I raised my brows and looked around, picking up a nearby wrapper from the Chinese food restaurant we had ordered from late last night.
“That can be arranged…” I said, sticking my tongue out in concentration as I tried to work the wrapper into a circle.
“Don’t you dare!” Gabriella clutched her left hand to her chest.
I laughed out loud and scooched my way over to her, carefully laying her on the ground among our leftovers and dishtowels. I hovered over her, taking in her beauty, before leaning in and kissing her.
“You know…we have yet to christen this place…” I smiled mischievously against her lips.
“Let’s get to it then,” she whispered.
So, we did. Right there on the kitchen floor.
**
“Did you set the candlesticks out?” called Gabriella from upstairs.
“Yup! They’re on the dining room table, ready to be lit.”
“And the wine glasses?”
“Also, on the table.”
“And the charger plates?”
“On the table where you last put them…” I replied, my amusement growing over Gabriella’s pregnancy brain and obsession with everything being perfect for tonight.
She appeared at the top of the stairs, looking beautiful in a rosy pink, off-the shoulder sweater dress. I placed my hand on my chest through the lapels of my black dinner jacket, and just stared in awe. Her hair was pulled into a high bun on top of her head, with wavy tendrils falling daintily and framing her face. Her rosy cheeks were plump like her lips, her entire face glowing and it wasn’t from the sunset casting a warm glow through the tall arched windows.
“You are a vision,” I said, shaking my head and walking up the stairs to meet her as she descended, careful of each step. I took her hand and guided her the rest of the way down.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said, giving me a quick kiss.
As we stepped onto the hardwood floor, we both looked around the house that had been completely transformed since our first morning here where we ate breakfast with chopsticks and made love on the kitchen floor. Everything was now unpacked with not a single box in sight. Mine and Gabriella’s furniture had worked well in the space, though we added a few mid-century modern pieces to a few vacant walls and corners.
We had really made the place our own with pictures and artwork we had spent the last week picking out at various art galleries. It was a nice distraction, with her due date just days away.
“You really found our forever home,” I said, stroking her hand with my thumb as I looked from the modern, gold chandelier that hung above to the forest green rug that lay plush against the wood floors.
“It wouldn’t be home without you,” she said, turning to me, her eyes wet with tears. I think this was the first time we had really soaked in the space, after unpacking and running around and trying to make it perfect. We didn’t have a choice but to hurry, with our baby girl almost here. Now that everything was done, I could really see our life here. I could slow down and appreciate it with the woman I loved by my side.
The doorbell rang just then.
“They’re early!” she gasped, taking one last look around.
“It’s perfect, babe,” I reassured her.
We both strode for the door, taking guesses on who arrived first. I was right in saying it was her parents. Penn and Grace stood on the front stoop, him with a bottle of red wine and her with a bouquet of flowers tucked in the crook of her arm.
“Come in, come in,” said Gabriella excitedly.
This was the first time anyone would be seeing our place. We wanted to wait until it was completely finished before inviting anyone over, and tonight was our housewarming dinner with all our close friends and family. Gabriella started the tour with her parents, who looked around in awe, and I greeted the rest of our guests who started to trickle in, including my mom and Greg, Nathan, Wyatt, Sadie and her family, and Erica and her family.
After everyone had gotten a tour, we settled around the large, rectangular dining table that was set perfectly after Gabriella had probably checked it no less than three times between each tour. I noticed Juliet wasn’t there, though she had told Gabriella she was coming. I glanced over at Gabriella, who was looking down at her phone worriedly.
“Everything okay?” I whispered as everyone poured wine and champagne into their glasses.
“I don’t know…Juliet was supposed to be here, but she just texted me saying she wasn’t going to make it.”
