Drew crawled in bed with her that night, as he tended to do every night and she fell into a restful sleep. He hadn’t tried making love to her again but he’d convinced her the couch was too small for him to sleep on. She felt badly for him, since he was putting everything else in his life on hold to take care of her. Besides she slept better with him holding her. It felt great to be in his arms and he was great support for her back.

They both woke up late the next morning and had to rush around before the movers showed up. She had her last minute items that needed packed and she wanted to do a final search of her cupboards and drawers. She was just finishing up when the Salvation Army arrived for her furniture. She was a little sad to see the items hauled away.

The men thanked her for her donation. The apartment seemed too empty, with not much left except a bunch of boxes. The moving company showed up within minutes of the other men leaving and her apartment was cleared out within an hour. Drew sent the men ahead of them. He’d already hired some staff members who’d let them into the new home.

She wandered around the empty apartment, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. It was completely empty. There was a knock on the door and a couple of women came in, carrying cleaning supplies. She kept the place spotless but there was a final cleaning that had to be done. Drew hadn’t wanted her around the chemicals and had insisted on hiring a company to do it for her.

As much as her back was hurting, she hadn’t argued with him and was relieved to have someone else doing the hard work. She turned her keys over to the manager and walked out of the place she had called home for the past couple of years.

Drew gently helped her into his car and they were off to the new house. She’d only seen pictures of it online and was looking forward to going through it. From the pictures, it was certainly impressive.

They entered the locked gate and drove down the driveway. The moving van was backed into the garage and there was another furniture company van backed up as well. He told her he’d ordered their furniture. He’d also brought her a lot of catalogs and asked her to decorate. She’d been too tired the night before but had to admit she was looking forward to going through them.

She’d never had the money to decorate the way she wanted to. She figured even if she wasn’t there a long time, it would be her gift to him, to decorate the place beautifully. She knew she had a great eye, which was why she’d chosen to be a florist. It was a form of art to create a bouquet for someone’s special day.

Trinity was wide eyed, as she walked through the huge front doors. The place was enormous and stunning. It was more like one of his resorts, than a home. She wandered from room to room, gasping in delight. There was even a library, similar to the one at Jasmine’s house. Drew said it wasn’t as large as Derek’s place but she was thinking he was wrong. She didn’t understand why anyone needed so much space.

She stepped through the French doors and was delighted to find an outdoor kitchen. She’d always wanted one. She could imagine her daughter playing in the swimming pool, while she barbequed dinner and then they’d eat beneath the stars. It was perfect in so many ways. It wouldn’t be easy to go back to living in an apartment after residing in this home.

The movers kept bringing in the furniture and she was impressed with everything he picked out. He had excellent taste and she couldn’t imagine she would’ve picked anything different.

“I want to show you something and remember if you don’t like any of it, we can return it and get what you want. But I wanted to help you since you’re on bed rest,” he told her, as they slowly made their way up the beautiful staircase.

He opened a door and she felt tears fall, as she stepped into the room. It was fully stocked with baby furniture. He’d thought of everything. She walked over to the gorgeous canopied bed and looked inside, excited for the day her daughter would lay her little head in there.

“I didn’t pick out any of the bedding or anything because Jasmine said you’d want to choose your own theme but she said you should like this cherry wood,” he said with some apprehension. He couldn’t tell by her tears if she liked it or hated it. He stood there waiting for the verdict.

She walked up to him and wrapped him in her arms, as much as her large belly would allow. “Thank you Drew, it’s all perfect,” she said with a sniffle. The more things he did, the more she realized how hard it was going to be to let him go.

There was a gorgeous changing table and matching dresser and the room even had a walk in closet. She didn’t understand the need for a walk-in closet in a baby room but she was sure he’d want to fill the shelves full. He’d definitely be the type of guy to spoil his daughter. Even when they were no longer together, he’d pamper and love his daughter. Trinity felt too much pain thinking of them not being together so she decided not to think about it.

There was an incredibly inviting rocking chair, not far from the crib. She walked over and sat down and sighed as she sunk down deep into it. It was luxurious and glided smoothly and silently back and forth. She could feel the heaviness of her eyes, as she rocked lightly and looked over the room.

He pushed a button and a step came up to cushion her swollen feet and the back laid down slightly. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep and decided not to fight it. She was tired from the busy day. She had a feeling she’d sleep often in the wonderful chair.

Drew watched Trinity, as she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep. She was so unbelievably beautiful it was hard for him to take his eyes off her. He knew they still had a ways to go but he also knew he couldn’t give her up. They were a family and he’d do anything to keep them together.

