21
"Nat?" Romero smoothed her hair as they sat in his car. He had refused to leave their relationship open in such a way. He loved this woman and he wasn't giving her the chance to get away from him so easily. "Honey?" Natalie pushed her face deeper into his chest, reveling in the comfort and smell of him. She wished he could hold her forever, but she eventually pulled herself together and slipped out of his embrace.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered, wiping her face with the back of her hand. Romero handed her an handkerchief and she used it with a grunt.
"I didn't want you to leave me."
"I was just going to a quilt show, Romero." she murmured.
"Yes, I know, but the way you left an hour ago was not how I wanted you to go to the show. Besides I was supposed to go with you, I still do."
"No, we need a couple of days apart." She insisted. Romero inhaled deeply feeling frustrated.
"I need you, Nat. You need me too. Besides, I have to make up for being such a numbskull."
"It's just two days, Romero."
"I don't care. Now, what's wrong sweet heart?" Romero had the feeling as if there was more to her being upset than what had passed between them earlier.
"Just all of this mess. My emotions are just running all over the place. You, me, my..." she stopped, not wanting to think about the last twenty minutes. Natalie laid a hand on his chest and looked up into his worried eyes. "I need this break, Romero. I promise, I'm coming back, but I need this break." she looked at him through wet eyelashes and he smoothed his thumb over them.
"I love you, Nat." he leaned his head on her forehead, before pressing his lips against it. "When you come back, are you going to tell me what is really bothering you besides m?."
"I don't know, but when I get back I expect some changes." she said firmly. Romero held in his breathe at that statement.
"I will...make changes." Natalie wrinkled her eyebrows at his hesitation.
"Romero, I'm not playing, Stop being selfish and think about me too."
"I know...I know...I know you need me to be there too, Nat. I know…babe."
"Now, let me go, I'm going to be late checking in the hotel and tomorrow is early for setting up the quilts for the showing." she muttered getting out of the car.
"Nat..." Romero yelled out the window. She turned around looking back at him. "Good luck, sweetheart."
"Thank you." Natalie turned back towards her shop, expecting her mother to still be there, but she was gone. The little slip of paper on the ground caught her attention. She pocketed it after contemplating if she should throw it away or not. Frankly, she didn't want to deal with it.
xxxxxx
Romero spent the weekend nervous and worried about Natalie. She hadn't called him since she'd told him she had arrived safely at the hotel. Anything could be going on or happening. What did they do at a Quilt fest, or show, anyway? Thoughts running rampant through his mind made him unable to concentrate at work and he put in double just to get his mind clear. Thinking of what Natalie had threatened, he also revamped his schedule with Marcie. She was a godsend on that account. He developed a great idea that would need Natalie's approval, but he felt it was something that they could compromise with.
He was ready to leave for home the night Natalie's mother stopped in his office. He knew who she was as soon as she walked in. How she found him, Romero didn't know.
"May I help you?" he asked, offering her a seat. He sat back down behind his desk, treating this as any business deal. Romero wondered if Natalie knew she was back, and then it dawned on him. Of course she knew that was why she was so upset the other night. Romero wanted to be angry at her for not confiding in him, but he understood.
"I'm Natalie's..." Paula started as she sat down.
"I know who you are." Romero cut her off. "I would say I'm pleased to meet you, but given my wife's emotional state the last time I saw her, I can't honestly say that. Although, meeting you has crossed my mind." he gave her a small smile and sat back in the chair further. "What do you want? Money? A place to stay? "
"No!" Paula was angry that he would assume such a thing and then treat her like this, but at the same moment she knew he was protecting his wife. "I wanted to know if you could help me." Romero shook his head vigorously.
"Worm your way back into her life?!" he shouted. "Hell no! Do you know how much you hurt her?"
"Yes, I know...and I want to make it up to her!" she yelled back, standing up. Paula tightened the sweater she was wearing around her as she sought comfort from it. This was so hard and yet, she knew she had to do it. Had to seek forgiveness from her baby. "I want her to forgive me so that I can make it up to her." she sobbed.
