New Beginnings (21 page)

“Okay,” I said softly. I was a little stunned by his passionate response.

He closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair a few times. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound angry about it. It’s just … my life is worthless if I don’t have you. And the last I checked there isn’t a prenup I can have drafted that will protect my heart.” He drew in a deep breath while I sat stunned at his words. “Are you done eating?” I quickly nodded and gave him a small smile.

Grabbing my hand, he silently led me into the bedroom so we could unpack. He finished before me and headed into the bathroom. I heard the water in the tub start to run. Patiently, he stood in the doorway waiting until I was done unpacking. As soon as I exited the closet, he silently led me into the bathroom. Without saying a word, he stripped out of his clothes. I quickly rushed to take mine off and climbed into the bathtub with him.

After bathing, he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up tight against his chest.

“Is it too early to start discussing baby names?” he asked. His right hand started to rub circles on my abdomen, creating little waves in the warm water. The lavender smell of my bubble bath still hung in the room.

“I suppose not. Though, we seem to have a difference of opinion on the sex of the baby. Why don’t you tell me what your name choices would be for a girl?”

He was quiet for several minutes. I wanted to ask him if he had any ideas about naming the baby after his parents, but I was too nervous to bring it up for fear that it would spoil his mood.

“Would you mind terribly if the girl’s name was similar to the name of my mother?” he asked quietly as if he just read my very thoughts.

I smiled. “No. What did you have in mind?”

“My mother’s name was Sophie. I was thinking maybe Sophia and Rae for her middle name. That way we could incorporate both of our mother’s names.”

I thought about that for a minute. “You know what? I absolutely love it.”

He bent and kissed my head. “Okay, now you. What boy names are you thinking of?”

“Are you very opposed to a junior?”

“Well, I’m not and neither was my father. It’s really not that important to me,” he said.

“I know your dad’s name was Brant, which is also your middle name. What if we flipped your name around and made it Brant Xavier? I mean Brant isn’t a very popular name. It’s kind of different, you know?”

“Brant Xavier Hart,” he said. “That doesn’t sound so bad, Ella.”

“Would you be terribly opposed to adding Martin in those names? Would four names be too much you think?” I hesitantly asked.

“You mean as a middle name?”

“Yes. Like Sophia Rae Martin Hart or Brant Xavier Martin Hart. Is that too much?”

“No, Ella. I think it’s perfect,” he said, squeezing me lightly around the waist.

“Well that was certainly easy,” I said happily.

We snuggled in the tub until the water started to cool. Several yawns started to overtake me at the same time. Xavier climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel low around his hips before he helped me out of the tub. Grabbing a towel, he started to dry me off before I could even grab it away from him.

I slipped into a camisole and boyshorts while he slipped into a snug pair of boxer briefs.

“I have some work to do. Will I bother you if I work in here on my laptop?” he asked.

“Not at all. I’m so exhausted, I expect to pass out pretty much as soon as my head hits the pillow,” I said, fighting back another yawn.

He tucked me in before he left to get his laptop. I was out within minutes, because I had no recollection of his return.

The week before Christmas flew by incredibly fast. Giving total control over to Xavier and Patrick for the wedding was a relief. The Garden Room at the Fairmont Olympic was available. I found that a little hard to believe given that it was so close to the holidays not to mention that the wedding itself was taking place on New Year’s Eve. I could only assume that Xavier’s name alone had something to do with it being available. Xavier was also hoping that due to the short notice of the wedding that it would keep away the press. Even though Stephen and Carline were still in New York, Xavier didn’t want our wedding being advertised.

Renatta could hardly contain her excitement. We both had an appointment with Laveta at her bridal boutique on Thursday morning. Thankfully, work was slow.

Laveta was not what I was expecting. She was a tall woman who had to be close to six feet based on how I had to crane my neck to look in her face. She had a slender figure with beautiful mocha skin and thick, black hair in loose curls down to her shoulders.

She had the patience of a saint as we spent hours in her boutique trying on what felt like every gown there. I had finally found what I was looking for on a rack with white gowns. Originally, I didn’t want to wear white, but this dress was accented with a bright red ribbon that tied into a huge bow that trailed down the back of the dress.

It was a simple strapless gown made of taffeta with a fitted bodice that led into a full skirt with pick-up accents. We paired it with a satin veil with red ribbon trim to match the red ribbon tied around the waist of the dress. It was breathtaking.

Because I knew I was going to be nervous that day, and I didn’t want to fear falling as I walked down the isle, I chose a white pair of Jimmy Choo flats.

Renatta’s dress was a strapless chiffon dress with a layered skirt similar to the pick-up accents on my skirt. It was in the same red as the ribbon on my dress. The skirt rested just at her knees.

I talked with Laveta in length about flowers. We opted to go with red and white roses accented with sprigs of holly. Renatta would carry a small white rose bouquet with sprigs of holly. My bouquet would be made with red roses and sprigs of holly. And as I was instructed to do, I told Laveta to let Patrick know about my dress being accented with red.

The only time Laveta and I came to a disagreement was when she started talking about jewelry. I had already planned on wearing my Tiffany & Co heart pendant that Xavier had given me and the beautiful heart earrings that had once belonged to his mother. These pieces of jewelry meant something to me and I couldn’t imagine wearing anything but on my wedding day. Once I explained that she quickly dropped the subject.

I dropped Renatta off at her place so she and Tom could get ready for our long weekend. We opted to meet up with Gabriel and Tiffany for the Christmas holiday in their cabin in Leavenworth. I was really excited to head back there this time with my friend and her husband.

