Some Time Later
"Adrian, you know how much I hate surprises!" He better than no one should have known that. Over the last few months, he tried to give me all my heart's desires, no scratch that he gave me everything I wanted. Sometimes I objected, sometimes I didn't want to.
"I know, little dhampir, Rose, but this is one of the best surprises yet!" He sounded so happy; there was no way I could be mad at him.
"Okay, how much longer do we have to go?"
"A couple more steps."
Some steps.
"Now?"
"No."
A couple more steps.
"Now?"
"Yes!" He took off my blindfold. But quickly put his hand on my eyes.
"Adrian!" I groaned.
"Keep your eyes closed."
"Okay." He took off the hand from my eyes.
"One. . . Two. . . Three. Open your eyes!"
OH MY GOD! It was a wonder my I didn't have a heart attack right then and there because standing before me, was the most beautiful house I had ever seen!
The house was huge!
The exterior of the house, or should I say mansion, was a Spanish/Mediterranean like house. The exterior had light brown stucco; the wood trims had a darker brown. There was a tile pathway leading to the front door. You had to climb three stairs to get to the door and three steps to go inside the house. A gold, lion statue adorned the beginning of the pathway.
"Oh, God this is beautiful, Adrian."
"This is our house, little dhampir! This is where we are going to live the rest of our lives and where we are going to raise our kids! If you want to, of course."
I turned around and kissed my handsome husband. "Of course I want to!" I kissed him once more. "And I got a surprise for you!"
"What?"
"Adrian, we are going to be parents soon! I am two months pregnant!" Yes, I had barely found out last night.
He was shocked for a few seconds before his face broke into a huge smile. "Rose, I love you!"
He picked me up and kissed me just as I had kissed him. We both laughed joyfully; our joy was too much; there were tears running down each other's eyes.
He set me on the ground again. "Come on. Let me show you around. And lets tell the others!"
"The others?"
"Yes. Lissa and Christian are here with our goddaughter, Adriana. Mia, Eddie, will be here any minute. Yaritza and my parents wanted to see you so they are here. Paul, and his family. Dylan and Daren with their wives and kids. Jack is here with his fiancée. The whole family is reunited. Oh, and I almost forgot, your mom and dad are here, too."
"Whoa, is this like a family reunion or what?"
"Something like that." We walked up the little path to the front door. Little lamps stuck out of the ground, illuminating our walk. Flowers of all sorts were adorning the sides. It was a beautiful house.
We walked inside and oh god. This time it felt like I had died and gone to heaven.
I looked around in amazement. Right when you walked in, you could see a miniature living room. On the corner of the room, a rocking chair was placed next to the enormous fire place. A couch, a love seat, and a settee were set up in the middle if the room, close to the fireplace. A couple of antique tables were set up almost everywhere.
To the left, was where the kitchen was. The kitchen had an antique, Spanish them going on. All the appliances were stainless steel. The counters were granite. The middle of the kitchen held a small bar stool table. Where the kitchen sink was, there was a huge opening so that you could see outside the backyard. It wood be beneficial for when we had kids. I could be washing dishes and watch the kids at the same time. Or, I could watch Adrian wash the dishes and watch the kids while I sat my lazy ass on a lawn chair.
"Adrian," I couldn't find words to finish to express what I felt.
We continued the tour. The area that caught my attention the most was the pool area. Like the living room, it had a nice outside fireplace. A wooden table was set up in the middle of the room. Surrounding that were a set of six tan chairs. All of this was set up under a big , wooden porch. A little farther way, you could see the a small rectangular pool. The area was perfect for a little family gathering.
We went back inside, and we reached the main living room where everyone was waiting for us. It was such a gorgeous room. Everywhere you looked was an object either the color red, brown or tan. Antique chandeliers hung in several spots. Adrian had given me brief information on this house. It was two hundred fifty one acres, eight bathrooms and six bedrooms, a guest house out back somewhere, a huge barn that I had yet to see, and that the house was valued at twenty five million dollars.
"Rose!" Yaritza shrieked, running up to me and tackling me into a bear hug.
