Chapter Nineteen

Eleanor's POV

Before we knew it, Fall quickly turned to Winter. Weeks and weeks has passed by with nothing but pure happiness and contentment. I had settled into a very comfortable routine with Parker and my sons, who Parker now called as his own. I couldn't believe I tried to step up as the role of a father for my boys, when they clearly needed a father-figure in their lives. 

Not once has Riley ever visited again. For the first two weeks since his visit, I was always cautious of whoever was at the door. I even gave James orders to never open the door unless I was there. Although Parker reassured me that everything would be fine and needn't worry about my bloody ex any longer.

I trusted Parker; something I thought I would never be capable of when we married. I smiled amused at the thought of remembering my hatred for him during our wedding. How ironic. I had always thought as a child, my wedding day would be filled with love. I was wrong, however, but it didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that my love for Parker was ...increasing. Quite rapidly at that.

"What is my wife thinking about so deeply?" Parker's deep voice murmured against the side of my neck. He lightly placed a kiss just below my jawline. Speak of the devil.

I opened my eyes and turned to look at him. I was sitting on the edge of the bed looking out at the clear night sky before he interrupted me. "Just you my husband." I replied playing along with him. 

"Mmm," he whispered against my skin pulling my waist with his arms closer to him so I was now practically sitting on his lap. "I should be surprised, but I'm not."

I let out a tinkling laughter and turned my head so I was now facing him. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

He grinned and kissed me too briefly for my liking on my lips. "So my sister, Ellie, invited us for her Winter fashion show in Milan this coming week." He was leaning against the cushioned headboard with me placed comfortably between his legs.

"Really?" I asked playing with our joined hands. "I haven't met her."

"I'm thinking this is the perfect time for you two to meet, and of course Luke and Peyton."

"I don't know," I frowned. "As much as I would love to meet her, Peyton gets really agitated on a plane. He's so fussy and- well the passengers wouldn't be too happy."

"Who said we were riding on a public airplane?" Parker bragged. "I'm the CEO for an airlines company, I own my own private jet."

I rolled my eyes. "Why of course. What was I thinking?"

"So we'll go? I'll get the jet ready and plan some fun things for us to do over there. There's lots of attractions and landmarks that we could visit. There are also fun things for Peyton-"

"Whoa, hold up," I cut in laughing slightly. "I haven't said yes yet."

"Why not?" 

"Milan's too far away, and..." I tried to come up with reasons for not going. I wouldn't admit that I was absolutely terrified of flying. I lied about Peyton being agitated; the truth is, my kids had never been on an airplane before.

"You're not telling me you're afraid of flying, are you ma cheríe?" Parker asked turning my head so he could look at me. I wanted to slap off the mocking look on his face. I closed my eyes and buried my head in his chest humiliated. I felt his chest rumble with laughter. "You are!" 

"I can't help it!" I mumbled against his chest. "I get nauseous if I don't take any pills. That's why my parents and I would always travel in a car."

"Don't worry," Parker soothed me after his laughter died down. "There's a small bedroom on the plane, you can sleep there the duration of the flight."

"I haven't said yes," I replied stubbornly letting out a huge yawn. "I'll sleep on it."

--

"Plane, mum!" 

I looked down at my two year old in my arms and back up to the private jet looming in front of us. Parker somehow convinced me to go to Milan even though I was deathly terrified of airplanes. I was walking slowly, stalling time on purpose, right behind Parker who was with an excited Luke. 

"Yes, sweetheart, that's a plane," I whispered softly. 

We reached the steps that led to the doors with a flight stewardess greeting us at the top. I gave her a shaky smile and stepped into the confined space where I would be stuck in for two hours. It wasn't that bad compared to the flight I took with my parents to Hawaii where I found out I had a phobia against airplanes.

I let Peyton down to let him explore in his new surroundings. I spotted Luke already getting comfortable in the plush airplane seats amazed at everything. 

"Not so bad, huh?" Parker startled me by whispering from behind me. 

I played it cool, walking more into the interior making a show of inspecting the plane. "It's okay. I've seen better." I hadn't.

I turned back around to see Parker grinning wickedly, leaning against the wall. "For a person afraid of flying, you've definitely seen your fair share of airplanes."

I smiled at him and sat down at the nearest empty seat. "Okay. Let's go. Let's get this over with." I looked up at Parker expectantly who just looked at me with an amused glance. 

"I'll tell the pilot."

By the time Parker came back, I was already properly seated with my seat belt tight around me. My sons weren't even in their seats yet. Parker took one look at my uneasiness and laughed. "You really are scared aren't you?"

"Can you get my sons seated in please?" I asked kindly pointing to the two empty chairs facing me. 

