“Mommy! Mommy!”

My ears perked up as I heard Mia’s little voice from the top of the stairs. We were just about to have a lunch in the backyard. Conrad was busy grilling the meat and veggies, and I was prepping the salad and sides.

“Come here, sweetie,” I said, holding out my arms as I made my way up. Her hands were wrapped around the gate rails, and she was shaking them with all her little might.

“Momma!” She rubbed an eye and giggled at me. She’d just woken up from her nap. I smiled, but thought about how much harder this might be for me in a few months. I was four months pregnant, and if my second pregnancy went anything like my first, I’d be huge and uncomfortable by the end of it.

I lifted her over the gate and hugged her little body to mine.

“Come downstairs, it’s almost lunchtime. Your daddy’s making us some delicious food!”

She threw her arms around me, her light brown curls brushing against my face. “But first, let’s change your pull-up!” I said as I placed her down on her feet.

“No! No changing diaper!” She scrunched up her face and covered her crotch with a plump hand.

I couldn’t help but giggle. She was adorable when she was angry.

“Come here, don’t be silly.” I lifted her and took her to our downstairs changing station, which was really just a corner of the living room where I’d stacked some diapers and wipes in a side table drawer.

When we were done, we both washed our hands, and after giving her some water and slathering her in sunscreen, we went out to the back terrace.

The sight of Conrad behind the grill warmed my heart.

“Hey, babe,” he said, giving me a kiss as we passed by him. “Hi, princess!” he called out to Mia. She ran to him with outstretched arms and jumped into his. He picked her up and spun her around, eliciting giggles of delight.

I sighed. Life was good. We married one and a half years after that first magical Christmas, and I got pregnant about a year later. He’d become CEO of the investment firm where he worked when we met, and although he was very busy, he still made time for us.

“I’d better not burn lunch, or your mom will fire me!” he said to Mia with a smile. He handed her over to me, and I put her down on the yard.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” he asked me.

“A little tired, but at least I’m not nauseous today.” I shrugged. Every day was different. Sometimes I had all day morning sickness. Others I had heartburn, or was just exhausted beyond belief.

“It’s okay, you can take a nap after lunch. Maybe I’ll take Mia to my mom’s.”

“Thanks.” I squeezed his arm and wrapped my arms around him. He lowered his lips to mine and gave me a deep kiss.

“Any time. You deserve it. Besides, I’ve been working so much. I should spend more time with her one on one,” he said, nodding toward Mia.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

I sat down on the patio sofa and sighed. I was so grateful for the life we had. When we got married, we didn’t bother buying a new house, since he already had this one in Buckhead. It was a gorgeous house, with plenty of space for the kids we planned on having.

Naturally, I quit my job the week after the incident at Delilah’s ball and told Mark I couldn’t live with their stuffy policies. I got another job soon after, and continued working there until just after our wedding, when Conrad surprised me with a loan and an investment in what would become my bakery!

It was truly a dream come true. It wasn’t too far, relatively speaking, and I was able to hire some staff right off the bat to help out. The drive there only took fifteen minutes. I baked everything from biscuits to wedding cakes, and we were open six days a week. It was busy and exhausting, but fun.

We had a nanny to help with Mia, which came in handy when I had to be at the bakery. Otherwise I tried to keep life as normal as possible and we did our best not to spoil her. She definitely did not get every little thing she shrieked for, no matter how much it annoyed us.

“Mommy! Throw the ball!” She had a ball in her pudgy little hand and tried to throw it to me. It landed right between us. “Oops. Again.” She ran over and picked it up, throwing it again. I caught it this time and she clapped as if I’d won the Nobel Prize.

“Lunch is ready!” Conrad called out.

“Come, Mia. Time to eat.”

“No!” came her answer, paired with raised hands an angry scowl.

I rolled my eyes inwardly. I must have heard that word a hundred times today, but she never tired of saying it.

I scooped her up in my arms without a word, gave her a big kiss on her chubby cheek, and sat her in the booster seat.

“Never!”

Conrad and I both laughed. He served lunch and we dug in.

“How are things at the bakery?”

He still had the sexy smile that always got my heart racing.

“Pretty good. We received another wedding order on Friday. The McKenzies’ daughter is getting married in a few months.”

“Peter McKenzie?”

I nodded. We chatted a bit about my work, about his, and about decoration plans for the new nursery. Or rather, I talked about decoration plans, and he listened and nodded. Just the way I liked it.

“How’s Nicole?” he asked.

“She’s fine. She just got back from a vacation with the other girls.”

“Are you sad you didn’t go?”

I paused before I answered, gathering my thoughts.

“Not really. I’m sure it would’ve been fun, but being pregnant and all…Miami might not be the best idea. I’m pretty sure they partied a lot. Nothing wrong with that, but what about me? I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.”

“Probably not.” He popped an olive into his mouth.

“Maybe next time. Hey,” a thought just occurred to me. “Why don’t we try to fix her up with that new AVP at your work? What’s his name, again? Bruce something or other.”

His brows shot up. “Bruce Villaincourt? Not a bad idea at all. He’s single and on the market.”

“Good.”

I was always trying to fix her up with someone good. Not that she needed help meeting guys, but it was meeting the right kind of guys that was the issue.

“Lunch was great, honey.” I leaned over and kissed him. I was ready to pass out.

“Why don’t we all go upstairs for a bit?” he asked.

“Mia already had her nap.” I stacked the plates and headed inside with them, Mia following close behind me.

“She can play on the floor a bit. I won’t fall asleep.”

Upstairs, I promptly sank into the mattress. “This feels so good.” It really did. My whole body ached from fatigue, and to be able to rest it was just magic.

Conrad rubbed my back. “Not as good as what I’ve got planned for you tonight.”

I smacked him and laughed, nodding toward Mia, who was building some blocks on the floor.

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t understand.”

“I guess not.”

One thing that didn’t change from day to day was how horny I was all the time! I thought it was a cruel joke when people told me that pregnancy can make you insatiable, but it was true, at least in my case. Maybe it was the hormones. Whatever it was, Conrad wasn’t complaining. We made love—or fucked, depending on our mood—at least five times a week, and sometimes more. It might not compare to our unmarried or honeymoon days, but that’s a lot when you’ve got an energetic two year old and an almost full time job. Not to mention being pregnant.

He lay down beside me and put his hand on mine.

“Do you know how much I love you?”

His eyes shone with happiness, so I knew it was true.

“Not sure. Can you tell me again?”

“More than life itself. When I look at you and Mia, and your belly, I can’t imagine my life any other way. God forbid! If I was still single and coming home to an empty house…a house without you guys…I don’t know what I’d do. It would all be so meaningless.”

I smiled and rubbed my cheek against his chest. He was so warm, and he smelled so good.

“I love you, too, honey. Mia and I are very lucky to have you.” I turned my face up and kissed him on the mouth.

He kissed me back and sat up.

“Come on, Mia,” I heard him whisper. “Mommy’s falling asleep, let’s go.”

“No,” she said. I heard her little feet tapping on the floor as she came closer to me. “I kiss mommy.”

The little sweetheart tried climbing up on the bed but kept slipping down, so I stretched my arms out and pulled her up onto my chest.

She placed her hands on my cheeks and giggled. “Bye, mommy!”

“Bye, sweetheart!”

She stretched out her neck and gave a slobbery kiss. It was also the sweetest. Well, second to Conrad’s.

After they left, I curled up on bed, counted my lucky stars, and took a well-deserved nap.

THE END