Chapter Thirty-One

Amy was truly happy in her marriage, even though it hadn’t been what she wanted. After spending two weeks receiving Lucas’s undivided attention, she couldn’t get enough of her husband. She also couldn’t seem to get enough of his hands taking her to places she never knew existed. She became tense with anticipation at just the thought of his magical fingers stroking her skin.

“I’ve had a wonderful time with you, Amy, but it’s nice to be home now,” Lucas said as he led her to the waiting car.

The sky was overcast, and a fine mist began seeping into her hair. Amy found herself fighting the urge to cry, though she really had no reason to be upset. She blamed it on the hormones again. For five more months, she could get away with that.

“I think I could’ve stayed there for a month straight,” she admitted with a smile.

“Yes, Paris is addictive. I promise to take you back. Maybe we’ll take a family trip. My parents love Paris in the summer. I think Alex and Mark wouldn’t mind joining us, too.”

“Oh, that would be so much fun. Katherine and I could explore the museums for hours. I know that wasn’t your favorite thing to do.”

“Was I that obvious?” he said with a guilty grin. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy art; it’s just that I’ve seen the places a hundred times,” he admitted with a shrug.

“Thank you for taking me, anyway. I can’t believe I got to see the desk where Victor Hugo wrote his books. It amazes me that he did them all while standing. What a treasured piece of history, and I got to be right there,” Amy exclaimed, excitement brewing up again just thinking about it.

They arrived at a small family diner where the specialty was a fluffy omelet. They ordered and then continued to visit until their meal arrived. All talking stopped as she consumed her meal as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks. She was seriously worried she was going to gain a hundred pounds if she wasn’t careful.

“I can’t believe how much food I’m eating. You’d better stop me before I’m as big as a whale,” she worriedly said to Lucas. Her morning sickness had ended, and hunger had come in with a vengeance.

“Remember, Amy, you’re eating for two, and I can tell you now, if you’re carrying my child, he’ll be very demanding, even from the womb,” Lucas said with laughter.

Oh, well, she figured, he wasn’t with her for her body anyway. He’d married her because she carried his child. That thought put a little bit of unease back into her good mood. Amy decided to brush it off and not think about it. She was enjoying her time with Lucas way too much to let negative thoughts in.

“I have a wedding gift for you. I hope you like it because it would be difficult to return,” Lucas said. She had no idea what else he could possibly give her. She didn’t want any more material things from him. She wanted his heart.

She didn’t care about his money or power. She didn’t care about the trips to Paris or the massive diamond resting on her finger. She just wanted him to love her as much as she loved him.

“I didn’t know we were supposed to get gifts for each other. I have nothing for you.”

“Let me show you what it is,” he told her as he helped her back into the car. They drove toward his parents’ house, and she figured his present to her was hidden at their place, although she didn’t understand why he needed to do that when they had two apartments in the city with plenty of space to keep a gift.

He turned and drove down a long driveway, and she was even more confused. Where were they going? They continued down the endless pavement, beautiful trees shading their way. He stopped the car in front of a colonial-style house.

He stepped out of the car and came around her side, opening the door. She stepped out, looking at him quizzically. They walked up the steps, and he opened the door, suddenly lifting her into his arms and carrying her across the threshold.

“Welcome home,” he told her before placing his lips on hers. Amy was speechless. He’d bought them a new home. Had he had it all along and just stayed at the apartments to be closer to work? She really hoped he’d never lived there with another woman. She didn’t share well.

She had so many questions, but she was too afraid of the answers to ask them out loud. “This is really our house?” she questioned and he nodded. “We have a real house!” she exclaimed as excitement consumed her.

She’d always dreamed of having a real home, with a real family in it, but had never thought it would happen for her. She knew she’d have a child someday, but to have a husband and a beautiful house, too, seemed so unreal. She could barely breathe and was afraid to blink for fear that it might all disappear.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled his head closer, not wanting their kiss to end. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feel of being in his arms. Maybe if they just didn’t come up for air, the honeymoon would never end.

Lucas finally pulled back, his eyes glazed as he looked down at her. She smiled, suddenly filled with so much joy, she felt like she was going to burst.

“Our first stop can be the master bedroom,” he said with a hopeful grin. Amy was tempted, really tempted, but her curiosity was getting the best of her, and she really wanted to see the place that was going to be her home.

“I think that’s a much better stopping place on our tour,” she told him as she pressed her full breasts into him, making a groan rumble out of his chest.

“I think you’re a tad bit sadistic, Mrs. Anderson,” he said before setting her back on her feet. She held on a moment until she was sure her knees wouldn’t buckle.

“Only with you,” she said before smacking him on the butt and then taking off. She heard his intake of breath, knowing she’d shocked him.

It didn’t take long for her to hear his urgent steps as he began chasing her. Amy laughed in delight as they ran through the house, her darting in and out of rooms, him right on her heels. There were so many doors and passages, hallways and hiding places, they could play the game all night long.

