The Marriage List (16 page)

The rest of the family was huddled by the
front door. Jenna pushed through the crowd to be the next to hug
Carrie. She pushed back from her and grabbed Carrie's hand. Jenna's
gaze took in the large diamond ring. She shrieked.

"You're engaged?" Jenna jumped up in the
air.

Carrie moved to Grey's side, slipping her arm
around his waist and smiled.

"Had to propose or lose this one. Now she's
mine." He smiled down at her, placing his arm around Carrie's
shoulders.

Fran Andrews wiped a tear from her eye. "Come
in, Carrie. Grey, take her bag up to your room. Dinner won't be
until five o'clock. But we have some nibbles in here." Fran took
Carrie by the hand and guided her into the living room.

"Don't think we didn't save some chores for
you, Grey," Colin shouted.

"Thanks, Colin!" Grey hollered back from the
hall.

When he came down the stairs and turned into
the living room, he stopped at the archway. His heart leaped at the
scene before his eyes. Carrie was on the sofa and the rest of the
family was huddled around. Jenna had claimed the seat next to
Carrie. Fran was on the other side. His father sat next to Barbara
on a loveseat. The in-laws took club chairs and Colin sat on the
ottoman near the sofa. Everyone was talking, shooting questions at
Carrie too fast for her to answer. She was laughing.

When he came into the room, they quieted down
for a moment and looked at him.
I have a lot to be thankful for
this year.

"One at a time, one at a time. Give her a
chance to breathe," he said, sinking down next to her in the space
made by Jenna who straddled the arm of the sofa right behind
Grey.

Carrie looked up at him and he brought his
mouth down for a quick kiss.

"Hey, wait for mistletoe, horny guy," Colin
piped up.

Chapter Sixteen

November twenty-third, the day before their
fourth Thanksgiving together, was cold and rainy. Remembering back
to their first Thanksgiving together, Carrie gazed at her
engagement ring, now nestled comfortably against a matching wedding
band for the past three years. She sat by the full length window
facing the charming backyard of their townhouse on ____________.
Cold rain drizzled down the windows making the view fuzzy. Carrie
sat warm and cozy in fleece pants and shirt sipping a cup of hot
tea, watching the occasional bird stop at their feeder.

Tonight she and Grey were going to cook
together for tomorrow's feast. They were scheduled to leave at
seven o'clock in the morning to arrive in time for the Andrews'
family Thanksgiving breakfast. It would have to be an early night
for them.

Grey was at a business meeting, an unexpected
one that arose from a new business opportunity too good to pass up.
She stretched out and put the cup down, picking up her red pen. She
was editing her third mystery novel but felt restless. Where was
Grey? She missed him. He had been so preoccupied with this new deal
they had not spent much time together in the past week. Carrie felt
sexy, desire tingling inside her. She needed Grey. They hadn't made
love in over a week, the longest they had gone in their three
married years, and she felt itchy.

She got an idea how to bring him home. She
looked at her watch, jumped up from her chair, grabbed her cell
phone and headed to their bedroom where she stripped off her shirt
and bra. Facing the large dresser mirror, she stuck several coy
poses. Aiming the phone camera, she took a picture of her naked
breasts, as close up as she could get. She checked her watch.
Right now, in the middle of his meeting.
She smiled as she
sent the photo to his phone with the words, "missing you, hurry
home for a good time." Then she lay down on the bed and
giggled.

****

Grey looked at his watch as his partner
broached another question to the president of the company they were
considering investing in. It was four o'clock and he needed to get
home. He missed Carrie. He was horny, restless and wanted to leave
but the president droned on. In his pocket, his cell phone
vibrated.

He excused himself and went into the hall to
retrieve the message. It was from Carrie. As soon as he saw the
picture and read the note, he burst out laughing. He looked at it
several times feeling desire course through his veins before
clicking his phone shut. His luscious wife was waiting for him.
Time to leave the meeting and return home.

He sent a text back to her, "On my way, don't
start without me."

Taking a minute to compose himself and wipe
the lustful grin off his face before returning to the conference
room, Grey stopped at the water fountain and took a deep
breath.

"Gentleman, I have an urgent call from home,
so I must leave you," Grey said.

"Carrie? Is everything all right?"

"Nothing serious, John, but something that
needs my immediate attention."

Grey worked hard to keep the smile off his
lips and succeeded until he reached the parking lot where he broke
into a huge grin. The XK couldn't jump over the cars, so the slow
trip home from downtown Manhattan took forty-five minutes instead
of the usual twenty. He texted Carrie back every fifteen minutes
but the frustration of the stop-and-go day-before-Thanksgiving
traffic, put him on edge.

When he finally arrived home, Carrie was on
the phone with Delia. He caught the tail end of her
conversation.

"I have the last item on my list, Delia…Oops,
Grey's home, gotta go."

She hung up the phone and turned to him with
a guilty look.

"Did I hear the word 'list'? You have a
list?" he asked, raising his eyebrows while he took the glass of
cabernet sauvignon she handed him.

Carrie wore a cream-colored, short negligee
with a matching silk robe over it. She blushed a becoming shade of
pink.

"A marriage list?"

"After you came up with your list, I thought
it was a good idea. So I started one, too." Carrie tucked one leg
under her and sank down on the sofa.

"And all this time you didn't tell me
because…?"

"You never asked."

"But once you knew…"

"I suppose I should have."

"A marriage list?"

"It started out that way. After we got
engaged, there was only one thing left on the list. And today, my
final wish came true."

"One wish? And what might that be?" Grey
knelt down on the sofa, looming over her, desire in his eyes.

She looked up at him, opening her robe. His
hands slid the sleeves down over her arms and off. He leaned over
and nibbled on her neck. She closed her eyes, feeling the heat from
his lips travel to her core.

"I'm waiting," he whispered in her ear as he
proceeded to yank his tie loose and unbutton his shirt.

Carrie helped him by unzipping his pants.

"You are going to tell me aren't you?"

"Thinking about it." A devilish smile played
at her lips.

"Soon…please…before we get…preoccupied."

He moved back and stood up to slide his pants
and boxers to the floor then returned to the sofa. Kneeling over
her, he untied the bow holding the negligee together so his hands
could massage her breasts.

"There's something different about you but
first…give. What's the last thing."

He buried his face in her neck, awaiting her
response.

"The last thing on my list was to get
pregnant," she whispered in his ear.

Grey froze in position, then picked his head
up as his eyes searched hers.

"You're pregnant?" His eyes wide, his lips
breaking into a grin.

She smiled and nodded "I found out
today."

"Another dream come true," he said as she
pulled him down on top of her.

Moonlight Books