Betrayal (19 page)

‘Now where are these babies of ours’ she
moves towards the crib and gazes in stroking Ava’s cheek, ‘bless you niece are
you going to take over as the family drama queen now?’ she coos.  ‘Oh and look
at that handsome fella, can I hold them?’ she enquires her eyes finding mine.

‘Sure, take Harry first as Ava is hooked up
to the drips’

‘Oh no, you get him out’ she appears a bit
nervous.

I lift Harry and place him in Aimee’s arms,
‘Harry this is your auntie Aimee’ I murmur.

‘Oh I am in love’ she gushes, ‘I want one’

‘Do me a favor Aim’s and find a man first’
Brad calls dryly and she grins.

Aimee gives me a glimmer of hope that not
all Brad’s siblings were psychopaths, she was extremely funny and reminded me
of Courtney who I have just remembered left a message to call her back. 

‘Can I hold Ava? Or is it best not to?’
Aimee tests.

‘Yes you can hold her’ I take Harry from
her and hand him to Brad before gently lifting my daughter, ‘and this Ava is
your auntie Aimee who I have a feeling will be the auntie that allows you to do
things mummy and daddy wouldn’t’

‘Hmm’ Brad agrees and Aimee is once again
in love as she gazes down as Ava blinks up towards her.

********

Maddison appears quiet and withdrawn
despite the fact that Ava is recovering well, he feels she is detaching from
him. He curses himself for leaving his phone for Sara to answer, he can only
imagine what Maddison suspicious mind made of that.  He had literally moved to
the pool to take some shots leaving it with his belongings on the table when it
must have vibrated.  I know she wasn’t happy that I kept that photo on the
front on my phone but I assured her it was for my eyes only.  When I called to
explain after speaking to Lucy she refused to answer proving she has already arrived
at the wrong conclusion.

Walking in to find her so traumatized by
Ava’s illness had floored him, he had spent the entire flight from the States
going over and over the night before he left.  Ava had not been able to settle,
should they have picked up that there was a problem?  He shouldn’t have left
she hadn’t wanted him to go he recognized that in her eyes which spoke what her
mouth refused.

  He hadn’t thought of the impact on Maddie
her eyes were swollen through crying and she plainly blamed herself. 

They needed to get home and talk, he wanted
them to be a family a real family.  God he loved her he wanted to make her his
wife….now he has to convince her.

**********

Walking in the door with both babies’
relief rushes through me.  I place the babies on the floor under the activity
mobile where they kick and Harry blows raspberries.  I smile at the change in
Harry he had become more aware of his surroundings in the past week.

‘Ok that’s everything’ Brad declares as he
pushes the door closed behind him. 

We are both extremely tired having not
slept in a proper bed for a week, the hospital provided put you up beds but I
sat up mainly watching the twins suddenly comprehending Brad’s need to watch
them in the early days.

‘Food and bed’ he calls out moving into the
kitchen as I flop on to the sofa. 

We work on autopilot that evening Brad cooked
us an omelet and I changed the babies into their sleep suits before feeding
them and placing them in the cot by the bed.  I yawn as I walk into the shower
and wash away the hospital smell for the last time.  I climb into bed and
turned towards the babies who were both settling for the night as Brad
showered. 

‘You’re on the wrong side’ he complains as
he slips in behind me.

‘I need to see them’ I murmur.

‘They are fine’ he informs me, ‘sleep I
will stay awake if you want me to’ I nod before my eyelids droop into an
exhausted slumber.

I awake to the baby chat of one of the
twins, peeling Brad off of me I wander around and gaze in.  Harry gurgles up
towards me and I lift him, Ava is still sleeping her tiny mouth moving in
dreamland so I decide to leave her be.   

As I sit in the nursery chair feeding Harry
the past events run through my mind, I can’t do it, I can’t go into a
relationship with Brad worrying myself to death over whether he will leave me
for someone else.  It is best to remain just good parents not bring love into
the equation, we need to discuss things and put our feelings behind us
concentrate on the babies.  I wipe a tear away at the thought, I will always
love him.

