Page 54 of Beauty and the Bosshole
Did I hear her right? Did she just say she wants to try for a baby?
Now?
When I fell for her, I knew she was going to be the mother of my children; I just didn't expect it so soon. A million thoughts race through my head to the point that I'm not sure how much time has passed.
Her laughter pulls me back out of my head.
“Baby, I'm kidding. I just wanted to see your reaction,” she says with a huge smile.
Why do I have this instant feeling of loss now? I know I need to say something, so I say the truth.
“I want nothing more than to have kids and a family with you, but I always thought we'd have a little bit of time to ourselves first, where I can have your full, complete attention to myself,” I tell her, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
I'm not sure what her reaction is going to be, but as she melts into my arms and looks up at me, her eyes softening, I know that we're on the same page, at least for now.
“I'd like that, but you need to take me on an actual honeymoon. Here, in Vegas, doesn't count,” she says with a smile.
I have to get home to the office and get things moving with solar-powered batteries, but after work, having another trip and more alone time with her sounds very appealing right now.
“Anywhere you want to go. We'll go home and get these solar-powered battery contracts taken care of, and then I will take you anywhere your heart desires.” I kiss the tip of her nose.
“Well, what I really want right now is to take your mom out to dinner to say thank you and celebrate. She didn't get to celebrate our wedding with us, and she was willing to put on a whole other wedding, but when I said that's not what I wanted, she backed off so gracefully. I want to take her to dinner to thank her and give her the celebration that she wants. Plus, we're in Vegas, and I'd like to see a bit more of it. And, I need a reason to buy and wear that silver dress I saw downstairs earlier.” She gives me a flirtatious wink, and even though I would prefer nothing more than to stay locked in this room all night and keep her in my bed, I know this is her first time in Vegas and she's excited to actually see more than what we have.
Plus, I'm pretty sure her cat has been plotting my death for the last few hours, judging by the way that he's staring at me, so maybe a little distance will be a good thing for the two of us.
“Why don't you call downstairs and have them deliver the dress to the room? Then I will go invite Mom to dinner. I know exactly where I'm taking you,” I tell her with a smile. Judging by the gleam in her eyes, that's exactly the right thing to say.
Just over an hour later, my limousine pulls up in front of one of my favorite steakhouses in Las Vegas.
“How did you get last-minute reservations here? I've heard it's booked out for at least two years,” Ava gasps when she sees where we are.
“Sweetheart, when you are married to my son, there will be no waitlists for anything,” my mom says before she steps out of the limo.
She's not wrong. Just the mention of my name and this place was falling over backward to get me a table for tonight.
“Places like this leave a couple of tables open for people like me who don’t have time to make reservations two years in advance. They want me to be seen eating here because it makes it even more exclusive and justifies the two-year wait for everyone else,” I tell Ava as I help her out of the limo.
She shakes her head and smiles. “Still a lot to learn about your world,” she admits, but the smile never leaves her face as we enter the building.
The maître d' greets us right away, and since this meal is about the women, not me, he pays them attention on the way to the table.
He pulls out my mother's chair as I pull out Ava's. My mom and Ava talk about Ava’s new dress, and I sit back and watch. I’m enjoying this relationship forming between the two most important women in my life.
Both of them try something from the drink menu, and I decide to just have a glass of water, figuring someone will need to keep an eye on the two of them.
By the time we finish another first-class dinner, my mom and Ava are pretty drunk.
“Ooh, can we go to that store your mom was telling me about? It's right on the strip, and I'm pretty sure we pass it on the way back to the hotel.” Ava giggles as we get into the limo.
“Anything you want, love. Just tell the driver where to go,” I tell her and help her buckle her seatbelt.
My mom drunkenly pulls up something on her phone, shows it to the driver, and we are off. Just as we pull into traffic, my mom breaks open the mini bar in the limo, and both girls have another drink.
I just sit back and enjoy the smiles on their faces. Seeing Ava so happy and carefree means the world to me, and I hope that I can give her this as often as possible.
“Here we are. I'm telling you, you're going to love this place,” my mom gushes as we pull up to one of the hotels housing many shops inside. I let my mom lead the way since it could be any or all of the stores inside. Who knows with Mom.
We end up at one of those little boutiques that sells a little bit of everything, from jewelry to handbags and even cat items. As they start shopping, I head over to the salesgirl at the counter.