New Beginnings (43 page)

“It’s not the pregnancy, and it wasn’t the wedding that did it. It’s you.” I thought for a moment about what the old woman said to me today. “You saved me from that green-eyed goddess. You’ve taught me how to trust again, how to love without fear and jealousy, and I can’t thank you enough.”

He placed his hands on the either side of my face, and pulled me toward him. Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against mine. “Thank you, sweetness,” he whispered then he sighed deeply. “What do you say to some P.F. Chang’s for dinner?” I moaned at the mention of my favorite Chinese restaurant. “Let’s stop off and get it to go. I have something I want to show you.”

Xavier was pulling off the Bainbridge Island ferry, when my stomach let out a loud grumble. The smell from the Chinese food filled his SUV with the delicious scent of chicken, garlic, beef, onions, and peppers. I was ready to dive into the bag if we didn’t get to our destination soon. As if he could read my mind, Xavier said, “We’re almost there.”

Minutes later, we pulled up to a black iron gate that I thought looked oddly familiar. He rolled the window down and entered in a code on a keypad. The gate silently swung open. Xavier drove through and continued up a narrow driveway. It was dark so it was difficult to see exactly where we were. There were an abundance of trees, but that was about all I could make out in the darkness. Suddenly, lights started to flicker through the trees.

“Oh. My. God,” I breathed, suddenly realizing where we were. Xavier was taking me to that beautiful 10,000 square foot home that Renatta and I photographed months and months ago. The gorgeous home with the exposed cedar beams, a fireplace in every bedroom, and the over abundance of floor-to-ceiling windows.

We talked about seeing this house that night on the beach during our honeymoon. No wonder he never bought me out to see it like he said he would. He had already bought it.

We pulled up to the house. It looked spectacular at night. There were several lights on inside the house that cast a soft, yellow glow, making it easy to see in the house with all that glass. My eyes widened when I realized it was furnished. I looked over at Xavier in surprise as he parked the SUV.

“When did you do all of this?” I asked dumbfounded.

“I know we talked about it briefly during our honeymoon, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I bought it as soon as we got home. I had an interior decorator furnish it. If you don’t like anything, just let me know and we’ll change it.”

“But … what about your condo?”

“I’m going to keep it. Since my office is in Seattle, there may be a few nights I might have to stay there.” He turned the SUV off. “Come on. Let me show you your new home.” He reached in the back and grabbed our dinner.

When I walked around the car, he took my hand in his and led me up the white stone steps. He unlocked the double doors, and swung one open. Before I could step a foot inside, he lifted me into his arms. I yelped in surprise.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Hart,” he said softly.

He carried me into the house effortlessly. Setting me down in the middle of the living room, he made his way into the kitchen with the bag of food. I looked around in awe. I forgot how beautiful this place was with all the exposed wood, the stone fireplace, all the space and the glass. It was stunning.

Bringing my focus to the furniture around me, it immediately reminded me of Xavier’s condo. Briefly, I wondered if he used the same interior decorator. It was all neutral colors and expensive-looking leather.

I made my way to the kitchen. Xavier was standing in front of the microwave, currently in the process of reheating the food. My stomach rumbled loudly.

“It’s almost ready,” he chuckled. “What do you think of the place?” he asked hesitantly.

“It’s beautiful from what I’ve seen so far. It’s even more stunning than I remember. Thank you for doing all of this.”

“Come. Let’s eat then I’ve got another surprise for you.” He winked at me.

After eating, Xavier insisted on cleaning up dinner without any help from me. Then he took me by the hand on a tour of our new home, which felt unbelievable. It was hard to believe that I wasn’t here to photograph it, that all of this was now my new home. No, it was
our
new home.

The furnishings were as stunning as the house. All the bedrooms were outfitted with huge, king-sized beds made out of wood that matched the color of the exposed beams. All the fabrics were various shades of tan and gold. Plush leather couches and chairs in varying shades of tan and brown were in the living room and sitting room. The home office was a huge room he had set up with two, oversized desks. There was one for each of us.

When we approached a closed door down from our bedroom, Xavier paused with his hand on the doorknob.

“I gave the interior decorator free rein when it came to the house except for this room. This room I had a hand in decorating. Everything in here, from the colors on the floor and walls to the furniture, is all me.” He looked into my eyes intently. “If you don’t like anything, please tell me and we’ll change it. You won’t hurt my feelings. Okay?” He raised his brows at me.

I couldn’t imagine what this room was. The best I could do was stare into his captivating blue eyes and nod. The man had impeccable taste. I was pretty sure I would love it no matter what it was.

“I can’t have you just nodding at me, sweetness. You’ve got to promise me. If you don’t like it, you’ll tell me. Say it, baby.”

“I promise,” I whispered.

“Close your eyes. Don’t open them until I tell you to,” he whispered.

He put my hand in his. I heard the soft swish of the door rubbing against the carpet as it was pushed open. He tugged on my hand lightly as he guided me into the room. My feet sunk into plush carpeting with every step. The smell of fresh paint, new carpet, and wood furniture filled the air.

