Knox
Knox worried that Beck’s assessment was correct and when Slater confirmed his worries, he decided that he needed to get Beck out of town for a bit. The problem was getting her to agree to take off with him until Slater could figure out where the hell Felicity had taken off to.
His former assistant had disappeared after she was fired from the casino and no one knew where she was. Her apartment had been emptied and she told her landlord to shove his lease up his ass. Knox didn’t take any of that as a good sign and knowing that she was armed and now, possibly unhinged, he wanted to get Beck out of town.
Ace promised that he could handle things at the casino for a bit and Trinity promised to keep an eye on their penthouse, water the plants, and feed Beck’s cat. All he had to do was convince his girl that they needed a vacation before things got too crazy with the wedding and the baby. He even came up with the concept of a “Pre-honeymoon” to entice her to say yes to his little trip. What woman would possibly say no to a honeymoon—even if it was before the actual wedding. If his idea failed and she turned him down, he had another ace up his sleeve, but he wasn’t sure that would even work. He just hoped that if he had to play his cards, she’d find the whole prospect of an island ceremony—just the two of them, exciting.
“Hey,” he said. “Been looking everywhere for you.” He had searched the whole penthouse, finding her in the master bedroom closet. She was sitting on the floor surrounded by a pile of her clothes.
“Nothing fits,” she cried. “I’m too fat for any of my clothes and now, everyone at work will be able to tell that I’m pregnant. I was hoping not to have to announce this little guy until after our wedding.” She patted her tiny belly and Knox bit back his laugh. He could read the room and he knew that laughing at her insistence that she was “fat” wouldn’t end well for him.
He held his hand down to her and she took it so that he could pull her up from the floor. “First,” he breathed, pulling her into his arms. “You aren’t fat—you’re pregnant.”
“That’s what people say to pregnant women to make them feel better about getting fat,” she challenged. “They also say that we’re glowing when in reality, we’re a sweaty mess from having to lug around the extra weight that we’ve gained from getting fat.”
“There is going to be no winning with you, is there?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “You should never argue with a fat, hungry, pregnant woman. We’re cranky.”
“So I’ve noticed,” he teased. “Well, we can just go shopping or have some maternity clothes sent up to you, Honey. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m loaded. You need to start enjoying life a little. Spend some money and have a little fun.”
“I told you that will take me some time to get used to, Knox. I’ve never had money and spending yours still feels wrong to me.”
“It’s our money now,” he corrected. “I’ll hook you up with my personal shopper and she’ll take care of you. Her name is Tara and she’s fantastic,” he said.
“Oh—how fantastic is she?” Beck asked. “Fantastic as in you’ve dated her?”
“No,” he said. “Plus, you’d have nothing to worry about if I had. I only have eyes for you, Beck,” he promised. Her defenses seemed to soften some when he said that to her and she leaned into his body.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “These pregnancy hormones make me all kinds of crazy. Forgive me?” she asked.
“Only if you let me have Tara call you to do some shopping,” he insisted.
“Deal,” she agreed. Now, if this next part worked out to be as easy, he’d have it made. “Why were you looking for me?” she asked.
“Oh—to ask you to take a little trip with me,” he said as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“As in a business trip?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “As in a pre-honeymoon. I thought that with the baby coming and the wedding being in a few weeks, you’d like to get away for a bit. You know—a pre-honeymoon? We can’t take a trip after the wedding because it will be the busy season at the casino. Then, the baby will be here and we won’t want to leave him or her to finally take our honeymoon. I thought we could just get away for a week or so to relax.” She eyed him suspiciously and he worried that she had spoken to Slater and found out that Felicity had taken off. Knox had asked him not to share that information with him, but he wasn’t sure that his friend wouldn’t tell Rainey, and Beck’s sister would definitely spill the beans.
“I’m all for a pre-honeymoon, Knox. But, you forget that I’m the one keeping your calendar and I know how booked you are. You can’t just leave and go on vacation right now, so what’s going on?” Shit. The last thing he needed was Beck figuring this all out and refusing to let him keep her safe.
“Ace has agreed to take over all of my meetings and he said that he can handle the casino while we’re gone. Hell, I did the same for him and Trinity when they took their three-week honeymoon. I’m just asking you to go away with me for a week or two. This place will hardly miss me and meetings can be rescheduled. Just say yes,” he begged.
She smiled and nodded and a wave of relief washed over him. “Thank you,” he breathed.
“I have to admit, a little vacation before our lives get crazy sounds nice. I think a pre-honeymoon is a great idea, Knox. Thank you for thinking of it.” She kissed his cheek and headed out of the closet. “Oh—when do we leave?” she asked.
“Tomorrow at ten,” he said. “I’ve reserved the casino’s private jet to take us down to the island.”
“I guess I better call Tara to do some shopping,” Beck said. “Do you mind if I stay home today to get some stuff done?”
“No,” he said. “I will have to meet you back here after my four o’clock meeting. Have Slater come over here to stay with you. I’m sure he won’t mind,” Knox tried to sound casual, but he was looking for a way to make sure that she was well guarded even without him. Having Slater live with them was working out in his favor.
“Will do,” she said. “I’m starting to think that people are going to believe that I’m living with both of you,” Beck joked.
“I don’t share, Beck,” he growled.