Page 125 of The Mistakes I've Made
Waking up early the next morning, I did something I’d thought I’d never do.
I made breakfast. For a woman.
Sadly, it wasn’t quite the breakfast I was known for, and when Lani came downstairs to find the table adorned with candles and dry Cheerios, luckily, she found the gesture charming and endearing.
“I promise, when I have time to pick up groceries—assuming I can get to a grocery store sometime soon—I’ll make you something amazing.”
“This is amazing,” she argued. “Besides, with this morning sickness, I’m not sure I can stomach much more than this.”
“Well then, consider this done all on purpose.”
She laughed, taking a few nibbles of her cereal before her face fell.
“What is it?” I asked, rushing to her side. “Do you need to throw up again?” I’d gotten used to her sudden bathroom jaunts.
“No, but the thought of our crumbling hotel isn’t helping. I think back to how it was a few days ago before the storm, and in comparison, it was actually kind of luxurious.”
My head fell. “I know,” I said. “But we’ll get it back to where we want it. It’s our dream, remember?”
“Yeah”—a hint of a smile peeked through her sullen expression—“it is.”
Rising up onto my feet, I grabbed my keys, the jingle catching her attention. “I’m going to head over there now. You just stay here and rest.”
“I’m not staying here while you go work yourself to the bone!”
“Babe—”
“Don’tbabeme!”
“You’re pregnant. I can’t let you.”
She folded her arms across her chest and rose to her feet, giving me a single raised eyebrow. “I am not the first pregnant woman on the planet, Taylor.”
“No,” I answered, crossing my own arms over my chest. “But you’re the first woman pregnant by me, and like hell am I going to let you near a building that could be infested with mold and God knows what else!”
She scrunched her nose, looking thoughtful. “Okay, that’s fair. But I can’t sit here all day and I won’t let you do all the work by yourself.”
I tapped my foot against the hardwood floor.
“Remember, compromise?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine, but outside work only. And if you come in the building, you wear a mask. Got it?”
She smiled, clearly happy with her win. “Got it.”
“I’m never going to win a single argument for the rest of my life, am I?”
She draped her arms around my shoulders. “Did you really ever win before?” she asked.
When I squeezed her ass, she let out a little squeak before running upstairs to get dressed, leaving me with a shit-eating grin on my face. I felt like the luckiest man on earth.
Within fifteen minutes, we were on our way to the marina, ready to conquer what was sure to be days and days of cleanup.
Unfortunately, the Sutherland office hadn’t weathered the storm all that well either. Although it seemed to be structurally sound, thanks to years of meticulous upkeep on our part, there was some serious water damage and several broken windows.
Just more to add to the long list of things to get done. If I tried to think about it too much, the list started to become overwhelming.
So, I was taking it one step at a time.
