Fulfillment (Book 3 in The Temptation Series) (47 page)

I pushed open
the door and went inside.

***

Half an hour
later I was back in the hotel suite, a pregnancy test in my hand.
I’d peed on the stick, enclosed it in the plastic cap then turned
the results window down in my hand—not looking at the final
outcome. I didn’t want to do it alone; I wanted Bryce here with me.
The problem with that idea was that my hand had started to cramp
up.
Shit! How do I let go without seeing? I could close my eyes.
No, I might drop it, then what?

Just as I was
about to make the decision to continue to grip or let go, and
probably resembling a fretful person holding a ticking time bomb,
Bryce walked through the door.

He strode
right up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Longest
fucking two hours of my life.” He took my head in his hands and
kissed me with intention.

I didn’t hug
him back. Instead, I held my arms out stretched as if the pregnancy
test contained a highly infectious disease.

“What’s wrong,
Hunny?” he asked, concern on his handsome face. He looked at my
enclosed hand. “What’s that?”

“A pregnancy
test,” I blurted out.

He was
stone-faced not knowing whether to smile or frown, I knew how he
felt.

“Are
you—?”

“I don’t know,
I haven’t looked. I was waiting for you to come back. I’m over a
week late.”

“Fuck! Why
didn’t you ring me?” He grasped my hand and moved it so that it
rested in between our two bodies.

I slowly began
to loosen my fingers.

“Wait!” he
said, staring down at my hand.

I froze.

He lifted his
gaze to mine. “If it’s negative, that’s fine. We can keep
trying.”

I lifted my
other hand to touch his obviously anxious face. “I know, my love.
If it’s negative we’ll keep trying and trying until it’s positive.”
I placed a soft, calming kiss on his lips. “Are you ready?”

He nodded, and
we both looked down as I opened my hand.

“What does
that mean?” he asked.

A rush of
elation rolled through me. “It means we are having another
baby.”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

The rest of
our time in Rome was kind of surreal. After the pregnancy test
revealed two pink lines, we had stared at it for minutes, rotating
it and making sure it wasn’t playing a cruel trick on us. When we
were satisfied that it wasn’t, we both hugged each other, kissed
each other, and wiped away each other’s happy tears. Then, my Mr.
Overprotective-Over domineering-Arse Clark returned, marching us
both back to the pharmacy to get some folic acid and pregnancy
vitamins.

Satisfied that
I was happy and healthy, he’d finally allowed us to continue our
day and finish our sightseeing plans by walking to the Spanish
Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Villa Borghese Gardens. We’d
then done a little shopping on our way back to the hotel and
stocked up on some souvenirs, not forgetting my promise of picking
up a real Ferrari for Nate. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a rude
piece of cutlery for Tash—Italy had no crude looking monuments.

***

We departed
Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport later that night, basically
sleeping the entire way before waking up during our stopover in
Hong Kong. Bryce had gone back to gently caressing my stomach, and
I adored that paternal side of him that just naturally took
over.

“So when do
you want to get married?” I asked him as we lay side by side in the
luxurious queen bed on the private jet, only hours from landing in
Melbourne.

“When are you
officially divorced?”

“In a few
weeks’ time.”

“Well...in a
few weeks’ time then,” Bryce answered, carefree and
unconcerned.

“Can we wait
till after the baby is born?”

He rolled back
to get a better look at my face and before he could object I
explained.

“It’s going to
be a few weeks before the divorce is final, then we have to submit
the marriage application and that takes at least three months—”

He
interrupted. “There are ways around that.”

I rolled my
eyes at him. “I don’t want to be pregnant while saying my vows to
you.”

“Alexis,” he
sighed. “You’re even more beautiful when you are carrying my child.
Wrap you up in a wedding gown and I couldn’t think of anything else
more perfect.”

“You’re
deliberately word-fucking me. I’m on to you, I know how you
operate.”

He laughed.
“It’s what I do.”

“The reason I
want to wait till after we’ve had the baby is because I’d like
all
our children to witness us pledge forever to
one another. I think it would be nice.”

I could see
the cogs of his mind working hard. “Well, when you put it like
that. How can I refuse?”

