And the loving look in Carter’s eyes was one I would forever commit to memory.
“Good morning,” he said as a smile spread across his face.
“Good morning to you, too,” I said.
Twenty-five
Carter
“Wake up, beautiful.”
“Mmm… no. Not yet,” Natasha said.
“Come on, beautiful. I know you can open those eyes for me,” I said.
“But I don’t wanna.”
“You will when you hear what I have planned for the day.”
“Is it a day of sleep? Because I’m already ahead of you on that.”
“No. It’s a day at the spa.”
I watched Natasha open one of her eyes as she turned her face towards me. Her stomach was protruding out farther than I could’ve ever expected, and I could only imagine what it felt like to spend four months cooped up in a room. She was hardly getting out unless we were all going to a ball game, and even then she was exhausted by the time we got back to the house.
I wanted to do something special for her.
Something that was tailored specifically to what she would enjoy.
“A spa day?” Natasha asked. “Where are the kids?”
“Off to my mom’s for the weekend,” I said.
“Wait, the entire weekend?”
“The entire weekend. Just you, me, and a very luxurious spa day.”
“What about the rest of the weekend?” she asked.
“I’ll be waiting on you hand and foot.”
“Don’t you already do that?” she asked.
“No, I don’t. I make sure you have what you need within arm’s reach, but I don’t get to wait on you. Trust me. This weekend is going to be wonderful. And all you have to do is relax.”
“Hmm, it’s like my own personal babymoon.”
“A what?”
“A babymoon. You know, where a couple spends some alone time together before a baby comes?”
“Never heard of it.”
“What?” she asked. “You’ve never heard of a babymoon?”
“Not the term, no. I get the concept, but I didn’t know it was titled anything other than a nice weekend.”
Natasha giggled as she rolled towards me and my hand fell to her stomach. I could feel our children kicking around in there, pressing their hands and toes towards my touch. I bent down and pressed my lips to her stomach, kissing every stretch mark and pressing my lips against every place I could feel my children kicking.
“If you keep that up they’re gonna kill me before this spa day.”
“Sorry,” I said. “Hey, you guys keep it down in there. Mommy’s having a rough morning.”
“More like a rough month,” she said.
“Come on. Let me help you up.”
There was a lot Natasha needed help with. Getting up was one of them. Up out of a chair, or up out of the bed. Up from a toilet seat or help out of a bath if she wanted to take one. She couldn’t stand for long periods of time because her ankles would swell and ache. But her inability to get up by herself was one of the main reasons why I worried so much about her while I was at work.
It was also one of the reasons why I was going to wait on her hand and foot this entire weekend.
“What should I wear for this spa day?” Natasha asked.
“Anything that makes you feel comfortable,” I said.
“What all is happening? I mean, what do you have planned?”
“Now why would I ruin the surprise like that?” I asked.
“Because you love me?”
“Well that’s a given.”
I bent down and kissed her lips before she waddled into the closet. I gave her the space she needed to get ready, then was there to help her down the steps. We walked out to the car and I helped her in, making sure she didn’t trip and fall against her stomach. Then the two of us drove into town and pulled into the highest-rated spa San Francisco had to offer.
“Oh, my gosh.”
“You like it?” I asked.
“Carter. This is where all the celebrities go. Why in the world would you bring me here?” she asked.
“Do… you don’t like it?”
“I look like a beached whale. With shingles! What if I run into Hugh Jackman? Or Tom Hiddleston? Or Eddie Redmayne!”
“Got a thing for accents, I see.”
“I’m serious,” she said. “I look too rough to be in a place like this.”
“Nonsense,” I said. “See that team standing at the door?”
I watched Natasha look up at all the friendly faces smiling and waving at us.
“Yeah?”
“They’ve cleared their entire day just for you,” I said. “Which means if they’ve cleared their entire day…?”
“Then no Tom Hiddleston?” she asked.
“Exactly. Now come on. It’s time you had a chance to relax.”
