“Why?”
I lift a shoulder. “Don’t you want a yard for the kids? Wiley’s been asking for one.”
“Won’t that make it hard for you?”
“Not if I’m close enough. There are places that are only thirty minutes away.”
“Then why two moves? Why not one?”
“Good question.” Then I thought about something.
“What?” she asked.
“I wonder if your apartment is still available.”
“It is. The lease I signed was for two years. I’m still paying on it.”
I brushed her hair back and kissed her. “Excellent. I have an idea.”
“Care to share?”
“Yes. Why don’t we offer it to Carly so she can live next door? She only lives a couple of blocks away as it is, and has a roommate. This way she would have the bonus of having her own place for that period of time. Or, until we move out of the city.”
“That’s a great idea if she takes it. And we’d have to let her know we wouldn’t take advantage of her. I only want help during the day.”
“We wouldn’t do that to her. And I’ll be there to help too.”
“You’ll be working.”
“We added another doctor last month.”
“Oh, Hudson, that’s great news.”
I observed her reaction when I added, “With Wiley and the new baby, and it was before I knew there were two, I wanted to spend more time with them. That was also before I knew if you’d agree to marry me.”
“Wiley needs his dad around more.”
“So will Hudson’s wife, along with A and B.”
“Yes, they will too. What are we going to do with two babies?” she asked.
“Have a lot of dirty diapers?”
She made a funny face. “Ellerie said I should buy stock in the diaper company. You wouldn’t believe all the stuff you need.”
“What do you mean?”
She twisted her fingers, so I took her hands in mine.
“I haven’t bought anything yet, you know, just in case.”
“Hey, stop thinking like that. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“I’m so scared. At night, when they’re active, sometimes I’m afraid to fall asleep, in case, you know. What if they stop moving?”
“Milly. You can’t think like that.”
“Hudson, if that happens again, I don’t think I could survive it.”
I pulled her into my chest and held her as tightly as I could. It wasn’t easy as A and B took up a lot of space. “Maybe it’s a blessing from God.”
“What do you mean?”
“He took Simon, but gave you A and B. And there isn’t much room for them to squiggle around. You know?”
She pulled away and smiled. “I never thought of it that way.” Then she planted a kiss on my lips. “Thank you for that.”
As I was stroking her cheek, she sat straight up and yelled, “Oh, shit. Work!”
My precious time alone with her was over. For now.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“What do you mean.”
“I’m driving you back to wherever we were. You’ll have to direct me since I’m not familiar with the area. Then I’ll help you.”
“You’re going to work with me?”
“Why not? I don’t have anything else to do.”
“Hudson, where is your bag?”
“Didn’t bring one. I wasn’t sure if I’d be staying.”
“What about your return flight?”
“Don’t have one. I booked a one way. I was anxious to get here when I found out where you were. Yeah, crazy, huh? But I hadn’t seen you in way too long and I had to take that chance. I knew your address and where Ellerie’s shop was. I decided to start with her, to see if she could tell me how you’d react. I never figured I’d find you there instead.”
She threw her arms around my neck. “I’m so happy you did.”
“Me too. Now let’s go before you get fired.”
“Oh, shit.”
“What now?”
“I have another job I have to resign from.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Nothing. It’s just that he gave me the job as a favor and here I’m leaving already.”
I held her hand on the way to the car. “Can I ask you something?”
“Uh huh.”
“Will you still want to work when we’re married? I’m just wondering because it’s completely up to you.”
“I, uh, would you mind if I didn’t right away. I mean, it would be so hard with the babies.”
“You don’t ever have to work again if you don’t want to.”
“I’d want to but not until they get a bit older.”
“I’d prefer that too. Tell me, beautiful Milly, because I’ve waited my entire life for you. When will you marry me?”
Chapter Forty-Three
Milly
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, because I did. Oh, how I wanted to marry him. Why hadn’t he been my first?
“I wish I had. We both should’ve been each other’s first,” he said.
I hadn’t realized I’d spoken aloud.
“But …” He held up his hand. “As crazy as Lydia is and as much hell as that woman has put me through, there’s not a minute that goes by that I don’t thank God every day for giving me Wiley. And I wouldn’t have had him without her.”
Bile choked me as I thought how much I hurt him when I left.
“Why the tears?”
“I didn’t think about how much I was hurting him. In my selfishness, I was so stupid. I just ran, and that darling little boy was left behind. I’ll never forgive myself.”
“You’re going to have to, Milly.”
That ache, the one that Simon left behind, intensified, and my hand automatically massaged the place over my ribs. Wiley added to it, and I only had myself to blame.
“I’ll have to ask for his forgiveness.”
“Yes, you will, and knowing Wiley, he’ll forgive you. He loves you, Milly. Very much.”
“I love him, too, but I didn’t show it very well.”
“I thought we decided we’re going to move past all this.”
My heart cracked, and I knew I would have to figure this out. I hated myself for this. Why hadn’t I thought about it? How had I been so wrapped up in my own issues not to see what I was doing to others?
