"You're awfully quiet, are you alright?" I asked Theodore.
"Yeah, sweetheart, I'm alright, just got to deal with a lot of work. Companies are offering me lots of contracts, so I'm just kind of preoccupied," he replied with a small smile. I knew that Theodore and I had been married for just a short while but there was already a bond between us, and right now, that bond was telling me that Theodore wasn't telling me everything.
"Are you sure there's nothing else?" I enquired.
"And the fact that now instead of the two of you I have to deal with the three of you is also something I'm a tad worried about." He kissed my cheek affectionately.
"When are we leaving for dinner with your family?" I questioned, snapping a colorful bracelet on my wrist.
"It's your family, too now, darling, but to answer your question, in half an hour, I'm going to go shower now, then we can leave," he answered then strolled in the bathroom, giving me a sexy view of his delicious back.
Once the bathroom door shut, I rummaged in my jewelry box and picked out a couple of rings. Putting them on I checked my reflection in the mirror; satisfied that I wasn't missing anything I grabbed my clutch intending to head into the living room when Theodore's phone dinged, indicating the arrival of a text message.
I walked to the side table where Theodore's phone was and opened it to see who the message was from. My heart gave a sudden jolt at seeing the name of the person who sent the text message; Ian Black.
What were the odds that this Ian was the same one who was old friends with Theodore? I decided to read the message. When my eyes ran over the typed letters I nearly stumbled.
Three days, then it's game over.
What in Mount Everest did that mean? Three days? Three days till what? Was he blackmailing Theodore? But why? What did he have on Theodore that could mean game over for him? And why hadn't Theodore told me about him?
Suddenly a spark of anger flared to life inside me. I wouldn't let anything happen to my husband. I would fight the whole world if I had to, but in no way would I let this Ian win. Whatever he thought he had on my husband, well I wouldn't let anything harm my husband. I'm going to find out exactly what was going on, and Theodore was going go tell me, even if I have to blackmail him with s3x.
But for now, I would pretend that I didn't know anything. We had to go have dinner with his family, and I would not be in a foul mood. However, now I knew what was bothering my husband, and he would not fight this battle alone.
I put Theodore's phone back in its originial place and went to the living room. Julie informed me that she had cleaned the living room and asked if I needed her to do anything else. I shook my head and told her she was free to retire for the night if she wished to do so, then sat on the sofa browsing through different channels.
After a while my phone started ringing. I checked the caller ID and smiled when Mandi's name flashed on the screen.
"Hey, Mandi, what's up?" I started the conversation.
My smile dropped when instead of getting an equally chirpy reply I heard sniffing from the other side.
"Mandi, are you alright?" My whole body went on alert at hearing my best friend cry.
"Lee, I-I messed up," Mandi hicupped.
"What are you talking about, Mandi?" I questioned.
"I-Is it o-okay i-if I co-come ov-over?" Mandi asked, her voice breaking.
"Yes, but right now, Theodore and I are going over to his parents' house for dinner, they invited us," I replied feeling guilty. I was wondering if I could ask Theodore to cancel tonight's dinner.
"It's okay, you guys go, I'll stay at your house until you guys come back, I-I feel alone in my house right now," she replied weakly.
"I'll tell Theodore to cancel dinner, I'll stay with you," I told her firmly.
"No, don't cancel your plans, Lee, or else I won't come," Amanda argued making me roll my eyes.
"Of course I'm going to cancel dinner, Mandi, I'm your friend, I won't leave you at a time like this," I replied firmly.
"No, if you cancel your plans then I'm not coming and won't even tell you why I'm crying," she threatened making me give up.
"Fine, but you better get here fast, and when I come back you're telling me every single microscopic detail," I ordered.
"Yeah, alright, I'll be there as soon as possible." Without saying goodbye she hung up.
I dropped the phone in my clutch just as Theodore emerged from our bedroom, looking as if he was getting ready to pose for the front cover of men's magazine. His cologne wafted up my nostrils making my mouth water. I loved his cologne.
"Ready to go, flower?" Theodore pocketed his phone.
"Actually, Amanda is coming over in a little while, then we can leave," I told him.
"Is everything alright with her, do you want me to call mom and cancel dinner?" He enquired.
"No, she specifically said not to cancel dinner, but she would be coming in a little while then we can go," I answered.
"Alright, let's sit and wait for Amanda." Theodore took my hand and led me to the sofa where I was already sitting before Theodore came.
"So what do you want to do?" Theodore asked me giving my hand a squeeze.
"Uh, nothing, why? Do you want to do something?" I questioned back.
"Well, I want to make out," he replied with a wink.
"Seriously?" I chuckled.