The last thing I had to do was stop off at Tiffany and Company down on Pine to pick up Xavier’s Christmas present. I carefully stashed it in my oversized bag and made my way back to the condo. I smiled when I saw his black SUV parked in the parking garage.

It wasn’t a surprise to see the pizza box sitting on the kitchen counter since Bev had already taken off to visit friends in Spokane for the holidays. It was a surprise when I saw our bags already packed and waiting to go just inside the bedroom, though. I set out to find Xavier.

He was quietly sitting in his office in front of his desktop. A frown was marring his brow as he studied something on the screen.

“Hey,” I said as I walked over to him.

“Hey, sweetness,” he said as he quickly minimized the screen he had opened.

I stopped walking towards him. “I didn’t disturb you, did I?” I asked hesitantly.

“Not at all,” he said in a nonchalant tone. He crooked his finger at me.

I continued to make my way toward him, stopping just in front of his chair. He swiveled it around and had me sit on his lap.

“What were you looking at?”

He stiffened. “Just something for work.” He tried to lie, but I saw right through it.

“Try again, Xavier.”

He sighed letting his head fall back against the back of the chair. “It was concerning the wedding. A surprise. I didn’t want you to see it,” he said softly.

“Oh,” I said, sounding suspicious. What outrageous surprise was he investigating?

“How was shopping today?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“It was good.” I paused for just a moment. “I found a dress. I hope you like it.”

“If you’re in it, I know I will,” he said, giving me a heated look. “Hungry?” I smirked at him. “For food,” he clarified.

I smiled. “Yes. I see you got pizza.”

“Yes. Bev already left for the holidays. I didn’t think you wanted to cook.”

“Not really. Thanks for thinking of that,” I said sincerely.

“I’m always thinking of you, sweetness.” He pushed out of his chair with me nestled to his chest like a small child.

“You know when I’m as big as a house with a belly full of baby you won’t be able to do this,” I said jokingly.

“Watch me. I’ll workout more.” He gave me a wicked smile before depositing me on a stool in front of the breakfast bar.

I watched him with rapt attention as he moved about the kitchen. He got glasses out of the cabinet, filled them with ice from the freezer, and then poured some bottled water in them before setting one each in front of a place setting on the breakfast bar. He then got two plates out of the cabinet and placed a slice of cheese on each. Walking over to the breakfast bar, he placed the plates on the bar, slid onto the stool next to me, and we both started eating.

“I saw our bags were already packed,” I said between bites.

“They are. I hope you don’t mind that I packed your bag for you.”

“Not at all. I’m just hoping that you packed me some appropriate attire. Last time you packed my bag for the mountains, you left me scantly clad. I assume you only do that for your viewing pleasure,” I teased.

“So right you are, sweetness.” He winked at me. “You will find that I have packed you a sufficient amount of appropriate items this time around.”

“I’m very glad to hear it, Mr. Hart.”

“So, do you want to tell me about this dress you found?”

“Absolutely not. You are going to have to wait until the big day.”

He groaned. “Speaking of which, I secured a suite for your parents at the Fairmont. My jet is scheduled to pick them up from Newark on December 30th. I have a car picking them up from the airport that will take them directly to the hotel.”

I was stunned for a moment. “Wait. You mean they aren’t going to be staying here with us?”

“We aren’t staying here either. I’ve booked us the Cascade Suite,” he said conspiratorially.

“You did what? Why would you do that?”

“Ella, I wanted the day to be special. We are going to check in on the 30th as well. I have reservations for dinner for your parents and us that night at The Metropolitan Grill. I also made arrangements for you and Renatta to get your hair and make-up done and whatever other treatments you two desire at the spa the morning of the wedding.”

I was stunned. I just sat and gaped at him for a few moments. He chuckled and reached over and kissed me on the forehead.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. You
have
thought of everything. Thank you,” I said appreciatively.

We went back to eating. What about wedding bands? He hasn’t said anything about shopping for wedding bands. Had he already taken care of that too?

“What about wedding bands?” I asked.

He froze for a few seconds. “I, uh, took care of that, too,” he said hesitantly.

“You did?” Shit, I sounded mad even to my own ears.

He turned towards me and took my left hand in his. “Please don’t be mad. I wanted those to be special, too. I would have suggested that we shop for them together, but, well, they were rather expensive and I know how you feel about that. I didn’t want you to be upset over the cost of them,” he said in a rush.

Expensive? If he didn’t want me to know how much they cost then they were obviously very expensive.

“I’m not mad. That’s fine. Can I ask where are they from?” I looked at him closely.

He was still staring at my hand playing with my engagement ring when he spoke. “I got them from Tiffany & Company,” he said softly.

Yup, they were most definitely expensive. “Can I see them?”

He looked up at me. “I won’t be picking them up until next week. I am having them inscribed, and I would really love it if you could wait until the day of the wedding. I want them to be a surprise.”

I couldn’t help it. I smiled widely at him as I nodded. He seemed instantly relieved.

“It’s sounds like you have every aspect of this covered.”

“I told you all you needed to worry about was the dress. I even scheduled a judge from the municipal court to perform the ceremony. Patrick is refusing to tell me what color your dress is. He says as soon as he finds out, he is going to contact the tailor directly. I won’t even see my tuxedo until the day of.” He paused thoughtfully for a moment. “I’m a little worried about that.”

I laughed. Xavier wasn’t the kind of man that was comfortable with people taking care of things for him. Yes, I imagine that would be rather frustrating for him.

“I’m sure Patrick won’t steer you wrong. He knows you’re an impeccable dresser.” I winked at him.

“At the very least, I made him tell me the designer name. At least he went with a Dolce & Gabbana tux. He’s just not giving any color away.” He pouted.