"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 nak*d 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.

chapter 30

ellery

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.

"it says she may be teething. run your finger along her gums and see if you feel anything," i said.

he took his finger and put it in julia's mouth. "yep, i feel a lump right here," he said.

when i walked over to him, he took my finger and placed it on julia's gums. "aw, my poor baby," i pouted as i kissed her head.

"i'll go and get the baby tylenol. that should help her feel better."

connor followed me into the kitchen, and i took the tylenol from the cupboard. i gave julia her dosage and we sat with her on the couch.

"i can take her, sweetheart. you have to get up for work in a couple of hours."

"it's okay. we can do this together." he smiled as he leaned over and kissed me.

the tylenol took effect and julia finally fell asleep. connor slowly got up from the couch, took her upstairs, and laid her down in her crib. i climbed under my warm sheets and closed my eyes. as i began to drift asleep, i felt little kisses all over my back. i opened my eyes and rolled over.

"what are you doing?" i asked.

connor climbed on top of me and whispered, "i'm going to make love to you and then you can go to sleep."

"is that so? what if i don't want you to make love to me?"

"ellery rose black! i better never hear those words come from your mouth."

i couldn't help but laugh when he said that. i held his face in my hands as he hovered over me. "make love to me."

"i changed my mind," he said as he got off of me and rolled over.

"what?!" i exclaimed as i took my pillow and hit him with it.

"so, you want a pillow fight, do you?" he retaliated by taking his pillow and hitting me back.

i stood up on the bed with my pillow in hand and hit him with it again. he jumped out of bed and swung his pillow at me, but missed when i jumped to the other side. as i jumped off the bed, we stood and stared at each other from opposite sides, waiting for the other to make a move.

"you aren't getting off that easy, baby," connor said.

"bring it on, black." i smiled.

he stood there and shook his head. "you wait until i get a hold of you."

it was now four o'clock in the morning, and i couldn't believe we were having a pillow fight. connor finally made his move and ran to the other side of the bed where i stood. i laughed as i tried to dash across the bed to the other side, but he grabbed my leg and i screamed. as i fell onto the bed, he positioned himself on top of me and covered my mouth with his hand.

"shh...you're going to wake the baby, and we can't have her waking up quite yet." he smiled.

lying there, i stared into his eyes as he stared into mine and, with his hand still covering my mouth, he asked, "do you want me to make love to you?"

i nodded my head, and he smiled as he took his other hand and placed it between my legs.

when the alarm went off, i heard julia whining. we'd only slept about two hours. he turned and looked at me as i rolled over, and he kissed me on the head.

"go back to sleep, sweetheart. i'll take care of julia before i head to the office. you need your rest after your workout last night." he smiled.

i sighed, rolled over, and went back to sleep. i wasn't going to argue with him because i was dead tired.

a couple of hours later, i woke up and headed to the kitchen for some coffee. mason was already over and feeding julia in her highchair.

"good morning, elle. oh my, look at those bags under your eyes. did connor keep you up all night?"

i poured some coffee in my cup, kissed julia on the head, and sat down across from mason. "he did for about an hour, but it was julia who was up all night screaming. she's teething."

"yeah, i know. i hope you used the teething gel in the diaper bag," he said.

"i didn't know there was teething gel in the diaper bag! why didn't you tell me?"

"i forgot, sorry. i figured you go in the diaper bag every day, so you would've seen it."

just as i was about to answer him, a text message came through on my phone from a restricted number.

"you are one of the most beautiful women i've ever seen and i can't stop thinking about you. you haunt my dreams."

smiling, i showed the message to mason. "i have the most romantic husband in the world."

"that's weird; why would he send it from a restricted number?" mason asked.

"he likes to play games." i smiled.

a shower was required before i headed over to the hospital to see denny. i got up from the table and went upstairs. after i got dressed, i kissed julia goodbye and took a cab to the hospital. dana was the only one in the room and she smiled when she saw me.

