Smokin Gun

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brantley's POV

I stood to the side of the big bed and smiled down at my sleeping wife. We had spent most of the day walking around and taking in the sights in and around the French Quarter. She had bought several different paintings to be shipped to the house. I had made fun of her earlier for sneaking texts to Mama to check on Carson.

Pretty sure between the two of us Mama was ready to shut her phone off so she could enjoy her grandson in peace. I tightened the towel around my waist and sat on the edge of the bed shaking my head. She was out cold. Her blonde hair splayed out over the pillow. Lord she took my breath away. I lifted my hand and gently traced the words of the tattoo on her shoulder. Stephanie stirred and opened her eyes to look over at me.

"Hey," she said softly as she sat up slowly letting the sheet fall around her waist.

I bit my lip and shook my head. If it wasn't for the dinner reservations I would tackle my very naked wife back on the bed and have my way with her. One of the few times I wanted to kick my own ass for romancing her. She leaned over and pressed her soft lips to mine. "Why don't you crawl back in here and join me?"

"Stephhhhh......." I groaned out as she reached for the towel at my hips. I shook my head and stopped her. "As much as I want to baby girl, I have a surprise for you."

All I got for an answer was her crawling into my lap and straddling my waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck, running her nails over my hair with a grin.

"You sure about that honey," she whispered with her lips an inch from mine. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck. I groaned as she laughed. "I'll quit teasing ya baby."
I nipped her on the neck then popped her on the ass making her jump.

"Go get a shower baby girl," I said pushing her out of my lap gently. She stood up and walked to the bathroom with a laugh. Damn woman added a sway to her hips and I almost gave in.

"Yes sir," she yelled as she turned the shower on. I shook my head and laughed as I walked over to the suitcase to pull a pair of boxers on.

"Smartass," I called back at her as I pulled my clothes out. I slipped them on then walked over to pull the dress I had packed of her out of the bag and laid it on the bed. I smirked to myself as I added the black heels shed worn a couple of months ago with the dress.

She knew I loved the hell out of those shoes and with good reason. I picked my phone up off the bed and checked the time. I grinned to myself as I slipped it into my pocket and cracked open the bathroom door. I could hear Steph softly humming to herself.

"Sweetheart," I called out to her. "I've got to go check on something really quick. I'll be back by the time you are done."

"Ok B," she answered back as she soaped up her long hair. "Love you."

"Love you too baby," I said as I shut the door and headed towards the door of our room.

Stephanie's POV

I had curled my long hair slightly then let it hang around my shoulders. I leaned in the mirror and slipped in my favorite diamond studs that Brantley had gotten me for our anniversary. I had walked out of the bathroom earlier to find him still gone and a black dress I had bought and put aside possibly for the BMI Awards laying the bed along with his favorite pair of heels.

My husband still had been nowhere to be found. What was that man up to? I slipped my heels on and checked my makeup in the mirror one more time before spraying my perfume. I heard the door to the room open and smiled.

"B? "I called out as I checked my appearance in the mirror one more time and walked out of the bathroom. My jaw dropped as I walked out. My husband was standing there in a pair of grey dress slacks, a black button-down shirt with the collar opened and the sleeves rolled up a little, black dress boots and no hat. He had his left hand tucked in his pocket and a pink rose in his right and a huge grin on his face as he walked towards me.

"Damn baby girl," he rumbled as he got closer to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "You take my breath away."
I blushed slightly as he leaned down to brush my lips with his softly. I tugged at the open collar of his shirt and grinned up at him.

"Clean up pretty nice yourself rockstar," I said sniffing the rose he handed me. "What's the occasion babe?"

"What?" he said giving me a smirk as he wrapped an arm around my waist and took my phone from me to slip in his pocket. "I can't romance my wife from time to time."

"I'm not complaining," I said with a smile as we stepped out in the hallway before making our way down the stairs to the courtyard. Brantley kept his arm tight around my waist so I wouldn't stumble in my heels. I let out a gasp as we walked out on the street and I saw the carriage driver that had given us a tour of the Quarter earlier parked on the curb with a huge grin.

"Good evening Mrs. Gilbert," he said with a chuckle. "Nice to see you again."

I turned my head to look over at my husband who was smiling down at me. He stepped closer to the carriage and held a hand out for me to help me climb in. I sat down with a huge smile on my face. Brantley sat down and wrapped an arm around my shoulders as the carriage started to move down the street. I reached a hand up to his cheek to get his attention.

"Thank you, B," I said as he turned his green-eyed gaze to me. He picked up my hand and brought it to his lips placing a soft kiss on the back of it then threaded his fingers with mine. I was just content to spend time with him. Didn't matter what we were doing.

"You are very welcome sweetheart," he said smiling softly at me. "Sometimes I don't think I show you enough just how much I love you. Yea, I know you know. Save your breath and don't argue with me. I know I tell you all the time. Hell, you can pick up any album I've put out and hear it. But I'm not the overly romantic guy. So, I wanted to be that guy for a night. Yes, it even involves dressing up and taking you to a restaurant with candlelight and a dress code."
He gave me a wink and I smiled and shook my head. I settled my head on his shoulder as we moved down the street.

"Baby, I appreciate this more than you know," I said tilting my head up to kiss his cheek. "In the long run I don't care what we do as long as I am with you."

"Well beautiful wife of mine," he said leaning down with a smirk. "Sit back and let me sweep you off your feet for the night then."