Streets of Love

Chapter 29: Everything is Not What it Seems.

Saturday had arrived. Kelly's mother had met her at the airport, and had dinner waiting for her when she got home. Kelly had then spent the evening talking with her mom, and watching old movies. It felt good to be with her again. Her father had had dinner with them and socialized for a bit, but then he went to bed. He got tired early sometimes.

"Don't worry. He's going to hang out with his friends tomorrow evening. So, we can have the party without him being here, grumbling about being bored," Ann had said to her.

"Good! I love him, but seriously, he bitches too much sometimes," Kelly quipped.

"You're telling me! I have to live with him!" Ann said.

They both laughed.

"I love your father though. I tease with love," Ann said.

Kelly grinned. "I know." She loved how much her parents loved each other. She was so glad she had that kind of love with Matthew. He had even texted her to tell her he missed her already. She loved him so much, and it made her so happy to know that Matthew loved her just as much as she loved him.

She wanted to Skype with him, but by the time she and her mother were done watching their movies, it was one in the morning. She knew Matthew was more than likely in bed by then, for it was four in the morning in NY.

She went to bed missing Matthew, but knowing it was one night closer to being with him again. Besides, tomorrow, she'd get to see Lisa, and all her other friends, and have a wonderful baby shower. It was sure to be fun. Even so, she could hardly wait until she was back in Matthew's arms, kissing him, and sharing their love together. She fell sleep smiling at the thought. However, the next morning made her a little weary when she Skyped with Matthew.

She was happy to see that he was Online, and even more happy when he accepted her Skype call. That was until she saw who was with him.

"Good morning, my Darling," he said to her before she could even say hello herself.

"Good afternoon, Darling!" she said with a smile. It was around one in NYC, whereas it was only ten in LA. "I miss you already."

He nodded. "Mm, I miss you too. I hate lying in bed without you. It's hard to sleep, not being in your arms."

"I feel the same way about your arms," she said.

"So, is the baby shower tonight?" Matthew asked.

Kelly nodded. "Lisa's going to take me out to lunch, then we're gonna do some shopping. Then, we'll come back here, and set up. I'm going to fly back Sunday evening."

"I'll be waiting at the airport," he promised.

"It might be kind of don't have to," she insisted.

He shrugged. "You know me. I'm always up late anyway. Besides, I don't want to go to sleep that night until you're back in my arms."

"How did I ever get so lucky, having you as a husband?" she asked.

"It's funny, because I ask myself that every day. Only it's how I ever got so lucky getting you as my wife," he said.

"Come here, and kiss me!" She said with a grin.

He grinned too, and they leaned in and kissed the screen.

"That just felt silly," he said.

She sighed. "Yeah, certainly not as good as the real thing, unfortunately."

"Hey, Matthew! Sorry I'm late! I got tied up with work, so I didn't get out for lunch until later, then there was a line... Oh. Sorry!" Naama said when she saw Matthew was on Skype with Kelly. She had a couple paper carry out bags from some deli in her hands.

Kelly was surprised to say the least. What on earth was Naama doing at their house? "Um, hello, Naama. What are you doing there?"

"Hi, Kelly! I came to...drop Aven off," Naama said.

Kelly wasn't buying it. She sounded too suspicious. "But if you're there on your lunch break, that means you were just at work." She didn't mean for her suspicions to come to surface, but her want for wanting to know what was going on overpowered her want for discretion.

"Well, today was take your daughter to work day, so I brought her for a bit. I knew she'd be bored by lunchtime, so Matthew agreed to take her at lunch. I decided to be nice and get us all lunch, then bring it to him," she explained.

"Well, that was nice of you." Kelly tried to keep her tone calm, even, and friendly, but it was hard to. It kind of annoyed her that Matthew and his ex were having lunch together at her's (Kelly's) and Matthew's place.

"Well, I'll let you two Skype in peace. I'll go set lunch up in the dining room." Naama then waved at the screen. "It was nice seeing you, Kelly!"

Kelly smiled, and waved back. "You too!"

As soon as Naama was gone, Kelly jumped on Matthew. "Did you give her the key to our house?"

Matthew looked confused. "What? No. Why?"

"Well, how did she get in? You didn't let her in." Kelly didn't know why, but this whole thing was annoying her to no end.

"I just left the door open. It's daytime, we live in a safe part of the city. Besides, she was only gone for an hour," Matthew said simply.

