For whatever reason, I had a hard time imagining Petra being maternal. Even though I watched her become a mother, I was still completely surprised when I entered her hospital room the next morning to find her tandem nursing.

There were huge dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was a disaster. I'd never seen her so unkempt. Guilt gripped me. Well of course she looked rough, I left her totally alone in the world with two newborns. She looked over, noticed me standing by the door.

"What do you want." She asked, tersely.

"To apologize." I replied. She looked over, her big blue eyes giving away her hurt.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I don't know why it never occurred to me, why I didn't consider the possibility."

"I'm sure, considering everything you went through, that you blocked it out to protect yourself. I'm not excusing using my sample, but I get it."

Petra continued to look down at the babies. "Rafael." She said softly. "Why are you here?"

I walked father into the room. "I want to be in these babies' lives." I replied. She looked at me, shocked.

"You didn't seem to want that yesterday. We won't accept your pity."

"No," I replied. "It's not like that. You're my ex wife. We really loved each other once. Zaz was my best friend. As horrible as your affair was, these babies mean something to me."

She looked down, contemplative. "They are pretty great." She smiled that little smile of hers.

"They are." I smiled back. "So here's my proposal. I want to be in their lives. If you're ever overwhelmed or exhausted, I want you to call me. I'd also like to volunteer my fun uncle services for one weekend every month. I'll have a room at the house renovated for them."

Petra slowly nodded. "I'll take you up on the emergency help, we'll see about the sleep overs. Raf, it's incredible. I can't imagine being apart from them. I-I've never felt anything like this, to be totally honest. All the losses, I thought I could never love a child more than the ones we lost. Not that I didn't love them. It's difficult to explain."

I put my hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. "I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way when Mateo was born."

For the countless horrible things she'd done, I could never truly forgive her. But I could move forward. I left the hospital a few hours later, and noticed a missed text from Jane.

Hey, you! How are things going with Petra and the girls? Still shopping today?

I texted back.

Of course. I'm heading over now.

It was finally the day we were meeting with the contractor to choose our renovation materials. I had six weeks until the proposal, just enough time for the renovation to be finished.

I picked up Jane, Xiomara, Alba, and Mateo brought them to the store. The contractor was there waiting for us.

"Good to see you! Let's see, you're picking hardwood for downstairs, fixtures for the kitchen and bathroom, new light fixtures throughout, and a new kitchen. We can talk paint in a couple of weeks."

Jane looked positively giddy. I smiled at her, then grabbed her hand with mine. "Where do we start?"

"Hardwoods. Unless you'd prefer laminate?"

"No." I replied. "Hardwoods."

We spent the next ten minutes looking through wood samples. "Rafael! Look at this one!" Jane exclaimed, pointing out an almost white bamboo floor. The contractor nodded.

"She's got great taste. That's long lasting and ecologically sustainable."

I rubbed her lower back. "It is perfect. We'll take it."

The contractor made a note on his clipboard, then brought us to the kitchen section, where we were greeted by a designer. I came up behind Jane, holding her waist and kissing her on the cheek. "Show me what you like."

Jane picked up a dark cabinet sample and a cream tinted, off white quartz counter piece. "Since the rest of the house is so traditional, maybe something more modern?"

I nodded. "Would you want to carry that color scheme throughout the bathrooms, too?"

Xiomara, overhearing the conversation, came over. "It's supposed to be what you want, isn't it Rafael?"

What? Why would she say that, she knew I bought the house for Jane. I plastered a magnanimous smile on my face. "Of course, Jane is just great with color schemes and I figured she'll be visiting, like she visits the hotel."

Jane shot her mother a warning look. "What's Abuela looking at?"

"Something about having cherry cabinets back in Venezuela or something. Mostly playing with Mateo."

As they talked about whether or not Mateo would be happier in or out of his stroller, I snuck over to the contractor and added a cherry kitchenette to Alba's in law suite.

Eventually we settled on all of the counters and cabinets and bathroom vanities coordinating. We picked fixture after fixture, lighting and bath, doorknobs and drawer pulls and towel bars. Before we knew it over an hour had passed.

"I need to give Mateo a bottle." Jane said, distracted.

"Of course." I replied, rubbing her back and kissing her cheek. "We'll finalize the paperwork while you feed him."

