Chapter 28

Annelise was in the middle of a giggle fit with Ollie, playing with the toys he’d brought along, when Leslie walked in. Ollie glanced up, a hint of shyness in his eyes, but as soon as Annelise introduced him, he warmed up to Leslie, even complimenting her on her looks.

“Can Ollie stay with me forever? I adore him!” Leslie asked, her eyes twinkling.

“No, I gotta stay with my Ani!” Ollie protested, causing Leslie to raise an eyebrow in amusement.

“Ani, Michael is in deep trouble if you two don’t work out! This little guy is smitten with you!” Leslie laughed.

Annelise just shrugged, her smile never fading as she continued to play with Ollie, not remembering a time when they weren’t a part of her life.

An hour later, Michael emerged from her room, pulling his shirt down, looking every bit the handsome man he was. Annelise blushed, her mind wandering back to their intimate moments in her bed.

He knelt down and kissed her, whispering, “I know what you’re thinking, so stop. I don’t want to be turned on while I’m having dinner with my new boss and his family, who also happen to be my girlfriend’s family!”

He headed into the kitchen to grab a drink, leaving Annelise laughing. He greeted Leslie with a hug and a hello.

“Did you have a good nap?” Leslie asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Yeah, it was nice,” Michael replied, trying to keep his grin in check.

“Did she wear you out?” Leslie asked, her grin widening.

“In the best way possible!” Michael responded, his own grin matching hers.

“Damn, I’m going to have to sleep with my TV on tonight, aren’t I?” Leslie groaned.

“Absolutely! Unless you want to hear her screaming my name!” Michael laughed, causing Leslie to pretend to cry.

***

Ollie was officially the star of the show, having won over the entire Rothchild family. Ashley had already volunteered to babysit him anytime they needed, and Naomi was already asking what he wanted for Christmas.

JJ and Christopher took turns chasing him around the backyard before dinner. Michael was thrilled to see him bonding with them, knowing they’d be spending a lot of time together.

“So, I have your contract, Michael,” Johnathan said as they sat in his home office, enjoying an after-dinner drink. He handed the papers over to Michael.

Michael scanned through the documents. Everything seemed pretty standard—healthcare, stock options, retirement, and other benefits. But when he reached the salary section, he paused, unable to believe what he was seeing.

“I know it’s not the amount we initially discussed, but that was before I had some additional information,” Johnathan explained.

“Yeah,” Michael managed to say. “It’s not the original amount we discussed!”

“I was talking with Roger about something else, and your name came up. I won’t reveal everything that was said, but I can tell you he thinks very highly of you, your work, and your work ethic.”

“I’ve known Roger for years and I respect his opinions. He’s usually spot-on with his assessments of people. So, after that conversation, I decided to increase your salary. I don’t want anyone else trying to steal you away,” he said.

“I don’t know what to say,” Michael admitted. “This is more money than I’ve made in the last three years combined!”

“And you’ll earn every penny of it, I guarantee,” Johnathan added. “I believe in rewarding hard-working and exceptional people like you. I want to keep those who make my job easier.”

“And I believe you’ll make my job easier, make me and our investors more money, and show my sons what a strong work ethic can achieve.”

“Thank you, Johnathan. I appreciate this opportunity more than I can express!” he replied, still in shock.

“You’re welcome. Now sign this damn thing to satisfy the lawyers, and as soon as you move, you can start coming in and getting a feel for the place.” Johnathan chuckled.

Michael signed it, feeling almost guilty for accepting such a generous salary. But he had no doubt that Johnathan Rothchild would make him work for it. They chatted a bit longer before rejoining the rest of the family.

“Renee and Tristan are the best realtors in the area,” Naomi gushed. “They found JJ’s, Christopher’s, and Emily’s houses.”

Michael nodded. “They’ve been very attentive, asking what I want and where. I’ve taken your recommendations on Belle Meade, Green Hills, Richland, and Sylvan Park.”

“They said they have some good options for us to start with tomorrow and we can go from there on Sunday.”

“Oh! Those areas are still close to us!” Naomi clapped her hands in excitement, causing her children to roll their eyes. “I saw that! I’ll still get a switch from the tree outside!”

“She threatens that all the time,” Emily, the second Rothchild offspring, explained. “But she’d never risk breaking a nail to do it!”

Michael disguised his chuckle with a cough as Naomi squinted at them, saying, “I’ll remember that!” Everyone burst into laughter.

The more Michael spent time with the Rothchild family, the more he liked them. This was a good thing, considering he planned on making one of their own his forever. Ollie was starting to fade after running around with Ashley and JJ for most of the evening.

Naomi had taken to the idea of having a young child around and had filled a cupboard in the living room with a bunch of things for him. Ollie was in heaven. After helping clean up, the trio drove back to her apartment.

Michael sent a text without Anelise knowing, and then they went to bed, wrapped in each other’s arms, reminiscing about their earlier moments together.

***

Anelise was a bundle of nerves on their way to the realtors’ office. She’d never done this before and had no idea what to expect. What was her role going to be? How much input did Michael want from her? What was he looking for in a house?

Michael could sense her unease and took her hand, kissing it gently. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged and nodded.

