Chapter Twenty-Six
Max
A few days after Thanksgiving, I had gotten a surprise phone call from Jade’s sister, Sapphire. She and her mother were planning a baby shower and wanted to know my schedule to ensure I’d be there. When I gave her the one weekend that I could swing a trip back home, you could hear crickets filtering over the phone line.
“Okay, we’ll make it work,” she finally said before asking for my mother’s number and informing me that my only job was to get Jade there on time.
So now the shower weekend had arrived, and I’d be in New York for three days. During those seventy-two hours, besides Jade’s shower, I had to get all my personnel changes at the gym signed off on and implemented, and Jade and I would be celebrating our Christmas early, since I wouldn’t be here for the actual holiday.
I was excited to see Jade, but leaving Mia crushed me. Since her birth, I’d seen her every day for the past three weeks. The first days of a baby’s life could be very intimidating. What I hadn’t been prepared for was the bonding that occurred with my daughter despite my insecurities over being a father.
My own father had set the bar pretty damn high. He was an amazing dad to the three of us, and I had no confidence I could live up to that role.
Granted, a baby didn’t care if you struggled to fasten a diaper or worried that burp wasn’t coming. They just existed and depended on you to do so, all while staring in your eyes and melting your heart. But at what age would Mia realize I wasn’t there for her every day? When would it hit my daughter’s conscience that her father had to split his time, and when it did, would she resent me?
As much as I struggled with disappointing my daughter, I looked forward to spending the same quality time with my son. I already cleared my schedule the entire month of March, planning to spend every minute of it with Jade and the baby. Would Mia realize I wasn’t there?
And once April came, when both my kids would have my heart, I had no fucking clue how I was going to navigate my life.
In a perfect world, I’d be moving Jade into my Miami apartment next month, she and my son would live in Florida, and I would make a quick trip back north every six or so months, avoiding winter.
But everyone knew there was no such thing as a perfect world.
I traveled straight from the airport to my apartment. The frigid temperatures and annoying holiday traffic made being back oh so fun. Amy needed their apartment for baby shower prep, so I had to make up a story about an important delivery I expected to get Jade to stay at my place while I flew home. Once I landed, I feigned annoyance when she confirmed the delivery I lied about never came.
It was after eleven p.m. by the time I got home, finding Jade asleep on my couch, wearing a tight yellow T-shirt that molded over that sexy belly and light gray sweatpants. Her hair was pulled up, and a few wispy layers fell loose to frame her face.
When I leaned down to kiss her cheek, I could smell the vanilla that I knew came from the lotion she used, mixed with the scent of citrus that I knew came from the body wash in my shower.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled sleepily. “Hi.”
“Sorry, it’s so late.”
“No worries. I had a nice nap, and I’m feeling very relaxed.” I held her face and kissed her softly. That didn’t last long when our mouths immediately jumped into their familiar reaction. Her fingers gripped my wrists in a desperate hold until she pulled away with a smile, breaking our connection. “You must be exhausted.”
“No, I’m good.” No sooner had I lifted her enough to settle on the couch with her head on my lap when her cell buzzed with a text, and then a second buzz, a third, a fourth, and finally a fifth. “Someone is trying to reach you.”
Jade reached for her phone and groaned as she read what appeared on her phone. “Amy.”
“Everything okay?”
She flipped it to reveal the five texts.
I knew this was a lie.
“She’s too much,” Jade said.
“If you ask me, she’s brilliant.” After she resumed her position on my lap, I ran my fingers through her ponytail. Reaching for her hand, I entwined our fingers and rested them on her belly. “And we owe her for signing you up for that contest and my brother for rigging it.”
“Yeah, let’s not tell them that, though.”
“Amy and Brad may have connected us, but it was most definitely the universe that had you crashing into my life that night.”
“Oh yeah. Was getting pregnant because of faulty condoms part of the universe’s grand plan, too?” she teased. Then she suddenly sucked in a quick breath while sliding our hands across her belly and repositioning mine beneath hers.
“What’s wrong?”
“The baby kicked. I’ve felt flutters before, but this was a definite kick.” Sure enough, a subtle nudge pressed against my palm. “See? Did you feel that?”
“I did!” It was amazing, profound.
The way Jade’s eyes shimmered with emotion and her smile lit up her face stole my breath. Just before our lips touched, she gasped, and another tiny nudge once again hit the center of my palm.
“This is amazing.” I spread both palms over her bump, waiting anxiously for it to happen again and knowing I’d never forget this moment.
While I busily kept moving my hands over her belly to capture another kick, she said, “I had another very vivid dream.”
“Was this one a sex dream?” I asked before giving her a wink. At her eye roll, I chuckled. “Okay, tell me about this new dream.”
