~25~
Being with the one you love
It was 4:30am I bundled myself in my bathrobe and headed downstairs with the remaining cake; I made coffee and wanted something to nibble on other than cake, yes believe it or not, I was passing up on the cake, what the heck has happened to me? I put cheese, and fruit on a plate and along with my coffee went out to the pool.
I began thinking about my life, what a mess it was, all the scares, threats and bombs but the worst was the cancer. It wasn't that I was afraid of dying it was knowing that I had not told Carlos how I felt about him, that I would die without him ever knowing how much I loved him. Thankfully, I did not have to worry about that any longer.
I was admiring my ring, thinking about our future and that our 'someday' was finally here. I heard Carlos walking out of the house coming to find me. I guess he woke up and discovered I was not in the bed next to him.
"Hmmm, are you OK Babe?" He sounded a little worried.
"Oh yeah, everything is fine, I was awake and didn't want to wake you. Do you want some coffee?" I offered.
"Yeah that sounds good." He took a seat in one of the over sized lounge chairs.
"Why don't you nibble on the cheese and fruit, I'll be right back." I headed in to the kitchen for a carafe full of coffee for the two of us.
Carlos was on the lounge chair when I came back with our coffee and I sat down between his legs with my back to him. Taking his full mug from me, he sipped some coffee and wrapped his arms around me. We talked about the previous evening and the love we finally admitted we have for each other. While we drank our coffee, he fed me some cheese and fruit. We watched the sun rising off in the distance. It was soothing and peaceful. I felt like my life couldn't get any better.
"Babe, you did say you'd marry me right?" Carlos leaned forward asking me.
"Why are you having second thoughts Mr. Manoso?" I turned my head to look into his deep brown eyes.
"No way Ms. Plum, just wanted to make sure" He quickly responded.
"Yes I did and I am not changing my mind." I smiled seeing the relief in his eyes and smiles come to his face.
"Good to know Babe, good to know." We laughed and I rested my head on his shoulder
"Babe, when do you want to get married?" He queried toying with my hair.
"Thanksgiving" I told him with confidence.
"Babe, really this Thanksgiving?" He seemed surprised.
"Too soon huh?" I tried to hide my disappointment. I was hoping to convince him to marry me here so that I could avoid all the hassle of planning a wedding in Trenton.
"Babe, I would make it happen but I was thinking of an actual wedding ceremony with a reception."
"Carlos, you want a lavish wedding with the reception and the circus that goes along with planning it?" I asked him with curiosity. I couldn't believe the 'Man of Mystery', the man who is so private that most people do not even know his full name wanted to share our special moment with a bunch of other people.
"Surprisingly Babe, I do want a formal wedding. Ours will not be a circus, we will have it our way, and we will call all the shots, no one but us will be making the arrangements."
He was playing with my finger and my engagement ring as he lifted up my hand looking at it.
"This ring is exactly where it should be Babe; the wedding band is in the safe back at home. Are you sure, you like the ring? We can change it for something you like or design one yourself if you want."
"Mr. Manoso first of all, this is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen in my life and secondly there is no way you are ever taking this ring off my finger, the only time it comes off is if you have to cut it off in order to save my life." I told him sternly.
He wrapped his arms around me tighter and nibbled on my ear. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and we both rested enjoying the tranquility of the early morning sun and the sound of the waves. It didn't get any better than this.
Apparently, we both must have dozed off because we woke up to the sound of voices. The staff had arrived, and we didn't even hear them. Talk about being unaware of our surroundings. Patricia walked quietly over to us carrying a fresh tray of fresh coffee and a variety of breads and pastries. Yum chocolate filled pastries and muffins.
Henry was right behind her as he greeted us. "Good morning Stephanie, Carlos, tell me, how was your evening?"
"Oh Henry thank you so much for all your help, it was amazing. From the moment we walked into the restaurant until we left, everything was perfect. The food, the service, and the club it was all just wonderful. We are going back when Kinsey and Amanda get here." I smiled remembering the previous evening. I felt awkward in front of Henry and Patricia since we were dressed only in robes; I was trying to make sure that nothing was exposed since Carlos had been playing earlier.