‘You ok?’ Brad enters the nursery and I
glance up.  He holds a waking Ava to his naked chest as he walks towards me in
his boxer shorts.

‘Fine….hormones’ I inform him sternly lifting
Harry off of me and winding him.

‘Maddie’ he calls gently ‘don’t do this’

‘I am not doing anything’ I notify him
handing Harry over to him as he passes me Ava ‘hello angel, how are you today?’
I croon kissing my precious daughter.

‘You are. You are detaching’ he kisses
Harry.

‘I think it’s time you went back to your
life Brad.  This was only supposed to be about the babies’

‘No’

‘Yes’ my eyes find his.

‘No I am not’ he lowers a sleepy Harry into
the cot beside me. ‘I belong here’

‘No you don’t we discussed this and the
proviso of you becoming a dad to the twins is you visit them not move in.  Get
back to your travelling around the globe and pop in to see your children in
passing’

‘No’ he crosses his arms over his chest
stubbornly, ‘you are not doing this’

‘This would never work’ I inform him, ‘and
take that goddam picture off of your phone for all to see!’ my voice is cold.

‘No!’ his face is tense and pale.  ‘The
girl was one of the models she had no right picking up my phone’

‘It doesn’t matter Brad you are a single
man you can do whatever you want with the models.  But allowing people to view
that photo is humiliating if you respect me in the slightest you will remove
it’ I lower my voice as Ava wriggles in irritation. ‘Ok Ava’ I hum.

‘I am not single, I belong to you’ his eyes
are sparkling with anger.

‘No you don’t Brad’ I shake my head ‘I used
you to get pregnant’ his eyes flinch slightly before he recovers.

‘Yes Maddison I do, I have since the day
you walked into my life with your sad puppy eyes’ he shrugs, ‘you getting
pregnant was the best thing that happened to me…look what you gave me?’ his
eyes move around the room.

I shake my head, ‘stop it, I cannot do
this.  I would make your life a misery’ I whisper.

‘Well at least I will know I am alive which
is better than living this half-life’ he mumbles as he moves towards me.

‘Don’t’ I stop him with my eyes but he
ignores me kneeling in front of me his hands on my knees.

‘Maddie’ he pleads, ‘I love you’

‘No Brad’ I close my eyes my insides churning
with joy at his words as tears continue to roll down my face.

‘Yes’ he insists ‘I feel empty when I am
not with you’

‘It won’t work Brad, I am too fucked up’ I
plead.

‘And I am not?’ he questions, ‘it will work
because I will make it my life’s mission to make it work’ he maintains, ‘we
have love, we have family.  I want no other’ he instructs, ‘how can I when my
whole world is you and our babies?’ he wipes a tear away from my cheek, ‘I want
to marry you Maddison, you belong to me’

I gaze down at our daughter who is
regarding me sleepily, ‘I couldn’t face it if you left me for another it’s for
the best Brad to keep this as uncomplicated as we can’

‘No! I desire only you Maddison. You are
the most stunning woman I have ever encountered…ok the most frustrating but
that’s ok, I trust you enough to know you wouldn’t run off with my brother’ he
teases.

‘Please, why go for burger….’ I roll my
eyes dashing the tears from my cheek.

He strokes my face, ‘marry me’ he whispers,
‘let us become an unbreakable unit, not because of the babies but because we
cannot be without each other.  I love you Maddison Connor I want to spend my
life with you’

I gaze over to him my eyes wary, ‘we don’t
have to get married’ I murmur.

‘Maybe not, but I want nothing more than to
make you mine’

I pass Ava to him to wind as she has fallen
asleep and he brings her gently against his neck and closes his eyes briefly. 
I readjust myself and observe as his eyes penetrate into mine, my body awakens
as his darken in what I recognize as lust.

‘Brad’ I warn.

‘Say yes’ he demands.

I can hardly breathe ‘what if you change
your mind like Mason?’ I test.

‘Don’t put me in the same bracket as that
idiot Maddison’ he instructs sternly.

‘Ok’ I put my hands up defense.

