Secret Son, Convenient Wife(22)

The golden touch.

Oh, yeah, how often she had succumbed to his touch.

She cleared her throat. “I’d better go check on Nathan. He should be awake soon.” Taking the baby monitor with her, she left the room.

When she went back downstairs with Nathan, Tate had laid out their lunch on the island in the center of the kitchen. Nathan’s high chair was already seated next to it.

“Why don’t you feed him, then we’ll eat,” Tate suggested, and she nodded, liking that he wanted his son’s needs met first.

Once that was done, Nathan was happy to play with a spoon while she and Tate ate their lunch of cold cuts and salad. Then Tate surprised her by saying, “By the way, I’ve got a delivery coming this afternoon.”

She lifted a brow. “A delivery?”

“For Nathan. He needs some toys.”#p#分页标题#e#

She frowned. “But he’s already got toys.”

“He doesn’t have an outside play area, so I’ve ordered one of those shell-shaped sandboxes, plus a bucket and spade, a toy wagon, a toy lawn mower and some other things he’ll enjoy.”

“Other things?” Just how much had he ordered?

“A plastic pit with balls and an activity center that will keep him busy. Those are for inside. There are a couple of other things, too.” He gave a slight shake of his head. “It’s amazing the toys available these days. Very educational, too. I’ve ordered two sets of everything. One for here and one for when we get back to the city.”

“Did you order the whole store?” she joked.

The corners of his mouth quirked upward. “Are you making fun of me?”

His affability was disconcerting, but she hid the feeling behind a small smile. “Never.”

His mouth twisted wryly. “You think it’s overkill, don’t you?”

“Well…yes. I think a little. He’s not even walking yet.”

“He will be soon though.” Tate’s brows drew together. “Won’t he?”

She nodded, endeared by his hesitation despite herself. “I’m told they usually start to walk about now, but every child is different. It could be a few more months,” she warned, so he didn’t get his expectations too high.

Tate took that in, then nodded. “He’ll be fine. As you say, he’ll do it in his own time.” For a moment his eyes rested on his son with pride. When he turned back to Gemma, he was all business again. “They probably won’t get here until around five. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it any earlier.”

“When did you place the order?”

“Not long ago.”

And he expected it to be here in a few hours? It always amazed her how fast he could buy things. The world of the uber-rich was certainly different. Her own upbringing in a middle-class family didn’t come close to the privilege and entitlement afforded to a family like the Chandlers.

“I’ll see Dad about getting the pool fenced off, too,” Tate said, drawing her from her thoughts.

She tilted her head. “Will your parents mind about the play area?”

“Not at all. They’ve probably already thought of it. And they’ve said they wanted to put a childproof fence around the lake, remember? Anyway, it won’t be an issue until he’s walking.”

She loved that he was so protective of Nathan’s well-being.

After lunch, Tate went to clear the table, but she waved him aside. She needed something to do while he went back to his study. She wasn’t used to having time on her hands. She’d always been working, and even these past ten days had been full with rushing to get ready for the wedding. Now, she looked down the long stretch of the afternoon with only a toy delivery on the agenda.

Enough! she told herself as she cleaned up the kitchen while chatting to Nathan in his high chair. Spending time with her son was exactly what she’d been longing to do. Now she could do that. She wouldn’t waste a moment of it.

Once in the right frame of mind, the afternoon flew by, then just before five, the delivery van arrived. Tate told the man to drive around back, and Gemma let Nathan play on the floor of the sunroom as she watched Tate help unload a large plastic sandbox.

The rest of the items were soon dispensed with, and she watched a few minutes more as Tate asked questions about the other bits and pieces. She couldn’t help noticing that for someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Tate got on well with people of all levels, even as he kept a slight reserve that was inherent in his personality.#p#分页标题#e#

By the time she heard the van depart, Gemma was sitting on a stool in the kitchen feeding Nathan his dinner. A couple of minutes later, Tate appeared in the doorway.