"Babe, you're fine no need to worry." Carlos whispered in my ear.
"Henry, we met the singer Sade last night and we invited her to join us and spend some time with us here at the house. We are waiting for her to confirm it with us."
"Stephanie, Carlos that is no problem at all, just let us know when you hear from Ms. Sade and we will be prepared." Henry assured us.
Patricia set everything on the table next to our lounge chair and refilled our coffee mugs. She asked what I would like. I really felt funny being waited on like some kind of royalty; I am not used to it at all. Carlos may but this is an entirely different lifestyle for me. I wasn't sure what to do, I wanted to tell her that it was OK to just leave everything and that we would do it ourselves but she isn't my employee.
Again, the ever-mindful Carlos sensed my awkwardness made the decision for me. "Patricia, please don't feel you have to wait on us, we are fine with you leaving everything here."
"Carlos, I know you both are capable, it is our job to make sure that you and Stephanie are taken care of while you are enjoying your trip and taking time to relax." Patricia gave Carlos a stern look with a hint of a smirk causing him to turn my head looking at me; he told me via ESP that I should just suck it up and deal with it.
Naturally, I chose the chocolate filled croissant, a piece of banana bread and a coconut and chocolate filled croissant. Oh, my god they were to die for, they were delicious. My trademark moan that I thought had taken a hiatus suddenly reappeared. Patricia and Henry looked at me not sure whether to laugh or ignore it politely and walk away.
"It's OK go ahead you may as well get used to it, since the moaning has surfaced, I've no doubt you'll be hearing more of it throughout the trip." Carlos told them laughing and shaking his head.
"I'm sorry Stephanie; I've never heard anyone express their pleasure in what they were eating in the manner you just did." She said smiling at me.
"Patricia, I try really hard to control it but I truly believe that I'm doing it all in my mind until people start to act funny. You see my mouth has no filter, it just says what it wants when it wants no matter how hard I try." I shamefully responded.
"So Stephanie, what you're saying is if you don't moan while eating you don't like the food?" Henry said laughing. I gave him a smirk wanting to call him a smart ass.
"She never disappoints Henry, I can promise you that." Carlos said as he kissed me.
Olivia was making her way over to us and she asked if it was OK for her to take our clothes from last night for cleaning. As I started to answer her, she gasped with excitement.
"Oh my gosh, you proposed to her last night didn't you? But but what about all the plans, what about the….." Patricia put her hand over Olivia's mouth shushing her. "Olivia leave it alone, it's none of our business."
"I'm sorry Carlos, Patricia is right, it's not my business but I'm so happy for you both, can I see the ring? Oh my goodness this is beautiful, Stephanie. Congratulations, I really am so very happy for you both." She gushed.
"Thank you Olivia, we appreciate it." I replied for both Carlos and I. She said she was going upstairs to get our clothes and walked away. Henry and Patricia both congratulated us and wished us many years of happiness together. It was all very sweet from Olivia's excitement to Henry and Patricia's well wishes.
Henry and Patricia left us alone and I finished my croissant and moved on to the chocolate and coconut croissant, before I took a bite I broke off a piece and put it to Carlos's mouth telling him he had to taste it.
"Babe, what would you like to do today?" Carlos mumbled around a mouthful of croissant.
"I don't know, did you have anything planned?" I answered.
"No not really."
"I'd like to go shopping but I can wait until Amanda gets here. Can we go to town and walk around seeing the sites?"
"Yeah, we can do that, if that's what you want to do." I have never seen Carlos this relaxed before. He always seemed to have business on his mind. I was starting to think it would be up to me to make sure he took time to get away from Rangeman to kick back and enjoy life. If my cancer scare taught me anything it was that life was too short not to live it to the fullest.
"OK that's what we'll do then, it will be an easy day today since you kept me pretty busy all night." I said to him with a huge smile on my face.
