Page 84 of Love is Grand
Shell and I planned to get married in a very quick ceremony right after the baby was born, enabling her to move to the States with me. With Adam and Rylan’s baby due so close after us, we decided to put off a bigger wedding until spring. This way, they could travel back to the Caymans with their baby and be here with all of us. Rylan was planning to have it at the Grand.
The only problem was my mom, who was going to miss the birth of our baby because of Adam’s baby, but I reminded her as often as I could that he was her favorite. She shushed me and said she would be here in a few weeks before we moved back to the States.
It was all a complicated endeavor, but worth it. My assistant was enjoying my working virtually, probably sitting with his feet up on my desk.
“Cal, look!” Weezie jumped into the pool, and I looked up right away. I held up ten fingers when she surfaced, before sitting down next to Sam.
“All the paperwork is signed and filed,” I told him.
Sam nodded. “I’m grateful.”
“If he shows up, he’ll not only be violating a restraining order, but also his lack of parental rights.”
Another nod from Sam. “You did good. Now, make my daughter happy, every day.”
Happy to agree, I grinned. “Every damn day.”
• December, a year later •
Shell
“Mommy! Mommy, look!” Weezie said, bouncing on the bed and then shaking my shoulder.
“What time is it?” I choked out.
“Nine.”
“Nine?” I bolted upright. “Where’s Benjamin? Did you hear him cry? You have school.” Sweat broke out on the nape of my neck as I swiped the hair out of my face.
“Mom, he’s with Cal.”
“Cal? It’s Wednesday. He should be at work.”
“Yeah, but we got snow. Look!” She jumped off the bed and went to open the blinds. “See?”
Pure white blanketed the sky and rooftops. Standing, I nodded in her direction and pulled a robe on, tying it around my waist. Snagging my phone off the nightstand, I confirmed the time and noted there were no messages from the coffee shop, which made me wonder if they’d opened on time.
“Beautiful,” I whispered, standing behind my daughter at the window, taking in the scenery in front of us.
“That’s what I think,” I heard from directly behind me.
Cal’s lips grazed my neck. Unfortunately, he didn’t linger long because someone was pulling on my hair.
Turning around, I took in my husband in jeans and a navy sweater, our son in his arms, dressed in a snowsuit. “First off, why are you still home? Second, why is our son wearing a snowsuit ... inside?”
“Cal made pancakes,” my daughter said, and I noticed a smudge of syrup in the corner of her mouth.
“I even remembered the touch of coconut syrup,” Cal said, winking.
“Is this a dream? You cooked? You’re home and not at work?”
“I called the coffee shop. They’re up and running. Pure genius hiring a manager who lived around the corner. Patrick said they’re busy dealing with people who trekked out to see the snow. As for Amber, she’ll come later after the roads are cleared and she can get the bus easily, so don’t worry about the mess. She’ll clean.”
“Stop, I’m perfectly capable,” I said, taking a grabby Benjamin. I shook my head, still not knowing what was going on. “Thanks for calling the shop. I don’t want any bad reviews about us possibly opening late, but for the record, I can clean on my own,” I told Cal, knowing he wouldn’t agree. Adjusting to life with a full-time housekeeper was still a challenge a year later. “You know what? Let’s start with the snowsuit.”
Laying Benjamin down on the bed, I took off the suit, revealing a thermal onesie and flannel pants. Clucking my tongue, I said, “He’s going to roast.”
“I was worried he’d be cold. Remember when he was born, we had to keep that beanie on his head?”