Twin Babies with the Billionaire for Christmas

26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Rachel

I sink lower into the bathtub, enjoying the warmth and the lovely smell of the bath salts that I poured into the tub before I climbed in.

I stayed at Tristan’s again last night and he had insisted that he would go get my things from Cara’s place while I relaxed. I didn’t take much over there, but the gesture was sweet.

I woke up feeling a little under the weather, so any help is welcome. Nancy had been thoughtful enough to leave some of her recommended morning sickness tea blend with a note explaining how to prepare it just so.

I assumed she was aware of my pregnancy for the same reason that Tristan was. I should have just told them both about the pregnancy sooner. Then we would all have been spared this little dance of make-believe.

“Hey, you, I’m going to head out to Cara’s now. I’ll be back soon with your bag. Here is a cup of Nancy’s tea,” Tristan says as he sets the tea on the bathroom counter.

“Thank you, Tristan,” I call as he blows me a kiss and closes the door behind him.

It felt good to have the pregnancy out in the open. I hadn’t truly appreciated just how tiring it would be to grow a baby in my body.

I pride myself on being independent, but I was finding that it was becoming increasingly difficult to have the energy needed to tackle everything I had to do in a day.

I pondered what was going to happen with my career. My credibility was a mess now, and I didn’t think anyone would want to buy the biography I had started for Tristan. Not unless they were just looking for a tell-all-style book.

I sigh and close my eyes. It’s Christmas Eve day. I’m not going to let the logistics of my failing career ruin the holidays. I had promised Tristan I would try and enjoy the holidays this year, and that is just what I’m going to do.

Tristan had said that my brother would arrive in two hours. He told me he had sent a limo to get him. I could just imagine how excited Danny would be to see the limo show up.

I smile as I think about how kind Tristan has been with Danny, and how thoughtful he is to have included him in our Christmas plans.

I could clearly see the difference between my ex and Tristan’s attention to Danny. My ex had always worked hard to keep him out of sight under the guise of “taking care of him” while Tristan wanted Danny to be a part of our world.

How had I ever assumed that Tristan was a superficial asshole? Even though Denise had tried to paint him in that light, I should have known better.

My phone alarm goes off, indicating that I need to get up and start getting dressed. I reluctantly rise from the warm water and pull the drain. I watch the water swirl away as I reach for the soft plush robe that Tristan had draped near the tub.

I shrug into it and stand before the mirror, turning this way and that, examining the changes to my body.

I knew that some women claimed that you could tell if it was a boy or a girl just by where your pregnancy bump showed up. Mine seemed to be lower than I had expected. I wondered what that meant.

I decide to stop staring at myself and start putting on my makeup and drying my hair. It feels nice not to have work responsibilities looming over me for the first time in more years than I can remember.

My phone rings as I’m just finishing with my hair, and I answer it.

“Hey, babe,” Tristan says, already getting really comfortable with the endearment. “Can you make sure that the turkey isn’t like, on fire, or something?”

I laugh and pad out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. The smell of the turkey is heavenly and I breathe in with appreciation. I bend down to see if the bird looks okay, and then turn away from the oven.

“Looks good to me,” I say. “It smells amazing.”

“Perfect,” he says to me.

I frown for a moment, hearing noise in the background. “Where are you?” I ask.

“Oh, just walking down the street to where I parked. Cara’s parking garage was almost full and I didn’t want to scratch the car.”

I shake my head a little at that and put him on speakerphone so I can finish applying my makeup.

“If you are anywhere near as careful with the baby as you are with that car, our child will live in bubble wrap,” I tease.

“Whatever,” he says back. “You should be grateful that I’m capable of attention to detail. Okay, getting in the car. See you shortly. Be sure you are dressed and ready on time!”

“Yes, boss,” I say to him, rolling my eyes. I’m not sure why he’s so hell-bent on me being ready for our little dinner at such a specific time, but he has always been kind of a control freak.

It doesn’t shock me that he might view his surprise Christmas dinner like a work project he’s trying to streamline.

I finish getting my makeup on, then realize that I don’t have anything to wear because the clothes I want are in the bag he’s fetching. I reach for my phone and text him.

Um, I don’t have anything to wear.

His reply is almost instant.

Sorry! Forgot tell you. That’s part of the surprise I had planned before you avoided me for a couple of days. Check the closet in your room.

Curiosity piqued, I make my way down the hall to the other end of the apartment. I push open the barn-style door and gasp when I see the pretty red dress hanging inside. It’s wrapped in plastic, but I can already tell it has an empire waist and is covered with small sparkling beads and a tasteful amount of lace.

It feels like the perfect, posh Christmas dress, but it’s way too much to wear around the house. I close my eyes for a moment when I notice the designer’s tag. I don’t even want to know what Tristan spent on this thing.

I almost feel guilty about contemplating wearing it. I stand there, my lip caught between my teeth, pondering what to do.

Don’t talk yourself out of wearing it. I bought it for you to enjoy.

I laugh at the text as it flashes across the screen of my smartwatch.

You read my mind.

I send the text before taking the dress out of the closet and walking back to Tristan’s room. I shimmy into it and then twirl around slowly, admiring myself.

He even bought me some practical red heels to wear with it. I put them on, seeing Cara’s taste in the purchase.

