Egotistically Yours by Hayley Faiman

Chapter Thirteen

BETHANIE

I rockTucker to sleep and smile down at him. He was so traumatized after my doctor’s appointment, but I don’t blame him because I was seriously traumatized as well. Closing my eyes, I start to fall asleep when I hear Laurent’s voice clear.

Opening my eyes, I look across the room and I am surprised to see Laurent standing in the living room. “You didn’t go back to work?” I ask.

He shakes his head, his lips curved up into a grin. “I cleared the day. Is he fed and happy now?” he asks.

Looking down to Tucker, I lift my gaze back up to meet Laurent’s and I smile. “Yeah, he is.”

“Good, we need to go somewhere. What do I need to pack in his diaper bag to leave for a few hours?”

“Where?” I ask, but it comes out more like a demand.

He shakes his head once. “Can’t tell you, baby. Tell me what to pack,” he says.

I look down at the bag, then flick my gaze back up to meet his. I could tell him to grab a few diapers and that’s probably all that I need for a while, but I let out a sigh and stand, my body bone tired from the adrenaline and stress of the day.

Slipping Tucker into Laurent’s arms, I bend down and pick up the bag before sifting through it. “How long?” I ask.

“Couple of hours probably,” he murmurs quietly, probably afraid that he could wake up Tucker. I don’t think he realizes just how soundly Tucker sleeps when he naps.

Looking between them, I can’t help but smile at the sight of them. Laurent looks so sexy holding Tucker in his arms. I didn’t think it was possible that Laurent could get hotter, but between holding Tucker, loving him, and punching that doctor today, he’s completely off the hot guy charts.

A few minutes later I’m back in the car, sitting shotgun as Laurent drives us somewhere secret. Staring out the side of the window, I don’t pay attention to the destination, it doesn’t matter where we go, I’m honestly just glad to be with him. He’s been working so much that I feel as if we hardly see one another and I only have one more week before I have to go back to work myself, then our lives are really going to be busy.

The car stops and I turn, lifting my head to see where we are. It’s a baby store. “Laurent?” I ask.

He smiles. “I know you wanted to wait for your mom and she can help you decorate, but he needs his own space.”

Licking my lips, I know that he is right. Tucker needs a real crib and his own little room. Laurent has cleared out his catchall room and it’s completely empty and ready for Tucker to take over. He didn’t have to do that, but he did, for us—for Tucker.

With a heavy sigh, I nod my head. I haven’t told him, but my mom and I have been discussing decorating Tucker’s room for weeks. We even have a Pinterest board that we share and add ideas to. I just don’t want to ship my baby off all the way across the hall, as silly as that sounds.

Gathering the diaper bag, Laurent grabs the car seat and the stroller. I watch as he attaches the car seat to the stroller like a pro. It hits me like a freight train, it slams into me as I take in Laurent and Tucker.

Somewhere along the past couple of weeks, Laurent has turned from the model playboy to the model father. It’s amazing and it’s also kind of beautiful at the same time. I don’t know what the future holds, if it holds something more for us, but right now all I can think about is the fact that Laurent Astor is an amazing father.

“Ready?” he calls out, my body jerking as he calls me out of my thoughts.

Nodding, I hike the strap of the diaper bag up a little farther and head into the baby furniture store with him.

Side by side, we shop for baby furniture.

I don’t know, I never imagined that this could be real. Sure, I daydreamed about this exact moment a million times, but it’s real and my whole body shivers with excitement.

It doesn’t take me long to find the furniture that I want. “It’s gorgeous,” I whisper as I reach out to touch the black crib.

The matching dresser is just as amazing and gorgeous as the crib and I am tempted to look at the catalog to see if they have any other pieces, except I don’t really need them. All I need to go along with the crib and dresser is a chair and ottoman, maybe a floor lamp as well.

“This it?” Laurent asks.

“Well, maybe, I need to ask the salesgirl about the price,” I say.

Laurent chuckles, and then a few moments later, he returns with a sales assistant. She doesn’t even notice me, she’s too busy swooning at Laurent and Tucker, well mostly Laurent.

“This is the set we want,” Laurent begins, then he looks over to me. “The dresser and the crib?” he asks.

“Well, yes, depending on the price …” I start.

He shakes his head. “The crib and the dresser, when can I have that delivered to my place?” he asks.

The sales associate swoons even more. I should feel jealous, but I don’t because I feel the exact same way as she does, probably more so because I know just how truly wonderful Laurent is and has been throughout all of this.

Things may have started rocky a few weeks ago, but can I really blame him? I kept the knowledge of Tucker from him. I would have been just as furious. I don’t blame him at all, and the fact that he’s been able to get over it and forgive me so quickly amazes me.

He hasn’t even been angry with me, not since the first couple of days after he found out. And he has every right to be, even still. I wouldn’t blame him at all.

“Let me go and double-check the deliveries, hold on,” she announces, then turns and walks away from us.

Turning to Laurent, I shake my head. His lips curve up into a grin. “What?” he asks.

“You aren’t going to ask the price? It could be really expensive,” I hiss.

He shakes his head a couple of times. “It could be,” he agrees. “But I don’t care. This is for Tucker. This is what you want.”

“If you want five more, you better watch your pennies, Laurent,” I say.

He throws back his head and belts out a loud boom of laughter before he levels me with a gaze, his lips curved way up into a smile.

“If I spend good money on a crib, then all six can use the same one,” he murmurs.

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Sir, I just checked and we can have this delivered by five this evening or tomorrow.”

“By five will work,” Laurent says, his lips still curved up and his smile beaming. Then he turns to me. “Bedding?” he asks.

