Page 39 of Pregnant by the Texan
“Aaron, that is so sweet,” she said, hugging and kissing him. She wondered about the depth of his feelings for her. He had to care to give her such gifts and do so much for her. As quickly as that thought came and went, another occurred to her—that the makeover and clothes benefited Royal. Was she just a means to an end with him? She looked at the present in her hands. This one was purely for her because of the baby—a sweet gesture, but it still didn’t mean he had special feelings for her beyond her motherhood.
Finally she raised her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Look at your present,” he said. “You don’t even know what I’m giving you.”
Smiling, she untied the bow and carefully peeled away the paper. She raised the lid to find a black velvet box. She removed it from the gift box, opened it and gasped. “Aaron!” she exclaimed as she looked at a necklace made of gold in the shape of small delicate oak leaves, each with a small diamond for a stem. There was a golden leaf and diamond bracelet to match. “These are beautiful.” She looked up at him. “These are so gorgeous. Thank you.” She stepped forward to kiss him. He held her in one strong arm and kissed her. In seconds the other arm circled her waist and he leaned over her, still kissing her.
“Want to wear them tonight?”
She looked at her suit. “Yes, I’d love to.”
“I tried to get something that you can wear whether it’s day or night—in other words, all the time.”
“I love this necklace and bracelet. I love that you thought of me and wanted to do this,” she said, smiling at him.
“Let me put it on you,” he said, and she nodded.
In seconds he stepped back. “Hold out your wrist.” When she did, he fastened the bracelet on her slender wrist and kissed her lightly. “We’ll celebrate more tonight when we get back home. Stella, a baby is precious. It is a celebration and this is just a tiny token.”
“It’s more than a token and I’ll treasure it always, Aaron. It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said, thrilled that he was that happy about the baby.
“I’m glad you feel that way.”
She nodded. Touched, wishing things were different, she felt her emotions getting out of hand. Tears stung her eyes.
“Ready? Sid’s waiting.”
“Yes,” she answered, turning toward the door. She wanted to wipe her eyes but didn’t want Aaron to know she was crying. If only he loved her—then his gift would hold a deeper meaning for her.
Seven
That evening, Stella really wowed her dinner companions. She gave a talk similar to the one in Lubbock, showing pictures of the devastation in Royal, which she had on her iPad. By the time the evening was over, it looked promising that the oil and gas executives were going to publicize Royal’s need for financial help and make a large donation. As she and Aaron left the restaurant, she breathed a sigh of relief that her efforts for the town were paying off.
Then they went back to Aaron’s house to make love through the night. They were in the big bed in the guest bedroom where she was staying. She wore her necklace and bracelet through the night, but in the morning as Aaron held her in his arms, he touched the necklace lightly. “Put your necklace and bracelet away today. Just leave them here instead of taking them to the salon.”
“Sure,” she answered, smiling at him.
“Sid has the limo waiting,” Aaron said. “Tonight, we’re meeting television executives from here in Dallas. These people can do a lot, Stella. Tomorrow we’ll fly to Austin. You have a lunch, an interview and a dinner there and then we fly back to Dallas for one more interview at noon on Friday.”
“Don’t say another word. You’ll just stir up my nerves more than ever.”
“You’re doing great. I’ll tell you again, relax and enjoy your day at the salon. You better go now. I’m going to the office and I’ll see you tonight. It’ll take all day at the salon and, afterward, Sid will take you to the restaurant. Just call me when you’re on the way. I’ll try to get there before you do. That way we’ll be ahead of the people we’re meeting, so we can just sit and talk until they get there.”
“You’re getting me into more things,” she said, holding a bag with her new dress and clothes that she would wear to dinner. Aaron grinned.
“You’ll look back on all of this and be glad. I promise.” He took her arm and they left, pausing while he locked up.
When they greeted her at the salon, she couldn’t believe her day was turning out this way. It commenced with a massage. As she relaxed, she thought of the contrast with her life the first night after the tornado and how she had fallen into bed about four in the morning and slept two hours to get up and go back to work helping people.
She had her first manicure and first pedicure, which both seemed unnecessary. In the afternoon she had a facial. Following the facial, a salon attendant washed her hair and passed her over to the stylist to cut and blow-dry her hair. By the time she was done, Stella felt like a different woman. Instead of straight brown hair that fell halfway down her back, her hair was now just inches above shoulder length. It fell in a silky curtain that curled under, with slight bangs that were brushed to one side.
Next, a professional did her makeup and took time to show Stella how to apply it herself.
By late afternoon when she looked in the mirror, Stella couldn’t recognize herself. She realized that she had so rarely ever tried makeup and then only lipstick that it gave her an entirely different appearance, although the biggest change was her hair.
The salon women gushed over the transformation that was amazing to her. Finally, she dressed for the evening.
“I really don’t even know myself,” she told the tall blonde named Gretchen at the reception desk.
