*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
Hayden and I arrived in New York City early in the afternoon to visit her parents, it's no secret that I have never been her dad's favorite person, he still holds the fact I was married and Hayden's professor over my head and has never really felt I was good enough for Hayden. I don't know what more I have to prove to him so he knows I only have the best intentions for his daughter and that I will give her the world. She is everything to me and my entire marriage with Shea was different than my relationship and marriage with Hayden. I would never hurt or cheat on Hayden the way I did to Shea. "Don't look so scared," Hayden says to me as she wraps her arms around my waist from behind. "He's not going to bite you."
"I never know," I say with a smile as I turn to face her, "why can't you go out with your father and me?"
"Because I have other stuff to do with my mom," she says looking up at me with her dark brown eyes.
"Baby shopping?" I ask.
"No not yet," she says, "just some mother daughter stuff. You'll be okay with my dad I promise. He's not as mean as you think he is. He's actually a big teddy bear."
"That's easy for you to say," I say, "he's your dad and I am the man that married his baby girl. He doesn't like me, Hayden."
"Roman," she says, "that's a moot point my dad doesn't like anyone. It's just his personality. I mean he owns a multi-million dollar electronics company he didn't get to the top by being nice."
"I know but I am the father of his grandchildren and his daughter's husband, I wish he would have some compassion toward me."
"Baby," she says taking her hand over my chest. "It will be okay and then we are meeting for dinner. You're going to have a great time."
"I doubt that," I say as I kiss the top of her head.
"You will, you like to play golf so does my dad so that's two things you have in common," she says.
"Two things? Isn't it just one thing?" I ask wrapping my arms around her waist.
"Well, you both love me a lot and want the best for me so it's two things," she smiles up at me. I smile and lean down to kiss her lips softly. "Vivienne," she says as I pull away.
"Vivienne?" I ask.
"If the babies are girls I like the names Layla and Vivienne."
"I do too," I smile, "that works for me if that's what you want."
"I do or maybe Scarlett and Vivienne. I don't know," she says.
"Well, we have time before we have to decide. I can't wait to find out if they are girls or boys. I am hoping for some boys," I smile. "And then we have a brand new house to decorate a nursery in."
"I know," she smiles, "we still have a few weeks to go before we find out but I am anxious to know."
"If you could guess what do you think they are?" I ask rubbing her back.
"Hmm," she says, "if I could guess I would say they were little girls, sorry Baby."
"Little girls would be perfect too," I say before I kiss her lips once more. "Well, I guess I better get going."
"It will be okay just have fun," she says. "Okay?"
"I'll try," I say before giving her a quick kiss. I am not looking forward to spending the afternoon golfing with her father. If I can be honest he kind of scares me.
I couldn't have asked for better weather to go golfing with my father in law at his prestigious country club. It's not too hot but it's not too cold, just the typical early summer weather no higher than 85 degrees but the sun shines over the golf course with a clear blue sky. It's beautiful. "So a head coaching job for the Steelers," says Mr. Castellano, "that's impressive."
"I was ready for a change," I say, "I enjoy coaching for the Saints but nothing compares to a head coaching job especially for a franchise as big as Steelernation," I say. "I have plans for the team and hopefully we make it to the superbowl."
"They are a pretty good team," he says. "So you are moving to Pittsburgh?"
"Yes," I say, "we actually got a house we will be moving soon. It's going to be different than living in the South but I'm ready."
"I see," he says. "So you plan to be faithful to my daughter or do you plan to cheat on her like you did with your last wife?"
I was waiting for it, "I would never cheat on Hayden, I would never hurt her that way," I explain. "She means too much to me. I would never cheat on her."
"You love her?" he asks.
"Of course I love her, I have loved her since the day I met her."
"You mean the day you cheated on your wife with her, you made Hayden your side chick," he says, "and she deserved more than that."
"Mr. Castellano I know I am not your favorite person and that we got off on the wrong foot but Hayden is the one with the ring, my last name and my wife, the mother of my children. I gave up my job for her and sacrificed so much for her," I explain.
"What is different between Hayden and your ex wife, why cheat on her but not on Hayden?" he asks.
I let out a breath as he sets up the tee so that he can hit the golf ball. "Things with Shea were different, I didn't love her, not the way I love Hayden. Shea and I weren't meant to be married I strongly believe that but being a kid in college that got a woman pregnant I thought marrying her was the right thing to do for our daughter, to give her a family life. I married Shea because she was pregnant nothing more. She never understood me or my career. We fought all the time and it was just a rough life with her," I explain. "Shea isn't a good person sometimes she isn't even a good mother, she was in it for herself. I married her for our daughter and I regret that decision. I didn't know true happiness until I met Hayden. Hayden is everything to me, she will always be everything to me," I say.
"Until you find another young girl to fall in love with," he says.
