THE BILLIONAIRE’S DANCE(Billionaire Bachelors Book_Two)

Chapter Eight

The months slowly passed since the honeymoon. Alex was finally staying home much more often and they were back to making love almost nightly and to an outsider everything would look normal.

Everything would look like they were a perfect family.

Jessica hadn’t repeated her vows of love to her husband and he’d started to relax. She didn’t want to break the truce they’d established.

Jacob was turning a year old that afternoon and they had a huge party planned, with both of their families there. She loved when the family got together, more than anything. She couldn’t believe there was ever a time she’d feared them.

Jessica stole Isaiah away every chance she could get but when Joseph was around it was more difficult. He would hold all three of his grandkids on his knees and was like a papa bear when someone tried to take one of them away.

The kids adored their grandfather just as much. The second he would walk in the door Jasmine and Jacob would run to him with their arms out and the baby would coo at him. Joseph was in baby heaven.

Jessica finished getting ready for the party, knowing Julia was dressing Jacob at the same time. There was a sweet bond between the Julia and Jacob.

“Mama, someone is looking for you,” Alex’s voice came around the corner about a second before he stepped through the doorway.

Jessica gulped in her handsome husband and son. “Mama, hold,” Jacob demanded of her, as he reached out to her from his father’s arms.

“Of course, my sweet boy. I can’t believe you’re a year old today. Is it your birthday?” she asked him before tickling his belly.

“My day,” he said in his sweet baby voice.

“Yes it is and you have grandpa and grandma and your aunts and uncles coming to see you,” she said.

“Gampa, yeah,” he said and started looking around.

“He’s not here yet,” she said with a smile. She loved how bonded her son was with both his grandfathers.

“I wan gampa,” he demanded with a little scowl between his brows, reminding her so much of her husband.

“I like how he knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to demand it,” Alex stated proudly. “Come on Jacob, I think I hear grandpa in the hall,” he said as Jacob eagerly leapt back into his father’s arms.

Alex laughed and bent down kissing her quickly before leaving the room. She slowly followed her two favorite men.

“About time you brought my grandson down here. I have been waiting about five minutes now,” came Joseph’s booming voice.

Alex chuckled, as Jacob practically flew into his grandpa’s arms.

Jacob patted Joseph’s face to get his attention, “my day gampa,” he said with a cheeky smile.

“Yes it is your birthday Jacob. Let’s go sneak into some candy,” he whispered, although everyone in the room could hear him.

“Dad, don’t give him a bunch of junk food or he’ll get cranky,” Alex said, although he knew his words were falling on deaf ears. As he figured, Joseph acted like he hadn’t heard a word. Jessica had to laugh. When Joseph wanted to spoil his grandkids, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

“I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look today,” Alex said to her and then took her into his arms and kissed her softly. She immediately melted as he deepened the kiss. He was getting ready to take her back upstairs.

They’d been together for almost a year and she still had the ability to tighten his stomach. He wanted her every second of the day. She was beautiful and passionate.

Hell, he thought the party could wait on them. “You guys want to go upstairs for a while. I will cover for you,” said the laughing voice of Mark.

Jessica jumped out of Alex’s arms and could feel her face getting hot. She hated how easily she blushed. She couldn’t believe she’d been caught necking in the hallway like she was some undersexed teenager.

Alex glared at his brother. “You could’ve just gone out back with the rest of the family and not so rudely interrupted,” he said far too meanly in Jessica’s opinion. He did look even sexier when he was in a temper, which he clearly was.

“Oh quit being a stick in the mud, you have all night to continue kissing. Now be a good brother and get me a beer,” he said and practically dragged Alex from the room.

Jessica took a few moments to compose herself before heading in the direction of the party. She stared at the large group of family and friends on her back deck and smiled. Her son was so lucky to have so many people who adored him.

Whenever she began to think she couldn’t stay another day in the house with a man who didn’t love her, she would be at a family gathering and her resolve would deepen. She loved this group of people so much and the thought of not having them in her life was unbearable.

It wasn’t like Alex was cruel to her in any way. He was simply honest, saying he couldn’t love her. He wanted her which was obvious. Their passion burned greatly. She was coming to believe he just didn’t want to be in love with anyone and it wasn’t personal.

