24. Ellie

ellie

. . .

I pulled into the parking lot of Gianni’s apartment complex a few minutes before ten. I thought I remembered his unit being over toward the left, so I headed over to that side and looked for a spot.

I snagged one labeled Visitor, put my car in park, and texted him that I’d arrived. He replied right away.

Hey. My flight is delayed an hour. Want to come in?

I groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was spend more time with him. But what choice did I have?

Fine. Which one is yours again?

It’s the last one in the building to the right of the circle drive.

Oh. For some reason, I thought you were on the left.

Nope. On the right.

I moved the car to the other side of the circle drive and found another Visitor spot. As I walked toward his door, I looked around in confusion. This was not how I remembered it. I could have sworn he was in a middle unit over on the other side. But maybe I was recalling it wrong—it had been snowing hard, and I’d been distracted that night for sure.

I knocked on the last door on the right, and he pulled it open. “Hi,” he said, and as always, I found myself slightly out of breath at the sight of him—the combination of those blue eyes and that dark hair always got to me.

And that mouth...would I ever forget the way he kissed me?

“Hi,” I said. Then I noticed what he was wearing. “You’re flying to L.A. in your Pineview Motel sweatshirt?”

He glanced down and chuckled. “It’s my favorite. I’m hoping it brings me luck—like your hedgehog socks.”

“Right.” My eyes traveled over his shoulders and chest, remembering the day he’d bought those shirts for us and how we’d spent the night wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Come in,” he said, pulling the door wider and stepping back.

I entered his apartment, and the first thing I noticed was that the layout was different. The living room was on the wrong side. And there was a staircase ahead of me—that was weird. “Did you move or something?” I asked as he shut the door behind me.

“Yes.”

“No wonder.” I glanced around. “I thought I was—” Then I gasped. Chills blanketed my skin. “Oh my God.”

On the wall to my right were blown-up photographs of Gianni and me—at least a dozen of them of just the two of us, ranging in age from five or six through high school graduation.

In a daze, I moved closer to them, putting a hand over my mouth. My pulse was hammering. “What is this, Gianni?”

He came to stand at my side. “This is us,” he said quietly as my eyes took in each picture.

The first day of school. Standing side by side at our First Communions. Sticky with sunscreen and covered in sand at the beach. Building a snowman in the Lupos’ backyard. Sitting side by side drinking hot chocolate afterward. Awkward with braces (me) and shaggy hair that needed a trim (him) before a middle school dance. His arms around me at high school graduation.

“But—but why?” My voice trembled.

“When I asked you, ‘what about us,’ you said, ‘There is no us. There’s never been an us.’ I wanted to show you it wasn’t true. That there’s always been an us.” He took me gently by the shoulders and turned me to face him. “I’m not going to California, Ellie.”

“You’re not?”

He shook his head.

“Why?”

“Because my job is here. My life is here. My family is here,” he said, and I recognized my words from the day I’d refused his offer to move to Hollywood with him. “ You’re here. I want to be where you are.”

“You do?” Tears filled my eyes.

“Yes. Even before you told me you were pregnant, I could not stop thinking about you. Something about leaving wasn’t sitting right with me, and I didn’t know what it was—but I knew that I was going to miss you and Etoile and working together. I was just too stubborn to admit it. And I was worried you’d laugh at me for thinking there could be more between us.”

“But what about those things you said at the motel? About never wanting to sit still or settle down? About being bored with one person and craving the rush of a new thing? I thought you wanted to go wherever life took you.”

“Stop.” Gianni reached for my hands. “I’ve always believed in following my gut, and in the past, yes—that’s meant moving around, changing things up, looking for that next adventure. But life led me to you, Ell. And my gut is telling me what we have is better than the rush of a new thing. Maybe you and I will be the greatest adventure yet. What do you say?”

The sobs that had been building in my throat all morning finally erupted, and I dropped my chin to my chest and bawled. Gianni gathered me in his arms and rocked me gently, stroking my back.