I smiled.
“Simple...you can’t.”

He growled in
loving frustration. “Don’t I know it.”

***

As we stepped
into the elevator on our way up to the apartment, I groaned. “Why
is it that we’ve just spent many long hours on a plane, sleeping
and relaxing, yet I feel completely drained?”

He pulled me
to him, engulfing me in his perfectly comforting arms. “Because we
didn’t just sleep and relax...” the elevator doors to the apartment
opened and we stepped out, “...and because you are carrying
my—”

“Surprise!”

Bryce and I
looked out into the lounge room where our family and friends were
standing with congratulatory signs—Lucy at the forefront of
them.

Bryce still
had his hand resting on my lower abdomen when he finished his
sentence in a shocked tone. “...baby.”

My mouth
dropped at the sight of all the smiling faces looking at us, those
smiles now even wider.

“You’re
pregnant again?” Lucy asked, while looking like she was ready to
burst at the seams.

All I could do
was nod.

“Oh my God!
That’s wonderful. Engaged and preggo.” She stepped forward and
wrapped her arms around us both, hugging us tightly. “I’m so happy
for you both.”

Mum and Dad
were by our side next. “How far along are you?” Mum asked, smiling
but wary.

“I’m not too
sure, maybe six weeks. It’s only early days.”

“Oh,
Sweetheart.” She put her hands on either side of my face. “I’m
happy for you, for both of you, but I worry that too much is
happening too fast. You need to slow down. This past year has been
so...so crazy for you. Your emotions have taken a battering.”

“Mum, it’s
okay. We are not getting married straight away. We’ve spoken about
it, and we are going to wait until after the baby is born. Believe
me, I know how crazy my life has been this past year, and I know
now is the time to take a step back and enjoy each day as it
comes.”

She kissed my
forehead. “Good girl.” Then she moved onto Bryce, smoothing his
hair and giving him a hug.

Dad stepped
aside to let Mum fawn over her future son-in-law.

“Did he bribe
you?” I asked my father, jokingly.

“Who?
Bryce?”

“Yes, when he
asked for your permission to marry me.”

“Somehow, I
don’t think my permission mattered,” Dad replied, honestly.

I took hold of
Dad’s hands. “Maybe not, but it would have meant a lot to him.” I
gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I could not
say no to a man who clearly loves you more than his next breath.
That’s all a father wants for his daughter; someone who would move
heaven and earth just to make her happy.”

“He does make
me happy, Dad...” I looked over at Bryce who was now shaking hands
with Steve and shaking fingers with Elise. “...very happy.”

“Move over,
Dad. I need to see this ring. It practically blinded me when she
walked into the room.” Jen grabbed my hand and lifted it to inspect
my engagement ring. “Geezus! It’s—

“I know. It’s
perfect,” I interrupted her while staring longingly at my hand.

“I was going
to say, huge.”

I giggled.
“Yeah, well there’s that, too.”

“So, you’re
having another baby.” She rested her hand on my stomach. “It’s
natural to feel a little worried and uncertain, especially after
what you suffered.” She grabbed my hand and looked intently into my
eyes. “This is a new pregnancy though...and it won’t do you any
good to be apprehensive. So think positive thoughts, okay?”

She pulled me
in for a quick hug.

“Thank you,
Jen. You always know what is buried deep down inside of me.”

“I’m your
sister, it’s my job.”

The rest of
our friends eventually made their way to us with well wishes and
congratulations.

“So, Lexi,
let’s talk about me being your personal body guard. That rock needs
protection,” Tash said with an authoritative tone as she stood by
me with an open stance.

Before I could
answer, she protectively put an arm around me while ushering Steph
back. “Step away, please,” she said to Steph. She then put her hand
to her ear, pretending to talk into an imaginary ear piece. “Yes,
the bird is safe, the rock still secure.”

Bryce laughed,
so I glared at him.

Noticing my
reluctance, she persisted. “I can even go all Whitney and Kevin on
you,” and taking my hand she started belting out “I will always
love you” from the movie
The Bodyguard
.

I walked away
and shook my head, smiling but not letting her see it.

