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Antonio and Gabi were looking at a beautiful townhouse on the beach a few blocks down from Ben and Maria’s. It had three large bedrooms with three bathrooms. The master bathroom had a balcony overlooking the beach and a large master bath with a whirlpool tub. The décor was done in soft shades of peach and ivory. It was the most beautiful house Gabi had ever seen.
"Antonio, don’t you think this is a little above our price range?" she said quietly as they stood in the middle of the living room. "We don’t even have enough furniture to fill it!" Antonio laughed as he took her in his arms. "I only want the best for you, Gabi. If you like it, it's ours." He smiled as he leaned over and kissed her. "Don’t worry, Gabi. I’ll always take care of you." Gabi felt a tear slip from her eye as she watched Antonio sign the paper with the realtor. He did take wonderful care of her…no one had ever loved her more. Gabi placed her hand over her stomach. She couldn’t wait another minute. Antonio saw the realtor out as he turned to Gabi and jangled the keys. "It’s official," he announced proudly. Gabi ran to him and squealed with delight as she jumped into his arms. He held her tightly as they kissed in their new home. Gabi jumped down taking Antonio’s hand. "Come with me," she instructed as she pulled him up the stairs. "Gabi, we don’t even have our bed here yet," he said playfully as he trailed her up the stairs. He reached forward and grabbed her butt, "The floor will do just fine!" Gabi laughed as she pulled him into the hall. "This, of course, is our room." She pointed to the master bedroom. "And this you can set up as your office," she waved her arm to one of the empty rooms. She took him by the arm and pulled him into the empty room closest to their bedroom. Gabi put her arms around his neck and gazed lovingly into his eyes, "But this is the nursery." She waited to see if he took the hint or if she was going to have to pound it in. Antonio smiled for a second and then his face went serious. "Do you mean..." his voice trailed off. "You mean you’re…?" Gabi felt the tears spill from her eyes. "Yes, Antonio." She leaned closer, "We’re going to have a baby!" Antonio let out a whoop as he picked up Gabi by the waist and swung her around in circles. Gabi held tightly to his shoulders as he buried his face into her chest. He set her down carefully and took a step back. "Are you sure, Gabi?" "Yes, Tyus told me the blood test confirmed it." "Tyus? You mean, you found out at the hospital," he said with a shock. "Why didn’t you tell me, Gabi, that was almost a week ago!" "I was waiting for the perfect time, Antonio. I wanted to take you back to the Casita," she dropped her eyes shyly. "That is, after all, where this baby was conceived." Antonio’s mouth fell open slightly. "Gabi, that was so long ago. Are you positive?" His eyes searched hers. "You took that test and it was negative." "I’m sure, Antonio," she smiled. "Tyus checked and double-checked. He said those tests are sometimes wrong." "Oh, Gabi. I love you so much." Antonio took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly but then stepped back suddenly. "But what about...he didn’t...nothing hurt the baby that night, right?" Gabi knew exactly what he meant. "No, no." She touched her hand lovingly to his cheek. "The baby is fine, Antonio. I’m fine and we are going to have our baby in about 7 and a half months." Antonio smiled deeply at his wife as he took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. "So, I guess all that studying wasn’t really necessary, huh?" "Oh yes it was," she said seductively. They kissed for a long time standing in what would soon be their baby’s nursery. Antonio and Gabi moved into their new home two weeks later. Gabi saw Dr. Green the week before and she confirmed Gabi was 7 weeks along and gave her the baby’s due date. It was true, their baby had been conceived the night they reconciled at the Casita. Dr. Green gave Gabi some pre-natal vitamins to take and told her to relax. Gabi had admitted her fears about carrying this baby to term. Dr. Green gave her all the statistics on second pregnancies after miscarriages, which seemed to calm her somewhat. She told Gabi to expect a normal and healthy pregnancy. Antonio was relieved to hear the doctor’s good words, but refused to let Gabi lift a finger during the move. He instructed her to give orders and her wishes would be granted. Gabi unpacked what she could manage behind his back, but the third time he caught her lifting a box, he abruptly admonished her to the kitchen to make lemonade for the movers. Antonio was lying on the couch in their living room exhausted after a long day of moving in. Gabi sat down near his feet and placed them on her lap. She removed his shoes and began caressing his tired peds. "Ohhh, that feels sooo good," he reveled with his eyes closed. Gabi smiled as she rubbed his feet intently for almost a half-hour. She happily surveyed their new surroundings with an incredible sense of peace. This was were they would make new memories, where they would bring their new baby home to, where they would watch their children laugh and play. Yet again, the tears fell silently from Gabi’s eyes as she watched Antonio sleeping. Her thoughts drifted momentarily to Ricardo. No one had seen or heard from him since the night on the beach. Antonio and Gabi had decided not to tell anyone what happened. Ricardo needed to work things out for himself and as long as he stayed away from Gabi, Antonio was willing to put it behind them. They never spoke again about that night. Gabi was pouring the coffee in the kitchen. "Antonio, you’re going to be late!" She heard him charging down the stairs. "Ben called and he’s on his way." Antonio ran in as he straightened his tie. "I know, I know. I can’t believe I slept so late." "Well, we didn’t exactly get a lot of sleep last night," Gabi smiled playfully. Antonio grinned broadly at her. "Yes, I remember," he said with a raise of his brow. He took her in his arms and nuzzled her neck. They still couldn’t keep their hands off each other. "So, were going to tell everyone tonight, right?" They were having a housewarming party and were going to announce Gabi’s pregnancy. Gabi