“That sounds like a dream,” I said.
“Then let’s make that dream a reality.”
And before I could blink my eyes, sleep swept me under. I clung to Ryan’s body as the darkness overcame me, and an odd sort of bliss blanketed my body.
Fear was no longer the thing I was experiencing.
Excitement, however, was.
Twenty-Five
Ryan
“How are the renovations coming along?” Emma asked.
“This is their last day, sweetheart. I know you’ve been fed up with all the noise and the construction equipment in the way,” I said. “But they’re putting on the last coat of paint, then they’ll pack up.”
“Good. I know the kids are loving this hotel situation, but I’m a little over it.”
“You have to admit, it is a nice hotel.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” I said. “Oh! I forgot to tell you. The nursery stuff came in today.”
“Wait, it’s there? Oh my gosh, did you already move it in?” she asked.
“You make it sound like you would’ve helped,” I said with a chuckle.
“No, but I would’ve tried. I’m sure there was something I could’ve done.”
“You’re four months pregnant. The only thing you need to be doing is resting.”
“I think the nanny is enjoying this hotel situation a little too much though,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I told her to take advantage of all the spa services the hotel had to offer. Running behind three kids and a very pregnant woman is a lot of work.”
“Did you just call me fat?”
“No, my dear,” I said with a smile. “I called you breathtaking.”
Four months pregnant and Emma was still as feisty as the first day I’d met her. She had officially been living with me and the kids for the past three months and had ballooned in her size. Orders of bedrest from the doctor came quicker than we both thought they would, and by month four of her pregnancy the doctor wanted her out of work and off her feet. Emma wasn’t a fan of that. She had high hopes of working until seven months pregnant. But a bleeding scare rushed us to the emergency room and convinced Emma she needed to follow the doctor’s orders.
She said goodbye to Lawrence Day a week later, and I hired our new nanny two days after that.
The match was good. Our nanny was good with the older kids and got along well with Emma. Plus, having her around freed up time for Emma and I to enjoy one another before our triplets came along. Dinners. Late nights. Some stolen risqué hotel moments. I liked sneaking around with her. It felt salacious. Kinky. Sexy.
Especially since Emma was now in the limelight with me.
‘Babywatch’ was the current hashtag on social media regarding my life. Every picture they could snag of Emma was blasted out to the press and the public. At first, Emma couldn't stand it. She’d come home crying because someone with a camera caught he
r and I’d have to make nasty phone calls to the papers to get them to back off. But now, she was having fun with it. She’d go out in all these ridiculous outfits and be intentionally caught doing the most insane things. And she would frame the pictures. Send them to me at work.
Her latest masterpiece? Walking around in a T-Rex costume with an ice cream cone in her hand.
“I miss our routine,” Emma said.
“I miss it, too. I miss having you at home. I promise, only one more night in that hotel and you guys will be back.”