Excitement continued building as she did her best to keep the game alive. She slipped into a room, her breath taken away at finding a stunning den, one wall of it nothing but a giant bookshelf reaching from the floor to the twenty-foot-high ceilings. It was empty, but she knew she’d have no problem filling it up. She was an expert at finding used books for a great price.

The home was sparsely furnished, which she liked. She had plenty of time to find items and found it a real joy to bargain shop. It was a treasure hunt. On the rare days she’d had a few extra hours, she used to look through the many second-hand stores in Seattle, one day dreaming of decorating her own home with antique furniture.

People often didn’t realize what they were throwing away, and she’d found priceless pieces of furniture too many times to count. If she’d had the money or the space, she’d gladly have snapped them up.

She left the den as she heard Lucas’s steps drawing closer. After a few turns, she found herself in a state-of-the-art kitchen, which had every appliance known to man. She couldn’t wait to get in there and start baking. There was so much she’d missed out on in life, and now she’d get to catch up a little. She had an overflowing book with recipe after recipe in it from the hundreds of magazines she’d copied from. Since she’d aced all her chemistry classes, she figured she could do a decent job cooking; it wasn’t much different from mixing chemicals.

She managed to tear herself from the kitchen, then found herself back in the entryway. The house had grown quiet, and she tensed, wondering where Lucas was. She’d been playing, but what if he was getting frustrated? She began to chew the inside of her cheek, worried, as she climbed one side of the double circular staircase. Her fingers caressed the railing, making her feel as if she were royalty. It was the kind of stairs she’d seen in a few of her favorite romantic movies.

At the balcony, she had a choice to turn right or left, so she picked a direction and wandered a bit more until she looked in one room and froze. Standing against the back wall was a beautiful crib with lace bedding and an intricate canopy protecting it. It was obviously old, but very well taken care of. Her fingers stroked the hand-carved posts as tears stung her eyes.

It was exactly the crib she would’ve chosen had she been searching. She could picture her newborn sleeping under the delicate quilt, protected beneath the white canopy.

Suddenly, Lucas was behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “This was the same crib I slept in as a baby. I know most mothers want to design their own nursery, but it would mean a lot to me, and my parents, if we used this crib for our child,” he whispered in her ear.

“My mother made this quilt herself. She spent months on it while she was pregnant with me. She made one for each of her children and then saved them for her future grandchildren.”

Amy was speechless. She was so touched by this piece of his family history, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get any words out. She picked up the tiny blanket and brought it to her chest, bringing it to her nose next, to inhale the scent, envisioning Lucas as an infant and the love of a mother’s endless hours with each stitch made. It was the most beautiful thing she could witness and though her heart felt a sting of her own loss as a child, it was quickly warmed by the thought of her baby being loved and never knowing the pains of loneliness she’d endured. Amy turned in his arms and with all the emotion she felt inside, showed him how much she liked the crib.

The chase through the house, the magnificence of it all, and finally this intimate moment, had all added up to a swelling desire inside her. She needed to touch the man she loved.

Lucas gently picked her up and carried her to their room. The rest of the tour would finish much, much later.

As they lay in the bed together, she cuddled under his chin while he rubbed her back and they continued to talk. “You must have noticed the lack of furniture. Some of the pieces here came from my parents, and the 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 tell 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 up an excuse.”

Amy could tell he meant what he said. She could refuse, but she loved his parents, and she didn’t think she’d be able to deny them anything they asked of her. She enjoyed being with his mother and learning from her. Katherine would know everything about what babies needed. Amy 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. At your last visit, the doctor was concerned about your high blood pressure and is already threatening bed rest. You may want to take an indefinite leave from the offices,” 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, anyway, which made work that much more difficult. She could focus on her career after she safely delivered her child and was feeling better.

She didn’t want to be completely dependent on Lucas, though. She did have a decent amount of savings already, due to the fact that she had very few 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’d need to train a new person. I’m okay with not working for now, though, especially since Dr. Scott said I need to stay off my feet as much as possible. I’ll want to work again after the baby is a few months old, though, but it might be better if I didn’t work for my husband.”

Lucas looked relieved. “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 brought in someone to fill your place until you were able to come back, and she’s working great.”

“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 heartbeat, and she was ready to scratch the eyes out of this nonexistent person. This was her family, and she’d do anything in her power to hold onto it.

Lucas laughed. It was obvious that he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Don’t worry. She’s a happily married grandmother of six, who is more than qualified. She actually worked for another division in the company, and my father feels it’s high time she receives 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 answered, feeling a little out of sorts at being replaced so easily. “I’ll focus on getting our home ready for the baby.”

Amy was scared, as she’d always worked 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 didn’t know what she’d do with the extra time on her hands.

It was going to be difficult turning their house into the perfect home, because if they didn’t make it — and there was a good chance of that, considering why they’d gotten married — she wouldn’t take anything from her husband. She’d come into the relationship with nothing, and she wouldn’t feel right turning into one of those women who were out to get all they could.

Many people used Lucas and his family for their own selfish needs. Couldn’t all those people see the Andersons were wonderful, with or without the money and power? Well, she planned on showing him how much she loved him for himself — and nothing else — for the rest of her life.