Bound By Her Bump novel Chapter 20

"So I take it that you had fun at the event?" Eric asked on their way home.

"Honestly, I did." She smiled at him. "I was expecting it to be boring but it wasn't."

The rest of the drive was silent. Annie slept halfway through. She woke up when Eric pulled up in his estate. Annie was in awe as she took in the surroundings. The whole estate was screaming money. It was a new estate, one could tell by the look of it. Sure only billionaires can afford to live here. The estate had its park combined with a modern playground, a mini grocery store and a pharmacy.

Eric pulled up in his driveway. Annie was shocked as to how beautiful Eric's house was from the outside. It was like a mini-mansion, she only saw them magazines and wondered if she would ever get a glance in real life.

Eric chuckled as soon as he saw her reaction. He came down from the driver's seat, reached for her backpack and shut the door. He approached the front passenger's seat, wanting to help Annie down but by the time he got there, she had already helped herself.

"Welcome to my home, my Queen." He smiled.

"You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you! I moved to this place the day after I came back from my Paris trip. Let me give you a quick tour." He said, sneaking his arm around her waist, the two of them walking side by side.

Eric pointed to the guest house beside the main house. "My workers occupy the guest house: my drivers, securities, housekeeper and gardener"

"I assumed it was reserved for your guests; like your parents, family and friends." She said.

"Yes, I thought about that. But there are more than enough rooms inside and besides it will be so stressful for my workers to go and come every day. I just wanted them to feel safe where they work so I insisted they stay at my guest house which is big enough for them, although some go home on weekends when they are not on duty."

"You're a very caring Boss."

"I suppose I am." He smiled.

They got to the entrance of the main house and Eric opened the door. As a gentleman, he allowed her to go in first and he went in next.

"This is the main living room." He said as Annie assessed it.

"This is beautiful." She whispered after a while.

Eric showed her the kitchen which was almost as big as the living room; it had all the kitchen equipment one can ever think of. In the middle of the kitchen was a marble designed counter with matching stools. He also showed her the dining room which was a few steps away from the kitchen.

The downstairs floor had three guest rooms with their respective bathrooms, a gym and Eric's home office which was combined with a small library.

Eric decided it was time to explore the upper floor so he guided her to the curved shaped staircase and they made their way up.

There were three spare rooms upstairs apart from the master bedroom. Eric showed her the first two and then showed her the third one.

"I was thinking our baby will make use of this room." He said and Annie chuckled as she accessed the room. It was pretty big and empty. It had an adjoined bathroom, walk-in closet and an empty space they could use as a playroom.

"I think this is the biggest of the three rooms upstairs. Our baby will have to reach a certain age before he or she will move in here."

She took a few steps to where he was and wrapped her arms around his neck as she looked him in the eye. "I think he or she will be okay with a smaller room in the first few years of its life."

"Noted." He wrapped his arms around her waist and told her what has been on his mind for a while now. "I hope before the baby arrives, both of us will be an item already and you would have moved in with me." He said sincerely which made her smile.

"Let's go take a look at our bedroom."

"Our?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, our bedroom, whenever you are here it's 'Ours.' Or did you think I was going to allow you to sleep in a separate bedroom? That is not going to happen and I'm sure our little one wouldn't want that. Right honey?" He asked, placing his hand on her belly.

She laughed and playfully slapped his hand away. "It can't hear you, silly."

"Oh, you will be surprised that he or she will get familiar with my voice very soon and who knows, his or her first word might be 'Dada.'" He teased.

"Oh, we shall see about that." She challenged.

"You have no idea how much happiness you and our unborn child have brought into my life. Thank you." He kissed her forehead.

Annie awed as Eric ushered her into his room. It was a dream room. The big bed was situated in the middle of the room. To the far left was a single grey Sofa and next to it was a glass door which leads to the balcony where one can stay and enjoy the beautiful view of the estate. To the right-hand side of the bed was a nightstand and to the far end were two adjoining rooms. The first one leads to the walk-in closet while the other one leads to the bathroom.

"What do you think?" He asked as he placed her backpack on the bed before wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"I love it." She said.

Eric took Annie to see the walk-in closet and she was surprised at what she saw. It looked like a boutique.

"So this will be your side when you move in with me." He pointed to the opposite side of his closet.

He walked closer to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I know all the decorations look a bit masculine. But I'll hire someone who will change a few things to your taste."

"No need Eric. Everything is fine this way." She assured.

"Okay then, if you say so. Are you sure you don't want anything to eat? Like a snack or something?"

"No, I'm fine thanks. I had enough to eat at the event besides it's too late to eat anything." She said and he nodded since it was just twelve minutes past 11 pm.

"You can take a shower here. I'll use the one in the guest room. Do you need help taking your clothes off?" He asked. The thought of her being naked before him made her blush.

"I think I can manage." She replied.

He gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before exiting the room. He didn't take anything along with him so Annie assumed he had spare clothes to change into in the guest room.

She stepped into his bathroom with her backpack and wasn't surprised by everything she saw. In as much as she would love to soak herself in his tub, she ended up taking a quick shower instead. It took Annie four minutes to take her dress off because the zip was far from her reach.

He placed the slippers by her feet "It's Elaina's. But I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Annie nodded and slipped her feet into the pink coloured fluffy bedroom slippers.

After that, he made her seat on the edge of the tub and began taking care of her hair. He dried them, brushed them and put them in a ponytail. He loved the feel of her hair in his hand; so soft and long.

Annie felt like a princess as she let him take care of her hair. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that you knew how to braid." She teased.

Eric chuckled. "I have three sisters and Elaina made sure I knew how to do a french braid. She would always insist I do them for her."

He finished on time and Annie stood up from the tub to admire herself in the mirror.

"I love it. Thank you!" She smiled.

He moved closer to her and wrapped his left hand around her waist. He reached for his phone with his right hand and took a bathroom selfie of them. Annie gave her best smile and they did different poses and took as many shots as possible.

"The project you told me you've been working on. What is it about?" He asked as they lay side by side on the bed.

She played with her fingers "Starting my own cosmetics line, it's what I've always wanted."

He moved closer to her and took her hands in his. "I have no doubt it'll be a huge success."

"You think so?" She asked.

He nodded. "I believe in you, Annie and I also believe in your dreams. Why are you so unsure about it being a success?"

"I don't know but I guess it's pretty normal for me to be nervous. Again, I know there are lots of cosmetic lines which people are already used to and that is why I'm working hard to make sure my products are of good quality and most importantly affordable."

"So when will you be launching them?" he asked.

"In three to four months."

"I want to pre-order about a hundred of every item." He said.

"Eric, it's for the public. Besides, you are not a lady. What do you want to use a hundred pieces for?" She groaned.

"To help you advertise." He said and she gave him a questioning look, not understanding what he meant.

"Everyone would love to receive a gift from Eric Ivan-James. I have about thirty female employees who will get one each. I will send some to my mom, sisters and cousins, female business partners, extended families, friends. I'm sure they will use the products and if they like it, no doubt they will want to purchase more."

"Thank you." She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a bone-crushing hug."I'll make sure I give you a good discount."

He caressed her cheek "You're welcome. I'll do all I can to support you"