Jessica snapped back to reality and looked around the crowded yard once again. Her smile was genuine as she spotted her beautiful child and her niece and nephew.

Jasmine and Jacob were in the swings, with grandpa pushing them both. “Higher gampa,” Jasmine yelled and then squealed with delight when grandpa accommodated her.

“How are you doing dear?” Katherine asked, as she walked up to Jessica.

“I’m great, thanks Mom,” she replied. Katherine was such a quiet person, sometimes she got engulfed from her huge force of a husband. All the kids knew grandma was the real source of magic in the family though.

She had an amazing heart and more love to give than any other person Jessica knew. Jessica was glad her family meshed so well with the Anderson family. They’d all become one instead of two.

“I can’t believe Jacob is a year old already. The time simply goes by far too quickly, in my opinion,” Katherine said with some sadness.

“I agree, it seems like just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital. He will be off to college before I have a chance to blink,” she said with some panic.

“It doesn’t happen quite that quickly but it sure seems like it. I’m grateful my boys decided to live close to home. When Mark graduated and moved out a piece of my heart broke. Letting go of any of your children is hard but the youngest one is the final piece and it feels like a piece of you leaves with them. I’m also grateful they’re finally marrying and giving me grandkids. It helps ease the heartache a little,” she added.

Jessica looked guiltily down at her feet for a moment. She knew her father and Alex’s parents were hoping to have many more grandkids but Jessica was so afraid to even bring it up with Alex. She was afraid he would say no and she would have to finally accept they couldn’t stay together.

“Three grandkids in just under three years is pretty good,” Jessica said instead.

“Yes, they really are a blessing. Joseph has been mumbling now about Mark settling down. I’ve told him time and again to leave the boy alone. He’ll have kids when he’s ready for it but you know Joseph, he’s stubborn. He thinks he fools me but I’ve been married to the man for far too many years for him to get away with much,” she said with a wink.

“He’s definitely stubborn. His sons and grandsons have inherited that trait,” Jessica said with a fond smile.

“I’m going to steal that new grandson of mine before Joseph gets his hands on him,” Katherine said.

She kissed Jessica’s cheek and then headed over to Amy, who had just walked around the corner.

Amy walked over to Jessica, now that her arms were empty. “I barely get to see my kids when we are around this group,” Amy complained but the twinkle in her eyes took away any bite in the words.

“I know how you feel,” Jessica agreed with her sister-in-law.

“I really couldn’t imagine being a part of one of those families who never speak to one another. It breaks my heart now to think about that,” Amy said with true knowledge.

Jessica knew Amy had grown up with an addicted mother until the day she went into the foster care system. She’d worked her way through college and then met Lucas while working for the Anderson Corporation.

Having a close family was something Jessica had always taken for granted, whereas Amy had never known such a loving group of people. Jessica reached over and gave Amy a big hug. “I’m so glad you are my sister Amy. I’m glad you were able to find the family you were meant to have,” Jessica said.

Amy had to wipe away a few tears, “now look what you made me do,” she said with a sniffle. “I’m so glad to have you, too,” she added.

“What’s wrong Amy,” Lucas came running up, as if he had radar built in. He was gathering Amy in his arms while scoping the yard to make sure his children and the rest of the family were all okay. He couldn’t seem to find any danger and that led to his brow furrowing even more.

“Everything is just perfect, that’s why I’m crying,” she said with a sniffle.

Lucas looked at her like she’d lost her mind for a moment and that set both women off in a round of giggles. “Lucas, you have to understand we cry when we are happy and sad. It’s just one of those mysterious things about women,” Jessica finally managed to get out between giggles.

“Is everything okay,” Alex asked as he looked from his brother to the two laughing women. Lucas gave him a look that seemed to say, you figure them out, which sent the girls off on another round of laughter. They were both holding their stomachs and tears were streaming down their faces they were laughing so hard.

“You’ve got to stop talking or I’m going to get a major cramp,” Amy finally managed to get out between bits of laughter.

“Agreed,” Jessica said.

Both guys threw up their hands and by mutual consent edged away from the girls. “We better go finish the grilling,” Lucas said.

“Yeah, I’ll help you,” Alex eagerly took the cue and they fled.

After a few minutes Jessica and Amy were able to quit laughing. “I love doing that to him,” Amy said mischievously.

“That was quite fun,” Jessica agreed.

