Ah shit.
“London,” he said taking two steps up to meet her and wrap his arms around her, “We’re both defying our parent’s expectations of us. You saw how hard it was to get your father to come around with regard to me? Now it’s your turn to go through the gauntlet.”
He pressed his body closer to hers, “As far as the first obstacle goes, yes, you passed.”
London stared ahead as she leaned back into him. “Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.”
Michael laughed. “With my mother, that’s saying something.”
Chapter 39
Michael had run out for coffees for both of them, already turning into the doting and supportive father-to-be. London’s was a decaf, something she realized she’d have to get used to for the next 8 months.
She still felt guilty about the fact that she’d been pregnant during their trip, considering what had gone on over there in various hotel rooms and beaches…not to mention how much sangria she had drunk. On the other hand it was a bit sweet that there had been a third little party present as she and Michael cemented their love for one another. Besides, the doctor had assured her that a bit of drinking early on in pregnancy is not only quite common but very likely completely harmless. But that would be another thing she’d have to get used to for the next 8 months.
“Thanks for the coffee, by the way,” she said, taking another sip. “You’re going to spoil me.”
“You mistake my bribery for kindness, m’lady,” he teased.
“Oh?” she asked.
“Well, I have a few ideas of how you can repay me. One way in particular.”
London laughed. “Actually, from what I hear, pregnant women get pretty frisky on that front. You might want to start building up your stamina, mister.”
“Ohhh, that sounds promising. I should get you pregnant more often.”
London set her coffee on the nightstand and crawled back over to straddle Michael. He grinned as she removed his cup.
“Well, since I’m already compromised, what we should do, is take advantage of certain positions while we still can.”
“Mmm, challenge accepted,” he said grabbing her and tossing her on her back, making her laugh in surprise.
“Like this one?” he said, leaning over her, his hand creeping up her thigh, pushing the nightgown she had on up her hips.
“If your hand goes any further, we’re both going to be late for work,” she warned, but a smile crept to her face telling him that she wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea.
“Actually,” he said, his hand not once slowing down. “I’ve already told work I’m going to be late. I thought I’d escort you to your office this morning,” he said.
“Wow, I really should get pregnant more often if I get this kind of service,” she said.
“I do aim to serve,” he said. “Let’s spend the morning serving each other, shall we?”
She felt his hand grab the edge of her panties and give a tug as he lifted his body off hers to help ease them off. At the same time, London ran her hands under the waistband of the boxers he had worn to bed, sliding them down his firm ass. They both wriggled their bodies until the act could be consummated completely unobstructed.
Once his shorts and her panties were off, Michael fell gently onto her between her legs.
“There now, that’s better,” he said, smiling down at her.
London smiled back as she brought her hands up to cup his face, her fingers gliding their way through his hair. By now she was certainly in no hurry to get to work. She brought her legs up around his waist as he guided his cock inside of her, slipping in with ease as her wet excitement coated every inch of him.
“Michael,” she sighed, her head leaning back as she closed her eyes to embrace the feel of him. “This feels so nice.”
“Perfection,” he said as he watched her, shifting with each thrust as he gently worked his way in and out of her.
As her tender feelings for him evolved into pleasure-filled lust, her hands roamed from his hair down to his well-muscled shoulders, gripping harder.
“Yes, yes,” she breathed, bucking her hips up to meet his thrusts. He followed her lead, working his hips faster and deeper inside of her.
“Jesus, London,” he groaned, feeling the press of her body against his. She clenched her insides, causing him to groan in pleasure.
As her orgasm came, the quivering rush did the work of pumping his cock, flexing and pulsating around it, working him into a frenzy to the soundtrack of her screaming his name.
“Michael, yes!” She yelled to the ceiling, gripping him harder so that he was pressed fully against her by the time he followed with his own shuddering climax.
“Oh, London. My perfect London,” he murmured into her side as he came down off his high.
She turned her face to the window, where the sun was shining through the curtains. She could hear birds chirping and the distant sounds of traffic as the city started its day around them. She stroked the back of his hair as he lay pressed on top of her, their bodies still joined as one.
She could definitely get used to mornings like this.
* * *
They were in a taxi headed up to London’s offices, grinning like a couple of teenagers who had just had their own little post-prom after party.
London was snuggled up against his side.
“So, when are you planning on breaking the news to your parents?” Michael asked.
London sighed, her body stiffening against his. “It’s him I’m worried about. I know he’s not thrilled with the idea of us moving in together before marriage. This might just send him over the edge.”
She gave a small laugh. “We’re doing everything completely backwards aren’t we? Baby. Moving in. Getting—”
She stopped herself before saying the next thing that was about to come out of her mouth.
Marriage.
She felt Michael chuckle against her back. “It’s okay to say it you know? It won’t jinx things.”
“I don’t want to presume,” she said.
“Well, at this point it’s inevitable,” he said.
