“Or in the kitchen, if that’s what you prefer,” Denny chimed in.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I walked over and kissed Denny on the cheek.

After having the best sex with Connor, first in bed and then again in the shower, we packed a light bag, grabbed the diaper bag, put Julia in her car seat, and headed to Mason’s loft to pick him up. Opening the door, he slid into the seat across from us and sat down next to Julia.

“Hello, princess! We’re going to have so much fun in Chicago. Uncle Mason is going to take you to the American Girl store.”

“Don’t you think she’s a little young for that?” Connor asked.

“Bite your tongue! You’re never too young for those beautiful and fun dolls.”

Once we arrived at the airport, we boarded Connor’s plane and headed to Chicago. Upon arriving in the Windy City, we checked ourselves into the Trump Towers and headed to our rooms. Connor handed Mason a key to his own room. Mason looked at him in confusion.

“I have my own room? Aren’t nannies supposed to stay with the couple and their child?”

“You have your own room where you can hang out with Julia when we need you to. Your bar is fully stocked with the best liquor, so please enjoy. But not while Julia’s with you.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?” Mason winked at him.

Stepping into the suite, I threw myself on the luxurious king-sized bed. Connor asked Mason to take Julia to his room while we got ready for dinner.

“Dinner isn’t for a few hours,” I said.

Connor walked towards the bed, unbuttoning his shirt. He slid it off and laid it across the chair. I stared at his sexy, ripped abs and shivers ran across my skin. He climbed on the bed and hovered over me while he gazed into my eyes.

“I want to make love to you, Ellery Black; right here and right now. I want to touch and feel every inch of your bare skin, and I want to feel your excitement all over me. Then I want to take you into the bathtub and soap up your naked body while making love to you again.”

I gasped. His effect on me was riveting, and I was already wet just from his words. He always made me feel like I was the only woman on Earth, and his constant hunger for me made my body tremble. I stared into his mesmerizing eyes as he slid his hand down my yoga pants, not stopping until he felt how aroused I was.

“God, you’re so wet, baby,” he moaned as dipped his finger inside me.

I arched my back and threw back my head, begging for more as he ripped off my pants and tossed them on the floor.

While I freshened up my makeup and fixed my hair, Connor went and brought Julia and Mason back to the room. Mason walked into the bathroom and looked at me.

“Look at your glowing face, Miss Ellery. You must’ve had amazing sex.”

I didn’t turn around. I looked at him through the mirror and smiled.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed.

“Oh, stop it. You knew we were going to when he had you take Julia to your room.”

Mason took a few steps forward and leaned in closer to me. “Just tell me one thing: is he as amazing in bed as he looks like he’d be?”

I knitted my eyebrows at him and then smiled. “Yes, and amazing doesn’t even describe how skillful he is.”

“Damn, I knew it.” He sighed.

“Stop dreaming about my husband and help me pick out a dress to wear.”

As I walked over to the closet and looked at the four dresses I brought, Connor walked into the bedroom with Julia. He laid her down on the bed and dangled her animal keys in front of her. I looked over and smiled, then pulled the red dress and the blue dress from the closet.

“Which one?” I asked as I held both dresses up.

“The blue one. The red one,” both Connor and Mason said at the same time.

I looked at both of them with a twisted face. “Okay, the black one it is,” I said as I put the red and blue dresses back, and I pulled out the black one.

“Thank you, gentlemen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a dress to put on.”

“Okay, black works,” I heard Mason say as I walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

When I finished putting on my dress and black heels, I kissed Julia goodbye while Connor had his hand on the small of my back, pushing me out the door. We met Vinnie at a restaurant called Spiaggia. He had already arrived and stood up when the hostess showed us to the table.

“Ellery Black. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said as he kissed me lightly on the cheek.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Vinnie. This is my husband, Connor Black.”

The two of them shook hands, then we took our seats and opened our menus.

“I took the liberty of ordering us a bottle of their finest Pinot grigio. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.” Connor smiled.

After deciding what I wanted for dinner, I closed the menu and folded my hands on the table. “So, tell me about your art gallery.”

“The gallery is about ten thousand square feet. I would like to show you it tomorrow morning, if possible.”

“We need to fly back to New York in the morning. How about tonight, after dinner?” Connor said.

“Okay, tonight will be fine.” Vinnie smiled.

“The opening of the gallery will take place in forty-five days,” Vinnie said. “Is that something you can work with?”

I took a sip of my wine and swallowed hard. I didn’t know if I could do it. But I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“Of course I can work with that,” I said as I took another sip of wine.

“Great. When we go and tour the unfinished gallery, I’ll show you the space I have picked out for your paintings.”

As we ate our fine cuisine and drank our wine, Connor and Vinnie mostly talked about the business aspect of the art gallery. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Mason.

“How’s my baby?”

“I’m fine, thank you. Oh wait, you mean the princess. She’s adorable and she’s sleeping.”

“Great. We’ll be back to the hotel later. We’re going to take a tour of the art gallery.”

“No hurry and have fun.”

After we toured the art gallery, Connor and I said goodbye to Vinnie and slid into the back seat of the limo that was waiting for us. Connor reached over and took my hand.

“Did you like the gallery?”

“I loved it. It’s going to be amazing once it’s finished.”

“It’ll be amazing when your paintings are hanging on the wall.” He smiled.

After I kissed him on the cheek, I laid my head on his shoulder while I was worried about whether or not I’d be able to finish all five paintings in time. When I was single, the worry would never have crossed my mind. But now that I was a wife and a mother, it was going to be difficult, even with Connor’s and Mason’s help. I took in a deep breath as Connor kissed me on my head.

After we had a nice breakfast, we flew back to New York. I had Denny drop me off at Black Enterprises so I could catch up on business before he drove Ellery, Julia, and Mason home.

“I’ll see you later, baby,” I said as I kissed Ellery and then Julia goodbye.

“Bye, sweetheart. Don’t work too hard.”

I shut the door and walked into the building. As I stepped onto the elevator, my phone rang. It was Paul.

“I’m on my way up to see you. I’m in the elevator.”

When the elevator doors opened, I walked down the hallway to Paul’s office. I opened the door and sat down across from him.

“I found a place for Ellery’s art studio.”

“Great; where’s it at?” I asked.

“In your building.”

I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean, in my building? What building?”

“Where you live, Connor,” he sighed.

I knitted my eyebrows while I got up and walked over to his coffee pot. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I wanted it outside of the building.”