Lauren and I were pampered at the salon. I watched while the beauticians spoke with her, making certain that they weren't coddling her as a child, but as the teenaged young woman that she both was and wanted to be treated as. She was telling them about the upcoming events for our family, a wedding and a babyshower, both sure to be the talk of Miami.

"Do you have hopes for a girl or boy?" The nail technician was asking me as she buffed my nails. Her smile was sincere, as I was finding most of the people I dealt with throughout the resort.

My free hand fell to my rounded stomach and I took a moment to consider her question. I hadn't thought about genders, not really, with all the upheaval I'd gone through from the moment I'd know the baby existed. "I should say that it doesn't matter as long as the baby is healthy, shouldn't I?" Her smile told me that it was the standard answer. "I haven't thought about a preference." My eyes landed on Lauren as she chose a polish color that would pair well with the dress we'd chosen for my first wedding. "I think Lauren should have a little sister."

Once we'd been primped and pampered, we went back to the penthouse so Lauren could change for her dinner date with her father and I could settle in for an evening alone.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Lauren looked conflicted. Excited about being seen as the little lady of the Evans' household on the arm of her very handsome father and the center of the Miramar elite, but not wanting me to feel alone. I smiled and reminded her that I needed rest.

"You look lovely," it wasn't an idle compliment. Her eye, so wonderfully discerning when she redecorated her room, was shining through in her choice of outfits as well. Pale blue, with a small Peter Pan color and a darker blue tie, the overlay of lace and cinched waist with the flare of the skirt was perfect on her. Paired with a pair of kitten heels, a consolation on my part, bartered down from the heels that I wore and she coveted, she looked both her age and her part as heiress of her father's domain. She'd added the pearl earrings and watch I'd gifted her, proving she understood that less was more.

Her smile was the final and most important accessory to her look. "Thank you, Liz." When Ike arrived, I thought he was going to faint. The sight of his daughter, with all the small touches added together to show him just how grown up she truly was, was almost too much for the man I love.

I watched, after he kissed me soundly and told me to take it easy and made me promise again to NOT take a long hot bath without him nearby. Rolling my eyes, I crossed my heart and kissed him back. I was smiling as they left, and I settled in for what I hoped would be a quiet night alone.

I'd only just taken one of the books that I'd bought at the bookstore during my stay in Canada from the bedroom when the knock came to the door. Thinking that it must be my dinner that Ike had told me he would have sent up, I set the book down on the table on my way to answer the door. It wasn't dinner, but the person waiting on the other side wasn't unwelcome either.

"You don't look nearly as rested as I wanted, but-" Mimi was smiling, which took some of the sting out of her words. I stood back to give her room to pass through to our home. "Isaac assured me you were having a quiet night in," she was looking around with avid curiosity. "He had my bags sent to a room on the floor below this one," she turned to face me. "Now let's see how your little one is doing, I hear you have a wedding to get ready for."

Mimi was an odd combination of soothing and commanding. Where her sister had been abrasive and domineering, Mimi was the perfect mix. Her hands measured my bump, which she bared for her examination. A few well versed questions, a couple more pokes and prods and we were back to sitting as if we were simply old friends.

"You're coming along nicely," she made it sound as though I were baking a loaf of bread, which made the euphemisms about buns and ovens make a bit more sense. "As long as the wedding and the shower is kept mild and understated," her eyes flickered around the penthouse as though she had doubts about my abilities to reign in the Evans family. "I think everything will be fine moving forward."

"The birth?" We hadn't really discussed where baby Evans would make their appearance. "Will I-"

"I'll look into the hospitals and wards." Mimi assured me, another knock came to the door, and she waved me off from getting up and answering it. "Isaac ordered my dinner as well, he was happy that I'd be joining his future wife," her smile told me that she approved of him, who wouldn't? She ushered the cart laden with our meals in, as comfortable in showing the young woman where to place our meals as I would have been, and smiling as she thanked her and sent her on her way. "This looks decadent AND balanced," she said, uncovering our trays. "Come, Elizabeth, eat and tell me what you've been up to since you left Chicago."

I told Mimi, censoring the more exciting details, hoping to keep her from tying me to the bed with Ike's help. I had a feeling she might, after all, she and her sister couldn't be completely different. She listened, watching my intake of food, and taking note that I wasn't rushing for the bathroom so clearly I wasn't experiencing the same influx of stress that I had before.

She sat with me while Ike and Lauren were gone, listening as I told her about our plans for redecorating our bedroom, and how I'd insisted that my stepdaughter's was updated as well.

"The rest of the-" she was looking around the penthouse again, searching for what to call it. "Family living space? Do you plan on making it more to your personal tastes?"

I had a cup of tea, less for the need to calm my unborn child and more for the routine of it, and was warmed by the normalcy of the cup in my hand. "Ike has asked me that so many times-" I shook my head and turned to place my cup on the end table beside me. "The penthouse reflects the Miramar Playa's overall design, Mimi. Why would I try to alter that?"

"Because you OWN the controlling interest?" She knew, it was one of the less stressful parts of my tale, and I was a tad surprised that she was using it for this argument. "I'm not saying you should change the entire resort, Elizabeth, but this is to be your home. These rooms, at the very least, should have YOUR mark on them."

Food for thought, I sat back, in contemplation until we heard Ike and Lauren's return, the happy sounds of a father and daughter who had made peace with the past by being reminded that not all memories had to bring pain and suffering.

Ike joined me in the long warm bath that I'd wanted so badly. Cradling my back to his chest after he'd lathered my entire body up and pampered me far more thoroughly than the salon could ever hope to, he told me about his evening with Lauren.

"You were right," his lips brushed my temple, his hands slid down my arms and over my chest to curl around my bump from the top and underneath. "She loves having Molly's jewelry, but I think hearing the stories-" his lips curved into the smile that I adored. "It felt right, sharing them with her, finally. It didn't hurt, it didn't feel like I couldn't breathe anymore."

I snuggled into his warmth, almost hotter than even the water covering us. "I'm glad you had tonight. You should make it a regular thing," he hummed, his hands moving steadily over my bump, and was rewarded by what he was clearly wanting when our tiny one kicked one searching hand. "Feeling better, Daddy?"

"Much," he lowered his head until his chin was resting on my shoulder. "I love you, Liz, and now that Mimi is in house, and she's OK'd the festivities, we can start finalizing plans."

"Are you going to paint me a picture of what you're thinking of for our FIRST wedding?" My hands covered his, fingers sliding between his so we were linked.

"The 'wedding' itself has to happen at city hall," he turned his face to press into my neck and inhale my scent, fresh and clean from his attention. "Then, I thought we would come back here, and be surrounded by our family and friends, and celebrate not only our marriage, BUT-" his hands tightened slightly on our bundle within me, and as though the baby agreed he got a nudge for his efforts. "We need to choose flowers and foods-" instead of focusing on choices, his lips were teasing my skin, causing my eyelids to droop closed. "You taste better than any dessert we have on any of the menus." His tongue touched my pulse and I sighed. "I want you, Liz, now."

And, like every single time that Isaac Evans told me something, he followed through with every single ounce of his being.