After finishing our breakfast, I wanted to go upstairs and nap, it was still early but Carlos wanted us to go running on the beach, I gave him one of my 'Burg' looks. I got up from the table and started heading upstairs when he ran after me as I got closer to the stairs I tried running but the robe was cumbersome and in the way, I tripped trying to run up the stairs.
Luckily I was able to brace myself but did manage to fall up the stairs, As I laid with my face flat on the step laughing hysterically Carlos quickly picked me up asking me if I was alright. Laughing I said yes and he proceeded to carry me upstairs to our room. He kicked the door closing it and put me on the bed. Taking off my robe, he began kissing me. This then led to another session of sweet pleasure. I love waking up to sweet kisses and a sexy voice whispering in my ear accompanied by the sound of the waves crashing.
"It's time to wake up sleepy girl." He softly murmured in my ear.
"OK honey," I purred as I was rolling around in the bed like a kitty cat.
We took a shower that included some playtime too; I smiled thinking about how enjoyable our playtime in the shower is.
"What's going on in that mischievous mind of yours Babe?" Carlos asked playfully tugging my hair.
"Oh I was just thinking about how I really enjoy our bathroom playtime." I said grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Gotta agree with you there Babe." Carlos replied kissing me.
I kissed him back and decided we needed to get a move on otherwise we would end up staying in the shower and bed all day long, or as Marcus would say, "All the day long." I sure do miss that little guy.
"Carlos, we have to get a move on, when we're done I want to face time with Marcus, I miss the little guy."
"Yeah Babe, let's say hi to Mini B" Carlos agreed. He had an adorable look on his face that told me he too missed our little friend.
After finishing in the shower, I decided to put on light makeup and pull my hair up in a clip. I didn't want to bother with styling my hair. It was sunny and warm outside with the current temperatures about 86 and 66% humidity my hair would be a disaster.
Walking out of the bathroom I saw clothes laid out on our bed, I love when my bad-ass man of mystery who wears nothing but black picks out my clothes. He chose an ankle length mango colored halter style dress with beading around the neck, and for him, he had chosen a pair of khaki linen pants I had gotten him, they were sexy, I had paired them with a white shirt, and khaki and white Kenneth Cole slip on sneakers.
When Carlos came out in his loose linen pants and white shirt he looked so damn sexy, I know there will be women who were going to be falling all over themselves at the sight of him. I was going to have to hold on tight; maybe I should look for a ring for his left hand to warn off all the women.
He was wearing the bracelet and dog tag that I had bought him and I had my black diamond bracelet on my wrist and earrings in. I still had my Batman necklace on that had the tracker embedded in it. Even though we looked like a couple of tourists without a care in the world, I knew Carlos would have his Glock snug at his back and at least one knife somewhere on his body. Carlos looked me up and down, came over took my hand and twirled me around, I felt like one of those ballerinas in a jewelry box. I know funny analogy but that's how I felt.
"Babe, you are stunning, I swear you could make a potato sack look beautiful. That is a great color on you." He said while licking his luscious lips. He reached behind me picking my gun handing it to me to put in my bag.
"You my sexy Cuban look pretty dang good yourself." I said looking him up and down as if he was ice cream in a waffle cone, smooth and crunchy.
Last summer I had found a Kate Spade straw summer bag, with black trim and a bow on the corner that came with a matching pair of summer sandals, they were on sale so I couldn't resist buying them. I'm glad I brought it with me, I put my things in the bag and we walked downstairs.
We went to the living room and Carlos walked over to the TV, which I guess was one of those smart technology things. I heard ringing and next thing I saw was Michael, Carlos talked to him for a little bit and I heard Marcus in the back ground yelling "it's Bomber and Ranger" I could hear his little feet running.
It was pure joy to see the smiling face of my little man. He came running to his mom who had the iPad. He looked so happy standing there with hands on his hips. "Bomber, I glad you call me, I am missing you lots. Are you missing me?" he asked with so much love.
"Of course we do, I told Batman, we had to face time you before we went out anywhere today. How are you?"
