by Simply BWWM
She brightened and smiled at him. “I’ve always wanted to go to France.”
It was his turn to be surprised then. “You haven’t been before?” He had guessed that her artwork had taken her all over the world, including most of Europe.
She shook her head. “No, I haven’t been there yet, but I will at some point.”
“I’ll take you. I’d love to show you Paris and the south of France. Oh, and Mont Saint Michele. You’d love that.” He had a dreamy look on his face that inspired her.
“I bet I would love that. I’ve always wanted to go to the Louvre and several places around France and Italy, just to see some of the work of the masters, especially Leonardo Da Vinci.” The thought of it was incredible to her. “I can’t believe I haven’t been there yet, but I’ve been busy doing my own work for so long that I just haven’t taken the time to do it.”
“I’ll remedy that for you,” he promised her with a grin, sitting with her to eat.
“I’d love that.” She grinned in return. The wonderful rapport that they had found right away when they had met was back, and she knew that the worry of the problems they had faced was gone. There was nothing but bliss and happiness between them, and they were going to work together to make sure that they could keep it and that it would grow even stronger.
They enjoyed their breakfast together, and she helped him to clean up the kitchen afterward. Then he took her upstairs to the roof where the helicopter was waiting to take them back to Boston. It had been like a dream to her, and she was so glad that it was real, that she was living in it, and loving every bit of it with him.
When the helicopter landed back at the roof of his building, they went down to the limousine together, and he rode back to her house with her. He walked her to the door and stopped there, giving her a long kiss.
When he let her go, he looked at her intently and spoke with an earnest voice. “Thank you so much, for the best night ever, and for understanding. Thank you for being an incredible friend and lover. I don’t know how I was ever lucky enough to win you, but I know how good I have it, I know how lucky I am, and I’m going to be so good to you. Thank you, Chanel, I love you.”
He was happy to say it to her, and she could see the relief in him where before there had been inhibition, and a true happiness rose up in her like a spring, overflowing in every part of her soul. “I love you, too, and I’m so glad that you’ve given me and us a chance. I know it’s going to be one of the best decisions ever for both of us.”
She kissed him once more and then made herself step back and go into the door of her home, giving him a grin and blowing a kiss to him as she closed the door behind her. She took care of a few things at her home and changed her clothes, and then she headed for her studio so that she could finish the painting of him, the portrait that had brought them together to begin with.
Nick left Chanel at her house, and he hadn’t gotten even half a mile from it when he opened the window between the back of the limousine and the front seat of it.
“Andrew,” he said with a growing smile on his face.
“Yes?” Andrew asked, turning from the passenger seat to look at him while the chauffeur drove on.
“Let’s get back to the office and tell the pilot to have the chopper ready again.” Nick was grinning by that point.
“I’ll have the helicopter ready. Where are we going?” Andrew asked, as if he might be asking about the weather.
“Back to Manhattan,” Nick answered happily as he looked from Andrew to the window and watched the city go past the car.
“Very good, Sir,” Andrew answered, showing no signs at all of annoyance that they had just gotten back from Manhattan that morning and were already going to be returning.
It was midday when Andrew and Nick were picked up from the sidewalk in front of his condo building, both of them climbing into the limousine. The driver looked back to them and Andrew turned his attention to Nick again.
“Where are we going, Sir?” he asked evenly.
“Tiffany’s,” Nick replied with a big grin.
Andrew eyed him carefully then. “And what might you be shopping for there, Sir?”
Nick raised one brow conspiratorially. “An engagement ring.”
For the first time since he had known him, Nick saw Andrew’s face break into a huge grin, and Nick was delighted and surprised. He tilted his head slightly and gazed at his assistant. “What do you think of that?”
Andrew gave his head a slight shake and tried to minimize his smile and retain his professionalism. “It isn’t my place to say, Sir.”
Nick waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Of course, it is. I asked you, and I want to know what you think. You’ve been my assistant for a long time now, and you’ve been at my side for a great many things. I want to know what you think about this decision I’m making. It’s a big one, and it will invariably affect you, if it goes the way that I want it to.”
Andrew thought about it for a long moment and then nodded. “You’re right about that, Sir.” Then he took a breath and spoke hesitantly, “I think it’s a brilliant idea. I believe that she’s the right girl for you. I know it didn’t go well the first time. I know that you were hurt and that you didn’t think this would ever happen again, but I do believe that this is a good decision and that this is the best thing for you, and I think it would be a good thing for Miss Barry as well.”
Nick was surprised by Andrew’s answer, but it pleased him, and he gave his assistant a nod. “I believe you’re right. Thank you.”
