Page 57 of The Plus-One Deal

Home— my heart plunged. Where would we live? Conrad had his penthouse and I had mine. Neither was babyproof. Both were up high. We’d need a real house, no balconies to fall from. Something in the suburbs with a big, sunny yard.

“I can feel your gears spinning,” said Conrad. “We’ll talk it all through together.”

We wound up at my place and headed up, silent. All I could think was, had Conrad even thought? Had he even considered how hard this would be? Finding a house, then babyproofing. Figuring out his work situation and mine. He wouldn’t step back. I knew him too well. He’d think he could somehow juggle both, work from home maybe. Work through the night. He’d have some silly plan with no roots in the real world, where he kept all he had and kept us as well, and somehow it worked because… because money?

The elevator slid open. We stepped out in my penthouse. I turned to Conrad.

“I want us to be real,” he said.

I gaped at him. “What?”

“Come here and sit down. I have a whole lot to say.” He took me by both hands and led me down the hall, through the dark lounge and out to the sunroom. He sat me down on a couch scattered with big, soft pillows, and cuddled up next to me, still holding my hands.

“I’m in love with you,” he said. “I have been since… always. You’ve been my best friend, my plus-one, my partner, always there when I needed you, and I don’t want to lose that. I want to build on it. Build a whole life.”

“But a life means?—”

“It means I can’t go on as I have been. Neither of us can. We’ll need to change. But I’m ready if you are, if…” His brows drew together. “I’m sorry. You were saying something. I cut you off.”

“No, keep going,” I said, swallowing excitement. Change? Did he mean it? “Tell me how you picture it, our life together.”

Conrad’s shoulders rose up as he drew a deep breath. Then he let it out, and he started talking. “I want to be a real partner and a real father. Not evenings and weekends, but every day. I want to be home to feed our kid dinner. To put them to bed. Read them a story. I grew up with nannies, with daycare and playgroups, and I don’t want that. Our kid should haveus. One of us always home, no matter what.”

My heart was singing, but I wasn’t hearing a real plan. I swallowed hard. “How would we do that?”

“I’m restructuring Constel. Stepping back from my role. Joe will step into my CEO spot, and he’ll take on most of my day-to-day. I’ll still be owner and president, still be involved, but I won’t be like I have been, living to work.”

I couldn’t believe it. “Really? You’d do that?”

“I would. I will. It’s for our family.” He smiled, wide and warm. “I want us to move to a place in the country. A place with a big yard, with woods and a stream. I want family dinners. Backyard barbecues. I want us to go on family vacations, fill entire albumswith our memories. I want our house to be noisy, kids running around, bugging us, pulling us when we’re trying to work.”

“I want that too,” I breathed. “I’ve been thinking already about hiring more help for Timeless. Taking maternity leave. Doing this right.”

“I love you,” said Conrad.

“I love you too.”

We had more still to talk about, a million more details, but those could wait while we celebrated. I pressed my lips to Conrad’s and felt him respond, the same thrill running through him that took hold of me. I’d never get tired of this, of our closeness. Of the soft sound he made as he took me in his arms, stretched me out on the couch and showered me with kisses. I tilted my head back to let him kiss along my chin, nip at my earlobe, brush his lips down my neck. The tickle of his breath made my toes curl. I arched up against him, needing more of his touch.

Conrad took his time exploring my body, claiming every inch of me with his hands and his lips. He traced my curves with his palms, waking shivers inside me, kissed every inch of bare skin he could find. I moaned as he followed the swell of my breast, hot kisses along the silk of my bodice. Then I sat up and he unzipped my dress, and as it slipped off me, I loosened his tie. I took my time with his shirt, stripping it off unhurried — we had all night. All the time in the world. I’d have my whole life now to learn his body, what made him gasp, what made him moan my name.

Conrad pulled back. “Let me look at you.”

I laughed. “Just look?”

“Just for a second.” He let his gaze wander over my body, one finger trailing down the line of my arm. “I never let myself take in how gorgeous you are. Never let myself stop to see…” He kissed my shoulder. “I love your freckles. I love all of you. I can’t believe it took me so long?—”

I pressed a finger to his mouth. “No regrets. We’re here now.”

He laid me back on the pillows. I loosened his belt. Ran my hand up his thigh to tease his cock in my palm. I’d never craved anyone as I craved him, never felt so possessive toward their body. When I touched Conrad, my whole heart sangmine. When I kissed him, I felt like I had come home. We made love in my sunroom with its hanging plants, fronds hanging over us, the moon dappling through. I watched the shift of the shadows on Conrad’s skin, the heat in his eyes, the hitch of his breathing. I drank him all in, every quirk of his body. Lost myself in him, and the way we moved together. It felt new and familiar all at once, like the dream of a lifetime come true at last.

We lay entwined after, Conrad stroking my hair, and I felt his chest rise as he drew breath to speak.

“Let’s not wait,” he said.

I looked up. “Wait for what?”

“To get married.” He tangled his fingers in my hair. “Let’s do it soon, just our nearest and dearest, then go back to The Bahamas for our honeymoon.”