Hudson took my hand and we walked to the car. “You’re going to get fired, love.”
“Did you just love me.”
“Milly, I think I loved you from the day you lost your tampons.”
“Oh, my God. You remember the tampons?”
“Of course. How could I forget? Your cheeks were the color of cherries and your lips matched them perfectly. All I wanted to do was drag you into my apartment and do dirty things to you, but I had to get Wiley and there wasn’t enough time.”
“You actually were thinking that?”
He stopped and turned to face me. “Do you think I’m a monk? Every time I saw you I practically had to stuff my hands in my pockets to keep from touching you.”
“You thawed out my vagina.”
“Excuse me.”
“I thought my sex life was over. But one look at you and I melted. Thawed out.”
It began as a deep chuckle, but soon he was laughing his ass off. “Too bad we just didn’t come clean with each other sooner, yeah?”
“Yeah. Just think of how many orgasms we wasted.”
“And hand jobs since you’ve been gone. I’m so over them.”
“I think my rabbit is broken. One of his poor ears doesn’t wiggle anymore.”
“Throw it away. You won’t be needing it anymore.” He waggled his brows.
“Promise?”
Out came his pinky and I eagerly wrapped mine around it.
We finally made it back to When Pigs Fly and all the women gathered around us.
“We almost called the cops. We were givin
g you another thirty minutes.”
“You all, this is Hudson West, my fiancé. He’s also my baby daddy.”
Between the O’s of their mouths and their saucered eyes, I couldn’t decide what was more comical. Then one of them, Betty, who was my mom’s age, started clapping.
“Well, I for one, am glad she’s making an honest man out of you.” That had us in tears and cracking up. Betty was the most conservative one out of us all. For her to say that really had us going.
I called Mom and Dad and they both came over. I didn’t want to wait since I’d spilled the beans. When they got there, we went back into the tiny break room that Ells had set up.
At first, Mom and Dad looked angry at Hudson, but then I stepped in and explained how I was just as much at fault as he was.
“I want to marry your daughter, sir, if you’ll give us your blessing.”
That was all it took for Mom to turn into butter. She melted and after that, anything that Hudson said, was perfect. She would’ve agreed to climb Mt. Everest had he suggested it.
“Milly, moving back to New York is your only option. You can’t possibly stay here. Hudson has a huge business to run. You can’t expect him to fly back and forth every weekend.”
“Mrs. Clayton, I’ll do whatever your daughter wants.”
Mom waved her hand. “Nonsense. She needs to be settled when the babies arrive and now is the perfect time to move. Go home and start packing up. You don’t have much and could get it done in a couple of days.”
Hudson took a step forward. “Ma’am, I won’t have her doing any such thing. We’ll hire someone. She can oversee it, but she will not be lifting a finger.”
Mom crossed her arms and looked like the cat who swallowed the canary. She was loving every second of this. Then she asked, “So when’s the wedding? You know, Milly, it would be much more proper for you to be wed prior to the birth.”
“Mom! That’s not really important.”
“Why, Millicent Grace Clayton Fremont, you must rid yourself of that horrid Fremont name as soon as possible.”
She had a point there. Hudson hid his laugh. I think he was enjoying this exchange immensely.
“Dear, I’m not suggesting a big southern wedding. All I’m saying is for the two of you to go down to the courthouse and get married.”
Dad finally spoke. “Honey, I agree with your mother. This fine young man wants to do the honor of giving you his name, why don’t you let him?”
“All right already.” I huffed out a breath. “Why don’t I let the two of you handle all the details, including finding a moving company.” They were retired with nothing to do. They’d love it.
“Perfect. Come on, Alex, let’s go.”
“Mom, aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What’s that, dear?”
“It’s Saturday. The courthouse is closed.”
“She’s right, Grace,” Dad said.
“Alex, we can get started on the movers and there is the internet.”
“Yes, dear.”
Hudson observed this exchange with a grin. As they were leaving, Hudson said, “It was really great finally meeting you.”
“Welcome to the family,” Dad said, shaking his hand.
Mom hugged him and whispered something to him. After she left, I asked him what it was, but he refused to tell me. None of my pleading worked either. I’d have to be content with him keeping a secret.
We left work around five. The other women said they could handle the workload. I figured they knew we wanted to be alone, what with us planning a move and all. Or maybe something else, but I wasn’t going to mention that to them.
When we got home, I asked Hudson if he was hungry.
“Starved.” But he walked toward me, took my face between his large hands, and kissed me. I guess he wasn’t thinking about food. “Can we? I mean are you still able to … you know?”
“I guess. I haven’t since you and I did it.” I was suddenly nervous and embarrassed at the same time. My former body had long disappeared.
“I should hope not.” He had this mortified expression on his face.
“I didn’t mean to imply anything other than I hadn’t had sex since I found out I was pregnant. And that I guess it’s okay. Most pregnant couples do it, or so I’d heard. I mean, did you and your ex … forget I asked that.” I just put my damn foot in my mouth. His face turned a lovely shade of purple.
