“It’s the big puppy eyes. I can’t say no to you either, Selena.”
“I guess that’s good for me.”
And our friendship.
I’d told her shortly after the engagement was official. While it took time for her to adjust, she’d been there in the delivery room too, acting as my most determined coach and cheerleader, helping me through the twenty-hour birth. We’d been inseparable since, as it always was supposed to be. That was good for her since she’d been milking me for every tip and life hack to get through the pregnancy.
She was having the worst time with indigestion. I was trying to get her to try buttermilk, but she still thought I was punking her on that. I got it; that stuff tasted awful, but it fixed everything.
“It is very good for both of you,” Tammy said. “That I cannot resist begging from a Cole family member.”
“You say that now, but you wait till you have a preschooler hopped up on chocolate and sugar.”
I walked over and gave her a quick hug. “How are you really?”
“Tired, but we can dish tomorrow over the lunch date. I need to go let Jonathan know I’m still in one piece.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s later than I thought.”
Meaning it was past ten, and I had promised eight at the latest. “Sorry, Calvin Kline had a lot to say about his new spring line. My treat for lunch.”
“Oh, you bet it is. Daddy has way more money still than Jonathan.” She winked at me and rubbed Julian’s dark curly hair. “Buddy, I’ll see you later, okay?”
He smiled broadly and hugged Tammy around her tummy. “Sure, Sissy. And you take care of Diana. I can’t wait till she gets here… Even if she is a girl.”
I laughed and rubbed his shoulders. “How generous.”
A few hours passed, and I was sitting in his room, swinging quietly in the rocker. I found that helped me when Brandon was out of town on business. I didn’t sleep well period even with our state of the art security. I was just too full of nervous energy. Plus I hated the empty part of the bed; it was the furthest thing from enjoyable and reminded me too much of the awful two months of our separation.
It was a time in my life that I never wanted to relive, no matter what.
Besides, rocking beside the sleeping Julian gave me something to do. I was a mama bear watching her cub, a woman who needed to protect the baby—even if he insisted he was a big boy now—she’d grown to love so fiercely.
“You two look beautiful.”
I smiled and scooted out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind me. “You’re back from London?”
“No, this is all a dream,” Brandon said, winking at me.
I groaned but brightened when he handed me an adorable and cheesy Big Ben souvenir. “Lovely.”
“It’s for Julian. I brought back toy cars made like black cabs and red double-decker buses too.”
“What did I get?” I asked as we made our way to the far side of the penthouse.
He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I can’t show you them in public, but they’re made of lace and will look fucking fantastic on you, Tiger.”
I laughed as we stepped into our bedroom. Brandon didn’t miss a beat as he locked the door behind him. I licked my lips as I watched him undo his shirt. The dim light in our room played over the mouthwatering ridges of his abs. Soon, I’d make quick work of licking at every inch of them before wrapping my lips around something even more exciting.
“Do I want to know?”
“They come in black and red and purple…”
I blinked. “How much lingerie did you pick out for me?”
“Not nearly enough,” he said, cupping my breasts with his hands. He started to knead them with such skill that I was practically soaked through for him. “Did you miss me?”
“One of the longest weeks of my life,” I said.
That was true. Brandon tried to never go on trips, so the rare times he did were as if someone cut off one of my limbs.