Alba looked from Jane to me. "Iré con Jane y Mateo." I'll go with Jane and Mateo.

They headed outside, I assumed to sit on the shaded benches out front. I turned to our contractor. He flipped through some pages on his clipboard. "I'm going to need you to sign here and here, and then you're free to go! You can come pick out the shower, tub, and closet designs any time in the next week."

"Great. Thank you." I said distractedly. As he walked away, I turned to Xiomara. "Can we talk sometime?"

She froze. "About what?" Her hands was clenched tightly around her purse strap. She bit her lip.

"Jane." I said. "I want to ask her to marry me."

"Already?" She asked incredulously. "It's been so little time. Isn't this too fast?"

"We were together for eight months before, and we've been together for three months now, four by the time I propose. That's a year. And we've been in each other's lives for another six months. It's not long, I agree. But I don't want to wait another year a year to be a family."

"So this is really about Mateo." She said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"No! No. I love Jane. She's incredible. I can't imagine life without her. Even if she hadn't gotten pregnant with Mateo, I'm sure I would have still fallen for her."

"While you were married to someone else." Xiomara said, disapprovingly. Finally, the light dawned.

"Are you afraid I'll cheat on Jane?" She was quiet. "Xiomara, I would never cheat on anyone, let alone Jane. I've never cheated on anyone, ever. My mother cheated on my father, and my father cheated on every wife after her. Infidelity is why I grew up without a family."

"Still, even if it isn't that, what if you get bored? What if it's a million other things? What if you get divorced, and Jane waited for marriage for nothing?"

"First off, I could never get bored of Jane. Ever. She's the most fun, adorable, fascinating person I've ever met. Second, we've been through a lot in the last two years. The loss of my father, the amniocentesis, co parenting Mateo." I paused. "My horrible mistake, asking for a break. We've gone through counseling twice, and we'll do it again if we need it again."

Xiomara looked torn. "I'll think about it. I promised to keep an open mind, and I will. But I have to think about it first."

"Of course." I said softly, as we walked towards the exit. But I was nervous. She'd seemed okay with it a month ago, when she and Rogelio had walked in on us kissing. What had changed?

Two weeks later Jane and I were attending a charity ball together. Mateo was with Abuela for the night, and I was looking forward to living out the Jane fantasy that started me down this path.

"Do you want me to grab your cuff links?" Jane called from my bedroom, where she was changing.

"Please!" I called back. "They're in the second drawer down in the nightstand." A few minutes passed while I tied my bowtie and laced up my shoes. At one point I heard a squeak coming from the bedroom, then what sounded like jumping up and down. "Are you okay in there?"

Jane peeked her head around the doorway, flushed. "Yep!"

I crossed the room, then kissed her on top of her head. "I don't want to smudge your make up. Let's see that dress."

Jane smiled and stepped out from behind the door. She took my breath away. Her dress was form fitting, hugging her curves perfectly. There were four straps, two over her shoulders and two draped over her arms, that met at a neckline that hinted at cleavage, but wasn't too low. It fanned out below her knees. And it was fire engine red. I wanted her. My reaction was visceral; I wanted to peel it off of her and spend all night making love to her.

"Can you button the straps in the back? They meet behind my shoulders." Jane asked.

"Of course." I replied. The back was low. I did the buttons where the straps met, then ran my hand down her back, over her bottom. "I want to kiss you." I murmured near her ear.

"Is that all?" She asked, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her body pressed against mine.

"No." I breathed, before dropping my mouth to hers. I pulled her tighter against me, enjoying the feeling of her bottom in my hands. Our kiss was deep, finally broken when I came up for air. "I want you. All of you. Badly."

My voice was hoarse with need. Jane shivered in my arms. I took a small step back, reluctantly letting go.

"Sorry." I said, clearing my throat. "Way too much." I smiled at her.

Gently she reached out and stroked my cheek. "Hey. Don't do that. I love how passionate you are. Even if we're not in a place where we can explore it now, we will. We'll get there. I want to. A lot." She paused briefly. "Too much."

I kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful. We should go."

Bringing Jane was even better than my fantasy, I reflected happily. Over the last hour since our arrival she had been charming and fun, kept up with everyone and their interests, and still remained grounded.

"Rafael, you're never going to believe this." She whispered conspiratorially. "I went to grab you a shrimp cocktail, but they're all garnished with caviar!"

