“I should go, anyway,” Danielle told them. “My driver’s been waiting and I told Kane I’d be back for dinner.”
“You sure?” Red asked her. “You’re welcome to hang with us.”
“I’m sure.” Danielle came and gave Nicole another tight squeeze. “It was great seeing you and catching up,” she said softly. “Call me anytime.”
“Of course,” Nicole told her. “And thanks for always being there.”
Danielle nodded and waved goodbye to Red, and then she left. They stood at the front door and watched her get in her limousine and ride off.
“Did you have a nice time?” Red asked, putting a hand on Nicole’s back and gently rubbing.
“Yes, actually. I was pretty emotional though.”
He turned and looked at her. “You have every right to be emotional.”
She nodded, wanting to cry yet again. But this time she was able to not cry for once. Maybe that was progress. “You really want to show me the new space?”
“I really do,” he said.
“Okay then. I’m game.”
They left the house immediately and got in Red’s car, setting off down the private way as the sun started to dip in the sky.
Red asked her about Danielle, and Nicole told him about the prenuptial agreement and how Danielle felt weird about it.
“Most very wealthy people should have an agreement like that when they marry,” he said.
“She got really sad when I told her that you’ve never asked me to sign anything.”
Red just shrugged. “Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but I don’t have any urge to protect myself financially when it comes to you. I never want to lose you, but if somehow I was dumb enough to screw this up—then I want you to get whatever you need and then some.”
Nicole looked at him. “Well of course you’re saying that now. Most people don’t feel so charitable by the time they’re getting divorced.”
“Anyway, it’s a silly topic because you and I are never going down that road, Nicole. You’re stuck with me now.”
“I love that I’m stuck with you,” she said, and then glanced at a passing sign. “What I’m not sure about, is being stuck in this car right now. I don’t see any signs for Hartford.”
“It’s not exactly in Hartford,” Red replied.
“I thought that’s where you went to look.”
“Yeah, it was. But I kind of stumbled across an even more perfect place. You’ll see.” He gave her an enigmatic smile.
They kept driving and the sun continued its descent in the sky. Soon, the horizon was turning a marvelous shade of pink and the view was beautiful.
Nicole couldn’t help but think how much more she’d have appreciated this moment if she could touch her belly and know that her child was there, growing inside of her, experiencing this right along her.
And then they were getting off the highway and Red was perking up—Nicole could tell they were very close to wherever he planned to take her.
As they went down a narrow street, she noticed that they were heading towards the ocean. She could see the water briefly as they crested a hill, and then it disappeared again behind the houses as they drove down the hill again.
“Red, where the heck are you taking me?” she asked. “Is there actually an office building here?”
“Just be patient,” he told her.
Not much longer after that, they parked across from the beach in a nearly empty lot. The entire street beside the beachfront was quiet, although cars passed by on occasion.
Red started to get out of the car.
“This is it?” she asked, incredulous.
“Come on, don’t ask so many questions,” he laughed.
They both got out and Red came around her side, throwing his arm over her shoulders and squeezing her close to his warm body.
“It’s beautiful here,” she marveled. The breeze from the water was exquisite, and the sunset was lighting up the sky with brilliant shades of purple and pink. Nicole felt tears come to her eyes for no particular reason.
“I want you to walk across the street, take off your sandals, and go wait for me by the water,” he said. “Okay?”
She turned and looked him in the eye. “Red Jameson. Tell me what the heck is going on immediately.”
He just smiled again. “All will be revealed.”
“Fine.” She pretended to be annoyed but inside she was actually enjoying this. It was a nice diversion and she wanted to see what he’d come up with. Maybe he wanted to have dinner on the beach or something fun.
So Nicole took off her sandals and walked across the street to the beach, down the small path that bridged the street and the beach itself. Once she felt the sand between her toes, she knew that Red had somehow picked the right place to bring her this afternoon. She took a deep breath, looking out at the ocean as the waves rolled into the shore.