"She doesn't trust you."
"But she trusts you." Romero thought about that one and knew where it counted, yes, Natalie trusted him, but what they were going through now. He had to prove that he loved her enough to let go of some things.
"I think you may have good intentions, but I can't help you. This is up to Natalie and this is her decision. I would never get in the way of something so big. You have to ask her to let you in, not me." Romero stood from behind the desk and picked up his briefcase. "I have to leave, but give me your number so that she can reach you when she gets back. If she doesn't, remember, that was her choice. You will need to respect it."
"I'm her mother!"
"No, you gave up that right a long time ago. You have to earn it back!" Romero opened the door and allowed her to exit his office. Paula stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder. Romero was prepared for being cursed out, but he was protecting Natalie and he would continue to do it as long as she held his last name.
22
Natalie packed her toiletries in the small rolling suitcase and zipped it close. The trip to the Quilt fest was bittersweet to say the least. Although she should have enjoyed the show like she'd done many times as her and her grandmother perused the competition and was awed at the creativity of some of the Quilts being displayed for First Place, she hadn't done any of it. She'd displayed her Quilts as her and Grandma Lyn had done many times before. They weren't looking to go to National, the small show was always just something they loved to do. Her Quilt design that she'd dedicated to her Grandmother had won First Place for Best in Show. "GrandMa Lyn's Devotion" was a design that was a cascade of colors, light to dark, that contrasted off of a lovely soft butter background. In certain areas of the quilt Natalie had placed intricate embroidered detail of the things that she loved most about her Grandmother and what she appreciated most. A small picture of her grandmother in profile was done entirely of fabric had awed the judges and probably had put her over the top. Yes, it was bittersweet. She'd won five thousand dollars and a trip to Hawaii for a week. She should be happy, ecstatic, rejoiced, but she wasn't. She was sad, afraid, anxious, and dreaded going back home. She also was lonely and missed Romero.
Natalie sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the ribbon that hung on the quilt. Her emotions at war with her mind and heart. She knew what Grandma Lyn would say to her if she knew Paula had come back. While Lyn would understand how she felt, she would also tell her that she needed to forgive her mother and start anew. Grandma Lyn would have embraced Paula and taken her back as if nothing ever happened. That was the type of woman she was. Natalie wished she could, but that required trust and most of all forgiveness, which he had none at the moment for the woman. Natalie had no idea what to do when she got back. Romero was easy to fix compared to the deal with Paula.
Natalie stood and finished packing the Quilts, placing the Blue ribbon on top of the folded blankets. A small smile creeped over her solemn face and her fingers ran over the satin lightly before finally closing the protective covering. She left the room toting her belongings and checked out the hotel. She packed her car and finally decided to turn on her phone. She'd done a lot of thinking over the weekend. Romero and she would work, even if she had to tie him up and keep him home with her. Dialing his private line at wor
k, he picked up on the first ring.
"Nat?" he answered, almost relieved that she finally called. Natalie was shocked by the fact he'd answered so quickly, but gave a soft laugh.
"Did you miss me?"
"What do you think, woman?" Romero quietly answered into the headset. "Are you on your way home now?" he asked.
"Yes, I should get there this afternoon." Natalie grinned, feeling her heart sing at having him waiting for her when she got back.
"Nat..." he started.
"Yes."
"I love you."
"I know, I love you too."
"I'll be waiting when you get home?"
"Romero, you don't..." she began.
"Nat, just drive safely and come back to me, baby." He insisted.
"Okay. Bye." Romero said a soft goodbye and they hung up. Natalie started her car and headed back home, anxious to see her husband and thoughts of Paula were the last thing on her mind at the moment.
xxxxxx
"Marcie, forward all calls to Mr. Golden. All appointments and anything that needs to be handled should be directed to him. If he needs anything, he can call me personally. He has my number. "
"Yes, Mr. Jones."