The limousine pulled up outside of Tiffany’s, and the two men went in together.
Chapter8
Nick returned to Boston and called Chanel, as he held the little blue box in his hands and stared at the beautiful diamond ring inside of it, picturing it on her finger, and imaging what that kind of a life would be like with her.
He had given it considerable thought, and he had come to the realization that he was in love with her, and while he was sure that he would fall more in love with her as more time passed between them, he certainly wasn’t going to love her any less. If he wanted her with him as his wife at that point, then he had better go about making that happen and start their lives together.
He had waited a while with the first engagement, and that had saved him from what probably would have been a divorce, but he knew in his heart of hearts that he didn’t want to wait with Chanel. He wanted to marry her, make her his wife, and spend the rest of his life loving her and caring for her, exploring the world with her, starting a family and growing old with her. He wanted all of it. He wanted the whole deal and he wanted it with no one but Chanel. The time wasn’t going to be any more right later than it was then, and he could see no good reason to wait on it.
She answered her phone, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hello my love!” She sounded happy, and he could just imagine the sweet smile on her face and the warmth in her lovely brown eyes.
“Hello.” He found himself smiling irresistibly. “I was hoping that you could come over for dinner tonight, to the house.”
“To your house?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes, please. To my house. I want to cook for you again, and have a special night with you. I was thinking I’d send Andrew to come and get you while I prepare something for you that I learned how to cook in Thailand. What do you think, is it a date? Will you please come?” His heart was pounding as he held the box in his hand and stared at the diamond, turning it this way and that, and gazing at the beautiful rainbows that sparkled from it as the light around it changed and shifted in the prisms within it.
“Oh I’d love to! Thank you so much. You know, you are spoiling me, but I want you to know how much I appreciate it, and that I am so happy.” She meant it, and he could hear it in her voice.
“I’m really glad to hear that.” He sighed blissfully and closed the box, putting it in his pants pocket. “Okay. So, I’ll send Andrew for you around six ton
ight, if that’s all right.”
“That’s actually perfect. I’m working on your painting right now, and I’m just finishing it up. I’ll bring it with me tonight and give it to you.” She sounded as if she was pleased with it, and he wondered what it looked like; then he thought back to all the fun that they had making the painting and pure joy welled up inside of him.
“I’ll see you then, and Chanel, I can’t wait,” he told her with a tender voice.
“I can’t wait either. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he replied, and ended the call.
Nick spent the last half of the day preparing what was one of his best meals, as well as preparing a space for them to eat it, in his luxurious and beautiful garden behind his house. There was a grassy area surrounded by Grecian columns, winding vines, rose bushes, and trellises with blooms growing all along them.
He had candles set about all around the space and an elegant table arranged with more candlelight and fresh flowers. He hired a string quartet to play a short distance off, so they could be heard but not seen, affording him and his love some privacy. Champagne was chilled, the meal was prepared, and giving his environment one last, serious look, he determined that it was perfect, and that he was ready to bring her there, to ask her, and to change their lives forever.
Nick went inside and fixed himself a drink, then waited with it in the parlor while Andrew was off getting Chanel. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had been so happy, and he knew that he was only going to be happier, and that things were only going to get better.
The doorbell rang, and his heart skipped a beat. It was time, and she was there. He set his glass down on the table near him and stood up, straightening his jacket. Walking to the door as calmly as he could, he patted the pocket of the jacket to make sure that the ring was where he wanted it to be, and he felt that it was.
He pulled the door open with a big smile on his face and pure joy in his heart, and all of it came crashing down in an instant.
“Monica,” he breathed out as his breath escaped him.
He stared at the woman in the doorway. She was almost as tall as him, blonde and blue eyed, with finely carved features and a slender body that had slight feminine curves. Her makeup was flawless, and her clothes were tailored to her figure.
“Hello, Nick. I’ve missed you so,” she purred as her red lips curved into a smile. She walked in through the entrance and right past him, and he stared at her as she headed for the parlor. Closing the door, he blinked in utter amazement and followed her to the room where he had just been enjoying his drink.
She was standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. With a sweet smile on her face, she held her gloved hand out to him. It was a white lace glove. He had forgotten how she loved to dress more in the style of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and wrist gloves were one of her favorites.
He walked to her and stood before her, staring at her. “What in the world are you doing here?” he asked in a dumbfounded voice.
“Well now, is that any way to talk to your fiancé?” she asked in a light tone, as if everything in the world was sunshine and roses.
He blinked in shock and shook his head to try to clear the confusion out of it. “My… no. You are no longer my fiancé.”