“Let’s go get something to drink. All this laughter is great but man my stomach hurts now,” Amy said.

“Plus I have got to get off these feet; I swear they are still swollen and acting like I’m pregnant.”

“I could use a drink myself. I’ve been fighting the flu and having a hard time keeping things down, so don’t bring the baby to close to me. I would never forgive myself if I got my nephew sick,” Jessica said.

The girls joined the rest of the party, stealing two very comfortable chairs for themselves. The food was excellent and Jessica was relaxed and calm.

“It’s time to sing happy birthday,” Alex shouted above the voices as he came walking out of the house with a large chocolate cake and a single candle burning in the center.

Jacob blew out his candle with the help of his father and then clapped his hands with everyone else.

Everybody roared with laughter when Jacob stuck his little hand into the cake and smeared it all over himself, saying yummy over and over again.

Jessica’s eyes filled with tears as she watched Alex stick his face into the cake with their son. She loved how much they were bonded. “Daddy likes cake too,” Jacob squealed and then giggled.

“So does grandpa,” Joseph said and took a big handful for himself.

“I think I’ll pass on the cake,” Jessica said with affection, while staring at her chocolate covered men.

“I will second that,” Amy added.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Alex said. Before she could stop him, Alex took a chocolate smeared finger and rubbed it down her nose. She stood there in shock for a moment and then fast as lightening scooped up a small piece of the cake and chucked it at her husband.

She saw the light of mischief come into his eyes and decided it was a great time to retreat. She took off running but Alex caught her in no time. He gently tackled her to the ground and rubbed his chocolate covered face against hers.

Jessica was laughing so hard she could barely speak. “Okay, okay I call truce,” she finally managed to get out.

“There are no truces in a food war,” he said and rubbed against her some more. Suddenly he seemed to realize he was stretched out on top of her. He had her hands pinned above her head and she was completely at his mercy.

Alex forgot their yard was filled with people. No one else seemed visible to him except his beautiful, chocolate covered wife. He bent his head down and instead of rubbing more chocolate on her, his lips met hers and he kissed her with an intenseness that wiped away all laughter.

Alex released her hands and they immediately wrapped around his neck so she could pull him tighter to her body.

“Um guys, I hate to interrupt you twice in one evening but this is a G-rated party,” came the laughing voice of Mark once again.

Alex pulled apart from her reluctantly and growled at his brother. Jessica looked at her husband in shock. She then looked around her in embarrassment and was extremely grateful no one was paying the least bit of attention to them.

Alex finally got up and pulled Jessica to her feet. “This party can end anytime now,” he said, with promise of completion to come. “As a matter of fact, no one would probably even notice if we disappeared for a little while,” he offered her.

She was getting ready to agree with him and sneak off upstairs when Joseph walked up to them.

“Now that Jacob is a year old, when are you planning on giving him a sibling?” Joseph asked Alex.

“You know a boy needs to have some younger sibling to harass,” he added and looked pointedly at Mark.

Jessica was the only one who noticed the shutters lock into place on her husband’s face. Her heart broke a little bit more. He’d gone from passionate lover, to closed off in about two seconds.

“Dad, you already have three grandkids, quit being so greedy,” Alex finally managed to say in a stilted voice.

“Now son, you’re not getting any younger. You better get working on things,” Joseph continued, not noticing the sudden tension in his son. He winked at Alex and Jessica both, which made her blush again.

“Yeah, yeah, just enjoy the cake,” Alex said and then quickly changed the subject. Jessica had her answer she hadn’t wanted to face. Her husband definitely didn’t plan on having more children with her. How could a night so full of promise just a moment ago have suddenly gone so dark?

The party went on even after Jacob finally succumbed to his exhaustion and went to bed. Jessica loved to watch the brothers laugh together and act like they were teenagers. She was putting on a fake mask the rest of the night though, because all she really wanted to do was crawl in bed and have herself a really good cry. She and Amy sat back and visited while the rest of the guests slowly started to depart.

She managed to maintain her composure the rest of the night. She could go curl up in bed and think about what she was going to do about her future really soon. She knew she couldn’t stay in the marriage if Alex didn’t want to be a real family but she didn’t want to think about it.

“We need to have another girl day, how about Friday?” Amy asked.

