SWNOVELS The Dark Elf’s Surprise Baby: Chapter 25
After Harper and I make love that night, it’s like the last of the barriers have fallen between us. Everything feels so right, so perfect again. It’s as though no time at all has passed. If not for the presence of Addie, it would feel like we’re back before all this happened.
Not that I would trade Addie for anything. She’s my little girl, my agelios. Having her in my life has made it even more complete than I could have ever imagined. It’s as if she was the missing piece between us the whole time.
Two weeks pass in pure bliss. It’s the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. Addie and Harper fit into the household with absolute ease.
I never want Addie to feel as though I don’t love her. And Harper deserves to feel as though she’s got protection and stability. They’re my mate and my child in every way that counts but it’s time to do it the right way. I want to ask Harper to make it official. I have a plan but I’m not quite ready to execute it yet.
I need to distract Harper and Adelaide, so I can surprise them. I’ll be busy tomorrow with the plan so I don’t want them to feel neglected. I’m going to spend the whole day with them today, making breakfast, going shopping, maybe going back to the park, then we’ll have a gourmet dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, I’m going to send Adelaide to the Torsys household so I can have Harper all to myself and execute my plan.
I wake up extra early, too excited to sleep. Harper is sleeping next to me, having moved into my room a few days ago. We ended up spending most of our time here anyway and I asked if she would like to stay and she agreed.
Careful so I don’t wake her, I slip from the bed and wrap my robe around myself before heading downstairs. The chef isn’t even up yet and I head into the kitchens, stoking the fire myself before gathering the supplies I need.
I’m halfway through kneading dough for a fresh loaf of bread when the cook comes in and quirks an eyebrow, a silent gesture for me to explain what I’m doing.
“I need the kitchens this morning,” I tell him. “You can have the morning off. I’m going to make breakfast again.”
“As you wish, Master Demethys,” the chef bows and takes off, no doubt happy to get a few more winks in.
I’ve worked my way up to more and more elaborate meals for my girls, trying to save my best dishes for now, so I can thoroughly impress Harper with my skills. I’m making a full dark elf spread for them today, which includes fresh bread, eggs, thick sliced dripir, fried capra with somana and frisse, milk, fresh squeezed juice and kaffo.
Just as I’m putting on the finishing touches, Harper comes down the stairs with a sleepy looking Adelaide behind her.
“Breakfast is ready!” I tell them, watching Addie perk up at the word breakfast.
Harper and Addie go into the dining room and I watch as Harper gasps at the spread. “You made all this?” she asks.
“I did,” I tell her, coming up behind her to wrap my arms around her. “All fresh, all from scratch.”
“You are incredible!” Harper says, picking up a piece of toasted bread and taking a bite. “Oh gods, fresh bread too? Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Nope,” I say, popping the ‘p’.
“What’s the occasion?” she asks as she sits down with Addie in her lap. “Oh gods. Are you ending this?”
“No!” I yell a little too loudly. Addie and Harper wince and I bite my lip. “Sorry. No, I’m not ending things. Can’t I spoil my best girls?”
“Of course Dad can spoil us,” Addie insists. I sit down with them and load up my plate, helping Harper feed our daughter while we enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Addie loves the fresh juice and the eggs while Harper eats three slices of fresh bread and a pile of cubed burgona and somana.
“This was the best thing I’ve ever had,” Addie declares after breakfast. “Dad is the best cook!”
My heart swells in my chest and I beam at her. “Thank you, baby,” I tell her. “That means a lot to me.”
“It really was amazing,” Harper agrees.
“This was only part one of my master plan,” I tell her, teasing. “I needed to get you all full and happy so I can trick you into going shopping with me!”
“I wanna go shopping!” Addie yells, hopping up and down, her blonde curls shaking.
“Ooh, shopping?” Harper asks. “Like, new dresses or new books?”
“Anything you want,” I promise her.
We head upstairs to get cleaned up and dressed and Harper hugs me out of the blue, standing in the hallway.