She waved her gloved hand in the air as if she was brushing away some little bug. “Oh now, of course I am. We just have a lot of things to talk about, that’s all.”
“You are not my fiancé,” he repeated, finding his voice again as he watched her in total disbelief. “The last time I saw you, you were driving away from me. I never thought that I would see you again. I can’t believe that you’re actually standing here in front of me in person, talking to me.”
With a sigh, she pouted, pushing her red lips out just a bit. “Oh darling, I am sorry about that. I really am. I didn’t mean to hurt you. You know that I love you. I always did. Remember that weekend we spent in Aspen? Oh…” She grinned, looking upward as she remembered it. “You told me that you loved me for the first time, and I just couldn’t believe it, and you said you were going to prove it to me. We weren’t engaged too long after that, and you wanted to start a family with me and spend the rest of your life with me. It hasn’t been that long ago, my love.”
“I can’t believe you’re here.” He shook his head slowly.
“I’m here because I love you! I only left because I was afraid. I mean, marriage is a big commitment, and I got scared, but now I’ve been away and I have missed you terribly, and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’m ready to marry you now. We can make it all right again. We can make it just like it was before.” She stepped up close to him and gazed into his eyes.
“You left me! You walked out on me, and on us, and now you expect to just walk right back in here, and back into my life again like you never left? How can you even think that?” he asked in amazement.
She raised her hands and placed them on his chest. “I never should have left to begin with. You are the love of my life, and I realized it a little late, that’s all. I still want to spend my life with you, and now I’m not afraid to do that. I want to marry you, now, and that is just what I have come back to do. I never should have let you go, but I’m home now, and we’ll make it all better, or even better than before.” She gave him a meaningful smile.
He raised his hand to his head and raked his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe this. You couldn’t possibly be standing here before me, saying these things. Not now, especially not tonight.” He closed his eyes and breathed out. “I can’t believe this. I’m so confused.” He opened his eyes then and looked squarely at her. “You can’t just walk in like this and expect everything to go back to the way it was before you left me. Things have changed, Monica.”
She smiled at him and lifted her hand from his chest to his face, touching his cheek lightly. “I know, darling. Things have changed for me, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck then and before he realized what she was doing, she leaned forward and kissed him.
A gasp sounded, and Nick looked over Monica’s shoulder as her back was turned partway to the door. He saw Chanel there, with Andrew right behind her. Monica had not realized that there was anyone in the doorway or the room with them.
She lifted her lips from Nick’s and gazed up at him. “I’m pregnant, darling,” she told him with a wide smile.
Nick’s heart stopped in his chest as his gaze locked with Chanel’s. He saw the horror and hurt in her eyes, and he felt it himself in his own heart.
“Did you hear me Nick? We’re going to have a baby. You’re going to be a father!” Monica’s voice was loud enough that everyone heard her.
Andrew stared, and Chanel closed her mouth and blinked back tears and confusion as best she could. Andrew cleared his throat loudly, and Monica turned around on the spot, only then realizing that someone was in the room with them.
“Oh! Hello, Andrew,” she said, looking at the man. Then she turned her gaze to Chanel and gazed at her curiously. “And who is this?”
Chanel’s mind snapped into action, and she responded almost mechanically. “I’m… I’m an artist. I was hired by Mr. Thomas to do a portrait of him. I just finished it today, and I was delivering it. That’s all.” She spoke evenly and simply, and Nick’s heart broke hearing her tone and seeing the coldness that flooded her face.
His mind and heart and especially his emotions had all stopped, frozen when he heard the word pregnant fall from Monica’s lips. Nothing in him had moved from that point.
Chanel walked over to a chair and leaned the portrait, wrapped in brown paper, against it. “I’ve already been paid for this work, so you won’t be seeing me again.” She said it to Nick, who was staring at her, speechless.
She turned then and started to leave, but something in Nick broke, and he reached his hand out and moved swiftly across the room to get to her. “No, wait! Stop!” he called out. “Don’t go!”
She was already he
ading for the front door. Andrew was right behind her. Chanel made it as far as the limousine when Nick caught up with her, and Andrew waited at a distance from them. Chanel could not stop the torrent of tears from falling down her cheeks as Nick grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him.
“Chanel, wait! You can’t leave! I love you!” he pleaded with her, but she shook her head.
Pressing her lips together tightly for a minute, she closed her eyes and tried to recenter herself, to focus somehow, to regain some kind of balance within herself in the wild chaos that was exploding everywhere inside of her.
“I love you too, Nick, but your fiancé is in there, and she is pregnant with your child, and that house is just too full for me to be in it. There is no place for me in there.” She shook her head and searched his eyes as her heart broke into countless pieces.