase with a single pink rose, and the newspaper neatly rolled up. I couldn’t help but chuckle. It looked like something right out of the movies.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked

  “This?” I gestured to the elaborate tray before me. “I was just thinking that it looks like something right out of a movie like … I don’t know … Trading Places.”

  He looked at me with mock horror for a moment. “Are you saying I’m Coleman the butler then?”

  I burst out laughing so hard I almost knocked the tray over.

  “Damn! And here I thought I was more like Winthrope,” he said laughing.

  “Ha! And what’s that make me, Louie? Penelope or Ophelia?”

  “Hmm, that’s a tough one,” he said, looking deep in thought for a moment. “They both give me a stiffy.”

  I looked at him in shock for a moment before we both burst out laughing again.

  As soon as we were able to catch our breaths, he urged me to finish eating. “Once you’ve finished your breakfast, I want you to open that paper. But, only after you’ve finished eating,” he warned.

  “Okay.” Intrigued by what he was up to, I was eager to be done with breakfast. But I was enjoying the delicious food that was before me so much that I decided to savor it instead. Xavier’s impatience was starting to show, which only encouraged me to continue to savor my breakfast. He kept glancing over at me asking if I was getting full, or was I done yet, or had I had enough. I couldn’t help but snicker. He was desperate for me to see what was in that paper.

  When I finally indicated I was done, he swooped in and grabbed the paper before I could even reach for it.

  “Hey!” I said indignantly.

  He just gave me his beautiful half smile that I loved so much and opened the paper with a flourish. I glanced down and froze at the story directly under the local news heading on the first page. The headline seemed to jump off the page.

  Carefully, as if it might break, I placed the paper down on the tray. I knew this was a big deal for him knowing what had transpired with his former fiancé. If their engagement announcement hadn’t of appeared in the paper, Xavier believes her ex-boyfriend wouldn’t have taken her life. He feared I could suffer a similar fate knowing how Stephen had already come after us both with a gun. Granted it was unloaded, unbeknown to us at the time, but what was stopping Stephen from coming back this time with a loaded gun? It’s the major reason why Xavier fought so hard to keep our engagement out of the paper, until it got leaked a few months ago. Since then, I know he knew I worried what people would think if he didn’t acknowledge our engagement. I tried to play it off like I didn’t care, but there was no way I could fool the man who knew me better than I knew myself.

  I looked up at him and my heart swelled in my chest. Concern crinkled the skin around his beautiful, blue eyes while he sat and watched me waiting for my reaction.

  “Thank you,” I said gratefully, my voice breaking embarrassingly.

  “You’re welcome, sweetness, but know that I did not do it for you entirely.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “Yes, I know you were concerned over what people were going to think if I didn’t acknowledge our engagement, but that’s not why I did it,” he stated, looking at me intensely. “I did it because it was time that everybody knew you were mine,” he whispered in a voice that had me clenching my thighs together.

  Leaning over, he wound his hands in my hair and pulled my face to his, kissing me as if his life depended on it. When he was sure he had me good and worked up, he removed the tray, pulled me out of bed, playfully spanked me on the behind, and sent me toward the bathroom.

  “Go! We need to get on the road. We have a good three-hour drive ahead of us,” he said.

  “A what?” I exclaimed. “After you got me all worked up? Where are we going?” I whined.

  “I told you.” He chuckled at my whining. “It’s a beautiful little Bavarian town my parents used to bring my brother and me to. Trust me. They do Christmas like nobody else. Now go.”

  I waited until I heard the bedroom door shut before I dashed into the closet. I found the beautifully wrapped gift and stuffed it in my Coach bag. Today was the day Xavier was going to find out that he was going to be a daddy.

  As I’m sure any woman who has been pregnant will tell you, and as was confirmed by my web searches while Xavier was in Vancouver, exhaustion was the number one thing I could expect during the first trimester, and it was kicking in full swing today. Of course, the long stretch of I-90 East that was in front of us didn’t help either especially after having such a hearty breakfast. Before I knew it, warm hands were rubbing my face encouraging me to wake up.

