Chapter 29

Now that they were back home, it was time for things to get back to normal. While they were gone, Ace put Nigel Parker in charge of the company. He was an ambitious young man in his early twenties who looked up to Ace and wanted to be just like him. He was so happy that his boss had been mentoring him for the past couple of years and left him in charge while he was gone. It showed him that Ace trusted him. And since Ace got together with Rosalee, he was slowly being given more responsibility, not to mention the nice pay raise he received.

Two weeks later, Ace was in a meeting with a client when Rosalee came rushing in and ran straight to his private bathroom. He watched as she ran in and shut the door, and what he was saying to the client was cut off in mid-sentence. He stood up and stared at the closed bathroom door. Never had she ever done anything like this before when he was with a client, and he was worried.

“Mr. Thatcher, is something wrong with your assistant?”

“I don’t know, but I should go check on her.”

“Yes, you should. Why don’t I go, and you can call me back, and we will reschedule.”

“Mr. Carrie, that would be best, and I’m really sorry about this. We’ll be in touch real soon, and once again, I’m terribly sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, I just hope the young lady’s okay.”

When the client was gone, he went over to the bathroom and knocked on the door and called out. “Rosalee, are you okay?” Without waiting for her to answer, he opened the door and walked in after he heard her throwing up.

“I’m okay now, and I’m so terribly sorry for barging in like that. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the other bathroom.”

He went over and helped her up, handing her a towel. He waited for her to rinse out her mouth before telling her what he hoped was the reason for her getting sick. A big grin appeared on his face. “You’re pregnant. I told you that you were that first night I made love to you in Texas.”

“You don’t know that’s what it is. I might just be coming down with the flu, or maybe it was something I ate.”

He cupped her face in the palms of his hands and stared into her eyes. “I told you that night I put a baby inside you, and I know that’s what it is. I am so happy I could shout it from the rooftop.”

“Well, don’t go doing that until we find out for sure.”

“Oh, baby, I’m sure,” he said and gave her a big and passionate kiss. “I love you so much. If you’re not feeling good, I’ll take you home, and we can stop on the way and pick up a pregnancy test, and that will prove to you once and for all that I’m right.”

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough, but there’s no need for me to go home. I’m fine, and we have a lot of work to do. I also have to call Mr. Carrie and apologize for interrupting his meeting with you, and I’ll set up another appointment for him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, now let me get back to work.”

He was sitting behind his desk and couldn’t wait for the day to end, so they could stop and pick up a pregnancy test. He didn’t think his life could get any better than this; he had the sweetest girl in the world, and he would soon be a father. He also made a promise to himself that he would be a better father than his father was to him. Knowing it was close to lunchtime, he wanted to make sure she ate, so he ordered some food in and figured they could eat lunch together in his office.

Half an hour later, she walked into his office carrying a large bag and set it down on his desk in front of him. “Ace, what in the world have you done?”

He looked at the bag and then up at her and smiled. “I knew we didn’t have time to go out for lunch, so I ordered some in.”

“But why so much?”

“Well, you’re eating for two now, and I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got a little bit of everything. I made sure to get a lot of healthy stuff too, like some fruits and vegetables.”

She shook her head and sat down. “We don’t even know if I’m pregnant yet, and there’s no way I could eat all of this, or I will be as big as a barn. A salad and a piece of fruit would have been plenty.”

“Fruit and salad? Oh, sweetheart, that’s not enough, you need something more fulfilling.”

“I’ll eat a little bit of this,” she said, pulling out the pasta and the strawberries. “So you can either eat the rest of it yourself or give it to one of the other employees because I am not eating everything in this bag.” He looked so adorable and was being so sweet, and there was no way she could be angry with him. And the truth was, she was really hoping he was right and that she was pregnant.

By the end of the day, she was starting to feel a little bit tired. But it wasn’t because she might be pregnant; it was because the night before, Ace was so super horny, and they had a very long and passionate night of lovemaking.

On the drive home, he stopped at the drugstore. “Let’s go in and get one of those pregnancy tests,” he said as he turned off the engine.

“Would you mind going in and getting it? I’m tired, and it’s been a long day.”

“Okay, you just wait here, and I won’t be gone long.” He went into the store and looked at all of the pregnancy tests, and the one that caught his eye was the clear view one. On the package, it said it could tell how many days pregnant, so that’s the one he chose. He also looked at the books that were in the one section and picked out every single book that had to do with pregnancy and babies. He carried everything up to the cashier and placed it on the counter for the woman to ring up.

“Oh my, someone is going to be prepared.”

He gave the cashier a big smile and a wink. “You bet I am.”

When he got back to the car, and she saw the large bag, she took it from him to see what all was inside. “Oh my God, what’s with all the books?”

“Hey, I’m excited, and I wanted to read up on everything. I need to know what you and your body are going through and how to help you through your pregnancy. I also want to know what to do when the baby’s born and how I can help you. Damn, I should have looked for books on baby furniture and what we will need for him or her.”

