Deceived 5 - New Beginnings (8 page)

After the closing act, Patrick escorted me to the backstage area where we found a very exuberant Ryan chatting with various members of the cast and crew. We waved at him from where we stood near a black metal scaffolding of side stage lights. A rather stern-looking stage security guard wouldn’t let us go any further until Ryan motioned for us to come through.

“Patrick! Chloe! Glad you could make it.” Ryan gave Patrick a hug.

“Hey, Ryan.” Patrick returned the hug with equal enthusiasm.

“Did you like the play?” he asked as he turned to me, his arms opening for a hug.

Before we could answer, I saw Ryan’s eyes widen in disbelief when he looked down at my stomach. He wrapped his arms around me, his hug much more careful than it had ever been before.

“Chloe. You look great, hon.” He released me and started to reach out, then stopped. “May I? I know it’s rude to touch a pregnant women’s belly, but I just can’t resist.”

I grinned. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from him. “Sure, Ryan. Go ahead.”

Ryan lightly placed the palm of his hand on my baby bump and smiled. “Patrick, you must be so proud.”

“I am,” he answered, with a glowing smile. He looked at me, his eyes shining with love as they caught mine.

“So, what did you think of the play?” Ryan’s question broke the moment.

“It was great. Pete Summers was hilarious in his role as Alice from Dallas at the Palace.” We all laughed as I sang out the last words of one of the songs that were in the show. It was a catchy one that I knew was going to be stuck in my head for days. In my opinion, it was definitely a sign of a success if people went away humming the show tunes.

I listened to Ryan as he talked with Patrick about plays, actors and his boyfriend, Liam. I’d never seen Ryan so happy. He was practically bubbling with joy and it made me tear up. I’d liked Ryan from the first moment I’d met him and that admiration had just grown the more I’d gotten to know him. He deserved all of this. I quickly wiped my eyes so that Patrick wouldn’t see. I knew he’d understand if I explained that I was happy for Ryan, but it was still embarrassing that I couldn’t quite control my emotions.

“Ryan, where’s Liam?” I looked around, checking the backstage crowd for Ryan’s attractive other half.

Ryan waved his hand in the air. “Oh, he’s busy with post-play socializing.” He made a vague wave to one side and I spotted Liam there, talking with a few of the actors.

“You two have been together for quite a while now,” Patrick said. “I’d even go so far as to say that this is the longest relationship you’ve been in since I’ve known you.”

“Yes, you seem really happy, Ryan,” I added.

“I
am
and it’s gets even better than that.” His smile widened and I could tell whatever was coming next was something he’d been dying to say from the moment we’d arrived. “Are you ready for this?” He paused dramatically before continuing, “Liam proposed yesterday right before the play opened. We’re getting married!”

“Congratulations! That’s fantastic Ryan!” I threw my arms around him. The tears came this time and I didn’t try to stop them. No explanation would be needed now.

“Yes, and thank goodness we live in a state where same sex marriage is legal.” Ryan laughed as he saw my tears. His own eyes were shining a bit.

Patrick clapped Ryan on the back and then pulled him into another hug. “Congrats, buddy. When’s the ceremony?”

Ryan replied, “I wanted it to be tomorrow but the Plaza is already booked.” We all laughed. “But seriously, we haven’t set a date yet.”

I reached over and gave Ryan’s hand a little squeeze and said, “It’s so amazing.” I wiped my hand across my cheeks, sniffling a little, much to the guys’ amusement.

Patrick leaned over and whispered something in Ryan’s ear. I gave Patrick a quizzical look, but he just continued grinning. “Oh, we were just discussing the bachelor party.”

I narrowed my eyes. I wasn’t sure I believed him, but at least I didn’t have to worry about the kinds of strippers he’d get for Ryan. Then Patrick glanced at this watch and said, “We should get going, buddy. Chloe is tired and needs to get her rest.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about. I felt fine, but I brushed it off as just another one of his anxious concerns about my pregnancy. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been overprotective. Before we left, we stopped by to let Liam and Pete know what an amazing job they’d both done, then we made a gracious exit to hail a cab to take us back to our apartment.

As soon as I walked in the door, I sensed that something wasn’t right. Patrick always held the door for me, so I saw it first. Instead of the apartment being dark, I noticed a dim light shining from the doorway of our bedroom. I could barely see it down the long hall, but it cast a warm glow on the wooden floor. I stopped suddenly to listen for any unusual sounds and Patrick nearly bumped into the back of me. Where there should have been silence, I thought I detected the sound of––soft music?

“Patrick.” I kept my voice low, not wanting to alert whoever was in the apartment to our presence, but not whispering in case this was just a mistake and I was being paranoid. “Did you forget to turn off the lights in the bedroom? And leave the radio playing?” I turned to see if his face was filled with alarm, but it wasn’t. He just had a big dopy grin on his face.

