by Amy Brent
“Violet Summers,” he said and took another step toward me. But I watched as he got down on one knee. My heart was beating faster, and my breathing increased.
My hand went to my mouth. I couldn’t believe what was going on. Right here, in front of everyone. Right here, where people could tell the whole world what was happening. I was trying to fight back the tears. I didn’t want to start crying again because if I did, I was afraid I was never going to stop.
I didn’t take my eyes off of him, though. I stared at his handsome face. The one that was staring back at mine. He was searching my eyes, maybe to make sure this was okay. I smiled at him so he didn’t think I didn’t want this. Because I did. I wanted it more than he could ever fucking know.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I’ve fallen madly and deeply in love with you over the time we have spent together, and I couldn’t imagine my life going any other way. I hope you will have forgiven me for everything that happened. I want you to know that I can’t picture my life without you now. I can’t get you out of my head. When you aren’t around, I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I want nothing more than to hold you and be near you.”
I still didn’t know what to think. I was frozen still. The crowd was staring at us. There were people mumbling. I felt weird, almost like I was going to pass out. I couldn’t believe what was going on. Tears started sliding down my face. Big, fat, happy tears. They were coming out in streams. I couldn’t stop it. And I didn’t want to, either. These weren’t broken-hearted tears. These were happy tears that were full of love and happiness. Tears that told me that my life was about to change in the most amazing way.
“I hope that you will forgive me for all of my faults,” he said. “I’ve said some things I didn’t mean to. I’ve done some things I didn’t mean to. I hope you can forgive me, and we can get past this. I’ll always be here for you, and I’ll always give you anything you ever need or want.”
I watched as he reached into his pocket, and just as I expected, he pulled out a little box. He flipped the lid open and looked up at me, staring into my eyes.
“Violet Summers, will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man on this planet and marry me?” he asked.
I was crying so I couldn’t talk. I nodded my head instead. I couldn’t get my mouth to form the word ‘yes.’ I held my left hand out for him. He took it and slid the gorgeous solitaire diamond ring on my finger. My hand was shaking, and he had to hold it still. I looked down at it just as he began to stand, and he pulled me into him. I knew in that moment that I had nothing left to worry about. Things were going to look up for us. We were going to get married and things were going to continue to get better for us.
A loud applause broke out as he began to kiss me. Our mouths collided. Our lips worked together. I missed the feeling of his mouth on mine. I missed the feeling of his body pressed into me. I missed the feeling of him just looking at me. And now I’d never have to miss another one of those feelings again because I was going to be his wife.
We pulled apart, and I looked down at the crowd. I knew there were some people who were clearly still shocked, but I tried not pay attention to them. I didn’t want or need them to ruin this or any movement for me. I was happy and content.
“She said yes!” he yelled out at the crowd.
I laughed while the crowd started to go crazy. People were screaming and cheering, and it was a little overwhelming. But it was also endearing. I was engaged to Cole now. We were going to get married and live happily ever after. The two of us with our little one.
I noticed he didn’t make that announcement, and I was happy for that. That would give me time to figure out how to tell the world. Plus, I didn’t want too many people to know, just in case something happened with the pregnancy.
That was when I looked over and saw Michael’s astonished face. I couldn’t help but laugh at him. Seeing him with that look on his face after he made those comments to me, it was everything to me.
I grabbed onto Cole a little tighter. I felt happy, content, and complete in this moment. I had Cole, who I was going to marry. We were going to be together forever and raise our child together. This was everything I’d ever wanted, so it was hard for me to wrap my head around it all.
“I love you so much,” Cole said as he stared into my eyes. “I’m never going to hurt you.”
“I love you so much, too. I’ll never hurt you, and I promise I’ll never lie to you again.”
We kissed one more time. The crowd lost it in another round of applause, and I was smiling against his lips because this was something I never thought would actually happen. At least, the going public portion of it.
We walked off the stage when the crowd’s applause died down and we ran to his car. We got inside and started kissing. It was hot and rushed. I knew we wouldn’t do anything here because there were so many people around, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t want it. That it wasn’t on my mind.
“I wanted a moment alone with you before the questions start,” he said to me.
I kissed him again. “I love you so much, Cole.”
“I love you, too. I’m so sorry for what happened last week. You were right. I should have waited, and I should have let you tell your parents. Is everything okay between you and them?”
I nodded my head. “Yeah. My dad and I spent last Saturday sailing. He actually said he’ll support us.”
He lifted an eyebrow and looked at me like I was crazy. Like he had no idea what I was saying. “It’s weird. But it’s true. I never thought he was going to forgive me. To forgive us, and yet he told me that he will support us if it’s what we really want.”
Cole kissed me. “That’s great news! But what about your mom?”
“My mom’s opinion doesn’t count. She’s always just been concerned with how she looks or how the family’s image together looks. It’s not okay. So, if she doesn’t support us, then I don’t care. I also don’t care if the media finds out that I’m pregnant. Because everyone is going to find out in like a month. My clothes are getting tight, and I’m not even sure where to start shopping for maternity clothes. Sorry, I’m rambling.” I added that when I noticed he was just staring at me.