"Hey, there." I said, trying to shift my body out of her way so she would not to hit me in the stomach.
"Yaritza, watch it! You might hurt Rose's new add-on!"
Yaritza's face was a tumble of confusion. It was Arianna who understood Adrian perfectly. "Oh! Rose and Adrian are going to be parents soon!"
She ran to me and hugged me. "Rose, I am so happy for you, sweetheart!"
"Thanks, Arianna."
There was a line forming to hug me and Adrian. I was introduced to the rest of the Ivashkov family.
"Yo, Rose! So I assume that you and Adrian got a little, you know, in the honeymoon. How bad was it? Er, should I say, how good was it?" Paul asked, winking and making me blush.
"We did enough of it. Just like you and Sara did." I said nodding at his wife's swollen belly.
He laughed and hugged me. "There is a reason why you are my favorite sister-in-law." He whispered in my ear. I smiled dryly at him.
"Rose these are the twin brothers. Dylan"he pointed a guy with a green eyes and glossy black hair "and this" he pointed at a tall guy with green eyes similar to Adrian's "is Daren."
Dylan shook my hand. "Nice to meet you finally. I have heard all but bad things about you." I looked at Adrian who was fighting a smile. "And this is my wife, Breeanne and my two sons Kevin and Kyle."
Breeanne was a pretty, petite blond. "Hello, Rose." She gave me a hug as if we had been close friend for years.
I leaned down to both her kids. "Hey, guys!"
"Hi, Auntie Rose!" A kid that looked exactly like Dylan said. "I'm Kyle."
I smiled at him and turned to his brother. "I'm Kevin." Said the little boy, shyly.
Daren came up to us then. "Ah, so I'm finally meeting the infamous Rose Hathaway." He pulled me into a brotherly hug.
"Rose Ivashkov," Adrian muttered beside me, obviously happy that his family had accepted me so well.
"Pardon me, Mrs. Ivashkov." He pointed behind him. "Rose, my wife Donia. My three boys David, Daniel, and Drew."
Donia was a brunette with blue eyes. She came up to me and pulled me into a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Congrats! I hope you have a girl; the Ivashkovs' are in desperate need of a little granddaughter and niece." It hit me then; all of Adrian's family had grandsons and nephews only.
"We'll try our best!" I said, liking Donia already.
Maylin hugged me and introduced me to her husband and her two boys and her future son. "Hey, sweetheart, I am excited for you and Adrian. And like Donia said I hope you guys have a girl!"
Jack was the last to be introduced. He looked like Adrian, but Adrian was much taller and sexier. His fiancée was blonde and had kind hazel eyes. I liked her immediately. "Rose, pleasure to meet you. I could see Adrian did a good job in choosing such a beautiful wife."
"Rose, I can't wait to meet my niece or nephew!" Vera said.
"Me neither!" Lissa squeaked out, coming up to us. I could already see that her stomach was swelling.
Christian smirked at Adrian. "Bro, be careful. Rose is now going to get all hormonal, out of control. She will get mad at you for no reason. She will yell at you and occasionally threaten you for no more sex. She is going to start to crave things all the time. Sleeping all the time. But don't worryit only last nine months."
"Yeah, and you might get the cravings and the sleeping disorders." Eddie said, coming up behind us. "Congratulations, Rose, Adrian." He hugged us both.
"Did I just hear that Rose is pregnant?" Mia said standing next to Eddie. "My, I feel like fainting. Such good news!" She pulled us both into hugs.
Just then a guy wearing a white hat poked his head out of the kitchen. "Everyone! Dinner is ready!"
We all walked to the dining room. I wondered where my mom and dad were. No sooner could I have asked that when they appeared. "Rose, Adrian, I can't believe you guys are going to make me a grandma soon!" She kissed my forehead and hugged her son-in-law.
"Yes, Rose, we are still young." My father said, hugging my mother from behind.
I looked at my mom a question in my eyes. She looked down, while her cheeks flushed.
The dining room was huge. It held a twenty-two person table.
