A Curve Ball Called Love

Chapter 11

Over the next few weeks, Tiffany and Douglas were the happiest they’d ever been. As it turned out, having the company know about their relationship was the best thing they’d ever done. The only thing they still kept secret was the fact that they were expecting. That was one thing Tiffany wanted to keep secret until she couldn’t anymore.

The two of them had been spending more and more time together out of the office in a bid to keep their relationship under wraps. Douglas had arranged for some of the best restaurants in town that had private dining facilities. He’d even gone as far as flying them out to New York just for dinner. On one weekend, he asked her to accompany him on a business trip to Vegas that turned out to be a romantic getaway.

“Maybe we should just take some time and just go to some tropical island or something. Maybe the Maldives or something a little closer, like Cancun,” he suggested and she smiled.

“You do realize that I have a job, right?” she pointed out. “I can’t just up and leave, especially since I’m about to put in for maternity leave in a few months.”

“So, what are you saying? We can go on holiday when you’re on maternity leave?”

She nodded.

“Nothing says holiday like a nice baby bump underneath a beach cover up.”

They’d just driven to Tiffany’s place to pick up some more clothes since they were spending so much time at Douglas’.

“Isn’t this ridiculous?” he asked as he helped her with her bags. “Going to and from your place every few days.”

“Well, my stuff is here. In my apartment.” Tiffany shrugged as she pulled another bag from the bedroom.

“What if we had one place? Together?” Douglas asked and she shook her head.

“I’m not moving in with you.”

Her voice was stern and he knew that she meant business.

“I’m not asking you to move in with me. I’m asking that we find a place that we both like and move in together.” Douglas followed her to the bedroom where she was organizing her underwear. He stood at the doorway and looked at her as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “Think about it, baby. We’re either here or at my place but we’re a family now. Soon, we’re going to need a place with a yard and figure out what we want for a nursery… I love you and you love me. So, why not?”

She took a long, deep breath.

“Doug….” She started.

“You don’t have to make any decisions right now. Just think about it and look around for the house you want,” he said, walking towards her.

“A house I want? What about what you want?” she asked.

“I just want what you want,” Douglas said. “It could be a tiny house for all I care. As long as you’re there, I don’t really care.”

“Well, I know you can afford it but I’d like to contribute to the house fund,” she said and he shook his head.

“Baby, you don’t have to.”

“Well, I’m not now, nor have I ever been a kept woman. That isn’t about to change.”

Douglas smiled at her.

“You can be real stubborn, you know that?” he asked and she shrugged.

“That’s one of the reasons I do so well as a public relations consultant.”

Douglas took a long, deep breath.

“If that is what you want, then I’m good with it.”

“Alright, then I’m game.”

He nodded.

“Game on.”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“Game on.”

“But first,” she said in a soft voice. “I need to think about it. Think about everything… pros and cons.”

“Whatever you need, mama,” he said in a soft voice.

For Tiffany, it was like being given a blank check. She had always known the kind of house she would have wanted to raise her children in. A modest sized three or four-bedroom house in the suburbs. She wasn’t really a suburban person but she was going to have to compromise when it came to being in a good school district. However, the compromise was going to be greater than she ever imagined. Douglas was a billionaire. The man had a security team for Pete’s sake. It wasn’t a big team but when they traveled, Tiffany finally got a glimpse of what she’d truly stepped into. The magnitude of Douglas’ life. It wasn’t easy. She couldn’t just expect him to move into some cul de sac and stay hidden. There were a lot of people who would have done anything to hurt him. They did, after all, have several billion reasons to. That was how she found herself looking at properties with lost of acreage. According to Douglas’ realtor who she’d gotten to know quite closely over a few weeks, a big place gave security a vantage point.

In two weeks, she’d looked at multiple properties in some of the most luxurious areas in Los Angeles. Just when she was beginning to think she would never find a place that would feel like home, the realtor took her to a property in Porter Ranch. The house had a colonial feel to it. Heck, the whole property did. It was something about the architecture that made the house look old and she loved it. The property had three guest houses each with two bedrooms. The main property had six bedrooms and two living rooms. There was an outdoor kitchen next to the pool. Tiffany could picture herself having family barbecues by that pool. It was perfect. The property was perfectly placed so that it overlooked the pool on one side, a large beautiful yard on the other side and the guest houses made the main house look like a castle. Everything about that property called out to Tiffany. It was like she was made to make that house her home.

“This is it,” she said in a low voice after a walkthrough of the property. “This is the house.”

“I knew it,” the realtor said. “I told you I had a property that you would appreciate.”

Tiffany smiled.

“It’s more than appreciation… it isn’t so big that it’s an ostentatious display of wealth like the rest of the houses that I’ve seen but it’s also just big enough for my small family.”

The realtor smiled.

“I’ll have the sale agreement drafted and send it to your office,” she said and Tiffany nodded.

She looked around the huge foyer before she pulled her phone out of her purse. She called Douglas and waited for him to answer his phone.

“Hey baby.”

“Hi. I found a house. The house,” she said in a soft voice.

“Really? That’s great. Where?”

“Porter Ranch,” she said. “And it’s perfect.”