Deceived Page 9

  I never said another word since two hands had grabbed the sides of my face and pulled me in for a whirlwind, closing credits, glamour movie kiss. If I had panties on they would’ve dropped or burst into flames. Seriously, it was most likely the best kiss he had ever given me. No! That is just downright silly. It had to be all of the emotion that was behind it and raging hormones on my part. But when we finally came up for air, I had tears streaming down my face. He hadn’t even said a word. He had just simply kissed the ever-loving bejesus out of me.

  When Caldwell broke our kiss, dislodging my fingers from his scalp—I’d rather they had been attacking his back—he started to get out of his sporty car. A fancy car that I had never seen until he arrived at my door bearing another wonderful gift for the house. “Let’s go see some houses.” He smiled as he walked around the front of the car to my door. His “shut up kiss” had me wondering if he would eventually answer me. My thoughts were stilled as he opened the door and extended his hand to me.

  Damn it! Not a word but a lot of hand holding, caresses along with kisses between touring different houses. It was his grinning, gorgeous face that got to me the most. He seemed to be up to something—playing some sort of game with me—or just waiting for me to ask him again. No way was I about to go there again as much as it was killing me.

  Walking into a house that was very similar to my house’s Streamline Moderne style, I wondered if it had been built by the same architect as mine. I, also, wondered if it was on Caldwell’s dream house list. As if he were reading my mind, he shocked me with his words when he leaned close enough to whisper in my ear: “This reminds me of our house, but ours is better.”

  Our?! I wanted to shout as he had used the word twice in one sentence. That had to be the answer to my question. I was taking that as an affirmative answer. Especially with his smirking expression as he studied me as if he was waiting for me to respond.

  When I didn’t fall into his trap or whatever he was doing to me, he pulled me into his body. I willingly went into his arms expecting a kiss, but instead he said words that were almost better. “One more stop and then I need to get you home to our bed.”

  I could play his game too: “Or our counter, or our door, or our wall, or our…” Again, like earlier, Caldwell crushed his mouth to mine—silencing me. When we finally pulled apart, I breathlessly spoke up, “No stop. Let’s go straight home.”

  “No can do.” And before I could protest, he had me back in the car and then out of it once he parked in the parking lot of one of my favorite places.

  “Bel Rêves? We don’t have to deliver my clothes today.” I remained seat-belted in, ready for him to back out of the slot and take off in the direction of my…our house. He didn’t listen to me but instead turned the engine off, got out and gathered up my paper shopping bags filled with old clothes.

  Giving up, I got out, followed him to the door and opened it since his hands were occupied. Walking in through the backdoor, Caldwell deposited my bags in a bin they had set up for donations. I nearly jumped when the owner, Alexandrite—Alexa to her friends—as she greeted us like she was expecting us. Strange! I swear I heard her mutter something that sounded a lot like “finally” and I tilted my head.

  “Thank you so much, Daphne. Can’t wait to see what you brought us.” She was definitely more excited than usual and I started thinking that maybe she had news of her own that she wanted to share and nothing to do with me.

  “Let’s look around while we’re here,” Caldwell announced, forgetting all about our previous plans as he strutted through racks of vintage clothing surrounded by amazing trinkets and jaw-dropping furnishings. I loved that everything she stocked was in fairly decent condition and nothing smelled musty-dirty as many antique shops did. It could be that she sold organic products for the home that were made by a company called Rhett Scarlett. I always loaded up on a few items every time I popped in. Whatever the smell was, mixed in with the ambiance, it was a charming shop exploding with treasures.

  “Over here,” Caldwell called out and I went to see what he had found…apparently with Alexa’s help since she was close to him. Yes, she was standing on the opposite side of a glass case and when I looked down between them, I gasped. “Which one do you like?”

  Daphne, it is a case filled with rings. Get a grip, girl! It could mean anything at all. I stood still with my head dipped as my mind battled on silently.

  Not letting me get a word to form between my lips, Caldwell pointed as he spoke, “I’m kind of leaning toward this design.” Alexa immediately pulled out the ring that had an octagonal-squarish diamond setting with a lemon-lime color gem in the middle. It was stunning with a yellow-gold band that had four diamonds on each side, close to the main event.

  “It’s from the 1930s…Art Deco and the middle stone is a peridot surrounded by diamonds,” Alexa explained as Caldwell took it from her. I just stood dumbfounded in a haze when she added, “It might fit.”

  Caldwell spoke up, asking, “Do you like it?”

  I nodded my head, looking down at his fingers arranging the ring between his thumb and forefinger as he stepped closer to me and Alexa slipped away. Was he…was this planned…was it a proposal…just a gift? I got my answer within seconds as Caldwell dropped down on one knee and began to utter words I would remember for the rest of my life.

  “Daphne, from the moment you opened your front door, I knew that you were meant for me. I will thank my brother every day forever for being sick. Someone was looking out for me…guiding me to you. I would deceive you all over again as shitty as that sounds. I would not change a moment except for maybe calling you Dickhead.” We both laughed before he continued, “I love you. You are the woman I want to live with forever and I can’t wait to fill our house with lots of kids—”

  I quickly cut him off. “—let’s see how we are as parents of one.”