Parker did just that and took the only remaining seat beside me. He buckled himself up and grabbed my hand in his. I gave him a grateful smile and closed my eyes. I already popped in sleeping pills before we left the house, so that should be kicking in in a few minutes or so. I distinctly heard the attendant explaining the rules and so on. Finally the pilot called for take off.

"I think I'm already going to be sick," I mumbled burying my head on Parker's shoulder. 

"Momma, okay?" Luke asked curiously in front of me. I nodded and weakly gave him a smile. "Momma! It's so fun! Open your eyes!"

"Weee!" Peyton equally squealed with the same amount of enthusiasm as his brother.

The very last thing I remembered was the slight movement of the wheels leaving the ground and the turmoil in my stomach growing before passing out. 

I woke up from what seemed like hours later by slight shaking of my shoulder. My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dim lighting in the room. Wait, where was I? I didn't remember feeling the seats being this comfortable even though they were indeed very luxurious. Then I realized I was laying down and looking up at a very close up view of my eldest son's face. 

"Wake up, Momma!" Luke grinned suddenly being picked up away from me. "We're here!"

I sat up in what I realized was now a bed. Huh, Parker must have carried me in here. My eyes were still droopy from the pills I took earlier. I saw Parker shooing Luke out of the door and into the rest of the plane. Then he turned around walking back to me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly, stooping down to my level, caressing my face.

"Like I've never been on a plane," I joked swinging my legs to the side of the small bed. I took the palm of my husband's hand and lightly kissed it. "Are we here?"

"The plane's long ago landed. I wanted you to have a few more moments of rest before I woke you, but Luke slipped out of my sight and woke you already since he was impatient."

I frowned standing up. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Well, what's done is done," Parker said and laced our hands together. "Let's go. Ellie is dying to meet you."

I gave him an encouraging nod and walked out feeling a ton better; my queasiness went away. I was glad that I didn't have to experience the landing of the airplane. I found my two sons with the flight attendant who was talking to them animatedly. When we walked to the entryway, she gave us a smile and welcomed us to Milan.

Luke and Peyton walked in front of us to the awaiting limo. Parker wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I let out a smile and snuggled in closer to his warmth. This, right here, felt right. It was a glorious feeling knowing that I have a family. Everything was suddenly falling into place.

As we made our way to Parker's sister place, I stared out the window in awe. As an artist, the architecture stood out to me. They were outstanding and full of details, I almost asked the driver to slow down by a notch. Parker, seeing my expression, teased me about it and lightly kissed me on the side of my head. 

"Is there anything I need to know about your sister, so I wouldn't make a fool of myself?" I asked him. 

"Hmm, nothing really. Ellie's a really easy person to get along with. Just never talk bad things about her clothing. She has a really sensitive heart when it comes to her clothes." 

I nodded taking it in. Parker's sister was a fashion designer. A very famous one from what I heard. I remember wearing some clothes from her line back in college. 

"Boys, behave yourself alright?" I ordered from my kids as the vehicle pulled up into the driveway of a very modern two story house located on the skirts of the city. "You stick close to me."

"But Daddy said we could jump in her trampoline!" Luke protested pointing at Parker.

I sighed. "I know, but listen to mummy." 

Once the limo parked, Parker was the first to get out clearly enthusiastic at seeing his sister again. They were very close he told me once. I soon followed suit with my boys right behind me. I held each of their hands in my own and walked behind Parker who was already up the steps and ringing the doorbell. A second later the door was swung open and arms appeared behind Parker hugging him. I took a deep breath willing myself to calm down. 

I admit, I was very scared to meet Ellie. After meeting his father, I was cautious of meeting any other Jenkins. I stopped in my tracks when I saw his sister for the first time. Wow. She was very beautiful. She has the same light brown hair as her brother. She was a petite young woman, with the frame of a supermodel. I could definitely see that the genetics in the family reached out to her as well.

"You must be Eleanor!" Ellie squealed suddenly embracing me tightly with her arms. I was taken aback, not expecting this kind of greeting. "I am very pleased to meet you!" 

When she pulled away from me, she bent down to my kids' level and beamed at them. "Hi! You must be Luke and Peyton." She mixed up the two names, and Luke corrected her not a bit shy.

"No! I'm Luke! That's my little brother." 

"Oh I am very sorry," Ellie apologized. "Well I am your lovely Aunt Ellie." Then she stood back up and motioned for us to follow her through. "Come on! It's getting pretty chilly out here. We can properly get to know each other during dinner. I prepared it myself, of course. I may not be the best cook, but I make the absolute best chicken alfredo in town..."

She continued babbling hooking her arms with Parker. He turned briefly to look back at me with an 'I told you so' face. I followed right behind them and stepped foot in her house. The decoration was very simple and minimal. The entire layout of the house was designed as a bachelorette's pad. The furniture were white and feminine. Ellie led us to the dining room which was already set with plates and silverware.

