He shook his head and his hand began its rub again. “Not upset. Even though a part of me wanted you to believe me based on my word alone, I was worried that the question would always be in the back of your mind. Since you know for sure, I won’t have to worry about that. I’m glad you know.”
“It took a lot for her to come here.”
He didn’t want to talk about Darlene. “Hmm . . .”
“She did keep you from going to court.”
“But she caused a lot of problems for us. Don’t get me wrong. I know a lot of it was my fault. I should have discouraged her. I’m just glad that part of our life is over.”
“Me, too. And since we’re clearing the air, you’ve never made me answer for the incident with Foster Dixon that night.”
“I had a pretty good idea what was happening. You were vulnerable and Foster was taking advantage. He’s never hidden his attraction for you.”
“You never wondered if something more was happening?”
“No, I hit him because I knew what his intentions were and I knew that the only reason you were susceptible to him was because of what I had done. I hit him because I couldn’t hit myself.”
“You’re right. I only turned to him because I was hurt. I never intended for anything to happen. Do you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. I love you and I’ll never put you in a situation like that again.”
They were quiet for a long time, enjoying the feel of being in each other’s arms again. Josh broke the silence. “What do you think of my going into business with Elliot?”
“If it makes you happy. I want you to be happy.”
“And I want you to be happy, but that doesn’t answer the question.”
“I just hate that you’re giving up the job at Carolina. Dexter told me about the promotion possibilities. Are you sure you won’t regret it someday? You know, feel like you missed out on something big?”
He shook his head. “Like I told you before, I’m never going to be that naive about business again. There are no more guarantees at Carolina than there were at General. That opportunity didn’t mean much to me.”
“So you’re really excited about this partnership with Elliot?”
“Very much so. We’re going to do great things.”
Gloria nodded. “You and Elliot do make a good team.”
“Correction. You and I make a good team. We’re in this together, or we’re not in it at all. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“How do you feel about supporting us until the business starts to make money?”
“I’m glad you’re willing to let me help, but you may have waited too late.”
Josh felt a bubble of fear. “What do you mean by that?”
“Maybe I’m not interested in working much longer. Maybe I want that family that you’ve promised me.”
Josh was overcome with joy. “You want to start our family now? I thought you wanted to wait awhile.”
“That was fear talking. I want to have your babies and I want to stay home and raise them.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Positive.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t go into business now. I could always go back to Carolina.”
“No, you can’t. We’ve decided. You’re going into business with Elliot. We have money, Josh. At least enough to keep us going through the business startup. And I can still work and I want to keep working after the baby is born. Not full-time, but I want to work.” She took a deep breath before continuing with her most important thoughts. “I’m good at my job, Josh, and I make a difference. This South Fulton project is going to mean accessible health care for that community, a predominantly black community. I’m the cause of the bank taking on projects like that and I want to see them take on more. I want to be a part of them doing more.”
“You seem to have this all worked out. You must think you got pregnant last night. Was it that good?”
She decided not to tell him yet. She’d save that surprise for another time. “No, it was better than good.”
***
Josh and Gloria sat on their private beach on the shores of Aruba. She sat between his legs while he rubbed the round mound that represented their baby. “I’m glad you wanted to come back here,” he said. “I think we should do it every year.”
“You think the kids would like it?”
“Kids?” he asked, his hands continuing their massaging motion across her belly. He hoped to feel a kick. Gloria had felt them, but he hadn’t felt one yet. “Let’s have this first one before we start talking about the next one.”
Josh had been overjoyed to hear about her pregnancy. He saw the baby as evidence of their love and the cement that helped bring them back together after a rough time. “You do want more, don’t you?”
“Only a dozen or so.”
She placed her hand atop his on her stomach. “How would you feel about two this time?”
Josh’s hands stopped their soothing movements. “What?”
“Twins. We’re going to have twins.”
“How? When?”
“The doctor told me a few weeks ago. I wanted to surprise you.” He hugged her to him, feeling that life couldn’t get much better than it was right now. “Every dream we had is coming true,” Josh said. “I love you, Mrs. Martin.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The End
About the Author
Angela Benson writes from the heart about matters that she has experienced and about which she feels strongly. She is the award winning and bestselling author of fourteen novels, two novellas and two non-fiction books. Her most recently published works are the relationship guide, Men Don’t Like Ugly, Women Don’t Like Broke, and the contemporary novel, The Summer of Me (William Morrow, 2016). Join Angela at http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBensonBooks OR her website at http://www.AngelaBenson.com.
Other Titles by Angela Benson
Sweet Passion Contemporary Romance Series
Friend and Lover
The Nicest Guy in America
The Way Home
Bands of Gold
For All Time
Between the Lines
Single Title Inspirational Family Drama
The Summer of Me
Delilah’s Daughters
Sins of the Father
Up Pops the Devil
Genesis House Inspirational Romance & Family Drama
Awakening Mercy, Book 1
Abiding Hope, Book 2
The Amen Sisters, Book 3
Enduring Love, Book 4 (coming soon)
Nonfiction
Men Don’t Like Ugly, Women Don’t Like Broke: What Women Need to Know about Love, Money and Relationships
Telling Your Tale: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction for Print and eBook
For All Time Page 25