What was wrong with him? “Listen, do you hear it? There’s music playing and it’s coming from the bedroom.” I started walking quickly toward the hall to investigate then stopped again. “Wait, what if someone is in here and we’re being robbed?” I put my hand on my stomach, wondering why my overprotective husband wasn’t rushing me out of potential danger.

“What, by a music playing bandit?” He was laughing and I couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t more concerned about all of this. Something wasn’t right here in our apartment and he was making jokes?

He chucked a finger under my chin and said, “Look down at your feet, babe. You’re stepping on something.”

I looked, and indeed the toe of my evening shoe was half covering a red rose petal. I looked farther down the hall and saw what I hadn’t seen before. Strewn along the length of it were handfuls of red rose petals trailing their way, like breadcrumbs, into the bedroom. It clicked and I suddenly felt like an idiot for not getting it. Then again, considering everything Patrick and I had gone through since we met, a little paranoia wasn’t exactly uncalled for.

Patrick traced a finger down my cheek. “Go on. Follow the trail of petals.”

“Oh, sweetie…”

I wanted to run to see what else he’d done, but I forced myself to walk slowly, to appreciate everything he’d done, every single petal underfoot. When I stepped into the room, I clasped my hands together under my chin and gasped, tears pricking at my eyelids. “Oh, Patrick, this is wonderful!”

The room was lit with what looked like a hundred white candles, casting dancing shadows on the ceiling and walls. On either side of the bed were two very large crystal vases, spewing red roses in an artistic arrangement, and the music I’d heard earlier was still playing a soft and sensual jazz tune. Next to the bed was a small table loaded with expensive Belgian chocolates and an ice bucket chilling a bottle of sparkling apple cider. More rose petals and chocolate were strewn across the white comforter on the bed. They made the bed look like an ocean of red velvet.

Patrick stepped up next to me and put his hand on the small of my back. “You are so amazing, Chloe. You work so hard and you’re having our baby. I wanted to do something special and give you a nice, relaxing evening in the bedroom.”

I looked up at him, my heart overflowing with the depth of what I was feeling. “I love it, Patrick. It’s perfect.” A question occurred to me. “But how did you get this all set up? We were at the play all evening, together. Is this what you were whispering to Ryan about?”

He laughed. “Yes. I told him I had this surprise set up for you. I gave Elyse a key and had her come in while we were out. She did it all.” He took off his suit jacket and hung it over the chair, then went to the sparkling cider and poured us each a glass.

I felt a stab of guilt as I thought about how much time Elyse had spent getting this just right when I’d been so annoyed at her lately. I’d make it up to her, I promised myself before focusing my attention on enjoying what she’d done. “I love the candles and they smell like…”

“Vanilla.” He finished my thought as he handed me my glass.

“
Mmm
and chocolates. Good combination.” I took a sip of the cider. It was crisp and cool. Perfect.

“Yes, and I have an idea of what we could do with those, later.”

A shiver went through me as images flashed through my mind of all the delicious things we could do.

Then he was standing in front of me, his eyes darkening with desire. “And it all comes with a complementary massage, starting with your beautiful feet. Let me help you slip off your shoes.”

He set down his drink and then knelt on one knee and began removing my evening shoes one at a time. I put my hand on his shoulder to steady myself and giggled with delight. I felt like Cinderella and he was the prince holding my slipper. He switched feet and I put down my drink, wanting to focus all of my attention on the feel of his strong hands moving over my foot before he put it down.

“Oh are we going to
role
play?” I asked, my stomach squirming as he brushed his fingers over my calves. “You’ll be the naughty masseuse and I’ll be the sexy virgin client.”

He stood up and began removing his tie. The expression on his face said he knew I was deflecting my true feelings by trying to make light of the situation. I felt fine with myself when our sex was fun. Role playing let me get out of my head. I had a feeling that tonight, he wanted it to be something more and, while I accepted the compliments of how great I looked...for a pregnant woman, I definitely didn’t feel sexy.

“I only ever want you.” He dropped his tie on the floor. “Even when we’re role playing, I never see you as anyone other than who you are.” He ran his hands over my belly, his touch gentle. “I love the way you look, have loved it, will love it, before, during and after. You’ve always been the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen and it’s not something you lost when you got pregnant. It’s still you. When you’re ninety, you’ll still be the sexiest woman I know. I love walking down the street with you and having the other guys look at you and know that you’re all mine.”

He reached around my side and slowly unzipped my dress. He ran his hands up to the straps and pushed the dress to the floor, leaving me in one of my new sets of maternity undergarments. Nina had insisted that the black lace bra and panties were just what I needed and I’d bought them to make her happy. The expression on his face said that she’d been right. He took his time, letting his gaze run over me from top to bottom and back again. He made a sound in his throat and leaned forward to take my mouth in a brief, but intense, kiss.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he asked as he rested his forehead against mine.

I put my hand on his chest, feeling his heart thumping wildly against my palm. “I think I do.” I smiled at him, letting him see that his words had chased away my uncertainty. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought, only him. I didn’t care if anyone else in the world thought I was huge and unattractive, as long as this man wanted me.