"Tara told me firmly…in many colourful words, of course, that you are not here, and I should stop bothering her," Maxwell said as he lay back and stared at the ceiling with the bemused smile still on his face.
"It was really frustrating but then, for a moment there, I almost believed her." He turned around to look at her and reached out to touch her face. "You know, for a moment there, I truly thought I would never see you again. I was…" he shook his head, rubbed his eyes, then let out a short, humourless laughter.
Then he brightened again as he continued his narration "So, there I was on my way back, already in the car and I saw this notification on my phone. You see, I have this setting that enables me to get news notifications from any country that I am currently in. I've got to keep abreast of things, you know."
"Uuh, uuh," Reyona said, with a questioning look still on her face.
"I just automatically clicked on it, and boy was I happy to, because after checking that news, I scrolled down. Then guess what I saw in the third line of the crime section."
"What?" Reyona asked eagerly.
"A headline about a marriage turned sour. Then just beneath it was this picture of a woman looking so lost, and…"
"Oh my god," Reyona smacked her hand against her forehead as she guessed what was to come. That damn reporter!
Maxwell laughed and turned to face her as he said "There you were so…" he gave her a keen look as he completed "... beautiful. "Naturally, I was shocked by the change of hair and had to look closely for a moment. Then I saw Toria beside the woman too and that was just it. I had that car turned around so fast." he chuckled as he reached out to her and scooped her closer to himself.
"I was almost at Toria's place before I realised how foolish that move would be. She had denied that you were here at all. I could see the hair change too. Then, coupled with the fact that I couldn't reach you, I figured you wanted nothing to do with me. I just knew if I alerted her that I was sure that you were here, she would inform you and you would leave again. I couldn't afford that." he kissed her forehead and continued.
"I am not ashamed to say I stalked your sister for a while. My frustration grew in my search for anyone with any record of your name in Sydney. I couldn't find any! It was just so crazy. Then Fate smiled at me when she left work one day and didn't head home, to the club or anywhere else but to this area."
The day before Toria left for Aspen!
"I thought finally!" he turned to her as he trailed his hand over her back. "I can't believe I got so lucky."
Yeah, who could have thought?" Reyona said with a wry smile.
Then he asked, "Who is Patricia?"
". Grams. My grandmother," she answered.
Maxwell looked at her in surprise as he asked.
"You put your grandmother's name on the trust fund you purchased this place with?"
Reyona smiled as she shook her head and said "No, it is meant for my baby. That is the name I would like to give her."
Maxwell's eyes danced with joy as he looked down at her stomach and said "A girl? We are having a girl?"
"Actually, I have no idea," Reyona said with a sheepish smile.
"You have no idea?" Maxwell echoed.
"Not one bit," Reyona answered with a smile.
"But how?" Maxwell wondered.
"I am getting a bit chilled," Reyona said as she reached for her dress.
Instead of letting her put it on, Maxwell removed it from her hand when she wanted to put it on, he covered her with it, then scooted her closer to cover her exposed part. "Here, I will keep you warm." he said with a grin, then asked, "Now tell me."
She was getting warmer alright. Right down to her blood.
Reyona took her mind out of the gutter for a moment as she swallowed audibly and said "I do not want to ruin the surprise yet. I want to find out the gender when I meet my baby."
Maxwell laughed as he said "You are crazy, you know. It is no wonder I am crazy about you." he said before he stole her breath with a lingering kiss.
Chilled? Reyona wondered what she was thinking.
If she didn't know better, she might have thought someone had toyed with the central heating.
"Hmmm," she hummed in her throat as she snuggled closer to him and put her arm around his neck to get more of him.
They separated breathlessly, and he asked "What if the baby is a boy?"
Reyona took her gaze off his eyes enough to answer "What…oh, hmm, I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there." She smiled as she added, "I have a feeling though."
"I guess I have to trust you on that," he said as his hand covered her stomach.
He was silent for a moment as he slowly rubbed his thumb over her stomach, with his hand still splayed over her stomach.
"You were not going to tell me," he said slowly.
When he looked back at her eyes, his were swimming with emotions. "This was the main reason why you left. You knew before you left, didn't you?"
Reyona sighed as he lay back on her back, feeling bereft when his hand momentarily left her stomach because of the moment.
There was no point denying it.
"Yes, but…"
"You believed I was deceiving you all along. You thought I never meant it all those times when I told you I loved you."
Reyona turned her head to him and just couldn't handle the look on his face. "Can we talk about this later?"
"But I don't want any misunderstanding between us anymore, Reyona. I…about Susan…"
She pushed him back and straddled him. She cupped his face and looked at his instantly heated eyes as his hands grabbed her ass. Leaning close to him, she whispered "Shut up".
And get down to the business of shutting him up properly.
No further persuasion was needed on his side.