‘As soon as possible’ he adds, ‘do you want
a big wedding?’

‘I haven’t agreed yet’ I complain.

‘You will’ he smiles, ‘I can see how much
you love me’ he remarks cockily.

‘I have never concealed the fact I love you
but that doesn’t mean I think we should be together’ my eyes glint up towards
him.

‘Then why haven’t you thrown me out of your
bed?’ he places Ava with Harry and pulls me up gently to face him.

‘Because we were watching the babies’ I
frown as he embraces me into his hold.

‘Not because when we are together it feels
so right?’ he nuzzles my hair with his nose.

I sigh as my face touches his warm chest
and I have no option but to wrap my arms around his waist absorbing the
tingling of my body at the contact.

‘Tell me that doesn’t feel good’ he
whispers as his hands move idly up and down my back.

‘Amazing’ I sigh. I inhale his scent as my
insides warm.

‘Marry me’ he repeats.

‘Ok, but not a big do.  Just us and the
babies’ I whisper as my insides flutter.

‘Ok’ he lifts me off of the floor grinning
as his mouth finds mine and he nibbles on my bottom lip ‘when is your six week
checkup?’ he whispers against my lips.

‘Next week’ I nibble on his bottom lip and
he groans.

‘I am ok though’ I insist.

‘No we need to wait’ he is stern, ‘god this
is going to be a long week’

Brad had driven down to London for a few
days to organize a gallery showing and collect some of his belongings.  I had
taken the opportunity to visit the new coffee shop which had been given the go
ahead by the council in the village.  I meet with the architect and interior
designer to organize the renovations and shop fit. 

No one had been informed of our upcoming
nuptials there hadn’t been time but I imagine Brad would inform his family at
some stage.  He was due home tonight and I have a night of loving planned after
receiving the news from the doctor that I was good to go and getting myself
covered with contraception.  The babies also got the all clear and were
thriving despite the rocky start with Ava.

I feed them and organize the food for us
moving up to take a bath and make myself presentable. 

When I hear the gravel on the drive my
heart hammers inside my chest.  I have chosen to wear the yellow dress that I
wore in Antigua which was slightly indecent at the chest area where my
voluptuous breasts now swelled.  I have applied makeup and eased my feet into a
pair of wedges.  I straightened my hair over one shoulder just as I had on the
first night at the bar when I had really noticed Brad for the first time.

When I open the door Brad stops shock
appearing across his features, he grins and saunters towards me his eyes dark.

‘Well you are a glorious sight’ he murmurs
as he reaches me.

‘Thank you’ I gaze up my eyes locked to
his. 

‘Something tells me you got the all clear’
he lifts my chin and places a kiss on the corner of my lips.

‘Mmmm’ I mutter as I move my hands up his
arms to his muscled shoulders, ‘I missed you’

‘Show me!’ he demands as he pushes me back
into the house.

We enter into the Lounge where I have
candles flickering on every surface possible.

‘Very romantic’ he murmurs gently as he
strokes his thumb across my knuckles his eyes sparkling with what I recognize as
lust.  He brings me to him and brushes the hair from my face, ‘you look
stunning’ he whispers ‘almost as beautiful as the first time I saw you in that
dress….almost but not quite’ he drops a kiss on the corner of my mouth and my
mind rewinds to the bar where he demonstrated the soft, gentle, butterfly like
kiss to the model and my heart swells.  He is mine!

‘I love you’ I breathe up to his eyes and
they twinkle.

‘And I you my beautiful wife-to-be’ he
whispers his hand moving to his pocket where he extracts a velvet box with
Cartier
emblazoned across it.  His eyes remain on mine as he opens it revealing an
exquisite solitaire ring framed with smaller diamonds set into platinum.  I
gasp at the beauty of the piece of jewelry, ‘I cannot wait until you become
mine Maddison Connor’ he smiles lightly his eyes powerful in their glance.  He
withdraws the ring and places it on my ring finger, ‘I love you with all my
heart’ he kisses the ring on my finger and wipes an errant tear from my cheek.