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "An hour? I thought she was at work!"

Matthew blushed. "She was! I guess, what I meant is, I left it unlocked only an hour before she got here. I knew she'd be arriving shortly, and I didn't want to have to be bothered to get up from the computer to let her in. I needed to get some work-related things done."

Kelly guessed that was a reasonable enough explanation. Still, something seemed shady. Unfortunately, she couldn't spend any more time dwelling on it. Looking at the computer clock, she saw she only had forty-five minutes to get ready to go out with Lisa. She had to go. "Well, like I said, I'll be home Sunday evening. I'll call you when I'm about a half hour away."

"All right. Have a good night tonight. Have fun at the party. I love you," Matthew said to her.

Her heart melted a bit. Every time he told her he loved her, it made her heart race. "I love you too," she said, meaning it with all her heart.

He blew her a kiss. "Goodbye for now, my Darling."

She blew him one back. "Goodbye, my Darling."

Matthew must have tried to click off the window, and it accidentally just minimized. He was always doing that. For, Kelly could still see and here him even though he showed no signs of awareness that his camera was still on.

Naama came back into the room then. "Do you think she bought it?"

Matthew shrugged. "She seemed a little suspicious, but I think it's fine now. She's too occupied with her baby shower to think much of it."

"Good! She can't find out until we're good and ready to tell her!" Naama said.

"More like show her," Matthew said with a grin.

Naama grinned too. "Yes. Show her."

"I'm starved! What did you get us for lunch?" Matthew asked.

Kelly narrowed her eyes. She clicked off her window, feeling sick. So there was something going on!

She opened a new window, and looked up take your daughter to work day. That day was the forth Thursday in April. It was currently the second Monday in December—the tenth to be exact. Naama had lied!

She sighed. She had to get ready. She didn't have time to worry about any of this right now. Even so, she would get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing she did!

~I walk the streets of love~

Kelly tried to enjoy lunch with Lisa, but thoughts of Naama and Matthew were on her mind, causing her to lose her appetite.

"What's wrong, Kelly? Don't you feel good? Is it the baby?" Lisa asked with concern.

Kelly sighed, then looked at her friend. "I'm just worried."

"About what?" Lisa asked.

Kelly bit her bottom lip. "I think something is going on between Matthew, and his ex-wife Naama."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why so?"

Kelly then explained to her what had happened earlier.

"Well, I'll admit, that sounds fishy. But, Matthew loves you. Are you sure it's something bad?" Lisa asked.

"Well, isn't it kind of odd that Naama would ask if I bought it? What about Matthew telling her I sounded suspicious, but am too preoccupied with the baby shower to worry about it?"

"I'll admit, it sounds bad. But, before you go jumping to conclusions, I'd suggest that you talk to Matthew about it. Tell him that you didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you really couldn't help but overhear. Give him time to explain himself," Lisa suggested.

Kelly nodded. "I guess you're right."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Girl, you should know by now I'm always right."

Kelly smirked. "Ever so modest!"

Lisa shrugged. "I just tell it like it is, Hot Mama!"

They both laughed.

Lisa nodded at Kelly. "Now, you can call him later. Right now, you need to eat for that baby!"

Kelly felt a little better. Matthew wouldn't cheat on her. She was just being silly. Besides, Lisa was right. She had to eat for the baby.

She dug into her lunch, putting Matthew and Naama, and what they could possibly be doing together out of her mind for the time being.

"Good girl!" Lisa said, noticing she was eating.

Kelly playfully barked like a dog as a joke since "Good girl," or "Good boy" sounded like something you'd say to a dog who behaved.

Lisa giggled. "Girl, you're crazy!"

"You know it!" Kelly said with a wink and a grin.

They both laughed again, then went back to eating their lunches.

~I walk the streets of love~

Kelly tried calling Matthew after lunch, but got no reply. She left a message for him to call her, then enjoyed her shopping with Lisa.

After shopping, they headed back to Kelly's mother's place, then spend the rest of the day setting up for the baby shower. Kelly's mother was nice enough to cook for everyone. The baby shower was going to include dinner on the patio.

"I feel like a jerk allowing you to help decorate for your own baby shower. You know, you can go relax, and call Matthew again, or watch TV or whatever if you want," Lisa suggested.

"That's all right. I left him a message to call me. He will when he wants to," Kelly said, feeling sick at her own words. "If he wants to." It wasn't like him to ignore her calls, but he must be. He always had his phone on him. Unless he had been taking a shower, but even so, he'd have returned her call by now.