“That sounds great,” Jessica said before hugging her goodbye. She was almost sad to see the rest of the guests go but at the same time she really needed to be alone for a while.

“I have some work to finish up. I’ll be up later,” Alex said before quickly turning and heading to his office.

Jessica climbed the stairs to their room and curled up in bed, where she cried herself to sleep. Alex must’ve stayed in the office far later than normal because he wasn’t there when she finally managed to fall into an exhausted sleep.

The next month passed by with more and more heartache for Jessica. Alex was home more often than not but if Jacob wasn’t there as a buffer between them he would lock himself up in his office.

They did a lot of family activities together but he seemed to make sure they were never alone otherwise. They still made love in the night but even that had changed. It was still amazing and he was still a fantastic lover but he no longer held her tightly afterwards.

She knew she was going to have to confront him but she also knew how the conversation would go.

“I thought we could go out on the lake this weekend, if you’d like,” Alex asked her at dinner one night.

“That sounds great,” Jessica said with enthusiasm.

“I think Jacob will like the boat. There’s nothing like the wind blowing through your hair as you navigate the water.”

“Well, your son doesn’t have much hair,” she smiled at him.

“That’s very true. The sun will be good for all of us. It’s supposed to be a really nice weekend and those are few and far between,” he said with a genuine smile.

She hated she responded to him so quickly when he gave her the least bit of himself.

The weekend came and Jacob had a cold so they went out on the boat alone. She was afraid he would cancel but he was in a good mood so they left the house early in the morning.

“I thought we’d do some crabbing while we’re out,” he said.

“That sounds great. Amy said she and Lucas did that a couple weeks ago and had a good time.”

“Yeah, I got the idea from Lucas. He enjoyed himself,” he told her.

The drive to the coast was gorgeous and they talked more than they had in months. For the first time in too long to remember Jessica was feeling some hope.

They arrived at the marina and boarded the boat and she was having a great time. Once the temperature warmed up, she stripped down to her bikini and lay out on the deck. The hot sun and cool breeze felt phenomenal against her skin. Her worries seemed to float away on the gentle breeze.

It was taking every bit of Alex’s will power not to find a secluded cove to park the boat and ravish his wife. She had no idea the power she held over him.

As he steered the boat further into the water, his eyes were continually drawn back to Jessica, lying out there on the deck, just a few short feet away from him.

Since the night she’d told him she loved him he’d backed off dramatically. He knew he was hurting her but he also knew she would be better off in the long run if he gave her some space. She needed to realize she wasn’t in love with him. He knew she was more in love with the idea of love and marriage than the actual reality of it.

His dad had freaked him out when he’d brought up having more children. What scared him the most was how much he wanted her to become pregnant again. He could visualize a bunch of miniature Jessica’s running through the house. He couldn’t figure out what he was doing anymore.

“It’s so warm out here,” Jessica said, while turning towards him suddenly. “Can we stop somewhere so I can take a swim?” she asked.

“I can see a cove over here,” he said and steered the boat towards the secluded beach. He was clenching his teeth because everything in him told him he needed to head back towards the docks.

“Oh, it’s so perfect,” she gasped at the little piece of heaven of a beach. As soon as he got the anchor down on the boat she dove into the water. He was impressed with her form. He was feeling way to hot himself so he stripped down and jumped in after her.

They both swam around in a comfortable silence for a while, when suddenly she cried out. Alex immediately swam towards her and sucked in his breath as he noticed blood coming to the surface of the water.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” he fired off at her, while at the same time he was pulling her close and leading her back to the boat.

“I don’t know,” she cried out. “It’s my leg. I think I cut it on something,” she whimpered.

Alex couldn’t see anything, so he towed her back to the boat, praying it was nothing to bad. He lifted her up into his arms and climbed aboard.

He laid her gently down and then went and got the first aid kit. When he returned, he was shocked by the amount of blood.

“It looks worse than it is,” she finally said. “I was looking at it and it looks like I scratched it on a rock or something. It just seems to be bleeding a lot. If you clean it out and wrap it I’ll be fine.”

“First take this Advil, then I’ll start cleaning and assess for myself how bad it is,” he said in his commanding voice.

Even though Jessica was hurting, she had to smile at the command in his voice. She loved it when he got all determined and acted like the world should bow to his feet.

She flinched when he cleaned the wound with the alcohol but she was right, it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was. He was surprised by the amount of blood that had escaped the small wound.

