“Dada,” Jayden surprised them by saying.

  “Did he just say ‘Dada’?” Carole stared at her son incredulously.

  “Dada!” he exclaimed again and had the others following him until there was a litany of ‘Dadas’ sounding around the room.

  “Yes, this is your Dada.” Walter blinked as he bent to kiss them each on the forehead.

  “Typical,” Carole said huskily as she crawled into her husband’s lap. “I do all the work and you get the first words.”

  “I'm sure ‘Mama’ is coming up next,” he told her softly.

  “Mama,” Brianna repeated.

  “What did I tell you?” he said with a grin as he bent and kissed his wife on the lips. “I'm sorry too baby.”

  *********

  “You don’t have to talk about it,” he told her quietly as they got ready for bed later that night. They had stayed in the playroom and had fun with the children as they tried to build a tower with the building blocks.

  “I want to. No secrets, remember?” Carole asked as she rubbed cream over her thighs. She smiled as she watched his eyes following her movements. “Mama came into the room last night and asked where you were.”

  “And you told her that I was at the club and she jumped to the conclusion that I was stepping out on you,” he deduced. He'd just taken a shower and his black hair was still damp. He was only wearing a towel wrapped around his narrow waist. Her eyes followed the v his hair formed that disappeared into the towel before looking into his dark grey eyes.

  “Right,” she said sheepishly. “I told her right away that I have every confidence in you but the minute she left the room, my insecurities took over. I found myself thinking up all kinds of scenarios with you and some beautiful blonde draped all over you and telling myself that I was not as beautiful as the women you're used to.”

  “Blonde?” His eyebrows rose as he came to kneel before her. He took the bottle from her and squeezed some of the cream into his palm. She stretched her legs out and sighed as he started rubbing the cream into her skin. “I'm not much into blondes. Brunettes are more my thing,” he told her with an impish grin.

  She used her toes to poke him and he winced.

  “You know me baby,” he told her soberly. “You know that I would never look at another woman. It's been that way since I met you.”

  “I know,” she sighed and stretched. “I just keep asking myself why me though? Why, of all those beautiful rich society girls, you chose me?”

  “My heart chose you.” He put away the bottle and spread her thighs. “Now I want us to stop talking about it and I want you to promise me that we're not going to go through that again.”

  “I promise. Wait, what are you doing?” she gasped.

  “What does it look like?” he asked her silkily.

  “Walter—” she stopped and let out a keening cry, her body sagging backwards. He had her feet up on his muscled shoulders and he was using his fingers to wipe the cream around the edge of her mound. “Oh God!” her hands clenched into fists as he circled her mound slowly, rubbing the cream into her soft flesh. “I can’t.”

  Without a word he bent his head and replaced his fingers with his tongue. She came immediately, her body shuddering uncontrollably.

  *****

  “My husband does not like surprises but I've decided to celebrate his birthday this way this year,” Carole told Leesa and Kelly with a grin. She'd enlisted their help in putting on the party at the club where he was a member. It was December the tenth and it had fallen on a Saturday, which was perfect. She'd gone through the contact list that she had gotten from his secretary and sent out the invitations. She had also asked Brad to get him to come to the club for a birthday drink before going home where she had told him that they would be going out for dinner. “Okay we have the cake: dark chocolate. That man goes crazy for chocolate!”

  “And the wine is complimentary from the club. Pinot Grigio. Diana will be performing and the food is taken care of,” Leesa ticked off her list. “Oh, this is so exciting!” she said, throwing up her hands in the air.

  “Lee you get excited as long as something indicates party!” Kelly said with a grin.

  “That’s true, darling. Okay, let’s finish making the arrangements.”

  *****

  “I thought we were going for drinks at the club?” Walter asked as Brad turned into one of his apartment buildings.

  “We are but I want to show you something. I've been thinking about posting these new apartments on something like Craig’s list and trying to get some college students to show some interest.”

  “Okay.” He looked at his friend for a moment and then looked up at the sweeping curves of the simple but modern looking apartment buildings. “Looks good from here.”

  *****

  Leesa put away her phone. “He's five minutes away. Brad just sent me the signal. Okay everybody, places!” she said clapping her hands.

  They waited in the large conference room which had been decorated in light blues and grays. As soon as they came to the door it sprang open and the shout of ‘Surprise!” sounded in the room as the lights went on.

  *****

  “What the—” Walter placed his hand over his heart as he stared around the room at the familiar faces.

  “Happy birthday darling,” his wife, looking radiantly beautiful in a silver grey dress that molded her body to perfection came forward with a smile on her face.

  “Darling, you did this?” he asked with brows raised.

  “Along with Leesa and Kelly, and of course Brad and the rest,” she told him.

  He looked over to where his friend was looking at him with a wicked smile on his face. “I owe you one,” he told the man dryly.

  “Happy birthday man,” Brad lifted his glass in a toast.

  “Come on baby, we have a whole exciting night planned for you. But first this.” She turned in his arms and met his lips with hers, the kiss potent and languorous and promising something much more to come.