"I bought a high chair for Peyton since I didn't know if he still used them," she said walking into the kitchen.

"There was no need," I told her embarrassed. "I could've sat him well on my lap."

"Oh it's no big deal! It's not everyday I meet my brother's wife and her sons."

"There are six plates here, Eloise," Parker observed standing beside me as we watched his sister walk back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen bringing in the food. "There are only five of us."

"Oh, Jack is coming. He's running late, but he'll be here for dinner," Ellie said stopping across from us. "I hope you don't mind, Elle. I invited my boyfriend to be here."

"I don't mind at all," I politely replied with a smile. "I'm not so sure if your brother doesn't, however." I teased looking at Parker's stoic expression.

"Jack? Who the hell is Jack?" He asked tightly playing the big brother role. "You never mentioned a boyfriend."

"We've been seeing each other for over a year now," Ellie rolled her eyes. "It's no big deal. It's not my fault you were always out partying to ever give a thought about me. I hardly ever see you."

"Before he leaves, I'm going to have a talk with him."

His sister glared and crossed her arms. "I'm not a kid anymore, Parker. I can take care of myself. I don't need you interviewing guys for me. Besides, Dad already met him."

"Well our father doesn't know what's good for his own children," Parker replied bitterly, and I placed a hand on his arm to stop him from getting worked up. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Eloise. I'm ruining the entire dinner."

Ellie's calculated gaze took in the interaction between Parker and I. She raised her eyebrow with an amused look. "Hey, what are brothers for? So, let's get to eating then? I'm very excited to hear about the things you and Elle did in the bedroom- ahem I mean did so far in your marriage." She winked. 

Parker stifled a laughter as my cheeks reddened. Wow, talk about an ice breaker. 

"Momma! Can we go now?" Luke asked very softly to the left of me. 

I looked at my son and kissed the top of his head. "A few more minutes, my angel."

"Oh are your kids tired already?" Ellie asked from across us. "How rude of me. I'll lead you to the bedrooms."

I gave her a grateful smile and motioned for my kids to follow me. We were finished with our desserts around two hours later. We had a hearty conversation during the entire meal. Jack, Ellie's supposed boyfriend, was a very nice gentleman. It was going to be hard for Parker to find a flaw in the poor guy. 

"You guys go on," Parker told me. "I'll be up there in a sec."

Ellie turned around and glared at Parker. "Behave." She ordered due to the fact that her brother and boyfriend were going to be alone for the first time during the night.

My husband dismissed her order casually. I smiled and walked up the short steps to the second floor. "I have two bedrooms to spare since the other is filled with my clothing equipment. So, I hope you don't mind the two boys sharing a room."

"Of course not," I remarked and stopped in front of the doors. "Thank you Ellie. It was very nice meeting you finally."

"Same here!" She grinned. "Even though I hated how I wasn't invited to the wedding, I already love you as a sister. You're good for my brother. I can tell he's really smitten with you."

"As I am."

"You know. He's never had a girl to tame him down. You have him wrapped around your finger, Elle."

"Oh, I don't know about that," I blushed. "Parker's a very independent man."

"I'm glad he married you," Ellie said and hugged me. "I'm glad he's found somebody to make him happy. He's had a rough life ever since our mum died. This is the first time I've seen him truly jovial."

I hugged her back and let go. "I'm just as lucky as he is. I'll see you tomorrow then? At your fashion show?"

My sister-in-law nodded cheerfully. "Yes! I should be resting soon for the big day. Good night, Elle! Good night boys!" She called out into the room where my sons already went in checking the room out.

I watched her walk down the stairs before heading into the room. "Come on boys. Change into your pajamas before bed."

I changed their clothes as fast as I could so I could finally rest. The last remains of the pill was still in my system, and I wanted to sleep more than anything. Once they were brushed and tucked in bed, I kissed each of their foreheads and walked into the room besides theirs.

I found Parker already dressed, or should I say, undressed and sitting on the bed. "Hey."

"Hi."

"I hope you didn't give Jack a hard time. He seems like a nice guy."

"I just gave him the talk, is all. Ready for bed?"

"I'm exhausted," I nodded and crawled into the spot beside him. I already stripped down to my pajama bottom and top. I was ready for the sleep to come to me. I actually wanted to fall asleep before Parker could distract me as he usually does in the night. Of course not that type of distractions. 

As I predicted Parker pulled me closer to his chest, spooning me from behind. "Good night ma cheríe."

I smiled softly and whispered my well wishes of a good night.

--A/N 

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Check back on chapter nine for the picture of Eloise :)