"I fall in love with your daughter more each day, she is everything to me. She's my biggest supporter and I am hers. We're an amazing team with one another, there is nothing I wouldn't do for her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. You and I just want the same thing for Hayden, we want to love her and give her the best life she can possibly have. You did that while she was growing up and now it's my turn to take care of her, give her the life she deserves. I know I'm not your favorite person and I am sorry for the way Hayden and I began but I couldn't control what my heart wanted, my heart wanted Hayden, it will always want Hayden. Life with her makes sense, it makes me happy. She makes me happy. I just wish you could understand how much I love her, Mr. Castellano. I hope you believe me."
"Roman, I think you are the best thing to happen to Hayden, I can't discredit that but I am not happy with how it all came about. I think that you should have waited until you divorced your wife before pursuing your relationship and until she wasn't your student anymore. I don't discredit your love for her. She has been so happy with you and I love to see my daughter happy. I don't doubt for a second that your intentions to give my daughter the world and the best life are false. I know you care about her but I just want to make sure you aren't going to hurt her the way you hurt your ex wife."
"I could never hurt Hayden," I say, "I promise."
"I have to be honest I didn't think this thing with you two was going to last then you asked me if you could ask her to marry you and I had no other choice but to say yes. I didn't think you two would make it this far but I am happy to see how far you've made it then the day I gave her away to you," he says with tears in his eyes, choking on his words, "she was so beautiful, the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Before I walked her down the aisle we had a little talk because I had my reservations about her marrying you. I won't tell you what she told me but her eyes, the way she talked about you, I knew that she loved you more than life itself and marrying you would be the happiest day of her life. I couldn't take that away from her then we walked down the aisle, to see you react the way you did with tears in your eyes, crying at the sight of her, I knew you were in it for her, for her heart and her soul. I knew I was giving her to the best man that I could. I'm sorry if we have had a bit of a strained relationship but I think we can change that, I want to change that."
I don't even know what to say, I am in shock at his words of course I don't want a strained relationship with my father in law but sometimes I think his relationship with Hayden is a little strained too. "I don't want us to have a strained relationship. I want to be able to get along especially with for the babies that will be here in February. I think we can get along."
"I think so too," he says, "so we're good?"
"We're good," I say with a smile. I go to shake his hand but he surprises me by pulling me in for a hug. I hug him back after a couple seconds before we get back to our game of golf. It goes pretty smooth as he talks about his business ventures how he wished Hayden would have joined in the family business but how proud he is that she is making a name for herself and helping others. I don't tell him that Hayden is planning to stay home for a little bit until after the babies are born. I am just as proud of her for making her tribulations into triumphs to help others. We talk a little bit about football and I learn that he's a Giants fan but also he's more of a baseball fan than a football fan. It isn't as bad as I expected it to be and I actually enjoy my time with my father in law.
Later that night I am getting ready to go out to dinner with Hayden and her parents to celebrate my birthday, I walk out of the bathroom in her childhood bedroom buttoning the rest of my buttons on my black button down shirt. I smile as I see her putting on make up with her long hair hanging down to the middle of her back while she wears a beautiful white halter dress that falls to her mid-thigh hugging the curves of her body but not hiding the evidence of a pregnancy. I can't believe how much she's showing at nearly 9 weeks. I don't remember Shea showing this much when she was pregnant with the girls. "How was your day with my dad?" she asks putting on mascara.
I sit on the bed to put on a pair of tan timberland boots with my dark jeans, "it was better than I expected."
"That's good," she says with a smile.
"How was your day with your mom?"
"Exhausting," she says, "she's very excited about being a grandmother almost as excited as your mom. I am pretty sure they are going to be spoiled and my mom is already coming to stay with us the week before I have the babies and for a couple weeks after I have the babies to help out."
"That's nice of her," I say although I don't know how I feel about my mother in law staying with us but we don't know when Hayden is going to have the babies, they could be born two weeks early and if my team makes it to the superbowl then it's going to be a busy couple weeks so she's going to need the extra help but if they come when they are supposed to then it won't be long till I am home with her. "You think that's a good idea?"
"I don't know yet," she says. "I think the gesture is nice but I don't know how I feel about her staying with us."
"I'm not sure either," I say. "Did you shop for the baby?"
"No but she suggested that we start a registry for the babies. I told her we still have time for all of that we don't even know what we are having. Then she said for the basics like bottles, strollers, carseats and things like that," she says. "I never realized having babies was this intense. I just thought it was as simple as having the baby, people buying you gifts and you raise them. I didn't know all this came into play."
I let out a soft chuckle and say, "well, babies are expensive and we are having two of them. It's going to be exhausting. I thought you weren't bottle feeding them?"
"I know I am planning on breastfeeding but there will be two of them so it might be hard but I'm still going to need to pump for when I go back to work."