“What’s bothering you, my love?”

“I’m not sure what I should be doing right now, and I hate that,” Anelise confessed as they pulled into the parking lot.

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do? You’re supposed to help us pick out a home,” he said, gently stroking her hand.

She bit her lip, and he could tell she was wrestling with something. Suddenly, it hit him. He’d messed up. “Oh, Ani, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize until now how badly I messed up!”

He kissed her tenderly. “Let me try again. When I asked you to do this, I meant that I want you to move in with me, with us, to live as a family. I love you and I’m not letting you go again!”

“So, Anelise Morgan, will you help pick out a house for ~all of us~?”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she nodded. “Sure, I think that sounds really nice!”

“Just really nice?” he teased, raising an eyebrow.

She leaned in and whispered in his ear so Ollie couldn’t hear, “Okay, fine, it sounds fucking amazing!”

He laughed heartily and kissed her. “Perfect! Now let’s go inside and see what they have for us today!”

“You know I can’t really contribute until I find a decent job, right?” She added cautiously.

“Ani, I want to have a serious conversation about that later, but don’t worry about that right now. With what Rothchild Enterprises is going to be paying me, we won’t have any financial problems,” he reassured her, kissing her forehead.

She agreed and they got Ollie out of the car, heading into the office. After an initial look at the listings, they decided to go see four.

Renee and Tristan would find more options for Sunday based on their feedback and the increase in Michael’s price point, which made her gasp when she heard it. He leaned over and reminded her that they’d discuss that later.

They visited the first house, and while it was nice, it didn’t have everything Michael wanted. Anelise was secretly pleased since it reminded her of her parents’ house.

The second was nicer with a bigger yard, but not enough bedrooms. Anelise almost gasped again when she heard Michael say that he wanted at least five bedrooms plus a master suite.

“Why do we need so many bedrooms?” she whispered to him as they toured the house.

“Well, two reasons, really. One, my family likes to visit, especially my parents, and I’d hate for them to stay at a hotel while visiting. That’s why I have such a big house in Chicago.

“And two—something else we have to talk about later—but how many children do you want? We need enough bedrooms for them,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

She just looked up at him, smiled softly, and placed her hands on his face. “You are the most incredible man.”

They visited the next house, which they both liked. It had enough bedrooms, although they were a little smaller than Michael would have liked, and the yard was nice and big.

But they would have to completely gut and redo the 80s kitchen and take out the carpets and put in hardwood floors. They agreed it was a maybe.

And the last one for the day needed too much outside work for Michael to really be comfortable, but they put it on the maybe list.

“Okay,” Tristan started, “Now, we will start looking at new listings around the $1.5 million price point you gave us Michael, and we will look at those tomorrow.”

“It will be much easier to find more turn-key options and the bedrooms you want within those parameters. I know you are on a time frame with moving down here in December.”

“But we will find you something you love. That, we promise!” Renée added.

They thanked them, then went for a late lunch and took Ollie to the park, thankful that the sun was out and it was 55 degrees. They played with him, making him tired, and drove home the long way, letting him sleep.

Anelise couldn’t believe how tired she was after looking at the houses; it was a mentally exhausting process. “So we have some time since he is passed out cold,” Michael said. “So let’s talk about some of the things I brought up earlier, okay?”

Anelise agreed, feeling nervous.

He continued, “So… I don’t want you to worry about money. I am making more money in a year than I have in the last three years combined. Plus, remember that I am an accountant? I know how to manage and budget money.”

“In all honesty, we could actually afford a more expensive house, but I don’t want a payment any bigger than that. Again, I like to keep a budget. That being said, I will take care of all the household expenses.”

“I want you to find a job you like and not settle, so don’t worry about it. And if you ever didn’t want to work, like after we had a baby, you have that option too.”

“Hell, if you didn’t want to work now, you wouldn’t have to, but I know you want to use the degree you are getting.”

She looked at him in bewilderment at the next stoplight. “Are you serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked. “You are a grown woman with a mind of your own. ~And~ I want this to be a partnership, Ani. You and I, working together to raise our children, yes, plural.”

He continued, “That leads me to my second topic of discussion. Have you ever thought about how many children you want?”

She swallowed, still trying to wrap her head around the whole conversation. “Not really. All I know is that I hated being an only child and don’t want that for my children. What about you? I mean you never wanted kids, but now you have Ollie.”

He thought a minute. “You’re right, I didn’t want children, or so I thought. I adore my nieces and nephews, and the more I thought about it, I think I didn’t want children because Kara didn’t.”

“But the moment I saw Ollie on that ultrasound screen, felt his tiny movements inside her belly, and held him in my arms for the first time, everything shifted. My priorities, my desires, they all changed. I realized I wanted kids, and I wanted Ollie to have the joy of being a big brother.

“I craved the sound of laughter, the innocent giggles, and the excited screams during holidays, birthdays, or just because they felt like it. I think Kara sensed that too, and that’s why she walked away. But now, I’m ready to give you as many children as you wish for. And trust me, we’ll have a ~ton~ of fun making them!”

Her laughter filled the car at his last remark. “I love you, Michael.”

“And I love you too, Anelise,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her hand as he continued to navigate the road.