“Where’s Daddy?” I asked them.
“He’s collecting seashells,” they chorused, in their sweet little voices.
I woke up to the warm sensation of soft lips on my skin and smiled sleepily. Only the wisps of my beautiful dream remained. With a sigh I rolled into Zade’s embrace. “Their mouths were very red. They must have been eating cherries,” I mumbled.
“Who?” Zade asked.
“Our children. I dreamed of them. Twins. A boy and a girl,” I whispered.
He stilled, and his voice became serious. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
“No, but I might be soon.”
He nodded slowly. “Good, because there’s nothing I’d like more than a boy and a girl.”
I grinned up at him. “Yeah?”
He grinned back, only his grin was very, very wolfish. I knew what happened to me when he smiled like that.
“I’m hungry. Is it time to go down for dinner?” I asked.
“Yes, but you smell like sex. We can’t have all the cabana boys swarming over you.”
“And whose fault is it I smell like that?”
“Mine,” he agreed readily, his eyes speculative. I knew what he was thinking.
“If you feed me well, I’ll love you long time tonight,” I said in my fake Bangkok accent.
He laughed and unpinned me from under him. “Off you go to the shower before I change my mind.”
I vaulted out of the bed and hurried to the gorgeous marble bathroom. I let the warm jet flow over me as I marveled at how lucky I was. Wrapping a large towel around me I went back to the bedroom. Zade was nowhere in sight, but I could hear him on the phone in the living room.
I dressed carefully. The dress I had selected was a gorgeous silk wrap around with a halter neckline. It ebbed and flowed around my calves in a mixture of browns and blues. The bronze high-heeled slippers matched perfectly. Gold earrings and a delicate bracelet completed my ensemble. I kept my make-up minimal as usual and was just spritzing on perfume when Zade called out to me.
“Ready, babe?”
“Ready.”
I stepped out into the living room and Zade was waiting for me. He whistled softly when he saw me. He held out his hand. “Come on, my little Thai Princess. Food awaits.”
Downstairs, I was stunned into silence to find the entire outdoor seating had been reserved by Zade. The whole area was awash with candles and hurricane lamps. I could see that one table had been set for two. Smiling waiters hovered.
“Heck, I didn’t smell that bad, did I?” I mumbled.
He looked down at me with a smile. “I wanted you all to myself tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Well, since I want you to myself all the time, I don’t mind at all.”
He laughed as I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow.
It was a beautiful night full of stars and we feasted like royalty under them. Zade had left no stone unturned in the sumptuous five-course meal we were served. The waiter left us with an array of desserts and an additional bottle of wine. When at last we were alone, I reached across the table and put my lips to his, but he pulled back and smiled.
“If I followed your lead, we’d be heading to bed right now. And we will get there. Just not yet. The night is far from over.”
“No?”
“No. Do you remember five years ago when you sat in that restaurant waiting for me before all hell broke loose?”
“I can’t forget it.”
“Neither can I. You see, five years ago, the night before your birthday to be exact, just like tonight, I was on a mission. I had made so many plans for your birthday, Sapphire. We were going to go to the restaurant where we had had our first date. Then after I had wined and dined you I was going to take you for a walk along the pier. We would gaze up at the stars, pretty much like we’re doing now. And I was going to take you back to my apartment and make sweet love to you before giving you something else.”
I gazed at him as he looked down at me. In the light of the hurricane lamps I could see the love shining in his eyes.
“These lamps are interfering with the stars, don’t you think?”
I laughed softly as the waiters went around extinguishing each lamp and candle, plunging the outdoor restaurant into darkness. He was right, the stars seemed much brighter without the other lights competing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard something like an explosion, and almost jumped out of my skin.
“What the hell was that?”
“Looks like fireworks. Look.”
He pointed to the sky. Indeed, there were the unmistakable bursts of fireworks. I watched as the sky turned red with a giant heart. Then a series of fireworks were released. I watched in awe as letters appeared. Then my mouth dropped open as I realized what the letters meant.
Marry me Sapphire
I clapped my hand over my mouth as I turned to find Zade kneeling at my feet. He was holding up a small box which housed a beautiful diamond ring on a velvet bed.
“Sapphire, so much time has been stolen from us, so it’s only fitting that I pick up where I left off all those years ago. Sapphire Stone, will you do me the honor of marrying me and making me the happiest man in the world?”
Without hesitation, I threw my arms around him, nodding and showering his face with kisses.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
He laughed and pushed the ring onto my finger. Then he went and cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “She said yes!”
I heard cheers and applause erupt from the waiters, the diners inside the restaurant, and the people on the beach. He pulled me into his arms. Even more fireworks filled the night sky as we sealed our deal with a blazing kiss.
Later that night as our bodies met, and I showed him, even though my Thai pronunciation was lousy, I knew how to love for a long, long time.
Sapphire
Nine Months Later
My eyes blinked wearily. Everything seemed to be surrounded by a haze. I could hear machines beeping. I tried to move my arm, but it felt heavy. A tube was in it. My body felt sore.
“It’s good to have you awake, Mrs. Herron.”
“Water,” I croaked. My lips felt dry and cracked.
The nurse gave me a cup with a straw and I sipped from it, a figure moved from the corner. Quite suddenly, Zade was standing over me. He smiled down at me as he smoothed a lock of hair away from my forehead.
“Hey, Beautiful.”
I groaned. “I don’t feel very beautiful.”
He kissed my cheek softly. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”
“Am I going to fall into your MILF category now?” I asked cheekily.
“There’s only one woman in that category,” he replied loyally.
“Better be,” I mock threatened.
As if on cue, came two other nurses wheeling two carts. They each picked up a bundle. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered the last moments before they had put me out.
Zade and I were at Mom’s for dinner when I felt what felt like a cramp, but by the time we got home, there was just enough time for Zade to grab my hospital bag and rush me to the hospital. My labor was complicated. One of the twins was a breech baby and they had to perform a cesarean birth.
The nurse handed me the bundle with my son. I smiled down at him, my eyes filling with tears. His face was wrinkly and red, but I recognized him from my dream. He yawned widely as he blinked up at me. His eyes were bright blue. Just like Zade’s.
“Dreams do come true,” I murmured.
Zade sat in the chair beside my bed while the nurse handed him our daughter. She was fast asleep and Zade appeared speechless. The nurses left, and Zade and I looked at each other. We smiled through our tears as we held our children. After a few minutes, he took our son and gave me our daughter.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” I smiled at him. I watched as he leaned down to kiss our son.
“Exquisite. Just like their mother.”
I shook my head. “No. They get it from their father.”
He leaned over to kiss me softly. “Let’s call it even.”
"What will we call them?" He asked.
I smiled. "Alex and Alexandra."