“We were in your apartment having dinner. Through the monitor, we heard the baby crying.” I loved that she subconsciously had us in my apartment having dinner. “You kissed me and said, ‘Sounds like Michael’s up,’ before walking down the hall.”
Since we hadn’t discussed names yet, hearing her offering to name him after my father caused my throat to tighten with emotion. I immediately envisioned my father grinning at me, my mother tearing up, and it warmed my heart. “Michael, huh?”
“Yeah. I guess now that we know we’re having a boy something is telling me to name him after your dad. I kind of like it.” While my eyes shimmered with emotion, hers sparkled with excitement. “What do you think?”
“I think I love you so much.” I took yet another opportunity to lean closer and kiss her soft parted lips. “That would mean so much to me. Thank you. We can use your dad’s name as his middle if you want.”
“I love that idea.” Her lids slowly closed and reopened with a sense of calm. “He will, too.”
“Baby, are you awake?” I ran my fingertip back and forth across her parted lips while my other hand resting on her ass caressed the warm skin of her thigh.
She snuggled closer to me and hummed contentedly. If it weren’t for this damn baby shower today, we’d spend the entire day lounging lazily in bed. Then again, if it weren’t for this damn baby shower today, I probably would’ve still been in Miami.
The sound of my phone buzzing with an incoming text served as a nudge to try harder. I snatched it off the nightstand to discreetly read the text and released an audible sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Jade asked, her voice groggy from sleep.
“Oh, um.” Think. “It’s Arlene reminding me of some health benefit brunch I committed to,” I lied. “I forgot all about it.”
“Today? It’s Sunday. Where?”
“Uptown…and there’s no way around skipping it.”
“Okay. I thought we’d relax, since you’re probably exhausted and we only have two days together, but I’ll be here when you get back.” She stretched and yawned. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine hanging out in bed all day. I did all my paperwork yesterday.”
“You can’t!” The look of confusion on her face prompted me to lower my voice and add, “Um…you need to come with me.”
“What? Why?”
Shit, this surprise baby shower thing was hard. “Because…I want you to?”
“Max, that involves shaving my legs, parts of which I can’t see very well thanks to my belly…and putting on makeup…blowing out my hair—”
“I’ll help you.” I lifted her so quickly she gasped in shock.
“What are you doing?”
“We don’t have much time.”
I placed her down, removed my Miami U T-shirt that she threw on after we made love, and deposited her into a warm, steamy shower. Without hesitation, I followed in behind and immediately began to wash her hair. The only reason she didn’t object—guessing by her moans—was because it felt damn good. But when I moved on to wash every inch of her body, she started to get handsy with me. Somehow, I managed to keep to my task, even as her hands gripped my cock and starting pumping.
It was only when she began nibbling on my neck that the washcloth I held over her breasts halted. “You’re driving me crazy,” I growled.
“Good.” She bit on my earlobe, making her way to other parts of me.
“I have a better idea.” I reached for something behind her, dropped to my knees, and said, “Put your foot on my knee.” A spicy grin spread over her lips when she met my eyes and palmed the wall to stay upright. “Close your eyes,” I demanded. She did as she was told, until the scraping of my razor up the front of her leg caused them to fly open.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh. Stay still.” She gawked as I gingerly shaved first one leg and then the other. Motioning to her crotch with the razor, I looked up with hooded eyes and swallowed. “Spread…”
“No way.”
After thinking better of it, I stood and nodded. “You’re right. It’s too slippery in here. I don’t want you falling.” Shutting the water, I grabbed a thick towel to cocoon her with and carried her out to the bed. “Don’t move.”
“Max. What the hell is happening?”
Seconds later, I was back with shaving cream and the razor. “You said you couldn’t see some parts. I’m helping you,” I informed her with a wink.
“No!” The panic in her voice went ignored as I forced her legs open and began prepping her with a thin layer of shaving cream. Flinching from the chilly foam, any discomfort vanished when I used my fingers to spread her gently while carefully shaving her most private part. Meanwhile, the fucker between my legs made it hard to concentrate.
“Oh…” she said on a sigh, laying back and conceding by spreading her knees farther apart. Her mewls and moans drove me nuts, making this act one of the most erotic things I’d ever done to a woman.
Once I wiped her clean, she lifted her head to meet my gaze. I tried to hide my torture while scrubbing a hand over my face.
“I don’t know why that just happened, but you’ve worked me up and…”
“Hold that thought.” Like a man possessed, I scurried to her bag, pulling out undergarments, and then to my closet to grab the pink sweater dress I had purchased for her at the maternity store and laid it on the bed along with the other items. “Ready for me to do your makeup?”
“I’ll do it,” she grumbled, climbing off the bed while clutching the towel.
“Okay, hurry, though…or…or we won’t get a good table.”