The Advil kicked in and the pain subsided greatly once the wound was cleaned up. “I’m fine now,” she reassured him.

“We can head on home,” he offered.

“I’m fine. As a matter of fact I’m feeling very hungry,” she said. She really didn’t want to head back to the house right away, knowing he would disappear into his office.

He couldn’t handle being all alone with her any longer, so he headed the boat back towards the shore and placed a call to his brother. If they had company for dinner, he wouldn’t have to try and answer the questions he saw coming from her eyes.

“Jessica wake up, we are back at the docks. I called Lucas and he and Amy are going to meet us in a half hour at this great seafood place,” Alex said while gently shaking Jessica awake.

“What?” she stuttered, struggling to wake up. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t even realize I was so tired. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” she said when she finally woke up fully.

“Hey, no problem. I really enjoy the water and having the soothing silence,” he responded before securing the boat.

Jessica felt a little bit like she’d been slapped. She felt he was basically telling her he’d enjoyed his day much more because she wasn’t there to talk in his ear. Well fine, she thought, if he wanted silence, then silence would be what he got.

She quickly got dressed and limped up the dock with him toward their car. She kept silent the entire ride to the restaurant and he said nothing as well. Jessica was wishing to get home so the awkward afternoon could end.

“Jessica, I’m so glad you guys called,” Amy came walking up and put her arm through Jessica’s, while chattering away. “It’s so nice to get out of the house for some adult conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my kids but they do lack certain communication skills,” she finished with a laugh.

“I don’t know. I think Jasmine communicates very well and for that matter, Isaiah has no trouble at all letting everyone around him know when something isn’t going his way,” Jessica joked right back.

“You have that right,” Lucas added.

“I guess I’m the only one with a perfect child,” Alex said.

“Ha,” everyone else said in unison, which brought on more good natured laughter.

“Okay, kids can be quite demanding when they want something but even though I didn’t know I would love fatherhood so much I seriously couldn’t imagine my life without Jacob in it. He’s just so amazing,” Alex said in awe.

“Agreed little bro,” Lucas said.

“This is a grown up night. No more talk of our kids. I get one glass of wine and anything at all I want to eat. If it causes problems with Isaiah’s tummy later, well that’s okay because it’s daddy’s turn to get up with him,” Amy said with a wicked smile.

“You deserve whatever you want Babe,” Lucas said.

The evening progressed and Jessica relaxed. She absolutely loved Lucas and Amy and it helped to mask the tension between her and Alex. She knew at some point they were going to have to face things but she got so tired of being stressed all the time. It was nice to have a worry free evening.

When it came time to say goodnight, she was sad to watch the other couple leave. She hugged Amy tightly and promised to have a girl day later that week. She then rode home in complete silence with her husband.

When they walked inside they both went to Jacob’s room to check on him. It was well past midnight and Julia had long ago retired. Jessica wished she was still up so she could tell her how Jacob’s day had been.

“I think he’s back to normal,” Jessica whispered.

“He was pretty much better by the time we left. I just didn’t want to expose him to the water so soon after his cold,” Alex said.

“I agree,” she said.

“You’re a great mother, never doubt that,” Alex said tenderly. “Don’t feel guilty about taking a day out without him. It’s good for you and him. My parents had many vacations with just the two of them and my brothers and I are fine. They were with us more than away and we always knew how much they loved us,” he finished.

“It was the same at my home. I knew my parents always loved me. I would have traded a little bit of that to have a sibling though. I got really lonely sometimes,” she admitted.

He knew she was implying she would like to have another child. As much as he would love to have another one they didn’t have that kind of marriage.

“I should get some work done,” he said, deciding to avoid the subject. “I’m going to change,” he added, before walking to their bedroom.

Jessica would normally have let him leave but she decided to give her marriage everything she had.

While he was changing in the bathroom she stripped off her clothes and lay down in their bed, with the soft lighting showing everything.

Alex stepped out of the bathroom, planning on heading straight out of the room but one look at his wife and his plans changed. He walked to the bed, like he was a puppet on a string. He stripped out of the clothes he’d just put on and climbed in the bed beside her without a single word.

She wrapped her arms around him and when their lips met a fire exploded throughout her entire body.