Lisa shrugged. "Suit yourself! I do appreciate your helping."

"Don't mention it!" Kelly said.

Ann came in to help them at one point while dinner was busy cooking, so it only took them about an hour to get all set up.

"I'm almost done with dinner, then maybe you two can help me set up the patio. For now, take a rest!" Ann said to them.

"You don't gotta tell me twice!" Lisa said, plopping down onto the couch.

Ann disappeared into the kitchen.

"I need some iced tea. Do you want anything?" Kelly asked Lisa.

"An iced tea sounds good, thanks. Do you want me to get it?" Lisa asked.

Kelly shook her head. "No, you rest. It will only take me a moment."

"Thanks!" Lisa said, taking out her iphone.

Kelly then went to get her and Lisa some iced teas. "Lisa and I are dying of thirst," she said to her mother, who was at the stove, stirring the barbecue sauce.

"Kelly, Darling, while you're in here, can you please stir this until I get back?" Ann asked her. "I have to go to the bathroom, and I don't want to leave it unattended. It will stick to the pan if it's not stirred."

"Sure, Mom," Kelly said, taking the spoon from her, and stirring the sauce.

Two minutes later, Ann came back. She took the spoon back from Kelly. "Thank you, Sweetheart."

Kelly smirked at her. "Did you wash your hands?" When Kelly and her siblings were little, Ann used to always ask them that after they had gone to the bathroom.

"Haha. No, I didn't," Ann stated simply.

"Mom!" Kelly complained.

Ann laughed. "I'm only joking! Of course I washed my hands! Don't be silly. Now go bring your friend a drink before she dies of thirst."

Kelly smirked. "Will do." She went into the fridge, and got out the iced tea. She poured it into two glasses, put the iced tea back in the fridge, added some ice, then brought hers and Lisa's iced teas back out into the living room, where Lisa was still sitting on the couch, looking through her iphone.

"Sorry it took so long. My mother had to go to the bathroom, and needed me to stir the barbecue sauce for her," Kelly apologized.

Lisa looked up at her, her expression pale. "You have to see this."

"Okay... Why am I not getting a good feeling?" Kelly asked as she headed over to Lisa. She set their iced teas down onto two coasters on the coffee table, then sat down next to Lisa. "What is it?"

"I was searching Matthew for the heck of it, to see if anything recent came up about him and Naama, and it did," Lisa explained as she handed Kelly her iphone.

Already feeling sick to her stomach and not because of the baby, Kelly took Lisa's phone from her, and looked at what Lisa had been looking at.

Her face paled as she looked at the site Lisa had up. It was one of those paparazzi sights. Ironically enough, this one seemed to be set up like Gossip Girl's site from Gossip Girl.

She read the small article, and then looked at the pictures.

Spotted: Matthew Settle out and about, with his Ex, Naama Nativ, looking rather cozy as they shop around together. No Kelly in site. Could there be trouble in paradise for Gossip Girl's hottest real life couple? Is Matthew getting back together with his ex? These pictures look like it could be so, but only time will tell. Though, we must say, them together with their daughter, is kind of cute. Maybe this is one family that is being repaired? But then what about his new family with Kelly? Either way, it looks like someone's gonna get her heart broken. Ouch! Whomever it is, we wouldn't want to be her! We'll keep you posted is we see anymore sightings!

Bellow the article were five pictures. Ones was of Matthew carrying Aven with his left arm, his right arm draped casually over Naama's shoulder. Naama's arm was around his waist. Matthew was saying something to her. Naama was smiling.

The second picture showed the three of them coming out of a toy store, Aven between them. Naama was holding Aven's left hand, two bags of toys hanging from Naama's free hand. Matthew was holding Aven's right hand, another couple bags of toys hanging from his free hand. All three of them were smiling big.

The third picture was of Naama clinging to Matthew's arm as they came out of a furniture store. This one appeared to be from a different day because they were wearing different outfits. In fact, it was from the current day. Kelly recognized both their outfits from the day's earlier Skype call.

The forth was from the current day as well. It was of him and Naama peering into a bag together.

The fifth, also from that day, was of Matthew whispering something to Naama. Naama was grinning widely, and tucking a tray strand of hair behind her right ear.

"It could be anything," Kelly said simply. "It doesn't necessarily mean anything is going on."

