“How many kids do you have in mind?” I ask softly, wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands slide to my waist and under my shirt. His thumbs rub along my sides, causing goose bumps to break out.
“Two boys and three girls. The boys need to come first so they can protect their sisters, especially if they look like you.”
“What happens if we have a girl first?”
“Then I’m going to buy a few more guns.”
I start giggling. “You do know how hot you are, right? I mean, if we have boys, I’m going to have to buy stock in Trojan just to make sure they are always protected. Either that, or invest my money into a medical company so they can invent men’s birth control.” He starts shaking his head, chuckling.
“I like that you keep saying we,” he says softly, his eyes warm. “Now I know you see a future with me.” He smiles his cocky smile and I laugh.
“You know, you’re very bossy and completely cocky.” His lips twitch, but what he doesn’t do is disagree with me. I have to admit, it is a total turn on that he is so sure about us. It puts my mind at ease. I don’t worry that I am thinking things are more serious than he thinks they are. He softly kisses my nose then my lips.
“I’m going to see if Ma needs help. I’ll make sure everyone is ready to go to your dad’s soon.”
“Thanks.” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him quickly then walk into the bathroom and shut the door. I listen to Asher leave the bedroom. Once I know the coast is clear, I pull a towel down from the shelf, shove my face into it, and scream at the top of my lungs while jumping up and down. I can’t believe I am getting everything that I have ever wanted. I have a man that loves me, a great job, and a giant family. I know that I am lucky.
I remember spending Christmas in New York, watching the Macy’s parade then going to Tia’s house for the day. If they weren’t around, I would make dinner for myself and camp out in bed with a good book while my mom was with her friends or whatever guy she was seeing at the time. Now I have friends and family who will always be around to spend holidays with.
Chapter 8
The doorbell ringing and Beast’s barking wakes me suddenly. I roll to the clock and see that it’s just after ten in the morning. I can’t think of anyone who would be here this early, unless it’s the postman and he’s dropping off a package.
I crawl out of bed and find Asher’s shirt that he took off last night. I slip it over my head and find my sleep shorts lying on the floor. I pull them up quickly, noticing that they’re getting a lot tighter. I’m still half asleep because I got home late yesterday.
I had been out on another all day shopping adventure with Susan. This trip was much better than the last, only because I needed to get stuff for an Easter egg hunt that I was putting on at the nursing home. Hearing kids laughing and having a good time makes me happy, so I want parents to bring their kids and let them go into the patients’ rooms and get an egg and some candy.
With Asher gone on jobsites more often, I am starting to feel bored. I work for my dad and Liz, plus I took on a few other small clients in town. But even with the extra work I am doing, I still have plenty of free time.
First, I started going to the gym. I was working out so much that I had definition where I never thought I would and I was losing tons of weight. Then, one day Asher looked at me and actually complained.
“Babe, I loved your body. I loved having something to grab onto. I loved how soft you were. I know that you want to be healthy, but I miss the softness.”
His voice was soft and the look in his eyes said that he loved me no matter what, but he missed the way I looked. And I don’t know any woman who would not want their man to tell him that they shouldn’t lose weight. I really didn’t care. I wasn’t working out to lose weight. I was doing it out of boredom, but I was happy to hear that he liked my body the way it was.
That night, I may have gone a wee bit overboard. I hadn’t been on a diet, but I had been watching what I was eating. So, that night, I made homemade chicken Alfredo with garlic bread and asparagus. For dessert, I made apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. There were more than three days’ worth of calories in that meal, but it was so worth it. In the middle of eating, Asher started laughing at me.
“What?”
“You sound like you’re really enjoying your food,” he said, watching me take a bite of apple cobbler.
“It’s yummy.”
“Yeah,” he said, leaning over to give me a very sweet vanilla apple kiss.
After dinner, I was sprawled out on top of Asher with him still inside me and his hands running along my back. Our breathing returned to normal and I broached the subject of money. “Since I’m living here now, we should talk about how we’re going to divide the bills for the house.”