Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele
Heart 68

Chapter 68 [Cordella]

Atlas reaches out a hand and places it on top of mine before I can remove the paper from the envelope. "Wait," he pulls me into the shadow of a nearby building, suddenly seeming very mysterious "Let's not do

this here."

He then gently takes the envelope away from me and places it in his jacket breast pocket as he graciously opens the passenger side door.

"What are you doing, Atlas?" His behavior is so confusing, harder to read than usual. This man is absolutely exasperating. With my hands on my hips I demand an answer. "Don't you want to replace out too?" 1 do," He smirks with a sly twist to his mouth, as if holding in a secret. "But not like this. Not on some street corner where everyone else can see and hear us

As soon as I'm safely buckled, he pulls out into traffic and heads towards the highway headed north.

T

"Atlas...?" I draw out the last syllable of his name, making it more of question than a statement.

He takes one look at my pouty face and laughs. "Don't you like surprises."

"No," I grumble, lying. I actually really love surprises but not about something so important. "And I want to know right now."

"I want to spend the day getting to know the mother of my baby first, before we learn anything more," he declares, sounding determined. "You are going to go out on a date with me. We are long overdue." "A date? But aren't you and Angelica...?"

"No," he shushes me. Today it is just you and me and our baby. No one else."

He starts humming to himself as he drives along the twisting coastline. When I realize he isn't going to stop anytime soon to let me see the inside of the envelope I close my eyes and let my mind wander.

At some point I must have fallen asleep because I jump awake just as the passenger side door opens.

Atlas gives me one of his rare sunny smiles as he laughs and helps me out of the car. "Did you have a nice nap, Sleeping Beauty?"

Yawning, I stretch. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep, I was..."

"You don't need to apologize," Atlas stops me mid-sentence. "I was reading yesterday that babies take a lot of energy to grow," he tucks my arm into his as he closes the door behind me. "I also read somewhere that you should get as much sleep as you can now because the sleep is going to get a lot harder soon."

"You've been reading." I look at him in awe, "About babies?"

"What else should a father do?" He looks bemused as if his answer should have been obvious. "Shouldn't I want to know more about what is happening to you?" He then bends down, closing the distance between us as he brings my fingers to his lips. "I want to know everything about you and about this," he looks down at my belly and his gaze catches my own as he smiles again before saying "Wonder. You are a wonder." Chapter 68

+25 BONUS

The spot he has taken us to is a little villa along the coast. It has a small vineyard and a few goats grazing in the field. He explains that this place belonged to his grandfather, Jasper, who had started his life as a simple farm boy only to build his company from the ground

up.

"My father and mother used to take me here when I was a kid, before Clark was born," he muses, telling me all about his family reunions. "And in the summers sometimes I'd come here and work on this little farm with my grandfather. He taught me all about milking goats growing grapes for wine and food." He smiles warmly, lost in a memory.

"You loved your grandfather very much," I observe as I squeeze his arm gently.

"He was the most important man in my life."

We spend the rest of the afternoon tasting grapes and sampling some of the amazing cheese his steward makes while discussing possible names for the baby.

"I like Juliet," I suggest, "with Lily or maybe Rose as a middle name?"

"I also like Juliet," Atlas smiles. "What about Jasper, for a boy."

"After your grandfather?"

He nods, looking out at the setting sun. "But only if you like the name too."

I reach out my hand to take his, our fingers naturally interlacing. "I also like Adam. Maybe as a middle name?"

He slowly pulls out the envelope. "Maybe we should replace out first what we are having, and then we can decide." He smiles. "And whatever name we don't use this time, we can use next time." "Next time?"

He laughs. "I hope so."

Together we open the envelope.

We both gasp.

Atlas swings me around in his arms holding me tight to his chest. He kisses my eyes, my cheeks, my face as he thanks me over and over again.

He then bends low, placing a small kiss on my belly and says. "I can't wait to meet you, Jasper Adam Steele."

Just as the two of us settle back to earth, our hearts full, the sounds of reality start crashing down on us as both phones start to ring.

We take our phones in opposite directions. I pick mine up. It's Tilly.

It takes a moment for her to stop crying before she can give me a reason for her call.

The a

apartment has burned down. Our studio, my fabric, my samples-everything burned to dust. Without those supplies, I cannot fill the orders I signed two months ago at the fashion expo. Cordelia Louise Designs is no more.