I sighed dramatically. "Not again."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're not serious."

"No." I agreed, and both of us started to laugh. We stood quietly through the opening address and toast. The dance floor was opened.

One by one couples filled the floor, swirling in their gowns and tuxes. "People still waltz?" Her tone was light, but I could see her jealousy. Jane did love to dance.

"Can you count to three?" I asked, taking our drinks and putting them on a nearby table.

"Sure." Jane replied, confused.

"Then let's go." I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her with me. Once we were on the fringe of the dancers, I put one hand on her waist, her hand on my shoulder and her other hand in mine. "It's easy. One big slow step, then two smaller, faster ones. One, two, three."

Jane didn't look convinced. "What else?"

"That's it. Everything else is my job. You just follow my lead."

"Okay." She muttered. She looked excited.

Slowly we started to move. I quietly counted for her, one-two-three, one-two-three. She picked it up as quickly as I knew she would, and soon we were sweeping across the ballroom with all the other dancers. As the song ended, a man dropped to his knee, ring in hand.

"That's tacky." I whispered to Jane.

"What, proposing in public?" She looked confused.

I cocked an eyebrow. "No, proposing at someone else's event."

She had the good manners to look chagrined. As we clapped politely for the happy couple. "Right. Sorry."

I kissed the on top of her head again. "Don't worry about it. Do you want to go for a walk around the grounds?"

"So, has the upper crust changed at all since 1850?"

I shrugged, then offered her my arm. "Fewer duels?"

She laughed, and the tension was gone. We emerged into the warm air of the lawn, heading towards the topiary maze near the docks.

Jane laughed. "So how many historic clichés does this manor have?"

"All of them so far," I replied. "I bet there's even some discretely placed benches in the maze."

"No!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Let's go. That's it, I'm setting my next book here."

She grabbed me by the hand and dragged me into the dimly lit labyrinth. It was much bigger than it looked from the outside.

"Left or right?" I asked her at the first turn.

"Left." She decided with a smirk. "Choosing right means no dark corners to hide in."

We walked deeper in, the light getting more scant as we progressed on. Finally it appeared in front of us, a large white marble bench deep set into the topiary walls of the maze.

"I think I'm obligated to kiss you." I said to her, wrapping her in my arms.

"I think so, too." She said playfully, smiling as she pressed her lips to mine. I ran my hands up and down her back. Her skin was warm, soft. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body to me.

I lifted her into my arms, muffling her gasp with my mouth. I walked us over to the bench and sat with Jane draped across my lap. I ran my hands over her lush curves, enjoying her quiet moans and mewling. Suddenly I felt one of her hands move from around my shoulders, trailing down my chest.

"I want to do a little research for my novel." Jane said huskily. "Ssh, be nice and quiet."

I was about to ask what she meant when I felt her hand grasping my erection through my pants. I tried to ask if she was sure, to say she didn't have to, but she just hushed me again. If she was anything, she was determined.

With a slow, steady hand she lowered my zipper. She was wholly focused on her task, biting her lip as she slipped her hand into my trousers and wrapped her hand around me.

I hadn't enjoyed a hand job since early high school, but I was finding this one eminently pleasurable. Her hand was alternating between too tight and too loose, going too slow then too fast, and I was still impossibly turned on.

Jane found her rhythm, and my arms tightened around her. I watched her beautiful face, her breasts slowly moving with her breathing, her hand moving up and down my shaft. I found myself getting closer, feeling that familiar tightening sensation.

"Oh, Jane." I moaned.

"Ssh." She reminded me. There was a glint in her eye. Then she leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I want you so badly. I can't wait to have you inside me."

That was all I needed. I came, hard and fast, spilling myself until there was nothing left. I kissed her deeply. "You're amazing." I whispered.

The stars twinkled above us, the air was warm and welcoming. And as I kissed Jane, I envisioned us spending the rest of our lives together.

A/n: Oh, man. I'm having a hard time sticking with this. Sorry if it seems all over the place or stilted. Four more chapters to go!

If you guys like pretty dresses as much as I do, Jane's dress was Narciso Rodriguez's Crimson Cutout Gown. It's on Rent the Runway, so I think it's something Jane might legitimately wear. You know, if she were branching out from her standard pastel full skirt natural waist thing. And also real. -K