“I’ll be over tomorrow to check it out,” Jose sighed his grudging acceptance through the phone line.
Persephone let out a whoop of approval. “Thank you sooo much, Jose.”
“Yeah, yeah, you owe me Perry.”
“I’ll refer you to all my friends.”
“You do that already.”
“Well? See what a good customer I am?”
Jose laughed.
Persephone was about to join in when the air was literally slammed from her body. Steely arms had locked her in a crushing hold from behind.
“I-I’ll see you to-tomorrow Jo-Jose-” Persephone managed to eek out before she clicked off her mobile. She’d lost her ability to speak, but not to smile. She did so with relish as Hill’s scent filled her nostrils. She could feel him shuddering against her back as he dropped desperate kisses to her ear, shoulders and nape.
“I’m alright-” she gasped, rubbing his arm.
He only gripped her tighter dousing her skin, bared by her sundress, with an intensified array of kisses.
“Guy…I can’t breathe…” she smiled her gratitude when he murmured an apology against the back of her head and released her. Next, he was turning her, clutching her to him from the front.
“I thought I lost you,” Hill smothered her mouth beneath his. “Thought I lost you…”
“Mmm...no…” Persephone’s smile was lazy, content, happy, “I promise not to have you thinking anything like that in the future. Do you think I need a bodyguard to keep me out of trouble?” She teased.
Hill cupped her face in his hands and peered into her stirring eyes with his bottomless ones. “I think you need a husband to keep you out of trouble.”
“Wow...that’s a great idea too,” she smoothed her hands up and over his superb chest. “Any idea where I could find me one of those?”
Hill pretended to concentrate even as his eyes swept every inch of her face with loving infatuation.
“I think I know a guy,” he
said finally.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
Evidence of Eva’s unexpected and unwanted visit was truly a memory two weeks later. Roman and Imani had perfect timing in their arrival with the girls which occurred a few days after the den remodeling that Persephone had insisted upon.
The job was a relatively simple one. Persephone’s staff had handled the cleanup in superior fashion as did Jose Ferez’s contracting and interior design team. The group had redesigned the entire southwest corner of the room to include a cozy reading alcove that; in addition to the built in bookshelves, boasted wall space for new family photos.
Full staff had returned to the estate as had the mood of rejuvenation. Roman and Imani were captured by the same sense of awe their son had experienced during his introduction to the place. At Persephone's insistence, the Tesanos accepted her offer of spending their time in Hawaii at her home- at hers and Hill’s home.
Roman’s and Imani’s time in Hawaii was about more than returning their granddaughters. On the heels of the den remodeling, came the arrival of party planners at Hill’s request. If Persephone was hesitant over the idea of getting married after so brief an engagement, she said nothing about it. Hill didn’t think she was hesitant at all. Stunned was perhaps a more fitting descriptor.
He’d told her he was done wasting time and enjoyed the opportunity to sweep the woman he loved off her feet. He’d never considered himself a man who could do that well- not like his father and brothers. He realized, as he watched plans come together, that it wasn’t as much the doing as it was doing for the woman you loved. That was the element that stimulated the creativity-the desire to see the light come to her eyes as she delighted in being treasured.
Hill hadn’t arranged for some huge society gala- that was so not who they were. Besides, it was time to unwind. Time to take pleasure in the simple joy of living. The wedding was really a formality anyway. Hill knew Persephone was his wife in every sense that mattered. The fact hit home powerfully that morning as he watched her sleep. Lying in bed, he shook his head in the utter disbelief; that still held his mind in a haze, and asked God if he deserved this-this perfect happiness.
He looked from Persephone to the girls. They’d all fallen asleep the night before watching yet another Princess movie marathon. Instead of carrying the twins back to their room when he woke around 1am to find them conked out, he tucked them all beneath the covers before drifting off again.
Gently, he stroked their hair. Fierce love and adoration took hold of his expression. He didn’t know whether he deserved the happiness he was being blessed with, but he intended to spend every day proving that he was worthy of it.
Persephone shifted then, turning to her back from her side.
“Morning, Goddess,” Hill greeted her softly when her eyes opened and met his. He watched as she gave a stretch that he thoroughly appreciated.
Persephone observed their bedroom guests and smiled. “You’ll have to sleep with the girls tomorrow night.”
Hill winced. “I love ‘em like air, Sef but they aren’t the easiest folks to share a bed with. I’m pretty sure one of them almost crushed my windpipe last time.”
“Well…” Persephone yawned. “It’ll have to be the guest house then.”
“Why? I’m pretty sure that by now, everybody knows we’ve had sex.”
She tried to keep her laughter soft so as not to wake the girls. “It’ll be the day before our wedding. You can’t see me.”
“Says who?”
“Says tradition.”
“Seriously?” He chuckled quietly. “I think we’ve proven we don’t do tradition well.”
“It’ll be good to hold onto some things,” Persephone snuggled into the covers, delighting herself in the joy of watching him.
The playfulness curbed in his jolting stare. “I’ve got what I want to hold onto,” he tugged her up for his kiss then.
The act turned lusty in the space of a few seconds. There had been no time for true privacy since the girls had returned. Between the remodeling and planning for their simple wedding, quick escapes seemed difficult to square away. With the impending arrival of wedding guests, it would soon be impossible.