He stopped walking. It felt like he moved to stand in front of me. Taking both of my hands in his, he squeezed them lightly before letting go. “Open your eyes,” he said softly.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I gasped, having felt like I had been transported to the Bloedel Reserve. All four walls were painted with a waist-high hedge with tall pine trees standing behind it. They weren’t painted in their true dark green colors, but rather beautiful pastel greens. The carpet being thick, plush, and blue was almost the same color as Xavier’s eyes. Pastel green curtains with dark green blinds decorated the windows. There were even little twinkle lights embedded in the ceiling.

The furniture in the room was all made from walnut and it all matched perfectly. Two, beautiful cribs, two dressers, two changing tables, and two rocking chairs.

My shaking hand covered my mouth. The room blurred as the tears filled my eyes and slid down my cheeks. I realized I was still standing in the same spot. Having only turned in a complete circle as I took the room in, I ended right where I started, face-to-face with Xavier. His face was an unreadable mask.

“You decorated the room for the babies like the reflection pool,” I said, trying to keep the tears under control. I knew how special the reflection pool was to him. It was his parent’s favorite location and it was also where he proposed to me.

He slowly nodded as if he were unsure of what my reaction was. “I always think of it as our special place since our first visit there. It just seemed right that our babies should be surrounded by the place where I first realized how much I loved you, and where you agreed to be mine forever.”

I threw myself into his arms completely taking him by surprise. Burying my face in his neck, I couldn’t hold back the sobs any longer.

“It’s all right, Ella. We can change whatever you want. We can even decorate another room for them if you don’t like this one. Don’t worry,” he said, calmly. He started rubbing his hands up and down my back soothingly.

I sniffed and snuffled and hiccupped trying to pull myself together. When I lifted my face to his, he gave me a small, encouraging smile.

“I love it!” I blurted. “I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s perfect.”

Lifting his hands to my cheeks, he wiped my tears away. “So these are happy tears?” he asked, sounding skeptical.

I looked into his doubt-filled eyes. “Yes, they are happy tears,” I said, nodding my head.

He sighed heavily. “One of these days I’m going to be able to tell the difference between happy, sad, and mad tears.”

I chuckled and then sighed. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he replied.

I stepped out of his hold and walked over to the cribs. Green bedding decorated both cribs that matched the pastel greens of the walls. The cribs were ready for newborns. The mattresses were as high as they could go and bumper pads surrounded the interior. I reached in and ran my hand along the softest green blanket I’ve ever felt.

A mobile of plush, stuffed moons and stars hung over each crib. I wound one up. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star played. It made me smile.

Xavier came up behind me. “I had the bedding done in green since we don’t know the sex of the babies, but once they are born we can change the colors accordingly.”

“No. I love the green. It goes nicely with the green of the walls.” I turned to face him. “I can’t believe the thought you put into this room.”

“It was important to me, Ella.”

“Well, now I really feel like a jerk.” He frowned at me. “I was just thinking of decorating it in greens and yellows. I had no special theme in mind, but this … this is more than I could’ve ever imagined,” I said, glancing around the room.

“I’m glad you like it.” He kissed me softly on the cheek. “Are you ready to head back?” he asked, looking at his watch. “We need to catch the 9:45 ferry back. The next one won’t be until 11:35, and you look exhausted.”

I followed him out of the room, pausing on the threshold for a moment. Grabbing my cell out of my bag, I snapped a quick photo and sent a text to Renatta. She was not going to believe this.

We rode down the elevator Friday morning in complete silence. Xavier had a firm grip on my hand and both Stewart and Marissa flanked us. I saw the bumps by their arms under their jackets. It was the butts of their guns visible from their shoulder holsters. Both of them were armed with two guns each.

I should have felt uneasy with how heavily they both appeared to be armed, but the fact of the matter was, Carline was unpredictable and possibly dangerous to us both. Knowing that Stewart and Marissa were not only trained for this kind of thing, but were capable and ready to take care of any threat against us, made me feel safe and protected.

As we pulled out of the parking garage into the busy Seattle traffic, the dark grey skies overhead looked angry and threatening. Within minutes, big, fat raindrops started pelting the windshield. It was the kind of rain that only funerals in the movies had. I prayed that it let up some by the time we got to the cemetery.

Xavier was unusually quiet. Staring out the window, he seemed to be in a somber mood. There was no way he could be torn up about Stephen. I was certain that Xavier was only going for my sake.

Hell, I wasn’t even sure why I was going. Stephen was my abusive ex who sought forgiveness from me so he could end his life without a guilty conscience. At least that’s how I looked at it now. And it’s not like I was going for Carline’s sake. So why were we going? Because a part of me needed to see that casket. Until I did, it was like Stephen wasn’t really dead.

As Stewart made the turn into the cemetery, Xavier’s grip on my hand increased slightly. When I glanced over at him, he straightened, his back rigid against the seat. The tension was just rolling off him.

I tugged on his hand, but he didn’t respond. “Hey. Are you all right?” I asked quietly.

He pinched his fingers to the bridge of his nose with his free hand, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m fine,” he gritted through his teeth.

Yeah, right. He was anything but fine, but I didn’t have the time to analyze what the problem could be. We were here.

Stewart parked the car in front of a small line of vehicles. I was curious as to why he drove past them, choosing to park in the front of them rather than behind them. But then it dawned on me that he was probably doing that so if he needed to get us out of here quickly, he wouldn’t have to fight to get around the other cars.