“It’s okay. You can keep talking. I’m just enjoying it. I missed you. So much. My heart hurt all week. I couldn’t eat, and I couldn’t sleep. All over again. I don’t ever want to feel this way again.”
“Me neither,” I said.
He leaned in and kissed me again. His mouth felt so amazing against mine, and I was savoring the feeling. I wanted to remember this, in case anything ever happened again.
“I’ll always be here for you.” He put his hand on my stomach. “And our little one. I’ll never leave either of you. Or hurt either of you. I want you to know how serious I am.”
I held up my hand. “I think I figured that out with this.”
“I guess we better get back out there,” he said. But he was dragging it out. Almost like he didn’t want to be here anymore. But I didn’t either. I wanted to go back to his place. I wanted to make love to him now that we were engaged. I wanted to lay in bed with him and hide from the world. The two of us soaking up our private little moment together.
I nodded my head, and then we both opened our doors. He came around and grabbed my hand in his, and we walked back toward everybody. He held my hand tightly.
“Are you ready?” he asked me.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said.
It didn’t take long before people saw us coming and made their way over to us.
Cheryl came up and gave me a hug. “Congratulations. I knew there was something really special going on between you both.”
“Thank you, Cheryl,” I said and hugged her back. She asked to see my ring so I held it out to her, and she admired it. She talked about the cut and the clarity and how beautiful it was.
She wasn’t the only one, though. We were swarmed with people, and even though the
re were so many people, I looked over at Cole and it felt like we were the only ones here. The only ones left. We were alone together in a crowd.
And when everyone finally left us alone and we had another moment to ourselves, he held me close.
“Just imagine it,” he said. “In one year, we’ll be here with our own little one for the family day. Just the three of us.” He smiled as he said this, and it melted my heart.
Things felt good, just like they should. We were going to be okay. And we were going to grow old together. I was excited to see what life was going to bring us, and I was happy to know that we were going to get through anything that was thrown at us together.
EPILOGUE
Six Months Later
Violet
The patter of a steady rain filled the nursery. Sleep tugged at my brain as I adjusted Olivia in my arms when I felt her finally drift back off to sleep. Her tiny little body was curled up happily in the crook of my arms. She smelt of fresh baby soap and fabric softener. My heart soared as I pressed a kiss to her little cheek before reluctantly rising from the rocking chair. It would be easy to fall back asleep with Olivia in my arms on this rainy Sunday afternoon, but I had a fiancé in the next room waiting for me to come back to bed.
Fiancé. Cole Crayton. Mrs. Crayton.
A shiver went up my spine at the titles. Years ago, I had only imagined what it would be like to say those type of things out loud. It still seemed like a surreal dream to say them with confidence.
I settled Olivia back into her bassinet with a smile. She remained steadfast and asleep with the sound of rain. I tip toed out of her bright pink nursery to leave the door cracked open. The distant boom of thunder in the distance filled the entire house as I walked softly down the hallway in the direction of the bedroom.
Settled on his side of the bed, Cole looked up from the newspaper he had been reading through to keep himself occupied while I fed Olivia. My body thrummed in anticipation when I took in his bare and sculpted chest with a patch of hair in the center. He was naked beneath the sheets too from our earlier foreplay before Olivia’s piercing screams had echoed throughout the house.
“Did Olivia fall back asleep?” Cole asked. He tossed the newspaper back onto the bedside table after folding it. “It seems like once we get one schedule down, it all gets changed again.”
“I know,” I said, loosening the silk belt around my waist. “She keeps us on our toes. She also keeps us up all night.”
Cole chuckled at that as I came around to his side of the bed. The silk fabric of my robe parted to give Cole an eyeful. His eyes immediately latched onto the valley of my swollen breasts. A hungry fire filled his eyes all over again.
“Shall we resume what we were doing?” I murmured.
A tent appeared in the sheets between Cole’s legs. He gladly pulled the sheets back to reveal the rest of him. I shrugged out of my robe to let it pool at my feet before climbing back into bed to join him. Our lips met in a hard kiss full of pent up sexual desires from earlier. It was moments like these where we had to make the best of it. We had to absorb every bit of time together in between Olivia’s short lived naps.
Cole insisted on helping too. Which thrilled me to no end. If I stayed up all night, he was up with me helping change Olivia in the dark. He was there to rock Olivia asleep at night while humming a lullaby. There was nothing sexier than watching a man utterly dote on his child.
Blood rushed through my veins while our legs tangled in the process of Cole rolling me back onto my back. Cole’s lips made quick work down the column of my neck to kiss around my swollen breasts tenderly, mindful that they were sensitive with breastfeeding. He cupped them softly before trailing a hand down to the center of my legs. I stifled a moan with my hand as those magical fingers started to rub the way he knew that I liked.
