“He’s going to be okay,” he said as he kissed my head.

I needed to be strong, and I couldn’t let Dana see me fall apart. I pulled back from Connor, kissed him, and told him I’d be right back. When I found the nearest bathroom, I stood and stared at my tear-soaked eyes. The thought of going to Chicago terrified me. I found myself no longer wanting to go for the fear that something bad would happen to Denny while we were gone. But, Denny had made me promise him that I would go; not just for myself, but for him. When I walked back to the room, Connor walked over to me.

“I think she’s settled down now. It’s time for us to leave.”

“Connor, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to stay with her,” I spoke softly.

“We’ve already settled this, and I’m going with you. Now I don’t want to hear another word about it. Do you understand me?” he said in a commanding tone.

I nodded my head and we said goodbye to Dana and her family. Connor told her to keep us posted and that we’d be back tomorrow. As we walked out of the hospital, hand in hand, I could tell Connor wasn’t doing well, but he refused to show it. I was worried that if he didn’t let his feelings out, he was going to have a break down.

Ellery’s paintings looked stunning up on the brand new walls of the art gallery. Vinnie did a fine job displaying each piece of artwork. Ellery had never looked more beautiful than she did in her short, lace, cream-colored dress. I felt it was too short and too low cut. We had a slight discussion about it when she put it on, but like always, she shut me down and told me to deal with it. She was breathtaking, and I didn’t want other men looking at her. But, that’s the price you pay when you’re married to the most beautiful and sexy woman on Earth. As I carefully watched her mix and mingle with the other artists and guests, Vinnie walked up to me and handed me a glass of champagne.

“Thank you, Vinnie. You did a fine job with this opening. The gallery looks fantastic.”

“Thank you, Connor, but none of this would have been possible without your help.” He smiled. “Doesn’t Ellery’s artwork look fabulous up on the wall?”

“It does. Look at all the people over there, admiring them,” I said.

“If you’ll excuse me, I see my brother,” Vinnie said as he walked away.

The art gallery was filled with influential people. The Governor of Chicago and some outstanding photographers were only a few. As I walked around, admiring some of the other artwork, I came across a display of paintings of beautiful naked women. Ellery walked over to me as I was staring at them.

“I see you found something to admire,” she said as she looked at the paintings.

“They’re beautiful and so exquisite, aren’t they?” I asked.

Ellery looked at me and then looked back at the portraits. “If you’re in love with them so much, the model is right over there. Maybe you could ask her if she would like you to fuck her!” she snapped as she walked away.

What the hell just happened? I couldn’t believe Ellery had just said that. I turned around to look for her, but she was gone. I tried to search the gallery for her, but I kept getting stopped by people. When I finally was able to break free, I found her over by her paintings, talking to a group of people.

“Good evening. Please excuse us; I need to talk to my wife for a moment.” I smiled as I lightly touched Ellery’s arm and let her to a quiet corner.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snapped.

“Me? What the fuck was all that about back there?” I snapped back.

“People are staring, Connor.”

“Then I suggest you put on a fake smile, Ellery.”

She did just that and she proceeded to yell at me. “You were gushing all over those naked paintings. I simply pointed out that the model is here if you wanted to fuck her, since she was so beautiful and exquisite, and you couldn’t stop staring at her.”

“Are you serious? Are you fucking serious right now? I can’t believe you would be jealous over something like that. My God, Ellery, I was staring at it and saying those things about the artist’s skill, not the actual model. I was picturing you in that painting because I want one of you, naked.”

She looked away from me as she bit down on her bottom lip. I had to do everything in my power to keep from putting my hands all over her. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. You know I would never want anyone else. I love you, Ellery. I don’t know how to make that any clearer to you than I already have since we’ve been together.”

“I know you do, and I’m sorry. It’s just my nerves with this opening, missing Julia, and the fact that Denny is lying in a hospital bed in a coma.”

“I know, baby,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. “It’s almost over and then we’ll be on our way home.”

All of a sudden, we heard a voice behind us. “Really? You can’t wait until after the showing?” Peyton said.

Ellery’s eyes lit up when she saw Peyton and Henry standing there and a huge smile graced her face as looked across the gallery and saw my family smiling at her. I hadn’t told her they were coming; I wanted it be a surprise. She took them over to her section and Henry stayed back with me.

“I heard about Denny. I’m sorry, man,” he said as he patted me on the back.

“Thanks, Henry, but I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

“I understand. If you need anything let me know.”

Peyton stood in front of the portraits of the naked woman that Ellery and I had just fought about. Henry and I walked over and stood next to her. Not too long after, Ellery joined us.

“Will you paint me naked, Elle?” Peyton asked.

I looked over at Henry, and he smiled at me.

“Maybe,” Ellery answered.

“Can I watch?” I smiled.

The night went smoothly and Ellery sold all five of her paintings. She was very happy, but she just wanted to get back home. We both did. We missed our baby girl, and we wanted to get back to Denny.

It had been a long and exhausting day. Ellery and I were lying on the couch together on the plane. As I held her in my arms, she tilted her head back and looked at me.

“I gave some thought about what you said earlier.”

“About what, baby?” I asked.

“About you wanting a nude portrait of me.”

“Really? And what did you decide?” I smiled.

“I decided that when we get back to New York, I’m going to call that artist and ask him to do it. After all, I know you wouldn’t have a problem with a strange man staring at me for six or seven hours a day while I’m fully naked in front of him, posing.”

I took in a sharp breath. “You know what? Let’s just forget about that painting. I have the real thing right here and that’s all I need.” I smiled as I leaned down and kissed her lips. There was no way I was going to let that happen.

I paced back and forth, trying to comfort Julia as she screamed her head off at three o’clock in the morning. I bounced her, walked her around the penthouse, sat down, rocked her in the rocking chair, and nothing soothed her. I even gave her gas drops, thinking she was gassy, but that didn’t help either. Connor came up behind me in the living room and took her from me.

“What’s wrong, Julia? Daddy’s here.”

I rolled my eyes because sometimes he thought he was the cure-all where she was concerned. When she didn’t stop screaming, he looked at me.

“Don’t you have a book or something you can refer to?” he asked as he bounced her up and down and she continued to scream even louder.

I ran upstairs to our bedroom and grabbed the baby book from the bookshelf. As I ran down the stairs, I turned to the section that was outlined for her age group.