"Yes." Without waiting for my reply, he dipped his head and captured my lips in a searing kiss. I gripped his shoulders, while he wrapped his arms tightly around me, keeping me in place.
Theodore licked my lips, demanding entrance. I didn't deny him, mostly because he would've bitten my lips if I hadn't granted him access, but I didn't want to deny my husband either.
Arousal tore through me when Theodore plunged his tongue in my mouth, making me moan. It was clear the man wanted to dominate, and no matter how much I tried to win the duel our tongues were currently fighting, I couldn't.
It was only the ringing of the doorbell and the slamming of the door that broke us apart. We broke apart breathing heavily. Theodore begun softly kissing my lips, but his lips left mine when the sound of a throat clearing was heard.
I whipped my head to see who was here. A smile of relief curved my lips when I saw my best friend standing there.
"Are you guys ever not kissing or feeling each other up?" Mandi questioned cheekily.
I blushed instantly when Theodore kissed me once more in front of Amanda. "I can't help it, Amanda, I just love my wife too much to stop myself from touching her or feeling her up," Theodore answered her while I continued to blush.
"Well, you guys better go now," Amanda told us, plopping on the sofa next to the one in which we sat on.
"First tell me, are you alright, what happened?" I asked worriedly.
"Nice try, Lee, but I'm not telling you anything, you go have your dinner, we'll talk in the morning. Boss man, if you don't mind, I'd like to steal your wife and my best friend for the day, so you won't have your personal assistant with you tomorrow," Amanda told us.
Theodore sighed deeply, clearly letting us know that he was in no way happy. "Alright fine, Hailey, you can have tomorrow off to spend time with your best friend, but I expect you back the next day, no excuses," he stated firmly.
"Yes boss," I replied cheekily.
"God, I love when you say that, it turns me on," he whispered in my ear making me blush.
"Okay, don't make me claw my eyes out, go now, I'm going to watch TV," Mandi ordered us before grabbing the remote.
"Tell Julie if you need anything, take care of yourself, bye," I said before leaving the house with Theodore. Even though I had to deal with the Benson family now, my mind couldn't stop worrying about my best friend.
When we arrived at the Benson villa, my stomach was a ball of nerves; or maybe the babies were playing hide and seek, I wasn't sure; whatever it was, I was nervous.
We were greeted by the Bensons. Theodore's mom and dad gave me lingering hugs, making me feel like a beloved daughter who was coming home after staying away from her family for more than six months.
Not much time was spent in small talk, as almost immediately we were ushered to the dining room for dinner. Mrs. Benson had prepared the most delicious dishes ever. My stomach growled loudly-the babies demanding food. Theodore, filled up my plate, adding a bit more than I wanted to eat, making me wonder how on Earth would I eat all of this.
"Theodore, not so much, I wouldn't be able to finish it all," I complained, whispering in his ear so as not to let the others around me hear.
"You are going to finish everything in this plate, Hailey, and you're not leaving the dining table until you do so," Theodore replied out loud, not paying heed to my words.
"But I can't eat so much," I protested, not whispering anymore.
"You can and you will, if you're not forgetting, sweetheart, you're not carrying one but two babies, and all three of you need all the nutrition you can get," Theodore stated with the a look that clearly told me not to argue.
It was then that I realized the dining room had fallen eerily silent. I gazed at everyone and blushed when I found everyone staring at us. Harry's eyes were widened, his mouth dropped open. If I had not known the reason for their sudden silence, I would've thought maybe there was something on my face, but no. I knew everyone had the exchange between Theodore and I, and knew that we were having twins.
"Two babies, you are having two babies," Adam spoke, breaking the silence.
"Yes, yes we are," Theodore replied proudly.
A cacaphony of noise erupted in the dining room. Mrs. Benson had tears in her eyes and was congratulating Theodore and I, and mumbling about how she would go shopping tomorrow. Mr. Benson kept on praising Theodore while telling him how proud he was of him.
Theodore's male cousins were an entire different story. Adam and Jamie along with Harry were hooting and hollering; clinking glasses in fake toasts. While others were asking how the babies were.
The female cousins on the other hand started rapidly planning for the baby shower, muttering things like how they would have to buy two gifts instead of one. Ellie and Stephanie were thinking about baby names.
Theodore's aunts and uncles were discussing baby stuff with Mrs. Benson. I touched my currently flat stomach smiling internally at the thought that my babies would be so lucky to be born in the Benson family. They would be showered with unconditional love, and would be spoiled rotten on brithdays and Christmas with hundreds of presents. The thought made me content.
"Please tell us that both the babies are boys," Trent said making me chuckle.
"We don't know yet, the doctor said it was too early to determine the sex of the babies," Theodore answered him.
"No, I want to have two nieces," Teresa said making Theodore gulp, a flash of fear lit up his eyes.
