“Honey, that's enough,” Henry gently chided his wife with a smile. “We just met these folks. Let's at least give them a couple of weeks before you start deciding how their lives are going to pan out.” “Alright, alright,” Nancy said, before taking a sip from her beer. “I'm just making small talk, Henry.” Henry wrapped his arm around Nancy and kissed her cheek. “It's a good thing I love her.” “Oh, get off of me you old fool,” Nancy joked, pushing him away. It was cute to watch an older couple flirt like that. They clearly loved each other and it was so obvious that their marriage was going to last forever. “So, Jane,” Carter said. “What would you like to drink?” I shrugged. “I'd like to start with some water. Maybe a ginger ale, but I'm not ready for the hard stuff yet.” Or for the next nine months, probably. “Are you hungry?” Carter asked. “We ordered chicken wings and onion rings.” “That actually sounds really g

Carter walked me out of the bar so quickly that I was stumbling to keep my balance. His hand was gripping mine as he made our way toward his limo. I'd seen him eager to have sex with me before, on two separate occasions. However, nothing like this. It seemed he'd finally allowed himself to let loose, even if it was just for this one night. Maybe it was the fact that he'd just closed the biggest investment account of his life, or the fact that we'd won in that silly video game. Something told me, though, that it had nothing to do with either of those things. My guess was that it had something to do with that lip bite of mine, or maybe just the way my butt looked in my tight jeans. Either way, the man was on a mission and I was ready to take whatever he gave me. “Carter, what about your driver?” I asked, as we approached his limo, which was still parked just outside of The Rose Wild. “Won't he hear us?” “Don't worry about him,” Carter said. The gray-hai

After saying our goodbyes to the investors, Carter and I left The Rose Wild. He insisted that he follow me home, just to make sure that I got there okay. It was a simple gesture, but it meant more to me than he could have ever understood. It showed me that he truly cared about my well being and that I wasn't just another notch in the old bed post. He even offered to ride in my car with me so that we could spend a little more time together, but I turned him down. It wasn't like I didn't want him to ride with me, though. It was just that my car was a total mess and after seeing the inside of his limo, my Honda Civic seemed small and crappy, almost embarrassingly so. After the thirty minute drive, I pulled up to my apartment building. Out of some divine miracle, there was a parking spot right in front and I drove my car into it immediately. Carter's limo came to a stop right behind me and I glanced in the rear view mirror, making sure my hair still looked halfway presen

Monday morning finally came. I got to work and rode the elevator up, doing everything I could to try to hide my emotions. Butterflies flew in my belly. My palms were sweaty and I couldn't stop tapping my toe on the elevator floor. The Winthrow employees that were in there with me seemed to notice my fidgeting, but nobody said anything. We stopped at nearly every floor on the way up to drop people off. After a few minutes, I was finally alone. Come on, Jane, I told myself. Get yourself together. It's going to be fine. Carter is going to be happy and excited about the pregnancy, just like you are. Why wouldn't he be? This is a huge thing for him, too. The doors opened up at the top floor and I stepped out. Cindy was at her desk and she pushed her glasses up on her nose as I approached. “Good morning,” I said, my voice wavering. “How are you?” She raised a suspicious eyebrow. “I'm fine. You?” “I'm okay,” I said

I felt like a million bucks. It was as though a thousand pound weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. My trust in Carter had been renewed and the morning's mishaps were now nothing more than a memory. Not only that, but Carter had also hinted at the idea of making our relationship something more official. I could hardly stop smiling at the idea that he and I might actually end up together. Jane Winthrow, I thought quietly, wondering how his last name sounded with mine. It has a nice ring to it, I think. Mrs. Jane Winthrow. I could live with that. Obviously, it was wishful thinking. It was nice to toy with the idea of marriage to Carter, but clearly I had a few bridges to cross before that should have even been a consideration. The first bridge, of course, was figuring out a way to tell him that I was pregnant. With renewed energy and a relaxed smile on my face, I went to work. It was Monday morning, which meant that the stock