"Of course not! I just thought you should know. I'm sure when Matthew calls you, he can explain everything," Lisa said.

"Yeah," Kelly said absentmindedly, staring at the pictures again. They did look awfully close. And very much like a family in the pictures with Aven. She wouldn't think the worst though. She owed it to Adrien to stay calm. She'd give Matthew a chance to explain himself if and when he called. However, if he didn't call, or if he didn't explain himself, then well, Adrien was going to be fatherless!

She handed Lisa her phone back, then sipped her iced tea.

"Good, isn't it?" Lisa asked. She was already sipping her own iced tea.

Kelly put on a smile and nodded. "Delicious!"

~I walk the streets of love~

Time seemed to fly by, for, before Kelly knew it, all her friends had arrived. It was great to see them all again. Caroline had even surprised her by showing up, as had Marcia and Taylor, among five other friends she hadn't seen in a while.

Dinner was great. Ann had been so clever in her meal preparation. There was barbecue baby back ribs, baby carrots, and baby corn. There was also salt potatoes since CO-hosting were baby sized potatoes. All the drinks were served in baby bottles.

"You all have to drink from them!" Lisa insisted.

Kelly was surprised that her friends and mother did drink from them—straight from the nipple.

"My husband might get turned on by drinking from one of these!" Lisa teased.

They all laughed.

"I'd like to put some Vodka in mine, but I'll be good since Kelly can't drink," Marcia joked.

"If you guys want to drink, don't let me stop you!" Kelly said with a smile.

"No, no, we'll be good. Besides, I need to be sober when CO-hosting this party," Lisa said.

"What she said. Still, as soon as the party's over, I want a night cap," Ann joked.

Kelly gasped. "Mother!" It didn't sound like something her mother would say.

Ann shrugged. "What? You think just because I'm old, I don't know how to have fun?"

Kelly shook her head. "You're not old, Mom." She smiled to herself. Her mother was crazy, but she loved her with all her heart.

They moved onto the games after dinner. They were going to have dessert, but were currently all stuffed, so they decided to wait until after the games.

There were three games. The first one was a pin the diaper on the baby game.

There was a big poster of a bottomless baby. At least, Kelly was pretty sure that's what it was. "Who the heck drew that?"

"Hey, I'm an actress, not an artist. Cut me a break!" Lisa said.

A few of Kelly's friends snickered. They then took turns trying to pin a cloth diaper over the baby's bottom while blindfolded, and after being spun around.

Surprisingly, Taylor won.

"The one who doesn't have kids, wins!" Caroline said with a laugh.

"Most kids I don't even like, really. Have no idea how the hell I won," Taylor commented.

"Well, you win a fifty dollar gift card to Barney's nonetheless," Lisa said with a smirk as she handed her the card.

Taylor smirked back. "Do I look like the type of person that shops at Barney's?" She motioned to her dark, gothic attire.

"Sorry, I didn't get any cards for hot topic," Lisa joked.

Taylor grinned. "I don't shop there either. Don't worry. Kelly can have it. Everyone's giving her something baby related. Let her get something for herself!"

"Well, thank you, Taylor. I can pay you for this," Kelly said as she took the offered card from Taylor.

Taylor brushed the thought off. "Don't even think about it! It's my gift to you. Or Lisa's. Depending on how you look at it."

"Well, thanks! To both of you," Kelly said.

The next game was a race to see who could change their doll's diaper first. They were just cheap baby dolls you'd by at Target. They each had their own. Its diaper was filled with chocolate pudding and lemonade—a heaping amount of both at that. The chocolate pudding was smeared all over the baby's bottom half, and the diaper was filled to the brink with lemonade. They had to use baby wipes to get all the pudding and stickiness off, then re-diaper them with a fresh diaper.

"And, go!" Lisa said, keeping the time on a stopwatch. Ann was watching to see who ended first.

It was a quick race, but Kelly actually won. More gift cards were given out to her, and the second and third place winners.

The final game was a trivia game about celebrity baby names. Marcia won that one.

"All right, it everyone ready for cake now?" Ann asked.

Everyone was.

At that moment, Matthew called Kelly on her cell phone.

"I'm going to take this. It's Matthew. Don't cut the cake without me!" Kelly told the others.

"We won't," her friends promised.

Kelly answered the phone as she headed to her bedroom. "Hello?"

