Grace Carter's POV
I had ceased to look for surprises.
Not because Ethan wasn't thoughtful.
He was.
He left behind small notes in books. He recalled my visits to the doctor. He knew I was tired before I told him.
But somewhere along the way, I'd learned to expect that work would always come first.
The company.
The board.
The investors.
There would always be another meeting.
Another flight.
Yet another crisis for Ethan Blackwood.
So I wasn't surprised when I saw his suitcase standing by the front door that Friday morning.
I just felt... disappointed.
Again.
I knelt by it and closed the side pocket where one of his shirts had gotten stuck in the zipper.
"You're forgetting this."
He lifted his head from his computer.
"Thanks."
His fingers barely stopped on the keyboard.
"When's your flight?"
"One."
Seattle.
Another three-day business trip.
Another weekend.
I smiled, but not quite to my eyes.
I will try not to let the baby have too much fun without you.
He finally turned his gaze to me.
There was a moment when something glinted in his eyes.
Guilt.
"I'm sorry."
"It's your job."
"I know."
I placed my hand on my stomach.
"I understand."
And I did.
Understanding, however, didn't make missing him any easier.
---
Once he was gone to work, the penthouse was very quiet.
Maria had the day off.
There was a TV in the background, but I didn't watch it.
I folded baby clothes.
Reorganized the bookshelf in the nursery.
Began to sketch out ideas for my future design studio.
I was unable to focus and stopped halfway through.
My phone buzzed.
Harper.
"How are you doing?"
I smiled.
"I'm fine."
Three dots came right out of the blue.
Then another message.
That's not what I meant.
I laughed quietly.
Harper was getting very good at reading between the lines.
"I'm just... tired."
She responded immediately.
"Hang in there."
"He's trying."
"He's very slow at it."
I read her message.
Perhaps she was correct.
Perhaps it was better to celebrate the inches than the miles when it came to loving Ethan.
---
Across town...
Blackwood Enterprises.
Ethan was in the executive boardroom as the final details of his Seattle presentation were reviewed.
"The investors are expecting you tomorrow morning."
His assistant slid another folder toward him.
You have been confirmed in the hotel.
Another executive spoke.
The documents for the acquisition are available for your signature.
Ethan nodded automatically.
Then his cell phone went off.
A notification.
Home security.
He frowned.
Grace was seen on the balcony at the penthouse entrance by the camera.
She wasn't doing anything unusual.
She just stood there with her hand on her belly, gazing out over the city.
Completely still.
Completely alone.
He enlarged the picture.
It didn't sit well with him.
She looked...
Lonely.
Not abandoned.
Not angry.
Just...
Lonely.
His chest tightened.
His mind was filled with Harper's words.
Beautiful moments don't make love.
It's constructed by normal mornings.
"Choose her."
Every single day.
---
"Ethan?"
The chairman's voice brought him back.
"Your flight is departing in three hours."
He looked around the room.
At the charts.
The projections.
The contracts.
All that he had ever thought was more important than anything else.
Then he remembered the breakfast that Grace had prepared.
The candle she'd lit.
The disappointment she'd tried so hard to hide.
He carefully shut the presentation folder.
"I'm not going."
The room went silent.
"I'm sorry?"
"The Seattle trip."
He stood.
"I'm cancelling it."
The chairman blinked.
"Ethan, this deal has been in the works for months."
"I know."
The investors have requested your presence in particular.
"They will live through one meeting without me."
"Ethan—"
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"My executive team is more than capable."
The room stared at him.
None of them had ever heard a man willingly sacrifice his personal life for business.
Not once.
Until today.
Forty-five minutes later...
The front door opened up.
I lifted my head from the nursery floor, surprised.
"Ethan?"
He smiled.
A nervous smile that is slightly crooked.
"Hi."
I frowned.
"Aren't you supposed to be on your way to the airport?"
"I was."
"Were?"
He placed his suitcase against the wall.
"I cancelled the trip."
For a moment, I simply stared at him.
"You..."
"I cancelled it."
"But..."
"Grace."
He approached me on foot.
For years, I thought that work should not be rushed.
He came to a halt in front of me.
"Today..."
He smiled softly.
"Neither could I," I said.
My heart stopped beating.
"You canceled a three-day business trip?"
"I delegated it."
"Ethan..."
He rubbed the back of his neck, as if he was almost shy.
I'm not sure if I am doing this correctly.
I had a tear in my eye.
"It doesn't have to be done perfectly."
I recalled what Harper had said.
I laughed through my tears.
"She talks a lot."
"She does."
He smiled.
But she was right, he said.
He gently took my hands.
I've been trying to love you with big moments.
He touched my knuckles with his thumb.
When you really needed what you didn't have.
"It was for me to just be here."
"So..."
I asked, trying not to cry.
So what will we do with an unplanned afternoon?
He seemed to be thinking.
I had some ideas.
"Oh?"
"We could go to the aquarium."
I smiled.
"The baby already likes fish?"
I don't know at all.
He laughed.
I only recall you telling me that you enjoyed watching jellyfish when you were a child.
My eyebrows lifted.
"You remembered that?"
"Of course."
I didn't even recall telling him.
I also brought snacks.
"You packed snacks?"
"And a blanket."
I couldn't help laughing.
"Ethan Blackwood brought a picnic?"
His ears became slightly pink.
I asked Maria what women typically want when they are pregnant.
I laughed so much that I had to clasp my stomach.
"Oh my goodness."
"What?"
"You're adorable."
He froze.
I don't think anyone ever called me adorable.
"Get used to it."
I put my hand in his.
"For the man who cancelled a business trip just to spend an ordinary afternoon with his wife..."
I raised my gaze to his and tears were in my eyes.
"...is the most beautiful version of Ethan I've ever met."
He gripped my hand tightly.
No grand speech.
No expensive gift.
No extravagant surprise.
It was a normal afternoon.
And somehow...
It felt extraordinary.
For the first time since we were married...
Ethan wasn't choosing between work and me.
He was simply...
Choosing me.