She’d come to realize how important it was for them to stay together. He’d bought her the home and as she decorated it and settled in more, he knew she wouldn’t want to leave. It was really hard for him not to demand she bend to his will but he’d figured out quickly that didn’t work so well with her. It was much better for him to coerce her than to force. He’d just make her life too appealing for her to want to leave.

He knew his largest hurdle was convincing her he was nothing like the business men she’d dated in the past. He’d lied to her in the beginning but she had to realize why. Maybe she’d trust him more when she realized he’d put the house in her name and he wanted nothing more out of her than her love.

He tucked a blanket around her, glad she was resting and went back down the stairs to get things put away. His cousins would be there anytime to help him. He had a lot to do and wanted the house to be set up and not full of boxes. The sooner she saw the home as permanent, the better off they’d be.

Chapter Ten

“This place is beautiful, Trinity,” Jasmine said with enthusiasm, as they walked from the front door together. “I’m at your beck and call to fill up that library,” she added.

“It’s pretty great but this is only temporary so I don’t want to add too much right now,” Trinity said with some caution. Jasmine chose to ignore the comment.

“I’d love to go through those catalogs with you if you need any help. We need to get you tucked up on the couch before your warden finds you’re on your feet,” she said with a laugh. Trinity knew she was joking but she wasn’t far off. Drew seemed to have a radar go off anytime she got up for longer than a few seconds. She was thinking this bed rest stuff was going to raise her blood pressure far worse than taking a simple walk around would.

“I’d really appreciate it. It’s all a bit overwhelming but since I can’t really go anywhere, or do anything physical right now, it’s kind of nice to have something to do,” Trinity told her. The two women sat down and soon had racked up the credit card with purchases. Trinity wouldn’t have ordered half the items but Jasmine insisted. Plus, she was irritated with Drew for being such a prison guard and was hoping to irritate him a bit with the spending, even if it was on his own home.

“These boys have far too much money and it needs spent,” Jasmine said with a laugh. Trinity had the feeling he wasn’t going to even notice the dent she’d made to his bank account. It kind of took the pleasure out of her little tantrum. She was enjoying ordering the baby things. She couldn’t wait for the items to be delivered. It was going to be so exciting to see the nursery all finished.

The cook brought them some lunch and they ate while going through the many catalogs. Once they were finished with the decoration items, Jasmine pulled out a bag with a bunch of other catalogs.

“Ryan is halfway finished with the remodel work on our shop, so now comes the fun part. We can start ordering some supplies. I think I brought everything over you’ll need to set up your floral department. This company will bring the coolers out and set them all up. It’s a bigger space so you’ll have more display area. I also found this great company for gift items. I know my portion is supposed to be the café but I’d love to help with the gift section too. I love this type of stuff,” Jasmine said, with enthusiasm.

“I’ve always wanted to have a bigger shop but I’m in the dark with what needs to be done, so I’m more than happy you want to be a part of it,” Trinity said.

The two women looked over the magazines and got more and more excited as they looked at everything. Drew and Derek came in a couple times and then decided to leave again, instead of getting suckered into looking at the myriad of items the women thought were so great. They were used to dealing with mergers and buildings; they always left decorating to other people. They just agreed with the women the items were to die for and snuck back out.

Jasmine had been right about him not caring about the purchased items, though. He hadn’t even blinked when she’d shown him the huge order. She couldn’t possibly think of what she could do to get under his skin.

Once the women were finished purchasing half the items in the catalogs, it was getting late. Trinity was a little worried as the costs kept going up and up but Jasmine reassured her their location was phenomenal and they’d sell out in no time and need to place even more orders. Trinity was thinking they could be really successful with this shop. She was beyond excited.

By the time the baby came everything would be ready to go and she’d be able to enjoy working in her shop. The great thing about being a business owner was she could take her daughter with her because there was no way she wanted a stranger to raise her child, while she worked all day.

The two girls would be very close, growing up together. She was grateful they’d have each other to play with. Ryan was even building a play area, which would benefit their daughters and their clients children as well. It was something she wouldn’t have even thought about.

By the time they finished supper, she was exhausted and ready to go to bed. Jasmine gave her a big hug and headed out with Derek, then she was left alone with Drew for the first time that day. She started to get a bit nervous, as she thought about the night ahead. They had never discussed sleeping arrangements.

He led her up the stairs and opened the doors to the master bedroom and she was very impressed. The boys had been busy while her and Jasmine had been lounging around and spending money.