  “Okay,” he agreed with a grin that made my knees weak. “Just say you’ll marry me?” He didn’t wait for my answer as he grasped my hand, pulling it toward him, and began to slip the ring in place. It fit perfectly!

  “Did you…was this…how did you know my…” Caldwell was on his feet and I was in his arms, silenced by his lips. I realized at that moment in time that my rambling words were a Godsend and I would have to continue that practice for years to come. I never wanted to be out of his arms for too long with the added bonus of his kisses. Panting softly as he allowed me to take a much needed breath, I answered “yes” against his lips and said my first “I love you” to Caldwell. It may have been the first but it would not be the last as I liked how it sounded and that it had him repeating the same words back to me with the addition of one word “more” that I wasn’t sure was possible.

  Epilogue

  Caldwell

  Thank goodness we made it through the crucial events of the night as things were starting to wind down. I should’ve taken my…our personal life into consideration with my gallery calendar. I had no business booking a major event for such an amazing and well-known artist like Emerson York. Everyone thought of him as the new Matisse and flocked to his gallery openings. And the fact that he had become a huge deal amongst the Downtown LA art scene with charity events and supporting local artists…what the hell was I thinking?

  “Ohhh… Caldwell…I’m feeling a bit strange.” Watching my beautiful Daphne touching her chest and then her beach-ball belly, reminded me of when she had puked in one of my empty flower planters months ago.

  “Do you feel like you’re going to be sick?” I asked, moving quickly after her—unlike the last time—as she turned away from me and headed toward my office. Then without warning, she stopped, doubled over and released the gallons of water I had seen her gulping down throughout the evening.

  “Good thing you haven’t eaten much tonight.”

  “Ummm…Caldwell that didn’t come from my mouth.”

  “Oh shit! Your water broke?!” I began shouting for my gallery manager.

  “Please don
’t make a scene…let me clean it up.”

  I couldn’t believe she was more concerned about cleaning and appearances. I was freaking the fuck out! I was more interested in getting her to the hospital before she made performance art the grand finale of the evening.

  “Ohhh…I want Aubree…I want you too…mostly I want a slice of pizza with pepperoni and sausage and ohhh…no food now, I want what I can’t have… Caldwell! Hey! Why are you letting me ramble on?” She had a completely shocked look on her face.

  Because I was scared shitless and didn’t want her to know. Besides, I had heard enough horror stories to put me on high alert. Every father I had come in contact with had wanted to tell me about their own experiences once they heard that I was going to be joining their club.

  Don’t touch her unless she asks.

  Then be prepared for her to scream, “Don’t fucking touch me!”

  Her name calling is not to be taken personally.

  Hitting or throwing things is a possibility.

  Pins and needles. Pins and needles.

  Maybe I was going to have a pleasant time with Daphne…maybe she was going to be the rare exception. She was asking me to kiss her—that had to be a good sign. Thinking I would give her what she wanted as I texted to everyone silently—not to alarm Daphne—my gallery manager came walking into my office.

  “What were you yelling about? I got here as soon as I could…I had to clean up water all over the floor.” I wished I was close enough to cover the words escaping his mouth, but it was too late.

  “Oh my gawd! I’m so so so sorry,” Daphne cried, adding that she wanted her sister again.

  I had never been more thrilled to be bombarded with messages in my life. “Aubree is headed to the airport. Her boss pulled some strings and is putting her on a private jet. Ashton is agreeing to get her from the plane with our SUV so we have it equipped with the car seat at the hospital.” A sigh of relief escaped my lips knowing how important it was to have Aubree there.

  No time to relax though. “I need my focus photos,” Daphne said, panting.

  “Madison is going to meet us with them.” I didn’t have the nerve to tell her that they weren’t going to be the ones she had selected. However, what Madison was bringing I was sure would make her happy.

  No one would let us down. They never had. When I had insisted that we get married as soon as possible, everyone helped us pull it together. We really appreciated the help since we had to go to Aubree since she had left to get her masters up at a San Francisco college.

  As a matter of fact the first item to come into play happened the same day that I proposed to Daphne at Bel Rêves. Alexa gave us time alone until we walked up to her and then she stole my future bride away to a backroom where someone had dropped off a designer wedding gown. And not just any old designer but ones that were highly sought after and they only made a few dresses a year for select brides. So not only did she get a vintage ring, she also got a Luciana Marchesa & Savona Messina dress. I could not possibly forget the designers’ names as I have heard them over and over from Alexa, Daphne, Madison and Aubree.

  Aubree was probably the most instrumental part of our actual wedding since her location was key. What she did for us—along with her restaurateur boss Spencer Donovan—was amazing and I can never thank her enough. She was working part time in a restaurant, Bound Bistro, as a private event assistant and when they got a cancellation, we got in. Not an easy task since the place was booked two years in advance for the outdoor deck that had a spectacular view of the Bay Bridge. I really didn’t care about that—the only sight I needed or cared to see was Daphne walking my way, to become my wife. We were concerned about the weather but she assured us that they had that covered literally with large umbrellas, glass panels to surround the deck and outdoor heaters.

