A Little Bit Married

A Thank You

I saw Gray's expression sober up a little before he slowly moved his hand from my back to my stomach, his fingers gently caressing. I looked up to him, but he was looking down at my stomach, as he carefully unbuttoned the jacket I was wearing, moved the flap away, and then let his hand cup my stomach.

I sighed for the contrast of temperature that sent a ripple through to spine, and just the sensation of him touching me.

He said nothing and simply caressed my stomach for a while, his eyes following the movement of his hands.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, his voice low as his eyes flicked up to mine.

I shook my head. It did hurt, but it wasn't near enough. Maybe because the pregnancy was new or something, but it didn't hurt as much.

"It's not a lot."

He slowly leaned, then placed a small kiss on my stomach, his hand still caressing the site of the injury.

"I am sorry."

I gave a small chuckle. "This is weird."

"What is?" He asked as he settled next to me again, and I put my fingers in his hair and the nape of his neck, causing him to momentarily close his eyes.

I sighed. "When I first came into the mansion, I honestly saw you as some sort of monster. One who keeps a gun and uses it to force people to do his bidding. Throughout my stay, even when Aunt Maureen crossed you, I haven't seen you draw a gun. Not even once."

He swallowed, his hand running up and down my stomach. "I keep it for safety purposes."

"Safety?"

He met my eyes, then gave a small smile. "Just in case."

I laughed. "I guess that's the price for being rich, huh?"

He laughed too, then nodded. "I guess."

My eyes drifted to his fading smile, and I brought my hand to his lips, my index finger holding the edge of his lips up.

"What are you doing?"

I met his eyes. "You should smile a lot more."

"I should be telling you that."

My brows furrowed. "I smile more than enough."

"No, you don't. You have a lot of expressions, but never that of laughter. I just assumed he broke your heart that bad."

I met his eyes. "I didn't realize I looked broken-hearted."

"More like serious, until you open your mouth."

I chuckled. "And then what happens?"

"Depends on if your mouth is open cause you are kissing me or because you are going off about me looking at you again."

"You are really never going to forgive me for pointing it out that one time."

He shrugged. "You haven't asked."

"Fine. Forgive me."

"No."

I broke into a laugh, and he gave a small smile, his hand resting on my stomach now.

"You are so different from the energy you give off."

He chuckled but shook his head. "I am different with you. With everyone else, I am exactly what they assume me to be."

I bit down on my lips. "What makes me so special?"

He pulled me to him, his eyes darting across both of mine. "How many times do I have to say it, Evangeline? You are my wife."

I nodded, then broke into a smile again. "Got it."

He nodded, then looked down to my stomach. "Tell me if it hurts."

I immediately nodded. "Have you ever wanted kids?"

"I still do," he said, his eyes flicking up to meet mine in a short, meaningful gaze. "My parents were extremely good at... parenting. It would be a waste not to pass that on."

I went silent for a long minute before gently massaging his scalp again. "I am sorry about them."

"It was years ago. I am fine now."

"I bet you are."

He said nothing but continued to gently run his fingers down my stomach and up again.

"Did Samantha end up in the hospital, too?"

He gave a small smile. "Would it make you feel better about being here?"

"I guess. I am not even angry. Even though I feel sorry for the child, I think I would have let it go too. I don't think I want to have a Kevin reminder for the rest of my life."

Gray went silent for a moment before he slowly met my eyes. I could see something passing through his eyes, and I gently moved even closer.

"Is there something you want to say?"

"I was just wondering, Evangeline. If by any means you fall pregnant for me, would you keep it?"

My lips parted, and my mind immediately went blank. I couldn't even think of an answer for him. Would I keep it? It seemed logical to say why not? He was technically my husband. The thing is, I just don't know. What if... he became yet another past? Will I regret having his child? Or would I be grateful to be bound to him till the child becomes an adult?

"Well, I..."

"You don't need to answer that," he said, his voice low. He brought a hand to my cheek, slowly caressing. "If anything like that happens, it will be solely your decision. If you want to keep it, or if you want to let go."

I nodded slowly, and my eyes moistened up a little. He leaned upwards and pulled something out of his pocket before leaning back to me.

"I might have lied to you earlier."

I chuckled. "About what?"

"Why I left early. I wanted to properly thank you for last night."

My brows furrowed, but he leaned closer, his hands going around to the back of my neck as he clasped something behind.

He leaned away, and I looked down at the necklace. It was a simple teardrop pendant, with the sparkling colors of the rainbow reflected off the large diamond.

My fingers gently caressed it, and I looked up to him, my eyes wide and filled to the brim with tears.

"Gray."

"It's a thank you. I forgot the last time I had any doughnuts, or even a private party with anyone for my birthday. So, thank you."

I wrapped my arms around him, my eyes closing, my chest heaving hard as tears ran down my cheeks. He hugged me back, his fingers patting my hair down, his face nuzzling in my neck.

None of us said anything more, but my mind reeled, my heart fluttered, and I found myself a little jealous of Samantha for having his affection for all the time that she did.

Because if he treats me like this without him being in love with me, how would he treat me when...

I turned into his scent, my eyes closing, my nostrils filling up. I was now largely curious and partly, nervously looking forward to him falling in love with me.