I shut off the car and walked around to help Natasha out. We walked up to the team of professionals who were already beginning to dote on her. There was a hairstylist who knew exactly what he wanted to do with her hair and a nail professional who was walking her through all sorts of contemporary designs. There was a masseuse that was asking her questions on aromatherapy and the places on her body that hurt the most and there was a man trying to touch her face so he could get a good look at her pores.
I’d booked out the entire staff for the entire day so she could relax any way she wanted.
Our first stop was the massage. She was getting a prenatal massage and I was going to have a nice athletic stretch. The moans and groans coming from Natasha told me she was enjoying things, and the aromatherapy was a nice touch. The peppermint in the room was very soothing, and I could tell by the way Natasha’s voice got breathy when she spoke that she was as relaxed as she could be.
I booked her an hour and a half massage before she moved onto anything else.
Next was the facial. I held her hand throughout the entire thing as the specialist treated her face, her neck, her shoulders, and the front of her chest. He massaged her hands while the treatments were sitting on her face and kept telling her how beautiful she looked without all the makeup most women wear into these things.
And I had to agree with him.
She was a beautiful woman.
Next was a body scrub. I knew Natasha was getting self-conscious about all of the stretch marks popping up, so I had them use a specialized formula we could take with us afterwards. The sugar scrub helped to remove all the dead skin cells and the lotion they put on her body afterwards was very hydrating. That was apparently supposed to help the elasticity of the skin and help minimize the stretch marks that had already popped up.
Then, it was time for nails.
I was getting a manicure and a pedicure with her, but I was skipping all of the extra treatments. Natasha was going to have a good foot and arm massage as well as colors put on her nails. I told her to get whatever she wanted, no matter how long it took. We had this place for the ten hours it was open, so whatever she wanted to do was fine.
She was in heaven, and the smile on her face clenched my gut with happiness.
Once her nails were done, it was time for hair and makeup. What Natasha didn’t know was that I was slipping out during this portion. I had plans for us that evening. Plans that would require her to be in a dress.
And I knew she didn’t have any dresses that fit her body.
I walked around the maternity store trying to find something I thought would work. But nothing I found was nice enough for the evening I had planned. I walked across the street to a couple of other dress shops, but found nothing within the realm of what I was looking for. I was about to cancel the dinner reservations I had set up as I was walking back to the spa, but a dress in a store window caught my eye.
It was a deep, rich cherry red. It had support in the bodice for Natasha’s growing breasts and had loose sleeves that sat just off the shoulders on the mannequin. There was ample fabri
c around the middle of the dress that fell just past the mannequins knees. The empire waist was cinched just below the breasts, which would’ve sat at the perfect place for where Natasha was carrying our two children.
And there were matching flats in the display as well.
I went into the store and bought it right off the rack. I picked up the matching shoes and smiled as I walked out of the place. I dipped into a jewelry store and picked up a small pair of diamond earrings, then headed back into the spa. I asked to use one of their back rooms and told them to lead Natasha into it after she was done with her hair and makeup, and I made sure to write her a note so she would know what was going on.
Then, I went to go change into the suit I’d brought with me.
The hairstylist gave me a thumbs up as he was coming out of the room Natasha’s stuff was in. I was dressed in a navy blue suit with a crisp white shirt and a matching white tie. I stood there, waiting for Natasha to emerge.
I couldn’t wait to see her in her dress.
I heard the door open down the hallway and I stood to my feet. I smoothed my hands over my suit, then clasped them in front of my body. I saw her shadow emerging from the hallway and my heart started slamming against my chest.
No woman had ever made me nervous the way she did.
Nothing could have prepared me for how beautiful she looked. The moment she emerged from beyond the corner, I lost my breath. Her hair was piled high on her head, drenched in curls and framing her face perfectly. The diamond earrings were sparkling, accentuating the beauty of her eyes. Her breasts were round and full, bouncing with every step she took as the sleeves fell off her shoulders and accented her strong frame.
