After Hours

Chapter 23

{A/N: For those of you who haven't read my message board, my family evacuated from Florida before hurricane Irma hit. We drove back to Michigan (our home state) and have been staying with our family. I have been finding it difficult to write since I have been visiting with family so I apologize for the late update but we should be returning home within the next week or so then updates will go back to normal.}

When I return home around seven, Jackson is nowhere to be found. Deciding there's nothing better to do, I take my work to the dining room table then head to the kitchen. I fill a glass with wine before taking the bottle to the table. Bringing up the plans for our house, I continue to work on the floor-plan. The house we currently live in has six bedrooms but I haven't asked Jackson how many bedrooms he wanted in the new house so for now I have put five.

To get more comfortable, I untuck my blouse from my skirt, undo the top few buttons and tuck my feet beneath my body. I sip on my wine as I extend one of the walls in the master bedroom. Technology makes my job so much easier although I typically sketch my plans first to get an idea of what I want. Only this time, I decided to wing it and just start designing it from scratch. Using my tablet, I can design a floor-plan and also create a virtual tour of the property.

As I take another sip, Jackson enters the dining room. He looks mouthwateringly handsome but I am too focused on my project to stare at him for long. My eyes flicker up to the space at his neck where the top three buttons of his shirt are undone and my tongue brushes across my bottom lip. The action doesn't go unnoticed so I quickly look away. "How was your day?"

"Good," he says, sauntering towards me. "How was yours?"

"Very good," I smile. "Jasmine, Sam, and I all got dresses for the wedding."

"With my card I hope," he says softly.

I roll my eyes but he doesn't see since he is now standing behind my chair. "Yes, I used your card. Thank you."

His hands begin massaging my shoulders and I moan softly. "You're welcome. What are you working on?"

"The plans for the house. How many bedrooms did you want?" I ask, looking at my work so far.

"Well, besides the master bedroom we'll need at least three bedrooms for kids."

I raise an eyebrow, glancing over my shoulder at him. "Three kids?"

He shrugs. "Three max."

"Two max," I counter.

He sighs. "Fine. Two bedrooms plus a third for any surprises. It can be the play room."

"Well, what do you think about me having my own room?" I ask.

He frowns. "For what?"

"Work," I state. "I have materials that I'd like to bring home so I don't have to spend the entire day at the office."

"Fine. The master bedroom, three bedrooms, and two offices," he says. "And like I said before, I'd like a pool house but maybe we could do an upper-level guest house."

I nod. "That's fine. Just find a property that will fit our needs."

He nods. "I will."

Pushing my hair over my left shoulder, he tugs the collar of my shirt down and begins kissing my shoulder. He trails kisses up my neck to my jaw and I close my eyes. "If you want construction to start within the next month then I should probably finish this," I say softly.

"You can finish it tomorrow," he mumbles against my neck. "Let's go to bed."

Closing my tablet, I lay it flat against the table as Jackson's teeth tug at my earlobe causing me to smile. When I stand up, he takes my hand and leads me upstairs. As soon as we're behind closed doors, his lips find mine. "I want see you dress," he groans.

"You can't," I say softly.

"I know," he sighs. "Where is it?"

I push him back slightly so I can walk towards the closet. Turning on the light, I point at the bag. Wrapping his arm around me, he holds me against him. "I can't wait to see you in it."

I smile up at him. "These few weeks are going to fly by."

He looks down at me and seems to be thinking about something. "The other day you said your Vegas trip was the most fun you've had in a long time," he pauses. "When we broke up, I told you to have some fun because I wanted to settle down with you."

I frown. Where is he going with this? "Jackson, I did have fun while we were apart but once I started working I didn't have as much time to do those things. I am happy with you and I don't want you to think anything different. I wouldn't change a thing about my life."

"The only time you seem to have fun is when I'm not there," he frowns. "I want to see that young and carefree side of you more often."

"That's not true," I insist. "I had fun on our date in Arizona and Nevada. Eventually we can go out every once in a while and have fun again but right now there's so much to plan and do. We'll have do more while we're married - vacations, spontaneous dates."

"I think I owe you a spontaneous trip," he says. He looks away for a short moment. "Saturday night after we pick a venue, baker, and caterer, I want to go away for a few days. We can take anyone you want."

My lips part in surprise, excitement already blooming in my stomach. "Sam, Jasmine, Alexis, Benjamin, Zach, and Dominic."

He chuckles. "If that's what you want."

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"It's a surprise."

I can't help but grin excitedly. "What should I pack?"

"Dresses, bikinis - everything."

I want to jump in excitement. "A warm climate I assume."

He nods. "Very warm."

Throwing myself at him, I press my lips to his. This next month is going to stressful and an escape from reality sounds very enticing at the moment. Wrapping his arms around me tightly, he slowly begins walking backwards towards the bed. When the back of my legs hit the bed, I am reminded of my doctors appointment that we decided I wouldn't go to today. "Wait," I say breathlessly.

His lips continue down to my neck. "What?"

"I canceled my doctors appointment," I say, tilting my head back slightly. "Which means you have to use a condom."

He pulls away with a frown. "I thought you agreed that we wouldn't use anything."

I take a deep breath. "I don't want to find out that I'm pregnant before the wedding and not be able to enjoy it with everyone else. Let's just use condoms until our wedding night."

He looks disappointed but tries to hide it. "Okay," he says as he runs his fingers through his hair. "Then I guess I'll have to get some."

"We can still -"

He shakes his head as he stares down at his watch. "It's okay. I should probably get to sleep. I have an early meeting."

Feeling slightly guilty, I take his head between both hands. "I love you."

"I know," he says softly. "I love you too."

Pressing my lips to his, I hope he knows I honestly and truly does. He is my everything.

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