“We’ll try and if you’re not comfortable, we can stop.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I have to warn you though. I don’t look remotely like the same person.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.”
I fist bumped his shoulder. We went to the bedroom and my hands were shaking.
“What if you think I’m awful looking. I mean, I look like Shamu.”
“You don’t look like Shamu.”
“Okay. Moby Dick then.”
“Milly.” He said my name with a warning. “Take off your pants, or I’m going to do it.”
“You first.”
“Fine.” I ogled him as he stripped. God, how had I forgotten how gorgeous he was? I thought I’d memorized every dip, indentation, and angle of his body. Every depression each of his muscles made, from his sculpted abs to the perfect rounded formations of his deltoids and biceps. But I’d forgotten how they felt under the tips of my fingers, how smooth his skin was and how his nipples hardened when I touched him. And then there was Brutus. Brutus liked me. A whole fucking lot. Even when I was dressed with a huge protruding belly.
“Your turn,” his husky voice said.
“Okay,” I whispered.
My pants went first, with their stretchy tops. Then my undies, the top of them were hiding under my belly so I had to reach under to find it. Next came my sweater, then my bra. My boobs were ginormous compared to what they used to be. I was expecting his eyes to pop, but they didn’t. His ice blues only seemed to deepen in color. They closed to hooded as he licked his lips. One finger ran down the deep valley that had suddenly appeared between my new boobs one day. Pregnancy did weird things to your body. One night I’d gone to bed with regular boobs and the next morning I’d woken up with two gigantic watermelons. I couldn’t even fit into my bra. They grew at lightspeed compared to my first pregnancy. I called Ellerie in a panic, but she only cackled at me. All she said was double trouble. They weren’t done growing. She was right.
“Jesus, Milly. I’ve never—”
“I know. Biggest boobs ever, right?”
“That’s not even close to what I was going to say.”
“No? Guinness Book of World Records then?”
“Shut up.” Then he kissed me. Deeply, slowly, lovingly. He showed me exactly how he felt with his mouth. He worshipped my ridiculously huge boobs with his lips and tongue, and the rest of me, until I writhed and moaned, screamed his name, and shouted my orgasm out on his tongue.
When it was time for Brutus to get his, he took his time, gently entering me. It had been a while, only his patience made it wonderful and far more than merely pleasurable.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah.”
We were spooning on our sides, so he stroked my cheek and shoulder the whole time. His words of love echoed throughout the room, as there were no quiet whispers from Hudson. He lifted my knee and used his hand, asking me if I was close.
“Yes, so close.” I panted out the words.
“Good, because I can’t hold back much longer.”
He was deep inside me and I wondered if the babies felt it. How weird was that? I’d always heard that sex could bring on labor later in pregnancy.
My orgasm rushed over me. And he said, “Oh, fuck.” I loved that little groan he always made when he came. His hand still had a firm grip on my pussy, two fingers on my clit, holding me tightly against him as he drove into me. As he closed in on his climax, his thrusts had gotten a bit rougher, which I loved.
The force of my orgasm finally eased, and he b
reathed into my ear, “I missed this so much.”
“Me too. But I’m so huge. Isn’t it weird with me this big?”
“Huh uh. I think you look beautiful pregnant.”
He flipped me onto my back and leaned over to suck one of my nipples. They had become weirdly sensitive. “Oooh.”
He lifted his head. “Does that hurt?”
“No, it just feels different.”
He put his ear against my belly.
“Can you hear anything?”
“Not really.” Then suddenly he said, “Whoa. I think I just got kicked in the head.” He chuckled.
“I felt it too.”
“Milly, I love you so much. I can’t wait for our kids to get here.”
“Neither can I, so I can stop worrying.”
He kissed my belly and said, “It’s going to be fine. A and B are going to be fine.”
“Hudson, I hope so.” I grabbed his hand. “I never asked, how Dick is doing?”
“He can’t believe you left him, but other than that, he’s spoiled to death by his current caretakers.”
“I only left him because I knew they’d care for him better than I ever could.”
“They love that dog. I swear. He’s all they ever talk about. I asked him to come and watch one of Wiley’s school shows and do you know what they said?”
“What?”
“They had to make arrangements for a companion for Dick first. Mom doesn’t even want to leave him home alone.”
“No!”
“Yes! She’s gone crazy over him. I think he now has his own bedroom. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s redecorated for him.”
A fit of giggles hit me. “Maybe we could get her to help us decorate for the twins.”
“Oh, God, no. It would have a doggie motif.”
I sat up and that was no easy feat. “What’s wrong with that? I thought you loved dogs.”
“I do, but my entire office is either cats or dogs. I want balloons or something else. Maybe clowns.”
“God no! I hate clowns. They freak me out. How about stripes. I love stripes.”
“I’m good with stripes too.” He bent to kiss my stomach again. “I’ve missed you so much, Milly West.”
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