The Perfect Illusion

by Winter Renshaw

  Tossing the covers off my legs, I climb out of bed and shuffle to his bathroom.

  “You should’ve woke me up this morning,” I call out. “We could’ve saved water.”

  He chuckles. “I couldn’t wake you. You looked so peaceful. And you needed the rest.”

  Peeling my clothes off, I start the shower. From the corner of my eye, I catch Hudson stealing a peek through the cracked door. But is it really stealing if it belongs to you in the first place?

  “Give me a half hour,” I call, stepping into the marble tiled shower and letting the water drip down my body in jet-streamed rivulets.

  Closing my eyes, I softly hum Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds because for the first time in months, I know that every little thing is going to be all right.

  “Maribel Collins?” A young nurse in baby pink scrubs calls my name from a doorway, and Hudson and I follow her down a long hallway. “How are you feeling?”

  “Great,” I say.

  “Wonderful.” She turns to smile as we walk, and then she veers a corner, stopping at a darkened room with an ultrasound machine and a low bed in the corner. “Well, we’re going to start with the sonogram first and get some measurements, and then Dr. Gupta will be in to talk to you and answer any questions that you or your husband might have.”

  “He’s not my husband,” I say. Not sure why I felt the need to point that out, but I did. And it’s done.

  “Not yet,” Hudson adds, winking.

  The nurse smiles, like we’re adorable, and then she tells me to lie back on the table and the technician will be in shortly to get started.

  “You going to call Alec?” I ask.

  “Already on it.” Hudson holds up his phone where Alec is FaceTime’d in from Hong Kong. It must be almost midnight.

  Alec’s been great the last few weeks. He checks on me and the baby almost every day via text, and we’ve been talking on the phone at least once a week. He’s really making an effort, and he’s more involved than I thought he would be. For that I’m exceedingly relieved.

  When the sonographer steps in, she dims the lights and quickly does a double take when she spots Hudson holding his phone up. For a moment, I contemplate explaining my situation to her, but I bite my tongue. It’s none of her business, and I don’t have to justify this arrangement to anyone.

  It’s absolutely perfect just the way it is.

  Funny how, just months ago, I thought I’d be doing this all by myself.

  And now I have Hudson and Alec and a baby who’s going to grow up surrounded with love and support.

  I lift the hem of my shirt and the sonographer squirts a warm jelly-like substance across my lower belly before pressing the transducer against my skin. She moves it back and forth, distributing the gel and concentrating on the grainy black and white image on the screen.

  “There we go,” she announces a moment later.

  The three of us have locked eyes on the tiny monitor, waiting to see something that resembles anything other than a white blob.

  She drags her mouse across the image, taking measurements alongside with the random, “That’s good. Looking good. That’s normal.”

  I glance at Hudson, and he smiles, and though it’s dark in the room, I can almost swear he’s got a tear in his eye.

  “We’re going to listen to the baby’s heart,” she says.

  I close my eyes and hold my breath as the rapid, steady thump and whoosh fills the small room. It’s the best sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life.

  “Everything looks great,” she says. “Dr. Gupta will be in shortly.”

  She hands me a warm cloth to clean my belly before flicking the lights on and leaving us alone. We say goodbye to Alec, telling him we’ll keep him posted, and he sends us off with a late night yawn from the other side of the globe.

  “That was …” Hudson’s voice trails off. “Wow. Kind of makes it all real.”

  I nod. “I thought that last time, but I was too in shock to really enjoy it then. This was incredible. Thank you so much for coming with me today.”

  “Of course,” he says. “I wouldn’t miss it. Let me know when all of your appointments are and I’ll be there.”

  “You going to the office after this?” I ask.

  “Thought I’d take the day. Spend it with you.”

  “Wait a minute, do I know you?” I tease. “The entire time I worked for you, you didn’t take a single day off.”

  “I’m taking you for lunch, maybe do some shopping for the baby,” he says. “And then my parents are coming over tonight. They want to see you.”

  “They want to see me?” I point at myself, like he could possibly be speaking to anyone else.

  “Yeah,” he says. “I told them we’re back together, and they wanted to see you immediately.”

  “Should I be worried that they’re specifically coming to the city just to see me?” Every time I look back at the moment I left Sea La Vie, I cringe. I was so caught up in the moment, in the emotions, I let it get the best of me. I can’t help but think I could’ve handled things with a little more tact and dignity, but I never thought I’d be seeing any of those people again.

  “We’ll find out.” He chuckles, and I take solace in the fact that he’s clearly not worried.

  “Mr. Rutherford, your parents are here.” Marta stands in the doorway of Hudson’s bedroom, her eyes moving from him to me and back. Ever since I came back, she’s been warming up to me. Hudson says she didn’t want to get attached before and it was nothing personal.

  “We’ll be out shortly.” He turns to me. “Why do you look so nervous?”