"Hey, Darling. How is the party going? Is it still going on?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, it's fun so far. We're about to eat the cake, but I can talk for a moment. What did you do today?" Kelly waited. This was it. He'd either tell her about Naama, or he'd get a piece of her mind before she got a piece of cake for herself.

"Nothing, really. Aven and I just hung out for a bit at home, watching movies. I ordered us a pizza in, then took her to the park. After that, I dropped her back off at her mother's, then did some more work that needed to be done Online," he answered.

"Did you go shopping at all, or go out to dinner with a friend? I mean, it's not like you to not go somewhere in the evening," Kelly kept her tone non accusatory, but it was hard.

"Shopping? No," Matthew lied. "I am actually tired today, for some reason. I just had some leftover pizza from lunch, worked from home, and watched a couple TV movies. That's about it. I think I'm gonna shower, then head to bed soon, actually."

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "It's only eleven there. You must be tired!"

"Yeah. Sitting on the computer all day can make ya tired," Matthew said.

"So, after Naama went back to work, did you see her again?" Kelly asked.

"Naama? No. Well, I did when I dropped Aven back home to her, but that was only for a minute," Matthew replied.

Kelly felt herself getting angry. He was acting so nonchalant, like he wasn't lying at all! How dare he lie to her? She wasn't going to get upset though. She didn't want to put any stress on herself, and therefore hurt Adrien. Nor did she want to ruin the party. She would enjoy the rest of her time in LA, then give him a piece of her mind, and possibly all of her palm across his face when she got home.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your party. I miss you," Matthew said.

"I'll bet!" It had accidentally slipped. "Because I miss you just as much!" she quickly covered up.

"Goodnight, my Love. Sleep well tonight," he said.

"You too, my Darling. I love you." She tried not to cry when she said it.

"I love you too," Matthew said.

She then hung up. She wiped a few tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, and sniffled. She took a moment to compose herself, then went back to the party.

"Did you talk to him about it?" Lisa whispered to her.

"I asked him what he did today, and he said, aside from taking Aven to the park, he was home all day. He also claims he only saw Naama again for a moment when he dropped Aven back home," Kelly explained.

Lisa gasped. "That lying ass! I hope you gave him hell for it!"

Kelly shook her head. "Not yet. I'd rather do that in person. Right now, I want to enjoy this cute, and delicious looking cake!" She rubbed her stomach as Adrien kicked her again. The cake was shaped like a cartoon baby with a blue diaper.

"At least it's a cartoon, so I don't as feel bad cutting into it!" Ann said after Kelly took some pictures of it. Kelly had been taking pictures throughout the party.

"It's chocolate! I don't feel bad at all cutting into it. Give me that!" Lisa said, grabbing the knife from Ann, and cutting into the diaper.

Kelly laughed. At least she had Lisa's antics to cheer her up for now. However, when she got back to NY, the only thing that was going to cheer her up was answers from Matthew. That, and seeing Matthew's head on a platter.

~I walk the streets of love~

"Give him hell. Don't go even the slightest bit easy on him. Remember, give a man an inch, he'll take a mile."

Lisa's parting words from earlier in the day echoed in Kelly's head as she took the cab back to Matthew's and her apartment. He had texted her, asking if she could take a cab after all. He had something he had to do.

Or someone, Kelly thought bitterly. The whole plane ride home, she let her mind think stuff she really didn't want to be thinking. She thought about how she thought he had cheated that night he stayed at Naama's place. He had made her believe he hadn't, but now, she was starting to feel a little bit naive for believing he hadn't slept with her. In fact, maybe he had just pretending to be in love with her (Kelly) since she and he had supposedly made up. What if he was still angry with her for the way she had treated him, and was now paying her back by cheating on her behind her back? What if Matthew and Naama were in bed together after having made love, mocking her, and laughing? Would there be a Dear John letter waiting for her when she got home? Actually, the man to woman version would probably be considered a Dear Jane letter. Either way, she felt sick by the time she got to her apartment. She willed herself to concentrate on the anger, and not the sadness. She would not lose another baby because of something Matthew did! Not that it was his fault the first time, but when she lost the baby, she had thought it was his fault, so it was almost the same thing!

She entered the apartment, and boy was she surprised to see Matthew and Naama sitting on the love seat together, looking over a magazine, and laughing together.

She loudly cleared her throat, and dropped her bags.

Matthew and Naama both looked up at her in surprise.