They were both probably complicit in this little display of affection, despite the fact that I had been moping around Cara’s place trying to hide from life.

I wondered at their confidence in me. What if Tristan had sent her out to help him find these clothes and I had refused to shake myself out of my misery in time for the holidays?

“Life,” I say to myself as I look at the back of the dress again. “What is it even?”

Pretty great right now , I hear my inner monologue say, and I realize with some surprise, that it really is pretty great right now. I clasp my little star bracelet and rub it around my wrist. It looks perfect with the dress.

There are still things I will need to figure out after the holidays, like my flooded apartment, the job that I no longer have, and what to do about Danny’s bills. But for the first time, I am going to enjoy a few days of peace and holiday cheer before I have to stress about anything.

I walk into the kitchen again to check on the turkey, then start bringing out all the sides to heat them up. Tristan had shared his location with me on his phone, and I can tell that he’s not that far away from the apartment.

I’m positively starving, so I’d like to get right to eating once he’s back.

I carefully bring some mashed potatoes out of the microwave as I hear the elevator ding, announcing that Tristan has arrived.

“Is Danny here yet?” I call from the kitchen, moving the gravy into the microwave next.

There’s no reply, and I wait until I press the start button to turn toward the living room area. “Tristan?” I call out.

I’m still greeted with silence. Where has that man gone off to ? I wonder as I walk toward the Christmas tree and the fireplace. I’d be worried, except I know that no one can get into the apartment without a key card or without being buzzed up.

“Tristan?” I call again.

“Surprise!” a chorus of voices call out, and I press my hand over my heart as it starts racing from the shock.

Tristan, Cara, Isaac, and Danny are all standing by the elevator, beaming at me.

“What are you two doing here?” I ask Cara and Isaac as they rush over to give me exuberant hugs. “I thought you were going to see your folks this year!”

“Tricked you!” Cara exclaims, kissing my cheek. I can tell that she left a big lipstick print on it, but I don’t care.

“We’ve all been planning this for weeks,” Danny says proudly, clearly happy to be in on the secret. He hugs me and then looks over admiringly at Tristan. “Tristan wanted us to have a real Christmas.”

“Oh, well, this is just…it’s…amazing!” I finally manage to squeak out. I hear the microwave ding and rush into the kitchen to pull out the gravy.

“Everything smells amazing,” Isaac says approvingly, wandering after me and closing the microwave door.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” I announce, slipping the oven mitts off my hands and looking around at the spread of food that Nancy had prepared for us.

“Well, horse probably tastes pretty gross,” Isaac says with a little curl of his lip. “So, let’s not.”

I laugh. “Can you imagine?” I titter, shaking my head.

“Rachel,” Tristan calls from the other room. “Can you come here for a moment?”

“Sure, just a sec,” I say distractedly, looking at the timer for the turkey. It looks like it just needs a few more minutes, so I turn away and start walking toward the living room.

I stumble to a halt with a gasp, my hands flying up to cover my mouth.

Tristan is kneeling in front of the tree, holding out a small, square box. His smile is as bright as the twinkling lights on the tree behind him.

“Tristan,” I whisper, “what are you doing?”

“I have a very important question to ask you,” he says to me, opening the lid of the box and taking out the ring that is inside. “Rachel Smith, I know things haven’t always been smooth between us, and we’ve struggled to get our feet on the ground, but I love spending time with you. I even love arguing with you. You’ve made me believe in love. Will you marry me?”

For a moment, I just stand still, frozen, unable to process thoughts or react. My hands are still clutched together in front of my lips and I just stare at Tristan as if I have never seen him before.

Of all the things that I thought we might do today, this was not one of them.

“Rachel?” Cara says, starting to step toward me like she thinks I might faint or something.

Her words jolt me into action, and I sweep across the floor in a clatter of heels to throw myself into Tristan’s arms.

I rain kisses onto his lips, his cheeks, his nose, laughing and chanting, “Yes, yes, yes!” over and over.

Tristan manages to press me away from him and slip the ring onto my finger. I look down at it, tears spilling down my cheeks as it glints in the light from the fireplace and the lights on the tree.

“Do you like it?” he asks me.

I nod, unable to speak around the lump in my throat.

“It’s perfect,” I whisper, with a watery smile.

“No, you’re perfect,” he says back, kissing me.

Cara, Isaac, and Danny start clapping as we share our first kiss as an engaged couple, and Tristan twirls me around in dizzying circles until I plead with him to stop.

“Oh my gosh!” Isaac exclaims. “Please, please, please let me marry you guys! I got ordained last year just in case someone I know wanted to have a truly fabulous wedding.”

“I’m sure that we can work something out,” I say over my shoulder when I come up for air.

“Yes!” Isaac exclaims. “Between Cara planning your wedding and me officiating it, you are going to have the most memorable wedding of the season!”

Tristan looks down at me with a rueful expression on his face.

I shrug at him. “He’s not wrong,” I say.

Tristan smiles. “We can just turn them loose and enjoy the months up until the wedding. Seems like a good deal for everyone involved.”

I nod. “What are best friends for anyhow?”

“Best Christmas ever?” he asks me.

“Best Christmas ever,” I say back.