  “Hey, sweetness. We’re here,” he said chuckling.

  “We’re here?” I asked groggily as I tried to wipe the sleep from my eyes. We were just getting ready to turn down a gravel road through a huge gate made out of timber. It looked like something you would see at a ranch. I sat up in my seat to get a better look after having slouched a bit from sleeping.

  As Xavier made his way down the road, I gasped when the enormous house quickly came into view. Well, if you could call it a house. It really looked more like a resort, a resort that was a huge, log cabin and a monster circular drive.

  Xavier parked at the front door and came around to open my door. “Come. Let me show you around before I bring the bags in.”

  He paused for a moment at the front door. “I didn’t tell you, but this is my brother’s place. He’s letting me use it this weekend. It’s got six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and it’s something like eight thousand square feet. We might need the GPS to navigate our way around.” He laughed nervously.

  I gave him a chaste kiss and urged him to open the door. He was worried about my reaction to the opulence of it all, but knowing now that it wasn’t his helped me to relax a bit.

  He swung the door open and placed his hand at the small of my back as he guided me in. I gaped at the sight before me. The beautiful hardwood floors, timber ceiling, walls, stairs, and banisters were breathtaking, but with a homey rustic feel. A huge stone fireplace dominated the living room. Like Xavier’s condo, this house was an open floor plan.

  He led me further into the house past the huge dining room table that could easily seat ten, the fully equipped professional kitchen, and out onto the back deck. The back of the house backed up to a river. The sounds of the water rushing over the rocks was both relaxing and mesmerizing.

  Xavier snaked his arms around me from behind and snuggled his nose into my neck. “I know it’s cold and that it’s recently snowed, but I fully intend on breaking open that hot tub later tonight.” He kissed me behind the ear sending a shiver down my spine. “Come,” he said as he grabbed my hand and dragged me back into the house.

  I was going to have to tell him before he cracked open that hot tub. Now that I was pregnant, there was going to be no hot tub for me. I hoped he wasn’t going to be disappointed about that. Shit, what if he got mad? Maybe I’m totally ruining his plans? What if that completely pisses him off?

  He stopped just inside the door. Spinning around, he grabbed my face and stared into my eyes intently. “What is it, baby? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I said, smiling weakly at him.

  He continued to stare into my eyes for another moment. “Come on.” He dragged me upstairs and continued the tour.

  The upstairs loft was open and wrapped around the interior of the house. There were two small stone fireplaces with big, comfy chairs in front of them, a small bar, a billiard table, and a table to play cards at.

  The rooms off the loft consisted of the bedrooms and bathrooms, a home office, and a small home theater.

  Xavier left me in the master bedroom while he went to retrieve the bags. The wood that the huge, king-size bed was made out of matched the wood the beams of the house were made from. A huge stone fir
eplace dominated one corner. The windows overlooked the river that ran behind the house.

  I wandered into the bathroom. A huge Jacuzzi bathtub was in the corner that I smiled widely at. I couldn’t sit in the hot tub, but I could sit in a Jacuzzi bathtub so long as it wasn’t hot. Maybe Xavier will be okay with the compromise.

  “You want to try out the tub?” Xavier asked huskily making me jump. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry.” He hugged me closely. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m fine. Really. I just didn’t hear you.” I kissed him softly on the lips. “And, yes. I would love to try out the tub. Later.” I winked at him and extricated myself from his arms so I could go unpack. He sighed heavily and joined me in the unpacking. “So, where is this town that knows how to do Christmas like no other?”

  “About two miles down the road. We’ll head out for dinner once we are done here. Our ride should be here soon.”

  “Our ride? We aren’t driving?”

  He shook his head at me and gave me a secret smile. What the heck was he up to?

  As soon as we got back downstairs, he looked out the front window. “Ah, Ms. Martin, your chariot has arrived. Please dress warmly as it is rather cold outside.” He proceeded to make sure I was bundled up in the bulky down jacket he brought, gloves, scarf, and hat that covered my ears. After bundling himself up, he grabbed a tartan blanket before opening the front door with a slight bow.