"I don't think Theodore can handle two girls, Teresa," I told her chuckling at Theodore's expression.
"Yeah, otherwise half of us would have to protect one girl and half the other," Jamie added.
"Well we can't have two boys either, I mean, I have no issue if we get two boys, I would still spoil them rotten, but I want girls," Stephanie said.
"I guess it's safe to say that we would prefer one boy and one girl," aunt Bethany said, to which all of them agreed.
"Hailey dear, you must finish whatever is in your plate, don't want you to fall weak at such a critical stage," Mrs. Benson fussed.
"Yes mom," I muttered throwing a glare at Theodore who smirked in victory.
At first I thought eating so much would be a difficult task. But as dinner progressed, I ended up eating everything in my plate. The guys asked me if I was pregnant with triplets instead of twins because I ate so much. Theodore calmly told them that we were having twins. Mrs. Benson didn't stop fussing over me throughout the dinner. Asking me every few minutes whether I was alright, or if I needed anything more. I didn't know if it was me or the pregnancy hormones, but I was starting to get annoyed with the constant questions. However, I didn't let anybody know that.
Conversation kept flowing throughout the evening. The girls kept coming up with and discarding baby names, and what sort of baby clothes were in fashion. I was surprised when I heard this. Babys' had fashion? I thought they could wear anything, but maybe I'm wrong.
Even though I was full by the time I finished my dinner, my mouth watered when dessert came. This time, I was glad when Theodore gave me a healthy serving of dessert. I wasted no time in digging in the chocolaty goodness. I was aware of the others around me, otherwise I would've moaned out loud when the flavors spread over my taste buds.
After dinner, we sat in the living room discussing about the arrival of the babies and to prepare for their arrival. The girls made plans of buying toys while Mrs. Benson along with all the five aunts planned to go shopping for baby clothes.
Seeing and hearing the Bensons planning and getting excited for our babies cemented one belief in my mind.
My babies would be spoiled rotten.
"Mandi, we're home," I called out to Amanda who was not present in the living room.
"Sweetheart, you're not staying up to talk to Amanda, it's been a long day you need to sleep," Theodore stated.
"Theodore, I'm going to check on Amanda, and if she wants to talk then I'm going to talk, even if it takes all night," I replied firmly.
"No, you're not, you are going to go to sleep, even if I have to drag you to bed and lock the bedroom door," Theodore replied leaving no room for argument.
"Theodore, I'm not a five year old, I can take care of myself, so stop treating me as if I'm made of glass," I said annoyed with him fussing over me.
"See, you're getting cranky, let's get you to bed."
"No, I'm going to talk to Amanda," I stated.
"Why are you two fighting?' Amanda asked, coming out of the guestroom.
"Amanda, please tell her to get some rest, it's late and she is exhausted, you guys can talk in the morning," Theodore pleaded with Amanda.
"Mandi, ignore him, if you want to talk we'll talk," I told her annoyed.
"Theodore's right, Hailey, you're tired and need your rest, we'll talk tomorrow. I wasn't going to talk to you tonight anyways, I knew you would be tired when you came back from dinner," Mandi replied.
"Well fine, forgive me for worrying about my best friend." I stormed into my bedroom, furious over the fact that Theodore and Amanda teamed up against me. When would they understand that I could take care of myself, and didn't need them treating me like I was fragile.
I quickly changed into my pajamas then flopped on the bed, covering myself with the duvet, hiding my face from the world. Tears of anger and frustration spilled from my eyes, but I made no move to wipe them.
Strong arms banded around my waist, pulling me against a hard chest. I didn't bother struggling, I knew it would be useless.
"I'm not crying," I said, my voice breaking.
"I never said you were, but we both know that's a lie," Theodore murmured softly.
I felt soft kisses peppering my face and neck; unconsciously I leaned into Theodore, letting him shower kisses on me.
"Theodore, I can't handle too many people fussing over me, it drives me nuts," I confessed, feeling better after getting that off my chest.
"I know, sweetheart, my family can be overwhelming," Theodore agreed.
"I know your family means well and they just want me to be okay, but it's too much, their love is too much, and I'm not used to it," I continued to complain.
"It's alright, I'm telling you you'll get used to it, it would take time though," he replied softly.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, feeling guilty about lashing out at him earlier.
"Don't be, sweetheart, you're carrying my babies, they're bound to give you hell," Theodore joked eliciting a chuckle from me.
Theodore turned me to face him, then kissed me slowly. His magical kisses worked wonders in reliving my stress. I raked my fingers through his soft hair while returning his kiss with vigor. Theodore didn't stop, he continued to kiss me until sleep took me in its arm, letting me forget about all my worries.