Amy was speechless. She was so touched by this piece of his family history, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get words out, so instead she turned in his arms and decided to show him how much she liked the crib.
Lucas gently picked her up and carried her to their room. She was focused all on him and didn’t finish her tour of the home until much later.
As they lay in the bed together and she cuddled under his chin, he rubbed her back while they talked. “You must have noticed the lack of furniture. The pieces here came from my parents and others I’ve picked up over the years. The rest of the place is for you to decorate. You can do what you want with it. If you want some help, my mother asked me to inform you she’d enjoy working with you to make this our home.”
“In other words she’s begging you to let her take you all over the city in a shopping frenzy. My mother really likes to shop, especially when it’s for someone else. You’ll be begging for mercy, but honestly, if you want to do it on your own I’ll make an excuse up,” he said.
Amy could tell he meant what he said. She could’ve refused, but she loved his parents, and didn’t think she’d be able to deny them anything. She’d enjoy hanging out with his mother and learning from her. Katherine would know everything about what babies needed, because she herself knew nothing.
“I’d be very pleased to go with your mom, but I don’t know when I’ll have the time,” she said. Lucas took a deep breath as if he was trying to gain courage. That surprised her, as he seemed to never fear anything.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Amy, honestly I’m not trying to control you, but I think it would be best if you were to focus on you and the baby. You’ve already had health issues and will be very busy getting things ready for our new home and the baby. I don’t think you should work for the company anymore,” he finally got to the point.
Amy had many mixed feelings. She was surprised that the strongest emotion she felt was relief. She was doing well at her job, but she didn’t love it. There was so much stress involved and all she could think about was her unborn child, and her husband, anyway, which made work all that much more difficult. The doctor hadn’t released her from bed rest, and she could once again focus on her career after she safely delivered her child.
She didn’t want to be completely dependent on Lucas. She did have a decent amount of savings already, due to the fact that she had very little expenses. That was her security blanket. It wasn’t enough to last long if they were no longer together, but it would be enough to get her settled into a new place while she found a job.
“I would need to train a new person. I’m okay with not working for now, especially since Dr. Scott said I need to stay off my feet as much as possible. I’ll want to get a job after the baby is a few months old, though, but it might be better if I didn’t work for my husband,” she surprised him by saying.
Lucas had been afraid she was going to feel like he was pushing her away. “You don’t have to worry about training someone. My dad has already taken care of all that while we were on our honeymoon,” he said happily. He was so relieved this hadn’t caused them another fight.
“Who’s this new person?” she asked suspiciously. She didn’t want some skinny, hot young thing working with her husband for countless hours each week. She knew there were many women out there who wouldn’t have any problem sleeping with a married man, and that connecting door between their offices was far too easy to slink through.
The thought of another woman placing her hands on Lucas was enough to quicken her breathing, and she was ready to scratch the eyes out of this non-existent person. This was her family and she’d do anything in her power to hold onto them.
Lucas laughed. He knew exactly what she was thinking. “Don’t worry. She is a happily married grandmother of six, who is more than qualified. She actually worked for another division in the company and my father felt it was high time she got a promotion,” he reassured her.
“Esther’s been working with her the past week and she’s picked up on the job quickly. I think she’ll do well for us in the corporate offices. Of course, it will no longer be such a pleasure for me going into work each day, knowing you’re not there. I’ve gotten used to your scent invading every aspect of my workspace. I’ll desperately miss it,” he said while nuzzling her neck.
“I guess everything has been taken care of, then,” she said, feeling a little out of sorts, since she’d been replaced so easily. “I’ll focus on getting our home ready for the baby.” Amy was scared, as she’d always worked so hard and now there wasn’t much expected from her, except to get the home ready and wait for their little one to be born. She’d been working hard for so long, she didn’t know what she’d do with the extra time on her hands.