  I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I walked through the door, causing Xavier to turn and walk right into the back of me. I stumbled forward before he grabbed a hold of me.

  “Whoa, sweetness. Weren’t expecting this, were you?” he asked, sounding smug.

  “No,” I said, sounding all stunned.

  There sat a beautiful, red, horse-drawn carriage waiting to take us into town. A gentleman dressed in a chauffeur-type outfit held his hand out to me in front of a little open door to help me up the two little steps and into the carriage.

  Xavier climbed in and snuggled up next to me spreading the blanket out over our legs. I wrapped my gloved hand around his.

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely.

  “For what?” he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

  “For making this weekend so special.”

  “Oh, sweetness, it’s only just begun,” he whispered in my ear. “Viscontis, please,” he said to the gentleman as we set out down the road.

  Front Street through Leavenworth is a beautiful Bavarian-style strip of buildings completely surrounded by beautiful mountains. Every building was decorated with Christmas lights from blue, white, red, and green. Every tree was completely wrapped with white lights. It all cast such a beautiful glow on the white, glistening snow.

  The streets were packed with people. A huge Christmas tree stood lit up next to a gazebo that was strung all in white lights near the center of it all. Children were tubing down a small hill next to the gazebo, and their delighted screams were piercing through the air. I could picture Xavier as a little, beautiful, dark-haired boy tubing down that same hill with his brother. His big, blue eyes twinkling and his cheeks rosy from the cold. I quickly calculated from my due date to next Christmas. Our baby will be about five months old by then. I wonder if Xavier will still want to come here even though he or she will be too little to really enjoy anything.

  “What are you thinking about, sweetness?” Xavier asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

  “Just how unbelievably wonderful this place is. Scrooge would be in the Christmas spirit within seconds of being here. It’s so beautiful.”

  “There will be some festivities tomorrow and Saturday night. I want to walk the street with you, but not tonight. Tonight I want to get you in that hot tub.” He winked at me.

  Viscontis was a beautiful Italian restaurant on Front Street. The place seemed rather crowded, but of course there was no wait for Mr. Xavier Hart. A young man quickly escorted us to a table in the back of the restaurant.

  Xavier wasted no time ordering some bread and dipping oil and a bottle of the local Sangioviese. Wine. Red wine. Before it could arrive, I excused myself to the ladies room. I locked myself in a stall and immediately went to Google. Ugh, the information was mixed. Yes, it was okay. No, it was not okay. Either way, red wine was the winner if you were going to have wine. Sangioviese is red. One glass should be okay. Once I told Xavier I was pregnant, there would be no other opportunities where this would be a problem.

  By the time I got back to the table, the wine was poured and waiting for me. Xavier lifted his glass to me. I scrambled to lift mine. “To many more holidays together. Cheers,” he said as he clinked my glass.

  “Cheers,” I said, clinking his glass in return. I took a small sip and placed my glass back down.

  Dinner was extraordinary. Xavier enjoyed the chicken parmesan while I downed the veal picatta. In typical fashion, we fed each other from our plates, sharing our meals and moaning appreciatively.

  By the time the check arrived, I sensed a bit of urgency from Xavier to get back to the house. Butterflies suddenly assaulted my stomach as the time drew closer at having to reveal the secret of my little mystery guest. Would he be happy about it? Mad that I kept it a secret for almost a week? Guess I would know soon enough.

  As soon as we got back to the house, he removed my coat and took my gloves, hat, and scarf from me before he removed his. I stood in the entryway staring him and I started to shake like a leaf.

  “Ella, baby, what is it? Are you cold?” he asked, sounding concerned.

  “No. I … I … Can you wait here for a moment? I have something for you,” I said nervously.

  “Sure. I’ll go get the hot tub started.”

  I grabbed his forearm. “No, not yet. Wait until after I give this to you. Okay?”

  “Okay,” he agreed, frowning at me.