“Is this a trick?” I sobbed. “Are you going to make me drive you to the airport after this?”

“No.” He laughed softly and hugged me tighter. “No more tricks. This is the real thing, Ellie. I’m here, I’m staying, and I’m yours—if you want me.”

“I want you.” It felt so good to say the words out loud. I looked up at him and said them again. “I want you.”

He crushed his lips to mine, and I threw my arms around his neck, clinging like I’d never let go. Without breaking the kiss, he swept me off my feet and carried me up the stairs and into his bedroom. Gently, he placed me on the bed, then braced himself above me. “Is this okay? I don’t want to hurt you or squash our baby lime. It deserves a chance to become a plum.”

I laughed and kicked off my shoes. “We’re both fine.”

“I’ll be gentle,” he said, but he was already ripping off his sweatshirt and T-shirt, then my sweater and camisole, then wriggling out of his jeans and yanking mine down my legs.

When I was naked under his gaze, I felt a moment of self-consciousness. “My body is already changing. Maybe you can’t tell, but?—”

“Your body is even more gorgeous than it was before,” he said, his hungry eyes traveling over my skin. “Which I didn’t think was possible.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’m serious, Ellie. I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy or what, but I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Like what?”

He looked puzzled for a moment. “It’s this weird combination of wanting to fuck you like an animal and also wanting to build a tower to keep you safe from filthy-minded beasts like me down below.”

Smiling, I reached for his broad, sexy shoulders and pulled him closer. “You are the only beast I’ll let in,” I whispered. “I promise.”

“Do we have to hurry?” he asked, burying his face in my neck and kissing his way down my chest.

“I have to be back at work by one at the latest,” I told him, arching my back as his tongue stroked one hard nipple. “But it’s only ten, right? We have plenty of time.”

“That’s only three hours, Ellie.” He switched his mouth to my other breast. “And there are so many delicious places on your body that I’ve missed.”

“Well, guess what?”

“Hm?” He filled his palms with my tender breasts, teasing the tightened peaks with his thumbs, and I slid my hands into his thick, dark hair.

“We can always come back after work tonight.”

He picked up his head. “Would you? Come back and stay the night with me? Not because you have to because there’s a blizzard or my car is dead, but because you want to?”

“Gianni, sweetheart.” I tightened my hands in his hair so hard he winced. “Your car was never dead.”

He laughed as he moved down my body, pushed my knees apart and settled between my thighs. “I’ll make it up to you,” he said, giving me one, slow stroke up my center. “For three hours straight.”

He definitely didn’t last three hours, but he did go slow, using his mouth and his fingers and then his cock, both of us moaning with pleasure as he slid inside me completely bare. “Oh God,” he whispered. “I forgot how good this feels. No wonder we didn’t stop in time at the motel.”

“We don’t have to worry about that anymore,” I said, rocking my hips beneath his. “At least not for a while.”

“Good.” He moved deeper inside me. “Because I never want this to end.”

“So wait a minute,” I said. “You’ve known for how long that you weren’t going to leave?”

“Six days.”

I picked up my head from his bare chest and looked down at him with my most menacing glare. “Six days? You let me walk around miserable and sad and pining for you for six days?”

“I didn’t know you were pining for me,” he said, pulling me close to him again. “You just kept pushing me away and telling me to leave.”

“That’s because I was scared.” I snuggled up against his side again, breathing him in. “I didn’t think you wanted me like I wanted you.”

“I did. I just didn’t know how to get you to believe it.”

“You nailed it today.” I kissed his chest.

“I had help,” he confessed.

“From who?”

“Your favorite person—my dad.”

I laughed. “You’re my favorite person right now. But I do like your dad. And your mom.”

“They both adore you.” He paused. “I also told your parents.”

I sat up again. “You did?”