And the fabric of the dress fell along the curves of her body I had come to adore.
“Carter, this was way too much,” she said.
But I was speechless.
I couldn't stop taking her in.
“Carter?”
My eyes whipped back up to hers as she cocked her head.
“Is something wrong?”
“Hell no,” I said. “You look-”
My lips kept opening and closing, trying to find the words to explain to her how wonderful she was. How perfect she looked. How incredible she was and how lucky of a man I had become to have her next to me. I wanted to show her off and have her to myself at the same time. I wanted to take a picture of her and muss up her hair and smudge her beautiful red lipstick against my cock.
But I also wanted to frame her. Worship her and treasure her in all the ways she deserved.
And I didn’t know which one to do first.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“I’m carrying two children. I’m always hungry,” she said with a giggle.
“Then come with me,” I said as I offered her my arm. “The day isn’t done yet.”
A bag of her former clothes was handed to me before we waved goodbye to the spa staff. I helped Natasha to the car, then helped her up before we started on our journey. We traveled across down to this wonderful restaurant I had booked for us, then I led her through the mass of people and straight into the back.
There was a private room with a table set for two. Candles dancing everywhere and a menu tailored specifically for us.
“Does this menu say ‘cheesecake ice cream’?” Natasha asked.
“Made in-house by the chef himself,” I said with a grin.
She threw her head back and laughed, filling the room with the most beautiful sound this universe had to offer.
“What in the world did I do to deserve all this? I’ve been a bump on a log for four months, Carter.”
“What you did was you came into my life and turned it on its head. You showed me there was another path for my life. Another path for my children’s lives. You’re growing two of the most precious treasures in the world to me. That is why you deserve all of this,” I said.
I watched tears rise to Natasha’s eyes as I reached out and took her hand. I brought it to my lips to kiss, watching as goosebumps ricocheted up her arm. The menu was already set for us and all we had to do was sit.
Sit, and wait, and enjoy what was brought to us.
“This is perfect,” Natasha said breathlessly. “Thank you so much for today.”
“And to think, we still have two more days of this,” I said.
“What? You gonna rent out the city so we can play a massive game of paintball?” she asked.
“I’m sure I could probably arrange that, but no. I’m not.”
“Then what in the world could you possibly have saved after a day like this?”
I felt a grin spread across my cheeks as Natasha furrowed her brow.
“Carter? What did you do?” she asked.
“I fell in love with you,” I said. “That’s what I did. And I’m going to show you how much I love you. Over, and over, and over again.”
And the blush that tainted Natasha’s cheeks sent my cock pulsing for her.
Twenty-six
Carter
I was sitting at my work desk with my head in my hand. It had been a long fucking day of board meetings and investors complaining and stocks falling. The economy was as volatile as I had ever remembered, and it was taking a lot of manpower in order to reassure people things were going to be okay. That we weren’t plummeting into another Depression and that the stock market would recover. I kept reassuring our investors that they would see the profit they were expecting by the end of the year, but somehow they expected me to get that to them now.
I really needed to hire someone to keep those overeager bastards at bay.
I was filling out paperwork when my cell phone rang. Which could only mean that my nanny needed something. Great. What the hell had the kids done now?
Because they had been acting out a lot during the last month of Natasha’s pregnancy.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Mr. Carter! Mr. Carter!”
“Isabelle. What is it? What’s going on?”
“It’s Natasha. She’s… her water… it-”
I pushed back from my seat and grabbed my briefcase in the corner.
“Listen to me. Where are the kids?” I asked.
“Um… they’re still. At school. I mean, I have to pick up Clara soon-”
“Here’s what I need you to do. Pick up the home phone and call an ambulance. I’ve got our hospital bags in the SUV with me. Stay with Natasha until the ambulance gets there, and tell her she needs to go to UCSF Medical Center.”
“UCSF. Got it,” she said.
5+Us Makes Seven: A Nanny Single Dad Romance Page 16