"how's he doing?" i asked as i walked over to the bed and touched his hand.

"still the same, but dr. armstrong said that the swelling in his brain went down and that's a good sign."

no matter how many times i visited him, it didn't get any easier. dana said she was going to take a little break and meet her sister in the cafeteria for coffee. when she left the room, i sat in the chair, took a hold of his hand, and squeezed it tight.

"denny, it's me, ellery. we all miss you so much and we need you to wake up. it's so hard seeing you like this. i know you're strong and you're going to pull through this."

just as i was talking to him, my phone beeped with a text message. it was from the restricted number again.

"i hope you didn't find my last text out of line. i just needed you to know that i find you exquisite and i couldn't let another day go by without telling you."

when i tried to send a reply, the message wouldn't go through. i thought it was strange, but it was connor, so i would play his game with him until tonight when he got home from work. after leaving the hospital, i had a few errands to run and then i met peyton for lunch at our favorite restaurant. i walked over to the booth where she was sitting.

"you're late," she said.

"just by five minutes and you're always late. you were late for your own wedding." i laughed.

she sighed. "i know. don't remind me."

"so, tell me all about the fabulous honeymoon," i said as i took a sip of water.

"it was amazing! i didn't want to come home." she pouted.

i reached in my purse for my phone when i heard it beeping. as i pulled it out, there was another text message from that same restricted number. connor must be bored today or something, i thought.

"i hope you're enjoying my text messages. a woman as stunning as you should be told every day, multiple times. to me, you're a queen and you should be treated as such."

i smiled and laughed at the same time as i shook my head.

"what's so funny?" peyton asked.

"it's connor and his game playing. look at the text messages he's been sending me since this morning," i said as i handed peyton my phone.

"he's so romantic. why the restricted number, though?"

"i don't know. to keep it interesting, i guess."

she smiled at me and then continued to tell me about her and henry's honeymoon. once we finished lunch, we walked out of the restaurant and parted ways. when i arrived home, i was greeted at the elevator by mason and julia.

"girl, wait until you see what's in the kitchen for you." he smiled.

curiosity got the best of me, so i put my purse down and walked to the kitchen. i gasped when i saw three dozen pink roses sitting in separate vases on the counter.

"looks like connor has really outdone himself today," mason said.

i walked over and pulled the card from one of the vases. it read:

to the most beautiful woman in the world.

no one will ever come close to your beauty.

my heart melted when i read that, and i couldn't wait until connor came home. as i set the card down, i heard my phone beep. there was another text message from that same number.

"beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman. i want you to think of me every time you look at them."

a few hours had passed and connor finally arrived home. as he stepped off the elevator, i wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight before he even had the chance to put his briefcase down.

"wow, now i like that greeting." he smiled as he kissed me. "i thought i was going to get yelled at for not calling you all day. you wouldn't believe the shit going on at the office right now. i was in back-to-back meetings all day."

i smiled at him and walked back to the kitchen to take the chicken out of the oven. connor followed behind me.

"where did those flowers come from?" he asked.

"from someone who thinks i'm the most beautiful and exquisite woman in the world." i smiled as i set the chicken on the stove.

"of course you are, baby, but who sent them?"

i turned around and looked at him. "a hot and sexy man sent them to me, along with those romantic texts all day."

suddenly, connor got angry. "ellery, i will ask you one last time: who the f**k sent you those flowers and what texts are you talking about?!" he yelled.

i couldn't believe how upset he was. this was his game and he had the nerve to yell at me.

"jesus, connor, calm down. you're the one who sent them. why are you yelling at me?"

as he looked at me, his eyes turned dark. "i didn't send you those flowers or any text messages today. i told you i was in back-to-back meetings all day!" he yelled again. "give me your phone!" he commanded.

he was scaring me and i didn't like it. with shaking hands, i opened the text messages on my phone and handed it to him. as he read them, the look on his face was daunting. he looked at me and then back at the flowers. he picked up the card from the counter and read it.