had wanted to wait to reach the 3 month mark, and they were both so excited tonight was the night. "Yes," she rolled her eyes at him. "Tonight." Antonio sipped his coffee as the doorbell rang. Gabi answered it and let Ben inside. Antonio and Ben were meeting with a new business associate today. "Come on, Antonio," Gabi prodded him. Antonio came out of the kitchen, kissed Gabi and grabbed his briefcase. "I’ll see you tonight. Call me if you need me. I love you." He kissed her again before Ben shooed him out the door. Gabi watched them drive off before she walked back inside and closed the door. Gabi was only working part-time at the station now. Antonio didn’t want her to go back at all after the attack, but she protested and they agreed on part-time. She was off today and Maria had come over to help her get ready for the party. The women were fixing hors d’oeuvres in the kitchen when Gabi suddenly excused herself from the conversation. She ran to the bathroom as the nausea overwhelmed her. She had wondered when it would kick in…she had been sick with Michael but a lot earlier in her pregnancy. Maria attempted nonchalance as Gabi returned to the kitchen. Maria was smiling widely and Gabi kept throwing her sideways glances. "You know, don’t you?" Gabi said accusingly. Maria burst out with a laugh. "Yes, I’ve known for a week. Antonio was so excited, he couldn’t help it. He made me swear I wouldn’t tell you I knew." Maria hugged Gabi tightly. "I am so happy for both of you. See, I told you it would happen soon." "Yeah, little did I know I was already pregnant when you told me that!" Gabi rolled her eyes. "Oh, Gabi, I can’t wait to go shopping for all those little clothes and toys. And we have to go to that great furniture store for the crib and…" Maria noticed Gabi staring quietly at the floor. She walked over and put her arm around Gabi. "It’s okay to be excited, Gabi. You’re not going to make something bad happen because you’re happy." Gabi looked up with tears in her eyes. "I know, Maria. I just don’t want anything to go wrong." Maria smiled and pulled Gabi closer. Gabi grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. "Nothing is going to go wrong, Gabi," Maria said reassuringly. "Nothing." Antonio and Gabi climbed the stairs after the last guest had finally left. They walked into the bedroom and Gabi headed to the closet for her nightshirt. "Everyone was so happy for us, Antonio. They were all so excited about the baby." Gabi was yelling from the closet as she changed her clothes. She reached for the nightshirt when her eyes fell to the flat white box on the shelf. She smiled as she pulled the box open finding a sexy black silk nightie inside. She held it up to her. "Hmmm, I wonder who put this here?" she said loudly. Gabi moved slightly around the corner placing her hand against the door frame. The black silk hung snugly against her body. Antonio was lying on his side on the bed wearing only a grin and his boxer shorts. Gabi smiled seductively as she walked slowly over to the bed. Antonio’s eyes watched her hungrily as she climbed on the end of the bed on her hands and knees. She crawled her way up his body sliding the silk against him. Antonio closed his eyes and tilted his head back reveling in the way the fabric made his skin tingle. Gabi started kissing him on his stomach. She fingered the waist of his boxers placing her hand flat against his abdomen and slipping it just inside. Antonio ran his hand through her hair as his back arched off the bed. Gabi released him from his shorts as she took him into her mouth. Antonio let out a deep moan as he allowed himself to completely give in to Gabi. She brought him to the edge of ecstasy and then released him quickly. Antonio opened his eyes as Gabi slid gently up his chest with a wicked smile. He took her by the arms and rolled her onto her back. His hands sought out the bottom of the silk nightie as his pushed it up just over her hips. Gabi cried out as their bodies joined. Antonio moved slowly against her, kissing her shoulders and neck as Gabi moaned softly into his ear. Hearing her response drove him wild as he quickened his pace. Gabi’s breath puffed against him as she gently bit his shoulder. Antonio lost complete control as he cried out over and over until his body finally released into her. They lay in each other’s arms kissing and cuddling until Gabi closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep. Antonio watched her sleeping as he caressed her silken hair. "I love you, Gabi, and I always will," he whispered before closing his eyes. THE DEEP Antonio sat at his desk staring at Gabi’s picture as he recalled the passionate night they had shared a few days before. Gabi had been feeling very sick the last couple of days and Antonio wanted to call and check on her. As he was dialing, Ben pushed open his door. "Sorry to interrupt, Antonio," he said politely. "Do you have a minute?" Antonio put down the phone. "Sure, come on in." Ben entered the room followed by an attractive young woman. She was dressed to the nines in a khaki skirt that fell several inches above her knee, a white blouse that was unbuttoned a few buttons and a fitted navy blue blazer. Her dark blonde hair framed her face and hung just to her shoulders. "This is Heather Malone, she’s one of the auditors from Arthur Andersen." Antonio stood from his desk and extended his hand. "She’ll be working with us for the next couple of months. Heather, this is Antonio Torres." Antonio shook her hand. "It’s very nice to meet you." He was impressed by her firm handshake. "Hello, Antonio. It’s nice to meet you." Heather smiled warmly at him. She was immediately drawn to his deep, dark eyes. She stared at him for a moment then dipped her eyes shyly. "Ben’s told me a lot about you. I’m looking forward to working with you." "Thank you, I am too," he said casually. "We’ll sit down soon and get things started." Heather smiled again as Ben directed her out the door. Antonio’s eyes instinctively fell to her well-shaped legs as he watched her leave the room. The door closed behind them as Antonio remained standing behind his desk. His mind raced trying to remember what he had been about to do before they walked in.
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