"I'm done for the day, you can go home also. Thank you." Marcie replied with an happy "your welcome" and Romero packed up his case. His office was devoid of his file cabinet and many other things. He'd converted his Blue Room into a office, minus all the blue. Everything was prepared for his new workspace. The office would just be somewhere for him to conduct his meetings and other work that required him to be present. He locked his office door behind him and didn't bother to look back. Romero was only looking forward at the moment.
As he made his way to his car, he called the florist and made reservations at an upscale restaurant. He had several delivery's at the moment being conducted, all in hopes of wooing his wife to forgive him for his knuckleheadedness. He hoped it work, but he was sure just her looking around the corner and knowing he was there would be enough. Romero thought also of Paula and how to broach the subject to Natalie. Although he was sure it was the last thing she wanted to talk about, he knew she would need to decide what to do about the woman. Right now, though, he was focused on one thing at the moment. Paula could wait.
xxxxxx
Six hours later Natalie's car pulled up in the driveway behind Romero's. She got her achy body out of the vehicle, popping the trunk. A soft meow caught her attention as she walked toward the back of her vehicle and she laughed as Orange rubbed his body around her ankles. She picked him up gently and nuzzled him.
"I missed you too, buddy." she laughed.
"Why does he get a hug and kiss first?" Romero's deep voice made her heart beat wildly in her chest.
Natalie looked at him, his relaxed frame stood several feet away from her and she thought he looked better than a man could. His dark curly hair had grown even longer over the course of two days it seemed. Covering the top of his ears and his forehead. It framed his handsome features, making his eyes that much darker, his full lips widened in that sexy grin that melted her every time. Natalie released Orange as she tried to breathe normally as Romero's eyes raked over her and made her painfully aware that it had been more than a week since they'd made love when she left. They both were starving apparently. Romero walked slowly toward Natalie since she was unable to make her body do so. She smelled him even before he got close, his frame hovering over her as he looked down at her.
"Jealous?" Natalie grinned openly at him. Romero shook his head and kissed her lightly on the lips, before doing it a few more times. He wrapped his big arms around her and pulled her close, hugging her tightly.
"No, cause he can't do this." his voice was muffled in her neck as he kissed her behind her ear. "Or this." his hands touched the dip in her back as he pushed her forward, Natalie felt the beginning of his arousal and coughed. She decided not to comment on that part. Romero released her and stepped over to the trunk to get her things. "How was your trip?" he asked as she shut the trunk and closed her doors. She followed him into the house.
"Bittersweet." she responded. Romero knew what she meant. "I'll tell you later."
"Are you tired?" he asked. His eyes capturing hers and Natalie's mind went in one direction.
"Stiff, but no. Why?"
"I wanted to take you out to dinner tonight, are you up for that?" he asked, heading up the stairs to their room. It was still early, but Natalie wasn't against it. "Oh, do you like presents?" he teased as he put her suitcase in their closet.
"Romero...what woman does not like presents?" she laughed. "What is going on?" she asked when he came out the closet with a big box, a smaller box, and a tiny box on top of one another along with a large bouquet of roses.
"For tonight and something to say I'm sorry and I love you." he whispered as he gave her the flowers. He put the gifts on the bed and gave her a soft kiss on the lips as he waited for her to open them.
"Romero you didn't..." she mumbled into the bouquet as she inhaled deeply, a large smile gathering on her face as she inhaled their sweet fragrance.
"I'm not trying to buy your forgiveness, Nat. It's for tonight, besides, there is more." Natalie could tell he was excited about something, so she took the boxes off of one another, opening the big one first. Lifting the top off the expensive decoration, she unfolded the tissue paper to find a beautiful gold silk dress. It felt amazing between her fingers and the spaghetti straps criss crossed in the back as the gathered fabric fell in a puddle at her feet as she held it against her.
"Romero...this is beautiful. Ohmigod, this is brave of you..." she peered at him underneath her eyelashes. "How did you know I would like it?"