London wasn’t quite thrilled with that assessment of it. It sounded perfunctory, not at all romantic. “I certainly hope this isn’t your way of asking?” she hinted.
His chuckle grew into a laugh. “Trust me, London. When I ask, you’ll know it.”
That made her feel a little bit better. She relaxed back into him, even though doubt still lingered in her mind.
When exactly was he going to ask?
Chapter 40
Michael made a show of kissing London right before she entered her office, causing Brandy sitting outside her office to smile into her computer screen. He rather enjoyed these public displays of affection, especially since the first half of their relationship was a constant game of cloak and dagger, not that that hadn’t been its own sort of fun.
But now they had every reason in the world to be open…and official.
Which brought him around to the reason he had taken the morning off at work. He watched as London disappeared into her office. Her father’s office was down the hall and Michael swung on his heels to head off in that direction.
His secretary brightened when she saw Michael headed that way, which gave him a slight boost of encouragement. In his life he’d faced military school bullies (hence the minor dent in his nose), executive boards of multinational banks, even a few typical New York knife-wielding muggers. This was the most nervous he’d been in a very long time, if not his entire life.
“Is he free to—”
“I’ll let him know you’re on your way in,” the matronly secretary said with a conspiratorial smile.
Were his intentions that obvious?
Frank was just getting the notification from his secretary when Michael walked in. He looked at him from behind his desk with a mixture of resignation, acceptance, and (could it be?) respect.
“Well, you might as well come on in a
nd close the door,” Frank sighed, actually standing up to lead Michael to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
Before Michael could begin, Frank was already at it.
“I’m going to let you give your spiel because I know that’s why you’re here. I can’t tell if I’m happy about this or not, but somehow it seems fitting. Life never goes exactly how you plan it, does it?” the man mused, leaning back in his chair.
Michael just nodded along, the “spiel” he had planned resting on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to wait for the proper segue and something told him London’s father wasn’t quite done.
This was accentuated by the fact that Frank stood up to stand in front of his office window, with his hands behind his back, an uncomfortably familiar stance that told Michael this was going to be a long morning.
“I should have known when you two moved in together—the sort of shenanigans that never happened in my time, by the way” he said, turning to give Michael a slightly disapproving glance. “But I’m just old-fashioned that way.
“I can appreciate you coming to me first, though I’m sure London will have certain commentary on that front,” he chuckled, then turned around. “We both know how stubborn she can be.”
Michael just grinned in response, not sure if it would be entirely in his favor to verbally agree with the man.
“If it’s your intention to make an honest woman of my London, I certainly won’t have any objections. London seems happy with you, and you,” there was a catch in Frank’s voice as he turned back around to face the window, ”you’ve done right by her all along the way.”
With that he turned around and sat back down in his chair. He sat back and crossed his arms over his stomach.
“I realize that all of this is ostentatiously presumptuous of me, but I didn’t get where I’m at by not being perceptive, son.”
This time he made no show of regretting the term of address. Michael used it as the perfect opportunity to say what he came to say.
“Mr. Jefferson, as you can probably guess by now, I very much love your daughter London. I’d like to ask her to marry me, but I know how important your opinion and approval is to her.”
That statement got a slight raising of the eyebrows on Frank’s part. He shifted uncomfortably and Michael could see that the more he spoke, the more emotion was overcoming the man. There was a point where he’d want Michael gone in order to fully embrace them without an audience. So he got straight to the point.
“Sir, I’d like your permission to marry your daughter, London Jefferson.”
Frank gave out a strangled laugh. He immediately waved it away. “I’m sorry about that, I just imagined London insisting on my permission for anything.”
Michael laughed.
“Michael,” Frank said, leaning in. “You did the right thing coming here, and I appreciate it. You’ve certainly started things off on the right foot with me. Frankly, I’d be proud to have you as my son-in-law.”
He stood up and reached out a hand to Michael, who quickly stood to shake it.
Frank pressed his lips together as he gripped Michael’s hand. Then quickly pulled it away, and sat back down.
“Now, I’ve got a pretty busy day ahead of me so you—you go on and do what you need to do.”
Michael saw that as his dismissal. Frank spun around in his chair to face the window again, so he shrugged and stood up to leave.
“Thank you, son,” he said softly, then added, “just close the door behind you.”
As Michael made his way through the door, closing it behind him, he heard a small sniff, and saw Frank reach up to wipe his eyes.
There was a smile on his face as he walked away, which was knowingly matched by Frank’s secretary.
* * *
“Wow, twice in one day,” London said, smiling as she came out of her office to greet Michael.
“Well, it’s such a lovely day, I thought I’d take you to lunch,” he said.
“It’s July in New York,” London replied. “There is nothing nice about being outside right now.”
“Well, everyday is a lovely day when I’m with you,” he grinned.
Brandy, her secretary, gave a small squeak.
