“I still get to go to school?”
“Of course you do. If you still want to or you could go straight to working with another well-established photographer to teach you the ropes, instead of spending time in school. Whatever you want. Or, if you want to stay home with the baby it’s completely up to you.”
“I would really like to learn all there is in school. I still get to work and take pictures and do the website like I wanted?”
“Okay, I feel like you’re insulting me. What’s the point of you going to school if not to work and build your website? I get you don’t stop having dreams because you got pregnant.
“This is my baby, too, and I’m going to be there to take care of her once Alice has to leave for the day and lets me hold her. We can do the nanny thing, we can still travel. It was the whole reason I got the jet, because we aren’t taking a crying baby on a crowded plane, not even first class. We’ll make it work, all of it. It won’t always be easy, that doesn’t mean we won’t keep trying.”
Reassured by his plans for our future happiness prompts me to tease him. “Her, are you hoping for a girl or do you already know the sex too?”
Grant throws back his head. “I love you. I give you this long supportive speech, you focus on me wanting a girl. Yes, I hope we are having a girl. Marshall mentioned something about having a mini of his woman and I kind of like the idea of having a mini-Anne running around the house.
“Besides, everything for girls is way cuter than it is for boys. By the way, we might already have enough clothes and toys to fill a nursery. At least that’s what Alice is saying, when she told me to stop one clicking on Amazon.”
“I wondered what you were doing with your phone, I thought it was work.”
“Yeah, well, you can’t be too prepared. When we go home we’ll shop for houses. The only thing I’m worried about is making sure we live in a nice roomy house for the kids, while still being close enough to the city so it isn’t a long drive for you back and forth every day.”
“Kids, how many are we going to have?”
Grant rolls me under him. “How many do you want?”
“Mmm... at least two, maybe three.” I wrap my legs around him, we both moan at the way his hardening cock nudges against my pussy. “A nanny makes me feel like I’m a bad mom.”
Eyes wide, Grant shakes his head, “Yeah, no way. You are going to be a great mom, we need the nanny for me. I’m the one who’s going to be home with the baby full time. I also want to make sure we still get plenty of ‘we’ time so I can spank your ass and fuck you over the island in the closet.”
I’m touched to hear Grant talk about being the one to stay home with the baby, then when he talks spanking me and fucking me I laugh. “I love the way you think. How about spanking and fucking me now?”
“Anything you want, sweetheart.”
Once we reach Venice there is a flurry of paperwork and meetings at the townhall, that makes me grateful Grant speaks Italian. I also call Robin and ask her if she can come to Venice for the wedding. I’m stunned to find out she already planned to be here, on Grant’s invitation.
“When did he call you?”
“Last week, he says I get to fly in his jet with his best friend and his housekeeper, and his housekeeper’s husband. They’ll stop in Boston to pick me up. He’s got a room for me in your hotel and everything. You are so lucky. He sounds like he’s nuts about you.”
“I can’t believe he called you without telling me.”
“Well, he was right to, thanks for the last minute invitation. You know, not everyone can drop work at a week’s notice and run off to Italy for a week. He told me I had to make plans to stay at least week to have a real vacation. My boss was actually a little bit of an asshole about having only two weeks’ notice to be gone a week. I think I need a new job. Anyway, I’m g
ood to go. I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Great, I’ll see you when you get here.” I’m enjoying a bath one of my last for the next few months Grant had warned me. Grant was firm, no more of two of my favorite things long baths or sushi.
The week before the wedding is spent much like we did in Florence, sightseeing in the morning then back to the hotel for rest. Two days before the wedding, everyone is flown in. After everyone is settled, they come up to our suite for a private dinner. Meeting Grant’s best friend is intimidating, he’s light to Grant’s dark, blond with blue eyes and a build broader than Grant’s. From the minute I see them together it’s clear how close the two men are. Marshall smiles and gives me a hug, but there’s suspicion in his eyes I can’t hide from.
“I don’t think Marshall likes me.” I whisper to Grant, as everyone mingles with champagne, except me with sparkling water.
“Ignore him. He’s cranky because his fiancée is stuck in the States. She couldn’t get a passport quickly enough to join him.” Grant’s arm around me settles my nerves.
Dinner goes well but ends quicker than I would have wanted because I can’t stop yawning. I’m embarrassed, while everyone is reassuring me they understand. It’s only a little after nine when the door closes on the last person. I’m so tired I’m resting on the couch as Grant says his goodbye to Robin.
“Sweetheart, don’t fall asleep on the couch.” He picks me up and takes me to the bedroom, setting me down carefully. I’m already falling asleep as he begins undressing me.
When I wake up the next morning I’m alone in bed. There’s an eerie feeling that I’m alone in the suite. My stomach dips to find Grant’s side of the bed unslept in, there isn’t even a dent in the pillow. I search the suite and I can’t find Grant.
I consider getting dressed and going down to Marshall’s suite, then remember the rooftop. Still naked from sleep, with fear nipping at my heels, I run up the stairs to the rooftop terrace. Grant’s sitting at the edge and looks like hell. I know he hasn’t slept and I know my world is about to come crashing down.