"I didn't, but I did, so um..yeah.." he heard her laugh and put the dress back in the box before opening the medium sized one where she found a pair of shoes to match. Crystal encrusted sandals glittered in the light, the heels several inches than what Natalie was used to. They were expensive and Natalie didn't even want to know how much he'd laid out for any of it. The small box she knew was jewelry and was slightly afraid to open it. She took a deep breath and was presented with a pair of diamond earrings.
"Thank you...they are gorgeous." she watched them catch the light for a full minute before Romero's large hand took the box our of her hand and placed it with the rest of the gifts. He took her back downstairs. "What now?"
"One more present."
"Romero, I...I don't think.." she started. They came to the blue room and he turned to look at her.
"Natalie, I heard you loud and clear last week. You make me very happy babe, very happy. The last thing I wanted to do was abandon you when I knew how important being there for you meant. I'm so sorry, baby. So sorry." he held her face between his hands and kissed her. Natalie wasn't expecting this when she got home. Frankly, she didn't know what she was expecting. Maybe that was the thing, she wasn't expecting much, because Natalie thought she'd have to fight for them. But Romero had listened to her. He opened the door and she noticed the room was no longer blue first of all. But she did notice that it resembled an office.
"Romero, did you...?"
"Yes, I did. I'm working from home. While your at the shop, I'll be at the other office or here. But most of the time here. I had them come in and put a line for Marcie, so she can contact me. If this is okay with you, though. I know you don''t want to come down here in the midldle of the night and ask me to come to bed, but Natalie, this was all I could think to do. I promise to lock it when you get home from work. I promise to be here for dinner and when we have children, baby, I'll be here for each and every one of them." he finished. Natalie looked at him in shock, she was having trouble processing this and breathing was becoming a bit difficult.
"You did this all because..." Romero knew she wasn't expecting this much change. Maybe she expected him not to do anything and that was his fault.
"We can go shopping like you've been asking me, okay. Or I can bring in an interior designer to help decora
te this place. You know, put your stamp on it." he grinned.
"I love you." she cut him off. "Romero, I love you so much. I didn't think you would...do this. I mean, no one has ever.." Romero embraced her.
"I know, honey. That's why I did it. I wanted you to know you can depend on me, baby. You can trust me to be there for you. To not have to ask me to put you first when you deserve to be first always. I'm a big boy, I know when I did a bad thing." he heard her laugh and Romero with her. "
"You haven't set it up yet?" she said looking at the desk and the computer on the floor. His fax machine and every thing else were on a small cart in the corner waiting to be hooked up.
"Oh.." Romero looked at her and kissed her once, then twice. "I was hoping.." The cloth of her top was between his teeth as he pulled at it and wiggled his eyebrows. Natalie laughed as they began to hurry out of ther clothing. Romero undid her bra, allowing her breast to spill forth. He cupped them in his hands, the perfect size, he'd found out when they'd first made love. They still felt good. Silky, full, and the nipples pressed against his palms waiting to be teased.
Romero pulled her against his t-shirt covered chest as he walked her backwards toward the desk, moving his mouth over hers as he did so. The kiss was deep and he took his time exploring it. He'd missed kissing her, missed tasting her, missed loving her. A sigh escaped Natalies throat as he lifted her on the desk and seperated from her lovely lips. He inhaled the scent of skin as he made his way to the soft mounds that were beckoning him. Pulling and teasing the dark brown taunt skin lightly. Natalie felt every nerve in her body tingle with need as Romero's mouth sent loving pulses straight to her womanhood.
Romero moved away from her so that he could finish undressing her. He slowly pulled down the lacy panties, over the smooth thighs that would hold on tightly around his waist and over the leg that would lock to keep him close to her. He exposed the part of her body that made him harder than steel. His mouth watered to taste the very essence of her. Natalie almost jumped at the look in Romero's eyes. They were full of fire. The knot in her belly as she waited with bated breath for him to make love to her seemed to get even tighter.
Finding Mrs. Right Page 13