She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “I’m glad you want to be involved in every single step, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up in case I’m not pregnant.”

“You are,” he said, winking at her.

As soon as they got home, he insisted that she go upstairs and take the test right away. “Go up, and while you’re taking the test, I’ll bring you up some juice and crackers.”

"Crackers?"

“Yes, crackers. I heard they’re good to help settle your stomach. I should have gotten them earlier when you were sick, but I never thought of it then, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you silly man,” she said, taking the test from his hand. She headed upstairs. When she was upstairs, she went into their bathroom and took the test. She was actually excited to find out if he was right. After taking the test and waiting for the results, she heard Ace entering the bedroom. She went out just as he placed the tray of juice and crackers down on the bedside table. “You really are sweet, and if you keep doing this, you are going to spoil me.”

“I plan on spoiling you rotten.”

“Even if I’m not pregnant?”

“You are.”

“Well, you are so sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” he said, smiling back at her. “When do you get the results?”

“Another couple of minutes.”

“Go check it now and bring it out. I want to see it.”

She went back into the bathroom and took a look at the results. Wiping it with a tissue, she carried it behind her back as she entered the bedroom. “I’m sorry, it’s negative,” she said with a straight face. But then when she saw him sit on the bed with his head lowered, she felt terrible. Going over, she sat beside him and put her arm over his shoulder. “Oh, please don’t be so sad. I’m just messing with you. It’s positive. You were right. I am pregnant.”

The sadness that gripped his heart when he heard it was negative, he had to sit down. He was so sure she was pregnant, and then when she told him she was messing with him, he looked at her. “How could you do that to me after you know how much I was looking forward to it?”

This was the first time he had ever gotten upset with her. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you were going all crazy, and I know I shouldn’t have done it now. I really didn’t mean to hurt you. Please forgive me.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and lowered her down onto the bed. “There’s nothing to forgive. I guess I was going a little overboard too soon, and I’m sorry I snapped at you. But you are a very naughty girl for teasing me, and for that, I must teach you a lesson.”

She reached up and touched his cheek. “I am sorry for teasing you. That was cruel of me.” She gave him the sweetest smile ever. “We’re having a baby.”

“Yes, we are, and you have made me the happiest man in the world. But if you think for one minute that by giving me that sweet smile of yours and looking at me with those puppy dog eyes, I’m going to forget about your punishment, well, you have another thing coming, lady. I need to teach you a lesson.”

Needless to say, she totally enjoyed him teaching her a lesson. It came along with handcuffs and a blindfold. And later, as they lay in bed together, he was going through the books and pointing out things she should be doing, such as exercise and diet. She just lay there watching and listening to him. Never had she known a man to get so involved in a woman’s pregnancy, but she found it so endearing and loved him for it.

“Oh my goodness, I have to call Eve and tell her the good news.”

He laid the book he was reading down. “You’re going to have to tell your father too.”

She chewed lightly on her bottom lip. “I know, but I think I’m going to wait a few weeks. He still needs to get used to the fact that we’re living together and that you’re my boss at work.”

When she went to get out of bed, he grabbed her hand. “Where are you going?”

“To get my phone. I’ll be right back,” she said as she grabbed his shirt and put it on her naked body.

When she came back, she had her phone and was carrying a couple of bottles of water. He took one from her hand and took a long drink before going back to his book while she made the phone call to her best friend. Even though he was reading the book, he still listened in on some of the conversations and was so happy to hear how thrilled she was at being pregnant. It was an hour later that she finally got off the phone.

“She’s really thrilled about it and told me to say congratulations to you. She also had some good news of her own.”

He turned his head to look at her. “So what’s the good news?”

“Brett is coming home next month, and she has booked an appointment to get married in front of the justice of the peace, and she wants us to be their witness.”

“Now that is good news, and I’m glad he’s okay. So what’s he going to do when he comes back, and he’s out of the army?”

“She was telling me that he had enough money to go in as a partner in a construction company with a buddy of his. And she was also telling me how she was quitting the modeling business.”

“Really, so what is she going to do then?”

“She is opening up her own little business, selling sexy lingerie. With her having been a successful model, she has enough money to do it, plus people know her, and they will flock to her store to buy her product.”

“Well, I’m really happy for her and Brett. They are both good people and deserve all the happiness and success that they get. Some of my projects will involve construction work, so perhaps I could throw some work his way.”

“That would be so nice of you, and I can help out by buying some of those sexy outfits that she’s going to be selling.”

He threw his books on the floor and climbed over the top of her. “I’m willing to pay for every outfit you buy because for sure I’m going to rip most of them from you anyways. But to be honest, I prefer you naked.”

She moved her fingers down his back to his bare ass. “I think I need to be punished some more.”

He smiled down at her, his cock growing hard. “What have you done to deserve punishment?”

“I’m thinking some very naughty thoughts about you, things a lady shouldn’t be. But if you’re too tired from reading all those books, I guess I can just take care of my needs myself.”

“Like hell you will,” he said as he pinned her hands above her head and lowered his mouth onto hers.