Carly and
Derek were out on the balcony, and I couldn’t contain my elation at
seeing them publicly show their affection for each other. However,
I was slightly pissy that she had not yet filled me in on her
‘fiery hole’ status—something telling me it was no longer
fiery.

“Carly,” I
addressed her sternly, but hiding my playful undertone.

She looked at
me warily then glanced at Derek then looked back at me.
“Alexis?”

“Carly. Hole
status? Affirmative or Negative?”

She flushed
red and squinted at me. “Affirmative,” she said through gritted
teeth.

I raised an
eyebrow. “I thought as much.”

Bryce came up
behind me and automatically threaded his hands across my belly.

Derek put a
hand out for Bryce to shake. “Congrats, Mate.”

Bryce released
one hand and shook it. “Thanks.”

Carly and I
were having a silent conversation with our eyes, hers telling me
Derek was well endowed.
Well...at least I think that is what she
is saying.
I leaned forward, concentrating on her eyes which
were looking at Derek’s package then looking back at me wide open.
She repeated that motion a couple of times. I looked around the
outdoor area trying to find a size comparison. I spotted a cylinder
candle. I flicked my eyes to it asking the question. She screwed up
her face and shook her head as if to say no. I bit my lip in
frustration.

Carls then
lifted her hands and separated them approximately 7 to 8 inches
wide, then quickly clasped them together. I smiled at her and gave
her the ‘not bad’ face, then put my hand to my eye in a circular
shape, pretending to look into it like a telescope, asking her for
an indication of girth. Her hand shot out faster than lightning and
she picked up the candle—my mouth dropped. She just grinned.

“Did you just
explain to Alexis how big my cock is?”

Carly, still
grinning at me like a giddy school girl, shot her head up to look
at Derek. “Um, no, I was just expressing my appreciation at the
fact Bryce and Alexis use candles. Global warming is a serious
issue, and cutting down on our greenhouse gas emissions is very
important. Every little bit helps, you know,” she blurted out.
Oh, high-the-fuck- five for you, Carls. Save of the
century.

“Bullshit, you
just sized my cock,” Derek bragged, not believing a word she said.
Okay, maybe not.

I laughed.

“Na, you’re
wrong, Mate. If she had been sizing your cock, she would’ve held up
her pinky.”

Derek shoved
Bryce. “You’re gonna force me to prove you wrong,” he said as he
began to unbutton his jeans.

“Um...excuse
me, Alexis,” Sam interrupted, as her eyes fell to Derek’s pants.
She quickly moved them to my face.

“Sam! I’m so
glad you’re here,” I greeted her with surprise, giving her a hug.
“Are you here with Gareth? Oh, that’s wonderful—”

“I was here
with Gareth, but that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.
Something happened and he left. He was furious and he kept
muttering, ‘this ends here.’ I’m not sure if he meant us, or
something else. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Bryce let go
of my waist. “It’s not you, Samantha, you did nothing wrong.”

I turned to
face him, worry saturating my face and voice. “I have a bad feeling
about this. Something is wrong.”

“I know. I
feel it too. I want you to stay away from Gareth, I have a feeling
Scott has returned.”

“Bryce,” I
said shakily. “I think he never left.”

Scott

Look at all
these fuckwits standing around with their stupid fucking
congratulations signs.
Just because he has put a rock on the
bitch’s finger doesn’t mean jack-shit. It can just as easily come
off.

I looked
around the room at Bryce and Alexis’ family and friends, some of
those friends having once been mine.
Hmmm, Derek, if you weren’t
such an arrogant prick I’d consider ‘blowing’ your mind...among
other things.

“Gareth, isn’t
it wonderful that they are getting married? It’s happened so
quickly...it’s just...so romantic.”

I looked down
at Sam hanging off my arm, her pretty little strawberry blonde head
full of love, butterflies, and rainbows.
Stupid bitch.
I
thought she’d done a runner after finding out about me, and I then
had to put up with Gareth-Fucking-Pansy moping around like a soft
cock. That was the last thing I needed. Wonder what changed her
mind? I guess it doesn’t matter. Solves my sooky la la Gareth
problem, so who gives a fuck?