  “I don’t know?” I bite my lip. I’ve been rehearsing everything I want to say to them all day, namely my humble apology, but not knowing why they needed to immediately see me makes this meeting that much more nerve wracking.

  He takes my hand, leading me down the hallway toward his living room where Conrad and Helena are seated on the Chesterfield sofa.

  I lock eyes with his mother first, and she stands.

  His father clears his throat, tugging at his navy sport coat.

  “How are you feeling, Maribel?” Helena asks, her voice as gentle as a cloud.

  “Great,” I say. “Just had an appointment earlier today. Baby’s healthy.”

  “That’s wonderful,” she says, motioning toward the seat beside her. “Why don’t you have a seat, dear?”

  I pad across the room, taking the spot beside her and noticing a little blue Tiffany’s bag nestled beneath the coffee table.

  “I wanted you to know,” she begins, “that we accept you—and your baby—into our family with open arms.”

  My eyes well, my chest tingles with fullness.

  “We’ve shared many things with the Sheffields in our time,” Conrad says. “Why not share a grandchild?”

  “We think it’ll be a wonderful thing,” she says, reaching for my hand and taking it between her palms. “We adore you, Maribel.”

  “Really?” My voice breaks.

  “Why do you seem so shocked?” Helena laughs, glancing at Conrad.

  “From the moment I met you, I knew you were a good girl,” Conrad says. “And we knew that our boy was crazy about you. All a parent can ever really hope for is that their child finds love and happiness, and Hudson found that with you.”

  “I’m so sorry for lying to you both,” I say.

  “Yes,” Hudson says. “We want to make it clear, we accept full responsibility for our actions, and we’re deeply remorseful.”

  “Thank you,” Helena says. “We appreciate that.”

  “Thank you for accepting … us.” I place my hand on my stomach.

  “Of course,” Conrad says.

  “We brought you something.” Helena reaches for the blue Tiffany bag, handing it over. “I’m hoping the baby doesn’t already have one of these.”

  I smile, silently assuring her the baby does not, in fact, have a single thing from Tiffany & Co.

  Digging pa
st white tissue paper, I pull out a small box containing a silver rattle.

  “Thank you,” I say, gently wrapping my arms around her. “I love it.”

  “Just a small keepsake,” she says as I pull away. “Hudson had one. A gift from my mother-in-law. You’ll get to meet her next month at my niece’s wedding in Portland. You’ll be joining us, won’t you? As Hudson’s plus one?”

  I glance at Hudson, vaguely recalling when we’d signed the original agreement and he mentioned that I’d be accompanying him to a slew of weddings and family gatherings over the course of the summer. But that was then. And he’s yet to ask me as his date … officially.

  “Will you join me as my plus one for cousin Jennifer’s wedding next month?” he asks, practically reading my mind.

  “I’d love to,” I say.

  “Wonderful.” Helena claps her hands together before standing. “We won’t keep you. We just wanted to stop by and give you your gift and welcome you back to the family with open arms.”

  “Thank you.” I follow them to the door with Hudson behind me, his hand on the small of my back. “We’ll see you next month!”

  She blows a kiss on the tips of her fingers before waving goodbye to us and disappearing into the hallway behind Conrad.

  The second they’re gone, I exhale.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Hudson says, drawing me in.

  I place my hands on his chest, staring up into his deep blues. I’d live in them if I could, I love them so.

  “So what now?” I ask.

  His lips curl into a devilish grin and his hands slide down my sides, lifting me and carrying me back to his room.

  Burying my face in his neck, I throw my arms around his corded-steel shoulders and breathe him in.

  I love him.

  So hard.

  Epilogue

  Hudson

  Six months later…

  Mari cradles Grey Hudson Sheffield in her arms. All seven pounds and eight ounces of him are swaddled in a white muslin blanket covered in baby giraffes, and he’s fast asleep, out cold with a full belly. She wears exhaustion like a rock star, exuberant and glowing despite a twenty-two-hour labor and two hours of pushing.

  Sitting beside her, I can’t take my eyes off these two beautiful, tired souls.

  “I can’t stop looking at him,” she says, her voice a gentle breeze. “Isn’t he perfect?”

  “Yeah.” I place my hand over hers. “He really is.”

  Alec is seated on the other side of the hospital bed, watching his newborn son sleep. He flew to Nebraska from Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of the birth, but Mari ended up going a week past her due date.

  The three of us spent a lot of time catching up, talking about our hopes and dreams for the little guy.

  I have to hand it to Alec. He completely proved me wrong about him. He’s really handling this situation better than I thought he would, and he’s going to start taking fewer international jobs so he can be around more.

  Mari’s eyes flutter. She’s struggling to stay awake.

  My phone lights up with a text from Mari’s friend Isabelle asking how everyone’s doing before letting us know she’s going back to bed. She FaceTime’d in for the birth, and she plans to visit as soon as the fanfare dies down and Mari is up for a house guest.