  I headed upstairs to the bedroom where my oversized bag was and dug out the beautifully wrapped little box. He was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs with a concerned look on his face. I took his hand in mine and led him over to the huge leather couch in front of the stone fireplace. I had to sit down for this with how shaky I was.

  “An early Christmas present,” I said. I handed him the package shaking almost uncontrollably. “I know it’s ten days before Christmas, but I wanted to give this to you while we were alone.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me. “Now I’m intrigued,” he murmured. “What is it? A sexy nighty that’s going to drive me absolutely insane?”

  I laughed nervously. “Not exactly.”

  He frowned at me for a few seconds before he tore at the paper, opened the box, peeled back the tissue paper, and froze. His breath sucked in quickly as he pulled up the little blue infant onesie that said Handsome As Daddy. He gave me a quizzical look. My stomach roiled. I clasped my hand over my mouth praying I wouldn’t be sick now. He looked back in the box, placed the blue onesie aside, and pulled out the little pink infant onesie that had a little silver crown on it and said Daddy’s Princess. His eyes locked with mine searching for answers. It took me a minute to be able to speak as I tried to calm my stomach down.

  “Look under the tissue paper,” I managed to whisper.

  He dropped the little pink onesie on top of the blue one and pulled back the tissue paper. He pulled out the test results that confirmed the pregnancy and held it as if it were a fragile piece of glass. The box fell to the floor as he jumped up off the couch. I flinched not expecting him to move so suddenly. He walked over to the fireplace and just studied the piece of paper for several minutes.

  I couldn’t gauge his mood. He had his back to me so I couldn’t see his face. I was afraid to speak. All I could do was sit on the couch and continue to shake while I waited for some kind of a response out of him. I held my breath in anticipation.

  Finally, he turned toward me. His eyes were glistening. “Ella,” he croaked. He tried to clear his throat. It was thick with emotion. “Ella,” he whispered. “You’re …” His voice trailed of
f.

  “Pregnant.” I finished the sentence for him nodding my head at him.

  He exhaled long and loud as if he had been holding his breath since he first opened the box. Setting the piece of paper on the box, he grabbed my hands and pulled me up off the couch and crushed me to his chest.

  Minutes later, he cupped his big, warm hands around my face and kissed me long and hard leaving us both breathless. Then he pressed a hand onto my abdomen lovingly but protectively. “Everything is all right?” he asked quietly.

  “Yes. I saw the doctor on Monday, and she was able to confirm it. Everything appears to be fine, and I haven’t been having any problems either.”

  He smiled widely at me. “Good,” he breathed, sounding a bit relieved.

  “I’m sorry, Xavier. I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out, but then I wanted to wait until I had it confirmed with the doctor. But then I was thinking maybe I could wait until Christmas. I mean, what kind of Christmas present could you possibly get the man who already has everything? I’ve never had to Christmas shop for a multi-million billionaire before. It’s not like I could go out and just buy you a tie or something …”

  “Hey!” Two strong hands grabbed my upper arms and silenced me. He chuckled as he looked down at me. “You’ve been rambling like crazy woman. Relax. I’m not upset if that’s what you are worried about. My God, Ella, you just told me you are pregnant with our baby. How could I possibly be upset about that?”

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “How long have you known?” he asked carefully.

  “Not long,” I said cautiously. “I did a home pregnancy test Saturday before the Christmas party and it came out positive.”

  “Well, that certainly explains why you didn’t want any alcohol at the party or the night before I left for Vancouver.”

  “Yes. I realized I was going to have to tell you before Christmas because it was going to be impossible to avoid the wine with dinner scenario with you.” I smirked at him.

  “But you had a glass of wine with dinner tonight,” he said horrified.

  “I had a few sips of red wine, Xavier. It’s fine. You realize most women usually drink the first few weeks before they even know they are pregnant. It’ll be okay. I haven’t drank anything excessively, and I don’t plan on having anything more to drink until this baby is born.” He looked relieved. “Besides, Bev figured it out the day you left for Vancouver. I was an emotional mess. She’s been hovering over me ever since. I’m not sure how much longer she could keep it a secret.” I chuckled.