“Call me your son one more time…” I hiss at James, as I always do. “And I’ll move you to the marketing department and have you cold-call small businesses to convince them to place plumbing ads on LBC.”
He laughs. “Call us from the honeymoon.”
“Only if you promise not to pick up,” I banter. He squeezes my shoulder.
Why does the gesture feel more real than any moment I ever shared with Mathias?
I look across the buzzing room, scanning for something to dampen the moment. I keep expecting to see him, even though he wasn’t invited. But Mathias hasn’t been in the States for over four months, if the rumors are true. I never bother checking. Giving a fuck and worrying about people who are malicious robs you of your power and purpose—otherwise they wouldn’t want to harm you.
Coast is clear.
I pick up my bride and carry her to the elevator, honeymoon style, essentially bailing on everyone else. Her arms are looped around my neck and she purrs as she says, “I heard there are CCTV cameras everywhere in this place, so don’t do anything stupid.”
I lift my hand and give one camera the middle finger, still holding her, then kiss her so deeply and darkly she doesn’t come up for air until the next morning.
In the South of France.
In my bed.
“I believe you just brought sexy back, Mr. Timberlake.”
One Year Later…
“Pink Chucks, huh?” Célian smirks as he coils his arm in mine and we stride toward the elevators. He is on the sixtieth floor—the new president of LBC—and I’m on the sixth, an associate producer next to Blu. Kate is the director of news now, a role she earned the hard way and fully deserves.
Every evening, my husband picks me up from the newsroom, seals my grinning mouth with a hot kiss for everyone to see, and whisks me to the elevators, where we share all our thoughts and secrets, because since day one, the elevator is where everything happens between us.
Why break the habit now?
The doors slide open, and we get in. As soon as they slide shut, I wiggle my toes inside my Chucks.
“Let’s make a Le Coq Tail stop before we go home,” Célian suggests, already advancing toward me across the tiny space.
“Sure, I could go for a roast beef sandwich,” I say as he corners me against the wall and hoists me up by my ass, wrapping my legs over his waist.
“And a drink to go with your long day.” He bites down on my lower lip and tugs it inside his mouth.
I groan into our kiss, grinding against him shamelessly. I’ve been needy lately. “I’ll stick to the food.”
“Good idea. I like you sober when I fuck you.”
“And when I’m pregnant,” I add.
“And when you’re…” He continues the sentence, dipping his hand between my legs and shoving my panties to the side under my skirt.
He stops and frowns. “Come again?”
“Pink Chucks.” I bite down on a smile, my eyes traveling to my stomach.
His do the same. They flare a little, and then he squeezes my ass, seemingly for affirmation that he’s still breathing.
Good. We only talked about kids one time, just days after he proposed to me.
“I don’t think I’m much of a father figure, but if you want kids, we’ll have kids,” he’d told me. “Hell, if you want rabies, we’ll catch it together. Make a day of it.”
I wanted to wait a bit longer before we became parents, and took my pill every day. But then I made a basic mistake this past winter and went on antibiotics to treat my sinus infection without using further protection. I’d been so busy with work and Célian and Dad, I didn’t even realize I’d missed three periods.
When I finally bought the test—Ava made sure to hit me in the head with it before we opened it in the restroom of the fifth floor—it came back positive. I went to the OB-GYN the same day. That day was yesterday.
My husband is looking at me now, with a look I’ve never seen on his face. A look of redemption, and awe, and hope. The fact that I put it there makes me want to break into a dance, sing at the top of my lungs—even though nobody in this zip code deserves such punishment.
“I’m having a daughter?” He blinks.
“Technically, I’m having one. But I can settle for we. How would you feel about naming her Camille?”