important item is the dress and now you have that...let's just do this, Lacey. I can't wait to be with you all the time.” He turned her away from the window to face him. “There's something else.”
“Don't tell me, you've hired your own set of bridesmaids?”
“No, silly. It's something I've been thinking about for a while now.” He held her shoulders. “Let's have a baby.”
“What?”
“Seriously, a little Cole or a little Lacey. Our kids will be beautiful. Let's start having children straight away, Lacey.” He had a wide smile on his face.
“Really, you want that?”
“Yeah. I want you to come off the pill.”
“Cole, you can't just make announcements out of the blue like that. Isn't that something we should discuss first?”
“Well, it would have come up sooner or later. Why not talk about it now? You do want a child with me, don't you?”
“Well, yes, I...”
“Lacey, everything I suggest you hesitate over. I'm beginning to think you don't love me as much as I love you.”
“That's not true and you know it.”
“Prove it to me Lacey. Prove it or I'll start thinking that I've made a mistake about you. That I gave my heart to someone who isn't 100% committed.”
“I am, Cole, stop talking like that.”
“Will you do it, then? Come off the pill?”
She looked up at him for a moment. In his eyes she could see the love pouring out. He was passionate about her, she could see that. She could see that little innocent boy behind his eyes again, a cheeky half smile creeping onto his face.
“Okay,” Lacey said. “I'll do it.”
He held her tightly, whispering into her ear how much he loved her, thanked her for doing this for him and she would see...he'd make her the happiest woman alive.
Chapter3
Lacey was once again thrown into turmoil. Cole had presented her with a dilemma she had not expected. Married in four weeks and on her way to becoming a mother – it was all too much to take in. For the next few nights, she tossed and turned, thinking she had to step up the wedding preparations and Cole had already sent her over a list of people he wanted to invite. Just like her birthday party and surprise engagement, the wedding would be full of people who knew Cole and very few who knew her.
She understood that a period of adjustment was needed in any relationship, so she would have to get used to the fact that by marrying Cole she would soon have to get to know these people. They would all be a part of her world now.
Still, she was having trouble sleeping and every time she looked out of the window and saw the security guards parked outside she became agitated.
“Cole.” Lacey called him from her bedroom late one night as she looked out at the black car with its window cracked open.
“What is it, honey? You want me to come over?”
“No, Cole, I just want some sleep.”
“What do you mean?”
“That damned car is bugging the hell out of me. For one night, could you please just call them off?”
“But...”
“I mean it, Cole. I can't sleep, I look out of the window and I feel like I'm a prisoner or a hostage or something. For one night, call them off so I can feel normal again.”
“All right, Lacey, you win.”
“And I don't mean for you to tell them to drive a little way down the road so they can keep spying on me – I'll know.”
“Your wish is my command. I've sprung a lot on you lately, I realized that. If it will give you peace of mind, it's done. Go to sleep, Lacey, they'll be gone in seconds.”
“Thank you.”
“Goodnight, honey.”
She went back to her bed, got under the bedclothes and settled down. As soon as she closed her eyes, her cell phone rang. She cursed under her breath, thinking it must be Cole and was just about to let rip when she saw it was a number she did not recognize. She pressed the button to answer but did not