  Giving her the go ahead, we grabbed the opportunity and she finished up with the details of food, drink, and a wedding cake with our few requests. All we had to do was let a few people know and welcome them to join us up north. To my delight, Ashton talked our mother into flying up for the wedding with him. Daphne and I opted to drive up so we could take our time driving back home down along the California Coastline. Madison decided to come along with us—in our new family-safe SUV—and the two talked non-stop about everything. I heard more than I wanted about weddings, babies and Daphne’s future book. I was exhausted just listening to them, but I perked right up when we arrived—ready to tie the knot…make them—Daphne and the baby—mine officially.

  I was feeling the same rush of adrenalin—that I had experienced once I was instructed to kiss my stunning wife—as I packed Daphne into my inappropriate sports car to race safely to the hospital. Never had a sterile hospital environment looked so appealing to me once I had Daphne walking into the maternity ward and settled into a birthing bed. Total relief fell over me as nurses began to check her over, hooked her up to monitors, and she accepted an IV drip filled with drugs to relieve her pain. She was pretty funny wanting to cuddle and asked if I wanted to make out before she started snoring. Aubree and Madison couldn’t wait to tease her on a future girls-only night.

  She was perfectly nice to me until I mentioned that she needed to have another baby soon and added that it looked so easy.

  “Fuck you! You try shitting a bowling ball out of your dick!”

  Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t help myself. She did have painful moments—no doubt about it—but after two good pushes our baby boy shot right out. The doctor looked just as surprised and I hoped that he had a good grip.

  Talk about surprises, less than twenty-four hours after little Leo Owen Tate made his debut appearance in the world, we were shoved out on the curb. Instant parents basically on our own back at the scene of the crime—where we met, where we made our child…where we fell in love. Every book and article about parenting that I had skimmed to prepare didn’t seem realistic…they were idealistic at best. But I loved everything about our little family—I didn’t even mind doing diaper changes. My favorite part of our new life together as a family was our midnight feeding rituals when I walked Leo up and down the halls, explaining each element of the house. He either found it soothing or boring as it seemed to put him right to sleep. Then again, he could’ve already been a little drunk from the boob milk he had been fed prior to our strolls.

  Watching Daphne with Leo in her arms, nursing him, cuddling him, singing to him a bit out of tune, my heart reacted the same way it had when I first deceived her brilliantly. Again, I would not change a thing because it may have prevented me from living an amazing life with her. Having her curled up next to me, listening to her rambling and then kissing her senseless—those were things I relished and lived for. And I was so proud of her accomplishing her dream of compiling data and photographs to complete her book. Madison had brought proofs to the hospital and it looked like it was going to be amazing. I just hoped that she would still critique my gallery openings, good or bad and I promised to never call her a negative name, again.

  “Caldwell, he looks like he’s ready for his cradle and I’m ready for a cuddle.” I loved the sexy grin on her face even if it was doing painful things to other parts of my body. I was counting down the weeks until I could completely pleasure her and stop with the cold showers—they only work temporarily. But, there was no way I was going to stay away from her so I would learn to live with the pain or train my mind to think of budgets, future shows…whatever it took.

  Settling our little boy in a handcrafted wooden cradle—that his Uncle Ashton made for him—not far from our bed, I snuggled up to my beautiful wife.

  “You know I love you more each day.”

  “I know and I feel the same about you…I love your smile…your hot body…the feel of your…”

  Crushing my lips to hers, it was time to silence her in the most enjoyable way.

  The End

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank everyone who has helped and/or supported me
with this book: Debbie, Nickiann, Sheryl, Roxanne, Tammy of Book Nook Nuts, Paul of BB ebooks, Bite Me Graphic Designs, Café de Fifi Flowers Reader Group members, Reading Fashionably, Wit & Wonder Promotions, Eye Candy Bookstore, Fictional Boyfriends…and so many WONDERFUL BLOGGERS who willingly signed up to share my book.

  Thank you to the READERS of my books, I thank each one of you for your support and I hope that you will continue to read my books in the future and, of course, recommend my books to your friends.

  And to my family and friends—mainly ma maman—for your love and support is truly appreciated more than I can ever express.

  About the Author

  Fifi Flowers, an internationally known artist turn author from the Los Angeles area of California, writes romance novels and paints fantasies with a Parisian flair while daydreaming of her time spent sipping cafe crème in the cafes of Paris.

  She penned her love of Paris and romance to the pages of her first novel, A Window to Love, published in 2013, when she sat down, and instead of putting paint to paper, put her pen to paper and began her first novel. Since that first novel, Fifi has self-published several steamy contemporary romances and has many more in the works.

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  Other Books by Fifi Flowers

  WINDOWS:

  A Window to Love

  DOWNTOWN:

  Just A Number

  BROTHER DUET:

  Drawn to a Cowboy

  ENCOUNTERS:

  Reclining Nude in Chicago