  “We should let you both rest,” I say, scooping Grey from her arms and placing him in the bassinette.

  Mari doesn’t fight it, she simply nods and lets her cheek fall to the pillow.

  Alec and I sneak out of the room, heading toward the hospital cafeteria. We’re both in dire need of a good night’s rest, but neither of us want to leave those two just yet.

  “Hey, man,” Alec says, stopping me halfway down the hall.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you,” he says, eyes earnest. “Thank you for taking care of them these last several months when I was gone. And thank you for accepting Grey the way you have. I can only hope to be half the man you are someday.”

  “Give yourself more credit.” I lift my hand to his back, squeezing his shoulders. “You’ve done well. And we’re in this together. For life.”

  “One big, happy family.” Alec chuckles and we turn the corner.

  “The way it’s always been.”

  Lying awake, I stare at the ceiling. Grey’s been home two weeks now, and his sleeping schedule is still pretty erratic. Alec left for a new gig in San Francisco yesterday, and Mari and I are still working out some kind of nighttime schedule that works for us both.

  Living in Orchard Hill full time now has been quite the adjustment. Some nights it’s too quiet and isolated. Other nights it’s pure bliss and peaceful.

  Grey’s tiny cry plays over the intercom and Mari instantly shuffles awake, scrambling to get out of bed.

  Placing my arm across her, I say, “I’ll get it this time.”

  “You sure?” she mutters, half asleep.

  “Yeah. Go back to sleep.” Climbing out of bed, I trek into the nursery next door, scooping him out of his crib and lying him on the changing table. He’s wet. And probably hungry.

  A small envelope rests at the center of the changing pad, with my name scribbled across it in Mari’s handwriting. Tucking it in the waistband of my sweats, I change little Grey before carrying him to the kitchen to fix a bottle.

  Several minutes later, we’re situated in the rocking chair in the living room, a small Tiffany lamp splashing gentle stained glass colors on the wall behind us.

  Pulling out the letter, I unfold the linen paper and give it a read.

  Dear Mr. Rutherford,

  I humbly request that you accept this as my pledge to love you now and forever, until the end of time. I have no intentions of ever stepping down from my position as the woman who’s insanely and hopelessly wild about you. I’ll do my best to ensure this is a smooth transition for our relationship, but I cannot promise to exercise self-restraint at all times in your presence because, truth be told, I find it impossible to keep my hands off you most of the time.

  With fondness and gratitude,

  Maribel Collins

  “Your mother is cute, Grey,” I whisper, chuckling to myself as he downs his bottle in record time. I rock him for a moment, watching his eyes fuse shut as he settles into another several hours of sleep.

  Having a newborn is sweet, delirious exhaustion, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

  I trace my fingers down his perfect nose. Grey is the spitting image of Mari so far, and I don’t see a lot of Alec in there—at least not yet.

  After a few moments and when I’m positive he’s down for the count, I rise slowly and carry him back to his crib.

  Climbing back into bed with Mari a minute later, I find another envelope on my pillow. With help from the moonlight spilling in from the window above the bed, I quietly slide the letter out and begin to read it.

  Hudson,

  I will.

  Mari

  Mari rolls toward me, her full, delicious lips curling into a slow grin as she sits up on her elbow. Her eyes are heavy and her body wants to go back to sleep, but her heart wants me.

  And the heart always wins.

  “You will?” I lift my brows. A month ago, on a whim, I proposed to her. While she confirmed she was absolutely crazy about me and loved me to the end of the earth and back, she asked for more time. She said there was too much going on at once and she didn’t want to get caught up and move too fast.

  “Yes, Hudson,” she says as I slide under the covers and pull her over top of me, my hands sliding up her sides. “I will marry you.”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE: For a limited time, I’ve included two standalone bonus books that fit in with the theming of this book: BITTER RIVALS (a 100 page enemies-to-lovers novella that takes place in Montauk) and ARROGANT PLAYBOY (which is a full-length boss/employee romance).

  As an added feature, I’ve also included an AMA (ask me anything) Q & A!

  Enjoy!!

 
xoxo—

  Winter

  PS - Want to make sure you never miss a new release? Text RENSHAW to 24587. I’ll ONLY send a text when I have a new release. Nothing more, nothing less!

  BITTER RIVALS

  Copyright Page

  COPYRIGHT 2016 WINTER RENSHAW

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  COVER DESIGN: Louisa Maggio, LM Creations

  EDITING: Valorie Clifton

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or, if an actual place, are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Description

  XAVIER

  Work hard, play harder.

  All I wanted was a weekend in the Hamptons, but what I got was forty-eight hours of quality time with my former business partner. My ex best friend. The girl who walked away without so much as an explanation the second sh*t got real.

  I’m going to make her sorry she was never mine.

  MAGNOLIA

  Work hard, forget the rest.