“Thank you,” she says, looking up at me with her big, daette-brown eyes. “You have made such an effort to be there for us. To be good to us. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I tell her, planting a kiss on her head. “Let’s get going so we can hit all the shops you want to go to.”
“Yes!” Harper grins. She loves dress shopping. I think she secretly missed her fancy clothes. I finish dressing before her so I head downstairs. I need to send a message to Kerym and Layla, I want them to know I’m proposing and get their help for it.
“Take this message to the Torsys household,” I tell Bryrion. “Make sure that Master Kerym sees it.”
“Right away, sir,” Bryrion curtsies quickly. “Thank you for bringing Miss Harper back,” she adds. I forgot that Bryrion and Harper were best friends before she left. She must have missed her friend while she was gone.
I turn just then to see Harper walking down the stairs in a beautiful blue dress. “Where did you get that?” I ask. “I don’t remember seeing it.”
“I borrowed it from Layla the other day, just in case we wanted to go out to the shops again soon,” she says, giggling and twirling around. “Do you like it?”
“Yes,” I tell her, pulling her in close. “I like it very much. Now we should go before I get too distracted by you in that dress and we end up staying here all day instead.”
Addie comes down just then and runs up to me, holding her arms out. I scoop her up and twirl her around. “There’s my special agelios!”
Harper beams and we head outside where the carriage is waiting for us and head to the shops. Our first stop is the bookstore, which Addie is more than thrilled to visit.
She runs around, picking out fairy tales and books about dark elf mages. I love seeing her so happy and carefree here. Harper picks a few books out herself and they have quite a stack going by the time we’re ready to check out.
“You can get more,” I tell her, chuckling.
“I’m good,” Harper grins. “Besides, I need an excuse to come back again next week!”
After the bookshop, we head to a shop for Harper to buy a few new dresses. Addie is quickly bored so I take her outside to keep her entertained.
“Sir!” A footman calls out to me and I turn, noticing him coming rushing up to me. “Sir! Master Demethys!”
“Yes, what is it?” I ask.
“Master Kerym and Madame Layla received your message. They sent me to find you and give you this note.”
He hands me a folded message and I open it up, holding my breath. Their approval means everything to me. Layla is like a sister to Harper and Kerym has adopted a protective brotherly role in her life. He had some choice words to tell me after he found out what I did to Harper that night.
My grin grows wider and wider as I read. Layla and Kerym approve wholeheartedly. Kerym thinks the plan is excellent and Layla thinks that it will be the perfect proposal.
I feel so lighthearted now. “Thank you,” I tell the boy, tipping him a few coins. “Tell Madame Layla I will do my best.”
The boy runs off again and Harper comes out of the shop with a whole load of boxes and wearing a new dress. “I’ve ordered more,” she says. “They’ll be in within a few weeks.”
“You do love your pretty dresses,” I tease. “Doesn’t Mama look lovely though?” I ask Addie, who is playing in the carriage.
“Yes,” Addie says. “Mama looks very pretty!”
We hit up a few more shops before going to the park to let Addie play for a while. When she’s tired out, we head back to the manor for her to take a nap before dinner.
“I have to leave after dinner,” I tell Harper. “I’ve got to go back into town. I got a message that the watch I ordered is ready.”
“Does it have to be tonight?”
“Yes,” I tell her, kissing her on the cheek. “The watch master is going on a trip tomorrow.”
“Alright,” she says, sighing. “Be back soon.”
“I will,” I promise her.
In actuality, I’m going to pick up the ring for her proposal. It’s a stunning sapphire blue zanthenite ring, embedded with a magical protection spell. It’s very hard to procure and it took weeks to be made.
I hug and kiss both my girls before heading out, excitement coursing through my veins. We’re halfway to town when suddenly I feel a bump and the carriage screeches to a stop.
“What is going on?” I call out. The coachman turns back and tells me that one of the wheels fell off due to a pothole.
Gods! I curse to myself. What bad luck is this?