"Kelly! You're home!" Matthew ran to her, and tried to pull her in for a kiss, but she pushed him away. She nodded at Naama. "What the hell is she doing here this late at night?"

Matthew looked at her in surprise. "She was helping with me with something."

Kelly snorted. "I bet she was."

"I'm sensing some hostility toward me," Naama said calmly, standing up.

"Very good! You should have gone to Harvard," Kelly snapped. "What is this?" she then asked them both. "I'm away, so you figure you can have a weekend romp here?"

"Kelly, what on earth has gotten into you? Why are you saying these things?" Matthew asked, sounding incredibly surprised.

As if he was some innocent little angel. This only made her angrier. "You lied to me," she stated simply. "I saw the pictures online of you two hanging out, shopping with Aven Friday, and then together, just the two, of you looking cosy yesterday when you," she looked directly at Matthew, "told me you were home most of the day, and only saw Naama when you dropped Aven back at her place!"

Matthew winced. "There were pictures? Where?"

"Online! I can't remember the name of the site, but it doesn't matter. The fact is, you lied to me! You probably lied yesterday morning too—both of you." Kelly nodded toward Naama. "You weren't here to bring Aven and lunch over. You were here to bang my husband! Weren't you?"

Naama looked at Matthew. "I think you should show were what was really going on."

"Oh, I already know what's really going on!" Kelly turned her attention to Matthew. "You are still angry with me for blaming you for what happened to Helena, and then later for me losing Adrianna. You took comfort in Naama here," she nodded toward Naama, "and then you two started an affair behind my back. You pretended to forgive me so that it would hurt even more when I found out you were cheating behind my back! Well, the jokes on me. I get it, Matthew!"

"You sure have an active imagination, Kel. You know, you should be a writer," Matthew said bitterly.

"Don't even try to deny your affair now, Matthew. You're only going to make things worse for yourself," Kelly said, now crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just show her," Naama said with a sigh, her arms crossed over her chest as well.

Kelly looked at her. "What? The messed up sheets in my husband's and my bed? I'll pass, thank you! In fact, I'm staying at a hotel. I'll leave you two to get back to it." She turned to leave, but Matthew caught her arm.

She tried to shake it off, but he held too tightly to her. "Get away from me!" she snapped.

"Not until you see what was going on," he told her.

"Fine! I'll have proof you cheated on me. It will make the divorce go through faster!" she said.

Kelly let Matthew pull her toward the nursery. "In the nursery?" She was so angry she could kill him. "How dare you desecrate our daughter's—" Kelly cut herself off when she got to the room, and looked inside. She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my gosh."

~I walk the streets of love~

The whole nursery had been transformed into what looked like a rainforest filled with dinosaurs. The walls were painted with a forest mural on all of them. There were even dinosaurs painted on the walls, walking in the forest. The boarder of the walls was made of fake vines that laced all the way across all four walls, tracing around where the walls met the ceiling. The ceiling was painted a sky blue with little white clouds all over it. The floor had plush brown carpeting with a couple rugs that had a leaves print on them. It all really made the room look like it was a forest.

The crib looked like it was made of bamboo. It had dinosaur bedding, and a dinosaur mobile.

The changing table as made of the same bamboo material, and the padding had the same dinosaur print as the bedding. There was a diaper genie, and the changing table was fully stocked with diapers, wipes, baby powder, and Desitin.

There was a bamboo dresser with six drawers. The top of the dresser had dinosaur print shelf paper over the top. There was also a bamboo rocking chair complete with a seat cover that had the same dinosaur print as the bedding and changing table.

There were giant stuffed animal dinosaurs all over the room as well. There was a tiny, portable CD player on top of a bamboo nightstand. It was currently playing jungle sounds, complete with dinosaur roars. It was on a low enough volume not to be annoying. The night stand also had a lamp with a dinosaur print shade. There was a section below the nightstand for books.

"I remembered when you were pregnant with Adriana, and we were deciding upon what kind of nursery you would like. You said you wanted a dinosaur theme if we had a boy. I knew Adrien was going to need his own room, and I wanted to surprise you with one. So, when you went away for the weekend, I took it as the perfect opportunity to get started. I called the carpenters the day after I found out you were going to LA. I also started on the online ordering for the rugs. I knew I'd need help, so I asked Naama. She knew of an artist that could paint the walls and ceiling for us on such short notice. She also had a friend who sews who was able to make the bedding, the cover for the changing table, and the seat cushion for the rocking chair. The giant stuffed animals were ordered Online." Matthew nodded toward the crib. "I bought the smaller ones in the crib at FAO Schwarz. That must have been when you saw Naama, Aven and I coming out of the store. We had bought Aven some toys too."