LAURENT

It’s notthat I’m in a hurry to kick Tucker out of the bedroom, but I am in a hurry to do just that at the same time. Tomorrow night I have a date with his mom, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

The doctor, even though I fucking hate him, gave the all clear and I’m going to wine, dine, and take my woman for the first time since we conceived Tucker himself.

The sales associate takes us over to the part of the store where the bedding is and I’ve never been so happy to have it all in one place before in my whole life. This crib needs to be set up, Tucker needs to be comfortable in it, and I need to fuck Bethie.

“Do you know what you want?” I ask, looking over to Bethie and hoping to fuck they have something here.

I watch as her eyes roam over all of the options, then she takes out her phone and I watch as she snaps a picture of one then texts it to, I assume her mother.

“I think I like those sheets and really that’s all I need for now.”

“We have matching mesh crib bumpers that are breathable,” the sales associate announces.

I flick my gaze between the bedding and Bethie, hoping that she’ll pick something now so that we can grab some dinner and head home to wait for the men to deliver the furniture and set it up.

An hour later, bedding has been purchased along with a crib, crib mattress, and a dresser. It will all be delivered in just a few hours. When I signed the receipt, it felt like I was signing my fucking life away, Jesus Christ, that shit is expensive.

It’s a fucking racket.

“Do you want me to pick up dinner?” I ask as I head back toward the penthouse.

Bethie doesn’t say anything immediately, but I can feel her gaze on me. Then she clears her throat.

“Yeah, that would be good. I really need to become a better cook, especially if you want six kids. I have to be able to feed them.”

I chuckle, reaching across the car and wrapping my fingers around the top of her knee, squeezing. There is a quiet moment between us and then I speak.

“No matter what, I will always provide, Bethie. You can be a stay-at-home mom and I’ll hire a chef and a maid. Whatever you need, whatever you want, it’s yours.”

“A chef and a maid?” she asks.

“Whatever you want.”

“That’s a little over the top, isn’t it?”

I smile as I pull into my parking spot again for the second time today. Regardless of that fucking doctor, today has been a wonderful day and I would do it again if I could, hell, I would punch that guy in the face again if I could, too.

“I’m going to give Tucker a bath,” Bethie announces as we walk into the penthouse together.

“Okay, I’ll order some dinner and wait for the furniture delivery,” I offer.

Bethie gives me a smile, then to my surprise, after she picks up Tucker from his car seat, she makes her way over to me with Tucker in her arms. Then she presses her lips to my cheek.

“Thank you, Laurent.”

“For?” I ask.

She laughs softly, her breath washing over my cheek. “For everything. For being a good father, for defending me, for the furniture, everything.”

Lifting my hand, I cup her cheek. I slide the pad of my thumb along her bottom lip, my eyes looking directly into hers, seeing the depths of her.

Bethie has always shown me everything, to an unnerving degree, she has never hidden a damn fucking thing from me. It’s always been me doing the hiding. I hate myself for it, I missed out on far too much because of it.

With a smile, Bethie stands and my hand falls. I watch as she turns and walks away from me. I hear the bathtub water start just as the doorman calls to let me know that the baby store delivery is here and, on the way, up.

It doesn’t take long for them to set everything up. I assume that it’s because they do this all day, every day. I give them each a tip and thank them for their speedy delivery and setup. Then, before I even close the front door, our takeout has arrived. I thank the delivery driver and tip him as well.

Closing the door, I lock it and head over to the kitchen to plate the food. Once the food is all set on plates and at the breakfast table, I start to make my way toward the staircase, but I don’t have to go far. Bethie is walking down the stairs, a clean baby in her arms.

Reaching for Tucker, I slip him from her arms, touching my lips to hers in a brief kiss. “Go ahead and eat, I got him.”

“He’s all fed and clean,” she says as she walks past me and heads to the table.

I follow behind her and sit down across from her. I watch as Bethie starts to eat, I can’t take my eyes off of her. I don’t know what it is about her, but each day that goes by, I wonder how in the fuck I ended up with this woman. Why she chose me, why she stays here with me. I don’t ask her though because no way in fuck do I want her to figure out how much better than me she is and take off.

Our dinner is eaten in companionable silence, then I show her the new bedroom and we put Tucker down in his bed for the first time. I take about ten pictures with my cell and send them to far too many fucking people. I don’t care though. He looks like such a big little guy in his own crib.

Maybe he’s not ready to be in this crib all alone?

“He’s going to be fine. We’ll leave the door open,” Bethie murmurs, taking my hand in hers.

I watch as Tucker’s eyelids become heavy and she pulls me out of the room. I don’t want to leave him there and I feel ridiculous because I’m the one that has wanted him in his own crib for weeks.

“He’s all alone,” I mutter.

Bethie laughs. “He is just a few feet away, Laurent.”

“Yeah,” I grumble.

Her lips touch mine and she laughs softly. “Let’s try to get some sleep.”

“Yeah.”

We do lie down and attempt to get some sleep, but sometime in the middle of the night, Tucker ends up in the bassinet right next to us. I don’t know which one of us brings him in, or maybe I do, but I don’t want to admit it.

Doesn’t matter who brings him into the room, we’re complete with him right here. I know that he needs to be in his own space, but it’s going to have to be a weaning situation—more for me than anyone else, I think.

I’m attached to the little man. Completely and totally in love with him. I now understand completely why my dad didn’t just turn his back on my mom, walk out the door and live his life happily with weekend visits.

I understand it.

I couldn’t just walk away and survive only seeing Tucker on the weekends. This needs to work.