I Choose You : A New Chapter

Celebration

Cassie was beaming. Her smile was impossible to make go away because...The New York Times will now be her new publishers! Her and her agent were in a meeting with them for hours and when a deal finally struck that worked for both parties, they happily shook hands and signed up the freshly written contracts!

The moment she got into her hotel room, she tried to call Ben. Unfortunately, he didn't pick up. She knows it's two in the morning there, but she didn't care! She needed him to answer! After her fifth attempt at calling, his rough from sleep voice answered, "Hello?"  She squealed as she said, "Ben! Ben, oh my god, you won't believe what just happened!"

She could hear him quickly move around as he asked with concern etched in his voice, "What? Is everything okay? Are you alright?" She giggled as she told him, "Yes, I'm fine! Guess who is now getting published by the New York fucking Times!" Ben let out a deep breath as he told her, "Jesus, love, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought something happened to you, I thought...never mind. That's great, baby, really I am so proud of you! Congratulations!"

Throwing herself on her bed, she sighed blissfully and said, "Thank you. This is like a dream! Oh, Ben, I wish you were here with me. We could go out and celebrate, maybe even try your theory again..." She had to giggle when she heard him nearly choke. "Darling, I wish I was there, too," he told her. "Believe me, I would be taking you out, buying you flowers and covering every inch of you in kisses; telling you every minute how proud I am of you."

"I love you," she told him. "I miss you. How's Aiden doing?" She realized she was keeping him from sleep, but she didn't care. She was too excited and she missed him greatly. "He's doing fine," he assured. "He's all tuckered out from from playing with Astor and the boys today. He's got some great friends."

He never really got to meet his friends because he was so busy filming. This was the first time he got to be really acquainted and that included with their parents. 

"He does," she said with a smile. "Well, I suppose I should let you go back to sleep." He grunted as he said, "Well now I'm awake and I don't want to stop talking to you. How's New York? Do you love it as much as you thought you would?"

She looked out her window at the beautifully tall and lit up buildings as she told him, "More so. It's so beautiful here. I may love it more than London." He let out a playful gasp making her giggle. "Alright, go back to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow and I'll see you in a few days. I love you."

"I love you more, beautiful girl, and I am so, so proud of you. Goodnight, angel." After hanging up, she got herself dressed into pajamas and into bed. She didn't like being in bed alone, not since her and Ben first shared a bed together. She's been spoiled by his strong arms wrapping around her, his broad chest being a place of comfort. 

She misses him. Boy oh boy, does she miss him. 

The next morning, she woke up and got ready to attend more meetings. Now that she officially being published at the New York Times, they need to strike up a deal with her and her books. Her agent accompanied her, of course, and she was hoping for a much better deal than she got with Jeffery. 

She got the best deal. 

The Times didn't think her books needed a series, so they threw that out the window. They wanted to give her free reign to deliver as many books as she wants, whenever she wants. If it's going to be a trilogy or a series, then she obviously needs to deliver them in an appropriate time, but they also didn't want to rush her. 

Her salary is going to be triple than what it was before and she negotiated with getting seventy percent of the profits from her book, which is forty percent more than what she got before. She was ecstatic, but tried not to show it too much. 

By the time they were all done, it was nearly six o'clock in the afternoon. She was invited out by some of The New York Times staff to get celebratory drink and how could she turn that down? She couldn't! So, they were set up to meet at a bar in a couple of hours and, in the meantime, she was going to take a much needed nap. 

As she was standing on the curb outside the building and trying to wave down a cab, she heard someone whistle at her. She rolled her eyes and ignored them, hoping they would just go away. However, that was not the case. They kept whistling, louder and louder until she finally turned around and...

"Ben?!" Ben, the smug bastard, was leaning against the wall of the building, hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face. Cassie suddenly ran over to him and he caught her in a giant hug. "Oh my god, oh my god...oh my god!" She pulled away and looked up at him. "How are you here?"

He simply told her, "A plane." He got a whack on the shoulder for that. "I'm serious," she laughed. "What about Aiden, what about Jake...mmph." He shut up her questions with a kiss, then slowly pulled back and said, "Aiden and Jake are at mum and dad's. After talking to you last night, I realized how proud I was of you and I couldn't just let you be in this city and not go celebrate. Plus...I really missed you."

He was pulled down for a kiss and he squeezed her close to him. "I'm so glad you're here," she told him after pulling away from the kiss. I love you." He chuckled, then took her hand. "I love you more, gorgeous. Come on, let's go have some fun."

They got back to the hotel and were able to sneak in a little nap before getting their night started. First stop was getting that drink with The Times' staff. Cassie happily introduced Ben and was bragging about how he flew in to surprise her and how she's the luckiest woman on Earth. 

After about an hour, they left to go out to dinner. Ben took her to The River Café in Brooklyn where they enjoyed an amazing meal with a near perfect view of the city. After they finished, they held hands and listened to the live jazz band as they took each other in. 

"You're so beautiful," Ben told her as he kissed the back of her hand. "I am so lucky to have you." Cassie blushed and felt a wave of tears start to rise in her eyes. He always gets her emotional when he says things like for no reason. "I'm the lucky one," she told him. "Ben, you came here just hours after speaking with you because you wanted me to celebrate a new job. How many husbands do that?"

He lifted his wine glass to his lips as he said, "Hopefully not many because I was trying to be original." She smiled and softly kicked his foot. "I have never heard of any man doing that," she told him, "not even in movies. You are one of a kind, Batch."

Ben set his wine down as he said, "And so are you, Hansen. That's the main reason I fell in love with you. A beautiful girl at college orientation wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt? You stole my heart the minute I saw you and I am perfectly okay with never getting it back."

Something in that moment changed in Cassie. She didn't know what it was and, quite frankly, she didn't care. She just knew that what she was about to say...it was right. 

"I want another baby with you," she blurted out. He stopped eating with a spaghetti noodle hanging from his lips. She continued, "I know what I said before, but...goddammit, Ben, I love you so much and you are the world's most amazing husband and father and overall human being. I want another baby with you."

By now, the noodle had fallen from his lips, but he was still in shock. Yes, he was serious about having another baby, but he knew she was still on birth control when they had sex the night before she left, so he knew she wasn't getting pregnant anytime soon. However, to hear her say it scared the daylights out of him, but it also excited him. 

"Are you sure?" He asked. "Another baby? I didn't pressure you into it, did I?" She laughed as she told him, "No, you didn't. I guess I just didn't see it until now how much having another baby with you would mean so much. I don't want to think about the financial burden, we'll criss that bridge when we get to it, but rather about our happiness. Wouldn't having another baby make you happy?"

A wide smile grew on his face. "Of course it would," he chuckled. "Honey, I want as many babies as you can give me. Also, if I'm remembering correctly, you said you would give me as many "cumberbabies" as your body would allow." She giggled at her own pun and said, "Yes, I did and I mean it. So, what do you say? Should we go back to the hotel and practice getting a girl?"

His eyes lit up and he quickly waved over the waiter.