Kelly peered into the crib. She hadn't even noticed the smaller ones. There was a small triceratops, and a small brontosaurus in the crib.

"You saw us coming out of a furniture store the next day, right?" Naama asked.

Kelly looked at her. "Yes."

"We had just picked out the crib, drawers, nightstand, and changing table at the baby furniture store, and went there for the lamp." She nodded at the dinosaur lamp.

"We worked together all day long for three days straight—the carpenters and painter included—to get everything done before you got home. Naama even flirted with the man in charge of delivery to get him to deliver the crib and stuff the same day we ordered it," Matthew explained. "Naama also went out and bought all the baby stuff she knew you'd need for the changing table while I stayed here with the carpenters and painter in case they needed anything."

Kelly had tears in her eyes. Partly because she was so touched. Another part was she was embarrassed she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. And lastly, she was sad that she had acted like such a jerk when they had both been doing something so sweet for her and Adrien. "I don't deserve this. I'm such a witch! I jumped to stupid conclusions instead of trusting my husband, and trusting someone who has been nothing but nice to me even though I'm her ex-husband's new wife." She wiped the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hands.

Matthew wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. I'm sorry I lied to you. I can see why you would think something was going on. Trust me, Kel. I would never cheat on you. You and our children are my life! I love you more than I ever knew possible! I'm not about to screw that up. And, I understand why you blamed me. I meant it when I said I forgave you."

Kelly sniffled against his shoulder. "I just love you so much! I don't ever want to lose you. Especially if I lost you to another woman. I just couldn't bear it!"

"Well, you're never going to have to worry about that, because I'm here to stay. Trust me, I couldn't live without you anymore than you could live without me. I don't need to cheat because I got everything I could ever want and need the day I married you," Matthew assured her as he gently rubbed her back.

Kelly looked up at him, her eyes still damp.

Matthew wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Don't cry, Darling. You're far too beautiful to be consumed by tears."

They kissed.

"I'll let you two be alone. I'm gonna go back to my place now. It's late, and I'm sure the sitter is eager to get home," Naama said.

Kelly pulled away from Matthew, and headed over to Naama. She then embraced her. "I am truly sorry for the way I acted, and the things I said to you. It was uncalled for, and I can't even believe myself. I'm ashamed. Can you ever forgive me?"

Naama hugged her back, then held her at arm's length. "It's already forgotten about. I'd act the same way as you if the roles were reversed. Trust me though, I am over Matthew. I love my boyfriend, and I wouldn't change a thing about my life now. Besides, Matthew is crazy, mad nuts for you. Even more so than he ever was with me! He talked about you practically nonstop the whole time you were gone. He missed you like crazy!"

Kelly blushed. "Really?"

Naama nodded. "Really. I was sick of hearing about you, actually!"

They both laughed.

"Thank you, Naama. You didn't have to do any of this, but you did. Thanks so much for that," Kelly said, placing a hand over her arm.

Naama winked at her. "Don't mention it."

"Maybe we could be friends. We should go out to lunch sometime, and get to know each other better," Kelly suggested.

Naama smiled. "You know what? I'd actually love that. Call me anytime, and we'll set something up."

"Sounds good!" Kelly said.

"Thanks again for all the help," Matthew said, hugging Naama.

"You're very welcome!" Naama said, hugging him back.

Kelly didn't even flinch this time.

They all said their goodbyes, then Naama left.

Matthew locked up behind her.

"So, you really like it?" Matthew asked with a grin as they headed back to the nursery.

"Are you kidding? I love it! I'm so touched you even remembered! I myself had forgotten about wanting a dinosaur theme," Kelly said.

Matthew pulled her close. "I remember anything that makes you happy."

Kelly took his face between her hands, and kissed him softly and gently. "Well, right now, making love with you would make me happiest of all." She kissed down the side of his neck, then brushed her lips against his left ear. "Let me thank you for this beautiful nursery."

Matthew picked her up in response, his eyes lowered. "You're not too tired from the trip?" he asked.

"I got my second wind. Now, make love with me, please?" she asked.

"As I always say, you never have to beg," he replied.

They kissed all the way to the bedroom.