The CEO’s Quadruplets

He whispered the name that she had not heard in ages, “Bella Donna… my beautiful lady.”

            It was late when they were both finally clean and in the master bed together. Amory had checked on their dog one last time before crawling into meet her between the sheets. He kissed her softly seeing the sleepiness in her eyes, he did not keep her long.

            “Before I lose you, Isabella. I want to say how much I love you.”

            “I know, Amory,” Bella replied, yawning. “I love you too.”

            “But you do know you are the best thing that ever happened to me?”

            “That may change when the kids come along,” she replied in an honest tone as she rested her head on his chest.

            Letting his hand rest on her arm and rubbing the skin softly, he whispered, “I know, but I would have nothing without you, Bella. I am forever in your debt.”

            Isabella’s eyes were closed, and she was not sure if he said anymore. She had left her happy life to dream fantastic things. She saw herself as a princess in a tower looking for her prince, and flashing forward she turned into a queen with a palace. Isabella had a subject who adored her, a stunning home with bountiful gardens, and the prince was now her devoted king. Their world was theirs for the taking, but it was clear that he only thing that mattered was her and her king. His dark shining eyes gleamed at her in the moonlight, and the smile was one Isabella knew well.

            When her alarm went off, she opened her eyes to see its owner. Asleep himself, Amory was grinning as he dreamed. She quieted the soft chiming tone, and went to get dressed and order a car to come get her. Unexcited about the commute, Isabella did feel happy for her semester to be finally ending. She slid on something comfortable, and pulled a jacket from the closet knowing the weather was supposed to be cold and still wet from the night’s rain. She hated to leave the warmth of her bed, but Isabella knew that she had unavoidable responsibilities to the school and her students.

            Looking at her sleeping husband one last time before heading downstairs, she saw that his handsome dark eyes were slowly opening as he hoarsely whispered her name.

            “Bella.”

            Isabella went back to the bed, letting herself get warm before she left the house. Tending to her sleepy husband, she ran her fingers through his damp messy hair as he pleaded with her.

            “Amory, why are you not asleep right now? You do not have to get up and go to work for a few more hours.”

            “Don’t leave me, Isabella. Call in sick. Stay here. It’s too wet and cold outside to leave,” Amory pleaded with her as he let his arm stretch out across Isabella’s body.

            “It is the final exam for my class. I think I have to be there. I would have to be going into labor to skip out this morning, but I will be back this afternoon. Maybe you can call in sick, and we can spend the afternoon at home together putting up Christmas decorations? I haven’t done that yet because Anne told me it would clash with the shower.”

            “I’ll go get a tree, and have it ready to decorate when you get home then. I actually have presents in my car, so it would be nice to put them somewhere.”

            Isabella laughed. “Are you serious?”

            He nodded. “I saw some things when I was traveling that looked liked good gifts for our families and for you.”

            She kissed him, appreciative to have her beloved Amory back in her bed.

            “I love you so much. You’re so ridiculous. I have to go. However, if you would like to stay here instead of going out, you can go right back to sleep and dream of me until I return.”

            “You promise to come back?”

            Isabella kissed his forehead before getting up and saying, “Of course, why the hell would I stay away?”

            Smiling, she hurried downstairs to the best of her ability to find her bag and shoes. As she heard the beep of a car out front, Isabella let Romeo out onto the patio. The rain would be gone soon enough for him to do his morning run around, but he sat waiting patiently at the edge of the covered patio surveying his kingdom. Isabella gave one last goodbye to her dog, and headed off to work. When she finally got to the confines of the dark car, Isabella did not recognize the young driver. He played jazz in the confines of the darkened car with its tinted windows only adding to the darkness of the morning.