  Chapter 8

  Carole took the red glittering ball away from her son Jayden and hung it on the tree. “Here you go sweetie, doesn’t it look pretty? Yes it does.” She stepped back to admire the tree and figured that it needed something else. The other children were tottering around and playing with their toys and the box of decorations lying on the floor. It was two weeks before Christmas and she had gotten one of the hugest trees in the lot. It towered towards the high arched ceiling of the large living room and the pine scent of it was accentuated by the cheerful fire in the hearth. Both nannies were there as well keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they didn't venture too close to the fireplace even though there were railings there. It was late afternoon on a Thursday and the weather was icy. Carole had had stockings made for all four children and they hung from hooks along the mantel.

  “I think some people are ready for their baths,” Mavis said as she bent to pick up both girls.

  “Mavis, let me help,” Lola protested.

  “You get the two boys and let Miss Carole finish decorating,” Mavis suggested.

  “Oh, I can stop for a little bit and help out.” Carole told them.

  “No Miss Carole, we can manage,” Lola said with a smile as she took Jayden from her. “And besides, both Sara and Miss Cynthia will be up shortly.”

  “Thank you.” Carole kissed each child and watched as they were taken from the room before she went back to her decorating. She reached for a sparkling green thistle to hang on the tree when a memory flashed into her mind with piercing clarity.

  It had been the Christmas before her dad left them and she had crept down from her room to sit beneath the tree to stare at it. She had her raggedy Ann doll with her that she always slept with and had sat there with her thumb in her mouth staring at the lights and decorations and wishing that somehow Santa Claus would come while she was there. It was then that she'd heard the whispered arguments coming from down the hallway. Her father had come home late as usual, the way he did on Fridays and she remembered asking her mother why he was always home so late.

  “Your daughter asked me why you were so late and I had no idea what to say to her!” her mother had hissed.

  “I'm at church tending to the needs of others,” he had said to her in his quiet, deep voice.

  “You expect me to believe that? You're late every Friday Godfrey! What kind of needs are you tending to every Friday? I'm here alone with our daughter. What if something happens to us?”

  “We believe in a God who is capable of protecting us. Even if I am here and something happens I wouldn't be able to protect you and our daughter the way he can.”

  “Who is she Godfrey?”

  “What?”

  “Who is this woman who takes you away from your wife and daughter?”

  “I don’t know what you're talking about,” he had said impatiently.

  “You're seeing someone else and I want you to be man enough to tell me the truth. Who is she?”

  “Go to bed Cynthia,” his voice had sounded tired. “You're imagining things.”

  “You smell like cheap perfume!” she had cried. “I wear one brand and I always have. You cheating bastard!”

  It was at that moment that Carole had crept from the living room and into the hallway.

  “Baby girl what are you doing up?” her father had asked her, scooping her into his arms.

  “Are you and Mommy fighting?” she'd asked in a wobbly voice.

  “We're just talking baby girl. Let’s get you back to bed.” He had taken her back to her bedroom and had sung to her in that deep haunting voice of his.

  She was so absorbed in the painful memories that she didn't hear her husband come in. She jumped as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

  “For a woman who is decorating what appears to be a very colorful tree you don’t look too happy,” he said lightly. “What’s up?”

  She turned to face him and smiled up at him, her misery evaporating. “I didn't know you were home.”

  “You were too wrapped in whatever it was you had going on.” He stared down at her quizzically. “Care to share?”

  “My past.” She plucked at the dark grey jacket that brought out the color of his eyes. He was so handsome, she thought with a pang.

  He brought his hands up to frame her face. He'd spoken to her earlier that day about making plans for the holidays and had thought she sounded a little wistful. “I'm not going to tell you to forget your past or whatever it was that had you looking the way you did. All I can say to you is that it will get better.”

  “We were actually made for each other,” she whispered.

  “I'm not disagreeing with you, but why?”

  “My dad created a lot of problems in my life and so did yours.”

  His lashes came down and shielded his eyes for a moment. “True.”

  “You never speak about him.”

  “Nothing much to say.”

  “We promised each other transparency in our marriage,” she reminded him.

  “That much is true.” He smiled a little grimly. “Some stories are better left untold.”

  “When things are brought out in the open it clears the air. You're a dad now and it might make you understand what he did and what mine did to me and my mom,” she said softly.

  He released her and went to the cabinet built into the wall and poured himself a drink before going over to the mantle to stare down into the mesmerizing flames. “He was a womanizer and a gambler, two deadly combinations. He married my mother as a business arrangement. She was beautiful and looked good on his arm. He never let her forget it. On the outside they were the perfect couple: rich and beautiful and said all the right things, moved in the right circles. But here at the manor they were as cold and uncaring as two strangers forced to live together. My mother tried but he wasn't interested and after a while it broke her. She tried for my sake because she loved me but I could see the effort it took her. She didn't notice that I was watching her and I could see the misery on her face. Of course I heard them arguing all the time. The entire staff knew that they couldn't get along and I was pitied. I hated it. And I hated him because I knew it was his fault. I had everything a kid could want and yet I wasn't happy.” He downed the drink in one gulp and she saw his hand tighten around the glass. He turned to look at her. “I wanted to kill him. I wished him dead every single day that my mother looked as if she was giving up.”