I sat next to Adrian and Lissa. The kids were taken away by the overly paid nannies. Food was brought out to us and I was grateful since I was starving. The chef had made New York steak, rice pilaf, a green salad, a biscuit, and mashed potatoes. The food was and tasted great. Since Adrian and I were good eaters, we demanded seconds. When Adrian and I finally finished eating, they brought dessert. It was a piece of cheesecake with sliced strawberries on top; I got a big piece since I was eating for two people.
When we finished, we went back into the living room and told jokes and stories.
Three hours later, I yawned hugely. I looked at the wall clock and it was a little past one a.m. Daren, Dylan, Jack, Paul, and Maylin had already left with their families. "You tired, little dhampir?" Adrian asked.
I yawned hugely again and covered my mouth. "Yeah." Another yawn.
He kissed my forehead. "Go to sleep and I'll kick everyone out." He whispered in my ear.
I nodded and stood up. "Guys, I'm sorry, but I am really tired, I must put this baby to sleep." Everyone muttered goodnights.
Lissa followed me. I was glad because I didn't know where my bedroom was. "Rose, I still can't believe your pregnant."
"Me neither, Liss."
She smiled hugely and when we stopped to a set of double doors. "You'll like this. Ready?"
I nodded to tired to say anything else; I was about to drop dead asleep at any second. She opened the doors. And what I saw before me left me gasping for air.
"I believe it was my job to bring her here." Adrian said, walking to us.
"Well you could take over from here." Lissa hugged and kissed me on the cheek before leaving.
The room was enormous. It reminded me about our honeymoon suite. The rug was a light brown. The walls painted a darker shade than the rug. On the left was a walk in closet; the door was ajar and the light was on, I could see clothes already hung on the racks and clothes folded in the drawers. To my right was the big bathroom.
The bed was big; it was even bigger than the one that had been in our suite.
It was probably a California King. A light brown, down coverlet adorned the top of the bed. Millions of pillows in light blue or light brown adorned the coverlet. Two night stands sat on either side of the bed. Behind the headboard, hanging on the wall, was a picture of Adrian andI on our wedding day sitting on rock hugging each other.
"Whoa, I love this. I think you are not going to be able to get me out of this bed."
He smiled. "Good 'cause I want to lay beside you forever."
"You know what I need?"
"What?"
"A shower."
"Do you need help with that, Mrs. Ivashkov?"
"Of course, Mr. Ivashkov."
He went and turned on the shower. I walked to the closet to look for a good pajama set.
I walked inside the bathroom. Adrian was leaning on the granite counter. "Why aren't you in already?"
"I was waiting for you."
"Oh."
I took everything off and paused with one foot inside the shower and one foot out. I looked back to him. "Um. . . Aren't you coming in here?"
He checked me out for a couple of seconds. "I am. I'm just admiring the scenery."
I chuckled and he went inside.
The bed felt so good on my tired body that I actually moaned once my back hit the mattress. "Oh, God, this bed is so comfortable."
Adrian and I cuddled with each other. "Little dhampir, want me to massage your feet."
I put my feet on his body. "Please. . ."
He chuckled and began massaging me in way that made the world disappear. He knew how to move his miracle hands. I was not long before I passed out. . .
I shot of bed, barely making it to the bathroom. I ran to the toilet making it in time not to puke on the floor. I felt Adrian's hand pull my hair out of the way. "Are you alright, Rose?"
"No."
I finished my puke. I brushed my teeth and sat down on the tile floors. The nausea hadn't faded completed but the cool feel of the floor was helping me. Adrian got me a cold glass of water for me. "Here drink this." He handed me the cup. "It usually helped Maylin with the nausea."
"Thanks." I stood and up and drink slowly like he had instructed. As it was, it did help a little. The nausea passed soon after I finished the water.
It was still early outside. Probably five or six in the morning. I could not help resist laying back on the comfortable bed. Hey, no one ever mentioned being pregnant was this fun. It was not long before I stumbled to sleep. ZZZZZZZZZZ… was all you heard from my side of the bed.