When he rubbed her from breast to hip and back up again it was like a trail of lava was searing her.

She couldn’t stop the sounds of pleasure escaping her lips.

She took control back from him before she was unable to think. She pushed him over on his back and climbed on top of him continuing the passionate kiss. She finally released his lips and trailed hers down the side of his neck.

She was encouraged by the shivers racking his body and the gasp that escaped his lips as her hands trailed lower and lower on his body.

She continued kissing him down the column of his throat, over his smooth pecks and lower, to his rock hard abs. She ran her tongue in swirls over the small trail of hair leading her to his engorged manhood.

He tried to pull her back up to him. “No, it’s my turn,” she simply said and he lay back down and let her please him. It took his full willpower not to flip her over and plunge inside of her quivering body.

“Jessica,” he moaned out loud, when she licked the top of his thigh. He really couldn’t take much more.

She took a second to look up at him seductively, before she finally ran her tongue up and down the full length of him. His whole body shook from the pleasure she was giving him.

“Please,” he begged. He didn’t know whether he was begging her to continue or to stop.

She didn’t say a word as she finally took him deep into her mouth and his whole body arched off the bed. She moved her head up and down his shaft, while gripping him and mimicking the movement with her hand.

She swirled her tongue around his head and he jerked up. “Enough,” he growled as he grabbed her in a lightening quick movement and flipped her under him.

“I will finish inside of you, with you quivering around me in pleasure,” he said between clinched teeth.

She jerked her hips upward towards him. She could feel him right there at her entrance but he wouldn’t push inside her.

Now she was the one to beg, “Please Alex,” she moaned.

“Just a minute. I don’t want this to end before it even begins.” He groaned as she rubbed against him again.

He took her hands and placed them over her head and then brought his lips to hers again. He kissed her with all the pent up passion of a man drowning. He was drowning in her.

“Please Alex,” she begged him again.

He couldn’t take anymore and with one thrust he was buried deep inside her. They both moaned in pleasure at the fulfillment of their joined bodies.

He started moving and the waiting ended. He thrust quickly in and out of her, as their panting both escalated. “Alex,” she shouted as her body started convulsing around him. He thrust inside of her and groaned out loud at his own release.

They both lay there, motionless. Her hands were rubbing up and down, from his shoulder blades to his lower back and then up again. He finally got off her and she moaned her displeasure at the separation.

“Shh, I’m too heavy for you,” he said. She thought he would get up and leave but he held her close to him and after he covered them both he rubbed her back until sleep overtook them.

Alex lay there for a long time, still stroking her back and thinking their love making was so much more than sex. He knew he should’ve walked away and let them both think clearly but there was no way he could. When he’d come out of the bathroom and saw her beautiful body glowing under the soft light of the lamp, he was drawn to her

He finally got out of the bed, when he knew she was sound asleep. She moaned and reached for him.

When she found only empty space, her brow furrowed but she didn’t wake up.

Alex headed to the bathroom and took a long shower. He let the spray try and wash away the tension that seemed to be ever present in his shoulders. It didn’t do any good. He finally gave up and decided to go back to bed. He would try and get some sleep and figure things out later.

As soon as he climbed back into the bed she immediately snuggled up to him. Even in her sleep she was drawn to him. He gave up for the night trying to create distance and held her, quickly falling into a deep sleep. An earthquake couldn’t have roused him.

The next morning, he woke before Jessica and got up and left. He avoided her the rest of the afternoon and even though he caught her shooting sad looks at him whenever they passed each other he knew it was better to create some distance.

Alex sat in his office and rubbed his pounding temples. He knew he’d been avoiding Jessica far too much and he wanted to just go back to the way things had been.

Everything that had happened over the last several months seemed to keep pulling them further and further apart. He was trying to keep distance between them to prevent the very problems he seemed to have created.

That night at dinner she’d barely touched her food and she seemed to have so much sadness about her and he knew he could fix it. He didn’t know how to make their problems fade away without giving her his heart.

She was a reasonable person. If he explained they were doing what was best for their son, she’d understand a marriage didn’t have to be filled with romance and love. It needed to be filled with an understanding that two people did the best they could in order to be great parents.

Even as the thoughts were flitting through his head he knew they sounded wrong but he was convincing himself everything was fine. He once again stayed in the office far too late, making sure she was asleep before he entered their bedroom.