"I get that," I say. "So where are we going for dinner tonight?"
"The best place to get sushi in New York," she smiles.
"But you can't eat sushi," I say.
"I know but I'm probably going to eat something cooked or just have a salad. The babies aren't into seafood or any of that fish smelling food."
"How is that even possible?" I smile. "You're crazy about seafood and sushi."
"I know," she says with a smile.
"I think we should blow off this dinner and celebrate my birthday here, I can order us a pizza we can relax here, what do you think?" I ask.
"I think we're going out to eat with my parents to celebrate your birthday," she says insistently, "trust me."
"Okay," I say, "but I would much rather celebrate with you."
"I know baby but I think we did enough celebrating together yesterday and last night," she says biting her lip. "It won't be bad to celebrate with my family."
"I guess you're right," I say with a smile.
When we arrive at the restaurant it looks dark inside and it doesn't look as busy as I thought it would be. Hayden takes my hand as we walk into the front door. Just as we walk in the front door the entire room lights up and people jump out yelling Surprise to me. I smile as I see my mom and my dad, Nova and Kylynn, Dean, a few of my friends from New Orleans. "A surprise party?" I ask Hayden.
"All for you, Baby," she smiles. "Happy Birthday!"
"Thanks," I say with a smile before I kiss her lips softly.
"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" says Nova with a smile.
"Thanks sweetheart," I say as I scoop her up in my arms.
"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" says Kylynn with a smile before I scoop her up too.
"Roman," says my mom with a smile, I kiss her cheek softly. "Happy Birthday."
"Thank-you," I say with a smile. "You didn't have to fly all the way to New York for a birthday party."
"Well, you're my baby boy of course I did, and to find out you got a head coaching job too. Congratulations."
"Thank-you," I say with a smile.
"My baby boy all grown up, I'm glad to see you this happy," she says with a smile.
"I'm glad to finally be this happy," I say grateful for Hayden in my life and having her for my wife. It's like everything is falling into place for me and this is a brand new life I wish I was living years ago but I have plenty of time to live life with Hayden, make memories with her and love her.
"Happiness looks good on you," she says.
"I think it does too," says Hayden with a smile. "Hello, Ms. Lisa," she says giving my mom a hug.
"Hayden, please call me mom, how are you doing?" she asks breaking the hug.
"Hanging in there," she says. "Just getting used to being pregnant."
"I bet," she says. "Are you both excited?"
"Very," I say.
"Me too, I can't wait to meet them," she says with a smile.
"And you're starting to show already," says my mom. "You look beautiful, Hayden, when you come down to Florida we are going to need to talk about your baby shower and things like that. I know I want to come stay with you for a couple weeks after they are born it's going to be busy."
"I appreciate that," I say with a smile looking down at Hayden.
"I appreciate it too," she says, "my mom will be staying as well."
"That's wonderful," she says, "I am going to find your mom, we have a lot to talk about."
"Have fun," says Hayden with a smile before my mom walks off to meet with Hayden's mom. "Well, that's going to be fun."
"Yeah," I say with a smile as I put the girls down. "But at least they get along."
"That's true," she says wrapping her arms around me. I look down at her and smile kissing her lips softly. "I love you, Roman."
"I love you too," I smile. "Thanks for this."
"You're welcome, I just wanted to do something special for you."
"I appreciate it and I appreciate you," I say with a smile.
"I have a present for you," she says.
"You didn't need to get me a present," I say.
"I wanted to," she says. I let her go so she can get into her clutch. "Happy Birthday, Baby," she says handing me the card.
"Thanks," I say as I open it. I smile as I read the card wishing me a happy birthday and when I open the card two tickets come out. "Puerto Rico?" I ask.
"Yes, a baby moon. I know you're going to be busy with football soon and since my due date is so close to superbowl time I thought that at the end of July you and I could go away to Puerto Rico, celebrate a baby moon before we have the babies."
"We just went to France," I say.
"I know but who knows when we'll get away again after the babies are born and I want some time alone with you before football season gets into full swing so Puerto Rico? And you need to get a nice relaxing vacation in before you are over the top crazy football fanatic."
I smile at her and say, "we'll go to Puerto Rico and have an amazing time. Thank-you, Baby."
"You're welcome," she smiles before kissing my lips softly. "Now, go on enjoy your party and eat all the sushi till your heart's content." I smile and kiss her again before I go on to enjoy my party with my friends. She did a good job with this birthday and this is one of my favorite birthdays to this date. I am just happy with everything I ever dreamed of all thanks to Hayden.
*A/N: I know it was a pretty low-key, uneventful chapter but you know what they say it's just the calm before the storm which is happening in the next chapter. What did you think of Roman and Hayden's dad's conversation? What about Hayden throwing him a surprise party and getting them tickets to Puerto Rico? Please review and thank-you for reading.