  Carole came towards him and wrapped her hands around his waist. “You're not like him and I am not like my dad or my mother. Look at me please.” When he did she continued, “We are in love with each other and we love our children. It's not going to change.” She saw when the hardness cleared from his face.

  “You believe that?”

  “I know that.” She brought his head down to hers. “It’s over and you're right.”

  “About what?”

  “About it getting better. I feel better and I feel safe and wonderful in your arms.”

  “Ditto,” he whispered as his head descended to hers. “Is there any chance of anyone coming down here for the rest of the night?”

  “Why?”

  He stepped back and pulled the sweater over her head before unhooking her bra and letting them fall to the floor. “I was thinking of making love to you in front of the fire.”

  “What a marvelous idea,” she said huskily as she helped him out of his clothes.

  ******

  “Mom are you okay?” Walter looked at his mother quizzically as he unfolded the snowy white napkin and placed it on his lap. His father had insisted on his education being well rounded so he was taught how to sit both at a table for two and for two hundred. He'd been taught how to use the right cutlery when all he wanted to do was to go out and play some ball or climb a tree or even sit by the pool and be left alone.

  “You haven't called me ‘Mom’ since you were twelve years old,” Barbara said whimsically as she sipped her wine. He had called her and invited her to lunch at their favorite restaurant near his office and she'd accepted gladly.

  “Yeah well,” he dug into his garden salad and then looked at her. “I know that I haven't spent a lot of time with you lately. The kids and work keep me pretty busy.”

  “They're lovely kids. I saw in the papers that they're being called the ‘quaint and beautiful quadruplets.’ I'm not sure I would use the word quaint for my grandchildren but not a lot of words start with the letter q,” she said with a smile.

  “You're right,” Walter said in amusement. “How are you?”

  “I'm fine darling why do you ask?”

  “I never spoke to you about dad,” he said quietly. After making love to his wife last night and carrying her up to their suite he had spent some time thinking about his past.

  “What’s there to talk about?” she busied herself cutting into the veal she had ordered and avoided his eyes.

  “The way he treated you.”

  “Darling that’s all in the past. You have no need to worry about it.”

  “I'm not worried. I just want to talk.” His grey eyes probed hers. “Why did you stay?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” she shrugged elegantly. “We had an arrangement and I knew that when we got married. And besides, I had you.”

  “Was it enough?”

  “Darling what a question! Of course it was!” She reached across their table to touch his hand. “You were the best thing that came out of that mess.”

  “He flaunted his women before you and came in whenever he wanted to and you never said anything to him. I want to know why.” Walter’s tone was cold as he stared at her.

  She removed her hand and ran it down the length of her wine glass. “When he chose me over my sister he told me the facts: it was just business. He needed an heir and someone to grace his arm when he went out publicly and aside from that we needed to live separate lives. It was fine at first. Until he made it clear that even though he got his pleasures elsewhere it was not to be the same for me. He had his lawyer set up a contract stating that if I stepped out even once he would kick me out and I would never see you or a penny of his money again.”

  Walter felt the anger and distaste clouding his vision. “And you agreed.”

  “I had to!” she cried softly “I didn't want to lose you. I had no choice.”

  “There is always a choice, Mother,” he told her coldly. He pushed away his meal feeling his appetite deserting him. He'd told Carole that they needed to let go of their past in order to concentrate on their future but it wasn't easy to do.

  “You're a father now Walter. Tell me: is there anything you wouldn't do for your children? Anything at all?”

  He stared at her for a moment and then into his wine as he thought about his two sons and two daughters. A smile curved his lips slightly as he remembered at breakfast when Jayden had reached over to take something from Jordan’s tray and when Brianna spoke to Arianna in their unintelligible way. He loved watching them play together and he knew that he would move heaven and earth to make sure they were safe. He looked over at his mother and nodded. “No.”

  “Now you know how I felt,” she said softly.

  “Maybe I do but you had to live like that, trapped in an unhappy marriage. I'm not sure I fully understand that.”

  “You're fortunate. You met and fell in love with Carole and it’s easier when it's like that. A lot of people are trapped in marriages that have no happy ending or even beginning. I survived and did what I had to and I'm not sorry about it.”

  “Because of me?” Walter asked her softly.

  “Because of you.”

  He sipped his wine in silence for a moment and then looked at her. “Thanks.”

  “You have nothing to thank me for. I'm just happy that you found someone to share your life with and you're in love with that person.”

  “Thanks Mother.” He smiled at her softly. “You'll be coming to dinner on Christmas Day, right?”

  “I wouldn't miss it for the world. My grandchildren are growing up so fast that I don't want to miss seeing them as much as I can,” she glowed.

  “And saying ‘Dada’ every chance they get.” He smiled tenderly as he thought about it.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22