Page 77 of Plan Interrupted

Jeffrey studied her for a moment as she went on talking and bouncing him up and down. It took some coaxing, but he finally smiled.

Pure pleasure and satisfaction seeped into every cell of her being. “Look, he’s smiling at me.”

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Joe’s proud gaze stayed on her.

* * * *

The Chuck E. Cheese’s adventure ended and Joe loaded Max, Molly, and the presents into the truck, and then he held the door for Elizabeth. The short ride home was quiet. He peered in his rear view mirror to find both kids had fallen asleep. Then he glanced over at Elizabeth and noticed that she, too, had fallen asleep. Her head was leaned against the window, and her long, brown curls lay softly across her pale cheeks. He fought the urge to reach over and brush the curls from her face. He loved looking at her.

He pulled into the driveway, and the second he shut off the truck, his passengers woke.

Without lifting her head from the seat back, Elizabeth rolled it toward him and smiled. “I guess I was tired from my big Chuck E. Cheese’s adventure.”

She stretched, opened her door, and then helped Max out, before loading his presents into her arms.

Joe helped Molly out of her child seat, and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her into the house, and to her bedroom.

“I think I need a nap myself,” Elizabeth commented when he returned to the living room empty handed.

He watched her gaze transition from the regular everyday look to her seductive bedroom eyes he’d seen on occasion. Then she glanced down the hall toward Molly’s bedroom.

“Someday you’re going to tuck me in like that.” She brought her sensual gaze back to meet his.

He stepped toward her, reaching for her. “Trust me, sweetheart. That‘s not exactly how I plan on tucking you into bed.” He placed his arms around her, pulled her toward him, and lowered his head to kiss her, but as luck would have it, right before contact, Max came bounding into the living room wearing his new Transformer pajamas.

“What are you guys doing?” he asked innocently.

Joe quickly stepped back away from her. “Nothing. What are you doing in your pajamas?”

“I don’t know. I just wanted to put them on,” he replied as he pushed around one of his new Transformer cars.

“How about a little quiet time this afternoon there, buddy.” Joe handed him a DVD that he got from St. Nicholas. Max popped the DVD in the player, grabbed one of the pillows off the couch, and settled down in the middle of the living room floor to watch the movie.

Joe took a seat on his recliner, and Elizabeth took a sideways seat on the couch in order to see the TV better. She leaned her back on the armrest and stretched her legs out over the couch seat.

Part of his plan worked. Inside of fifteen minutes his son’s head was resting comfortably on his pillow, and he was in a deep sleep, but unfortunately, Elizabeth had unconsciously scooted herself down on the couch and she, too, was in dreamland. So much for the part of the plan where she remained awake so they could spend some alone time with each other. Even a good plan sometimes has flaws.

He sat in his chair simply watching her sleep. The rise and fall of her chest, with every breath she took, mesmerized him. She looked at peace while she slept, and he couldn’t help wonder if they would ever be able to put everything that happened to her behind them, and move on with a normal family life. Kind of like they had done today at the birthday party. It was like they were a real family unit.

He wondered if she had a clue as to how much he loved her, and wanted to be with her. After his confession, his pouring his heart out to her last night, she surely must.

After a few moments, he rose, grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, and spread it over her before he leaned down and gently brushed his lips to her forehead. He fought the urge to kiss her lips, and stroke her cheek with his fingers. He didn’t want to wake her yet, but he was feeling selfish and wanted to touch her skin. Her tantalizing scent lingered in the air, pleasantly treating his nostrils.

He grabbed another blanket from the hall closet and threw it over his son before heading to his office to work on some drawings he needed to complete for Monday morning.

Over an hour had passed and no one stirred yet. Thinking that was kind of strange, he rose from his office chair and headed toward Molly’s room to see if she was still napping. She wasn’t in her bed, yet the house was unusually silent. He quietly walked down the hall, through the kitchen, and stepped into the living room where he found Max still sleeping on the floor, and Molly curled up in Elizabeth’s arms on the couch, both looked to be resting comfortably. His gaze stayed glued to them. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.

His heart went out to his daughter. She was never afforded the opportunity to be held by her mother, Amanda, like that. He hoped and prayed his little girl would come to know the love of a mother, Max too. He wondered if the woman holding her now would ever be able to love his children as her own. As he stared at her, with her arms around Molly, he answered his own question. She was capable of loving his family as her own; he knew she had a lot of love to give. It was showing more and more every day.

Then the guilt set in—the guilt of loving another woman as he once loved Amanda. He didn’t want to betray her, or forget her, but he wanted to move on, and he couldn’t fight his needs any longer.

He shook the thoughts from his head and returned to his office to finish his drawings while there was still peace and quiet in the house.

About a half-hour later, he felt the warmth of a body standing behind him. It felt fulfilling, and the smell of Elizabeth’s perfume gave her away. Her presence tugged at his stomach, sending it into a tailspin. He spun around on his chair to find her standing right behind him, holding Molly on her hip. Both were smiling.

“Are my girls well rested?” he asked, as his daughter extended her arms to him. She planted a big kiss on his cheek as he placed her on his lap.

“Me and Max want to go outside and play in the snow,” Molly belted as she slid down from his lap. He checked his watch and then glanced back at his drawings, which were just about complete.

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