"Bomber, wow wowie wow, you look goushus where are you going?" I love the way he says gorgeous, where he comes up with these words, I'll never know.
"We are going in to town to see things Mini B. The weather is beautiful here, it's nice and hot."
"Bomber, what have you done up to this day?" He asked.
"Batman and I went swimming in the pool, then to the beach. We also played in the ocean; last night we went out to dinner to a really nice restaurant and ate lots of good food." I stopped there since I wanted to keep our conversation G-rated.
"Sounds neat, Batman are you being nice to Bomber? Remember you promised to be nice." He sounded so serious.
"Oh I'm being really nice to Bomber Mini B. Otherwise I know there will be trouble when we get home." Ranger told Marcus just as seriously.
We talked for a little while longer, and Alicia and Michael came on and we chatted with them for a bit. Then Alicia walked away from Michael and Marcus taking the iPad with her. I could no longer see the guys on the screen. I heard Marcus asking her where she was going. She told him that she needed to talk to me alone for a minute. I started to worry, thinking something was wrong with Marcus; I always worry about his health although he's been feeling so good.
"OH MY GOD Stephanie, what is that ring on your finger?" She asked me with a surprised look on her face. "Spill the beans Stephanie Plum."
Carlos laughed and went to talk to Jackson and left me alone to deal with the question. Thanks Mr. Support System.
"Alicia, please don't say anything, we haven't announced it yet, he proposed last night after we got home from dinner."
"Steph, let me see the ring, move your hand closer. It sure is sparkling on screen; I can imagine how great it must look in person."
I moved my hand in closer. She was wide eyed and had a huge smile on her face.
"I won't say anything I promise, I am so happy for you, you're not going to pull one of those getting married while you're there weddings are you?"
"No I wanted to but Carlos wants to have a formal wedding."
"That is awesome news, when are you going to announce it to everyone?" She said with the excitement of a little girl.
"No clue at all, I think I'm just going to take pictures and text them to everyone. It was all such a surprise even to Carlos since he had other plans." Alicia and I finished our conversation and she walked back to Marcus and Michael.
"Mommy, bout time, you took a long time talking to Bomber." Marcus said with a serious look, well as serious as a little boy can make. Carlos came back saying we needed to leave. We finished talking to Marcus and Carlos told him we would call in a few days.
We walked outside to find a black SUV in the driveway and Jackson outside waiting for us. I don't know how to handle all this attention and being waited on it's just not something I am used to but I remembered what Patricia said so I just have to suck it up and deal with it.
It didn't take more than 10 minutes of walking around town before the women started falling all over themselves staring at Carlos. All I could do was smile because no matter how they reacted to my sexy Cuban and all his lusciousness, I knew at the end of the day he was all mine.
We spent the day soaking in the culture and buying souvenirs. Around one, we stopped at a nice café for lunch and we just sat chatting and enjoying each other's company. I was learning things about Carlos' childhood and his teen years in Miami. He was being so open to me and it was wonderful. Carlos and I have spent a lot of time together but not in a relaxed setting away from work and all the stress that comes along with our jobs.
I don't know what happened to the day but next thing I knew it was 6:30 in the evening. Carlos asked if I wanted to eat in town or go home, I told him it was up to him that I could go with either one. We made our way back to the car and again Jackson was standing beside the SUV. Carlos told him we were ready to go home.
When we arrived home, I went upstairs and put away the things we bought and decided to change into my bathing suit. I thought it would be relaxing to spend some time in the pool with Carlos after dinner. Patricia had prepared a plate of light appetizers and a pleasant fruited rum punch.
After a lovely dinner, we relaxed in the pool before walking down to the beach. Sitting in the comfy chairs we talked for a short while before heading upstairs for the night. We shared a long shower full of kisses and caresses ending in a long and sensual night.
A/N:
Thank you Susan Peters, you are an awesome editor with great ideas and suggestions. You really are the additional creative part that my brain is lacking.
As always, the original characters belong to JE, I'm playing with them.