“Stop it. You’re going to give Brandy a toothache,” London laughed. Then she came closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But I appreciate the sentiment. So where are we off to?”
“You’ll see,” he said with a mysterious grin.
* * *
In retrospect, he should have thought things through a bit more.
The idea had been to make his proposal as public as possible. A sort of middle finger to the press and Dion Davis and anyone else who might have any lurid ideas about how serious he was about his woman.
But London was right, it was brutal outside. The humidity hit them as soon as they stepped outside of the cab on Central Park West. Added to that was the fact that there was no quick and easy way to get to the iconic Bow Bridge where he had planned to make his Grand Gesture. He also hadn’t counted on the fact that London was wearing heels.
Halfway there and he was ready to just give up and propose at Le Bernardin like he should have done in the first damn place.
“Michael,” she sighed as she followed him. “Can we stop a moment?”
They were by the lake and stopped to sit on a few benches. He looked over at her. Her hair had started to frizz against her forehead. He could see the sweat stains under her arms on her white blouse.
She smiled back at him as he sat down next to her, then she reached out to take his face in her hands.
“I know what you’re trying to do, and I love you for it.”
His face creased with frustration between her two hands.
“But I’m going to be dead by the time we get to where ever it is you’re taking me.” She looked around them at the lake and the trees. “I think this spot is perfect. Don’t you?”
There was literally no one around. Why would there be at high noon on a day like today? So much for his public gesture.
“If you don’t agree with me, I’m absolutely going to say no on principle, sweetheart,” she warned.
He grinned and pulled himself away. The next moment he was on one knee before her with the little, black velvet box he had pulled out of the pocket of the jacket that he had long since removed.
“London Jefferson, will you make me the happiest man in the world and—”
“Yes!” she yelled, laughing and reaching down to kiss him.
Just then a woman on a bike passed by and slowed down to observe the scene. So they at least had one witness to his public display of love as he opened the lid to London’s literal gasp of appreciation.
It was a 3-carat, emerald cut diamond ring, with a diamond studded band. He had been impressed with it at the store, so he figured that meant London would no doubt feel at least somewhat the same.
The way she squeezed his neck in a chokehold as she planted kisses all over his face assured him that he had nothing to worry about.
“Oh, Michael!” she exclaimed as he slid it on her finger. “It’s so perfect!”
“Well at least something today has gone right,” he said, ruefully as he lifted himself up to sit back down next to her. “I think I kind of screwed the pooch on the rest of this.”
She laughed as she turned to look at him. “Michael, the only reason we met is because of a mix up between our siblings. The first half of our relationship we had to keep hidden. Our families have been on opposite sides of this stupid election the entire time. We have an oopsie baby on the way.
“Honestly, if this proposal had gone perfectly, I don’t know that I would trust it,” she said, laughing even more. “I’m taking it as a good omen that we were meant to be. Two perfect people, living imperfect lives.”
He looked over at her with newfound respect. This was a London that was so different from the one he had first met, and he loved it. He brought one sweaty arm around her as they stared out at th
e lake.
“I had this amazing lunch reservation at Le Bernardin,” he said, “but I doubt they’d let us have a table in the state we’re in.”
She chuckled against his side. “Lucky for you, I have an aversion to fancy restaurants. Long story.”
She pulled herself off of him and gave him a conspiratorial grin. “In fact, I have a better idea.”
Ten minutes later they were standing under the shade of a tree gorging themselves on hot dogs he had bought at a food cart; extra mustard for her, extra sauerkraut for him. It tasted like a million dollars.
Michael looked at the large ring on her finger as it glimmered while she stuffed the end of a hot dog in her mouth. It was an absurdly surreal scene. So many people had perfect, over-the-top proposals that were the stuff of YouTube legend. Yet, here they were, Michael Wright and London Jefferson, eating hot dogs and drinking Cokes, melting in the humid New York heat. He couldn’t imagine anything more perfect.
Chapter 41
“Holy shit!”
It was another lazy Paris morning of chocolate croissants and mimosas as Brooklyn and Alex lay in bed together. She had long since delivered her resignation to Joe on the Go, feeling a wee bit guilty about literally phoning it in. David had assured her that their 30% take of the $50,000 Alex had offered for her collection of art, more than made up for it.
They had both received the news at the same time: London and Michael were engaged.
Brooklyn fell back against the headboard next to Alex with a croissant in her hand.
“Huh,” she said, looking at the wall thoughtfully.
“Hmm,” Alex said, nodding as he also stared that way, holding a mimosa in his hand.
“So, they actually....”
“Yeah.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah.”
“I guess it’s not a complete surprise,” Brooklyn said, taking a bite of her croissant.
“No,” Alex agreed sipping his mimosa.
“They love each other.”
“Yes.”
Mr. & Mrs. Wright: A BWWM Romance (Wright Brothers Series Book 2) Page 20