“Yes. I had to tell them because I want to keep the job at Etoile. Which I love, by the way. The minute I quit the show, I was relieved. It was so obviously the right decision.”

“We could do some cool things together,” I said.

“We could. Starting with the cover of Tastemaker magazine.”

“What?” My jaw hung open. “What are you talking about?”

“I reached out to Fiona Duff and pitched a story about the two of us. I had to spill the beans about the baby—I swore her to secrecy—but she absolutely loved the idea of a power couple cover. We’ll shoot it next week, if you say yes.”

“Yes,” I said, laughing. “But it’s so annoying the way you can just talk people into anything.”

“Well, I also had to agree to let her daughter design and sell merch for me for her economics class project.” He exhaled. “I’ll probably regret it, but soon you will be able to purchase a Too Hot to Handle hot pad with my face on it.”

“Serves you right.” I thumped his chest. “But speaking of classes, what would you think about some cooking classes at Etoile?”

“Kids or adults?”

“I was thinking adults, like as part of a weekend package, but you know what? Kids’ classes would be fun too! Like in the summertime? You’d be so great at that.”

“I don’t know anything about kids. Except how to act like one. You think I’d be good with them?”

I laughed. “Yes, I do. I think it will come naturally to you. By the way, my mother confirmed what you told me—that it was you who carried me into the house after I bloodied my knees.”

His grin was smug. “Told you.”

“I was wrong. But I’m right about you being great with kids. What do you think?”

He put his hands behind his head. “Yeah. I like that idea. Let’s do it.”

“I’ll talk to Winnie and we can start planning.” I started to get out of bed, and he grabbed my arm.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“To work! It’s, like, noon , Gianni. We can’t stay in bed all day.” Although looking at him, lying there naked and tousled and giving me that look, it was tempting.

“Five more minutes?”

I gave in and let him pull me back into bed next to him. “Okay. Five more minutes. But in exchange, you have to promise me you’re not going to keep big secrets anymore.”

“This wasn’t really a secret—it was more like a surprise. And I love surprises.”

I groaned as I snuggled up to him once more. “I feel like that does not bode well for me.”

“They will all be good. I promise.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “All I want to do is be good to you.”

“Oh! I almost forgot! I have something for you.” We were just about to leave his apartment and head to Abelard when Gianni tugged on my arm. “Come sit on the couch.”

“Gianni, I’m already late,” I said impatiently. “I gave you five more minutes, which turned into twenty.”

“Please just sit,” he cajoled. “One minute, I promise.”

Sighing with exasperation, I let him pull me over to the couch and sat down. “I don’t know why I keep believing your promises, but okay.”

“Close your eyes.”

I did as he asked, and a moment later, he placed something in my lap.

“Okay, you can look.”

I opened my eyes and saw a rectangular package clumsily wrapped in red and green paper that said Happy Holidays on it. I started to laugh. “Christmas paper?”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry. It was all I had.”

“It’s okay.” Carefully, I slid my fingers beneath the tape and peeled away the paper. Then I gasped. “Oh my God!”

It was a photo frame with the ultrasound picture inside it. On the wide white matting beneath the picture was written love at first sight in lowercase cursive letters.

“It’s our baby,” he said proudly, as if I might have thought he’d stuck some stranger’s ultrasound in the frame.

“I can see that. It’s adorable.” I looked at it for a moment, then hugged it to my chest and looked up at him with misty eyes. “I love it. Our baby’s first photo.”

“I got it at Target,” he said. “And I almost bought a ton more stuff. I’ve never even been down those aisles before. They’ve got everything for babies. It’s crazy!”

“It is.” I stood up and hugged him. “I’m sure we’ll be spending a lot of time and money there, but this is the first baby gift I’ve gotten. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head. “It’s the first of many. I want to give you everything.”

And even though I was in a hurry and would probably be a little late for my first tasting, I stayed right where I was, in his arms, chest to chest, our baby cradled between us.

It felt like home.