Sex had been a terrifying thought after Olivia was born. For eight weeks, I had settled on pleasing Cole in other ways until we were given the thumbs up to carry on in the bedroom. The first time had been just as heart pounding as the day I had lost my virginity to Cole in his office back at Crayton, Inc. It was going to hurt. I had been so sure of it until Cole made it the best damn sex to remind me what it had felt like eight weeks prior to Olivia’s birth.
I clenched my teeth when I felt my release drawing near under Cole’s steady fingers. This was what I loved about him. He knew how to make it feel amazing every single time. Nothing about our relationship changed either.
“Cole,” I whispered, clutching his broad shoulder with another hand. “Please. Just get inside of me.”
Cole’s fingers lifted immediately at that. He positioned himself happily between my legs, nestling against me intimately. He entered me in one deep thrust. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist to pull him in even deeper. The heat between us roared to life. It pulled me back down into that fiery oblivion of pleasure that I couldn’t imagine my life without. Being touched by Cole was being tainted in a way. Nothing ever compared to the sounds of his ragged pants in my ear, or the way he gripped me as he went over the edge to his own peak. Everything about it was utterly addicting, and it would never get old either.
A familiar tingling sensation started in my toes as it shot up through my legs. I dimly felt Cole’s fingers grip my hips in response to what I’m sure he felt was my own release. Not clinging to reality any longer, I let my eyes slip shut as my release came in a crashing wave that left me breathless and blinking back tears. Good tears. The type of tears that come from the rush of endorphins entering your system.
I forced my eyes open to watch Cole’s face contort in pleasure as his own release came crashing down upon him as well. A vein throbbed in his right temple before he went still before shudders wracked through his body. Tangled together, I savored the sensation of his hard body pressed up against mine while his heart pounded furiously inside of his chest. The sheets and blankets were tangled about our sweaty bodies while we listened to the sound of rain patter away outside. It was quiet and motionless in the Hamptons with the rain storm coming through. It was so peaceful that I dreaded going back to the constant sound of city traffic. Even if Olivia had obviously grown accustomed to the noise and needed it to sleep.
“I don’t want to go back to the city tomorrow,” I said.
“We have to though,” Cole said. He collapsed on the mattress next to me with a sated sigh. “I have meetings to attend to on Monday morning.”
I smiled at the lack of enthusiasm in his voice. “The CEO never gets a day off these days it seems, does he?”
“I should complain about my lack of vacation days, huh?”
“At least you got some time off with Olivia. That was a plus even though you did Skype meetings.”
“The boss can be a dick sometimes.”
We both fell into a fit of laughter while the boom of thunder filled the house again. Cole sat up on the bed with a reluctant sigh. “I suppose we should get up and shower before heading to your mother’s rained in party.”
“I’d rather stay here like this,” I said, sighing. “You know, I love my parents, but I still hate going to these parties. I feel like a bug under a microscope.”
“It’ll eventually dwindle down,” Cole said. “The housewives here will find something else to gossip about.”
He rose from the bed to pad into the bathroom. I watched his taut ass cheeks flex as he walked before disappearing behind the bathroom door. The shower turned on a minute later, but I still couldn’t find it in me to escape the nice wrap of blankets and our life away from the public eye.
Our engagement had made the headlines six months ago. Front page on several newspapers and tabloids. There had also been an internal investigation into Crayton, Inc. for how Cole handled his relationships with employees at one point, but he never backed down from our relationship. He didn’t care what people said about us.
I wished that my mother would take a page out of his book.
This rained in party was all about show as usual.
She accepted Olivia with open arms, but I kept her distant from our wedding plans. Cole and I had it all under control. We wanted our private autumn wedding upstate with a few close friends and family. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. I didn’t want my mother to manipulate the situation in any way possible to save her reputation. The only thing that kept my mother at bay anymore was my father who encouraged her to accept that Cole and I were getting married. We were going to be husband and wife with a beautiful family.
I grabbed the baby monitor from the bed stand to bring into the steamy bathroom. I set it on the vanity before slipping into the large shower with Cole as he washed away soap from his body. He arched a suggestive eyebrow at me. Heat surrounded me all over again, and none of it came from the hot water.
“Is Olivia still asleep?” He asked.
“It appears so,” I said, and closed the glass door behind me. “Should we make the most of this quiet moment again?”
“You bet, baby.”
He leaned in to kiss me when my stomach gave a surprising lurch. I held up a hand to still Cole as I sucked in a deep breath to keep myself steady on two feet.
“What is it?” Cole asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Violet? You look pale.”
I didn’t know what to say besides that my stomach felt like it was about to turn itself over from nausea. “I think I just need to sit down for a moment.”
Cole pushed the shower door open to make sure that I sat down on the vanity chair without slipping on the sleek tiles. I stared at myself in the foggy mirror. It was a strange thing how one minute I had felt perfectly fine, but now I felt sick to my stomach and cramped up. The last time I had felt this way was when—
The realization slammed into me then. I gripped the edge of the vanity as I mentally counted down the last time I had even had a period. We have been given the clear a few weeks ago to have sex, but neither one of us had made the conscious decision to use birth control. I had trusted that breast feeding lowered the odds of getting pregnant.