“A name for my art charity?” I had been toying with the thought for a while. “I have.” I paused, unable to keep the smile from coming to my lips. “The Liberty Anne Foundation.” It was my way of honoring David’s sister after the trouble she had been put through by the media.
“That sounds lovely. It will be easy to remember for people too.”
“I think so.” I blew a kiss into the phone. “Go do queenly stuff. I’ll see you soon.”
“Love you.” The phone clicked and I looked out across the field behind D’Lynsal Manor.
Knowing that Mother wasn’t upset with me eased a lot of my tension. I was worried she was going to freak out over the photos. Especially since we had all been instructed to be careful after what happened with Alex. I also thought she might pull a normal mom moment and be upset about seeing how David was holding me. I could only guess that I was old enough now that she accepted the fact that I was a grown woman.
“How’d it go?” David opened the rear door facing the patio and watched my face with careful eyes.
“It went well.” I laughed at his look of relief. “The queen is not going to order you be thrown in the dungeon.”
“That’s a relief.” He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You don’t really have a dungeon, do you?”
“Our palace was originally built in the fifteen hundreds. Of course we have a dungeon.”
“Yeah, but you don’t really use it as a dungeon?” He raised an eyebrow, a half grin lighting his face.
“I’ll give you the tour next time we’re there.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. I loved the way his stubble felt against my skin. It was so coarse and manly. “How are your parents?”
“They’re okay. My mother was a bit . . . shocked by the pictures.” His low chuckle warmed my body. “I wouldn’t call her a prude exactly, but living in the South, there are certain things that come with the culture. And anything sexual can be a bit taboo.”
“Well, I hope she knows it’s not my fault you grabbed my ass.” My cheeks heated at the realization that his family and friends had seen the pictures as well. At this point they were probably floating around the entire world in some fashion or other.
“Oh, it was your fault.” He leaned down and nuzzled my neck.
“How do you figure that?” I tilted my head so he had better access and was rewarded by the touch of his lips on my pulse point.
“You can’t look that good in a pair of jeans and expect me to not grab your ass.” As if to demonstrate he reached around and got a handful. “It’s too perfect. I can’t help myself. It looked great in that dress last night too, but there’s just something special about an old pair of jeans.”
“I hadn’t noticed.” Reaching around, I tucked my hands into the pockets of his pants and laughed when he made a pleased sound deep in his throat.
“So, tell me, is Max preparing to kill me while my back is turned or is he just a protective older brother?”
“Protective older brother.” I narrowed my eyes. “But I also heard that you did your own little bit of protective brothering for Samantha once upon a time.”
“Alex ratted me out, huh?” He laughed. “And I thought we were finally getting along.”
“That was before you decided to date his sister,” I reminded him.
“True.” His warm eyes traced my face. “I couldn’t help but overhear part of your phone conversation.”
“I’m sure you tried really hard not to, with your head sticking out the door.”
“Pfft.” He cupped my cheek and turned my face up to his. “You’re naming your charity after Lib?”
“I think that there are a lot of benefits for children in art programs. And Liberty is a good example of that. It lets her express herself in a way she wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”
“You’re an amazing woman.” His lips touched mine softly, almost reverently. “I love you, Cathy.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and sank into his kiss. There were few things in the world that made me feel like all was right in the world, and his touch was one of them.
“Love you too.”
EPILOGUE
“THAT’S BEAUTIFUL!” I smiled down at the little boy holding up his drawing. I wasn’t exaggerating. The pencil sketch he was proudly displaying was a breathtaking rendering of one of the birds he had seen earlier that day.
“I made it for you.” Brandon grinned, and I knew this was a rare moment for him. He so seldom smiled for anyone, it made my heart soar.