He kissed the top of her head. “I know, love. Let’s sit over here while you have your tea. Did you eat anything?”
“No, I’m not the least bit hungry.”
Ian frowned as she curled up on the sofa, and he handed her the steaming mug of tea. “You need to eat, darling. After all, you’ve just gone through a tremendous shock.”
She shook her head. “Maybe later, all right? Not now. I just – can’t.”
“All right,” he relented gently. “But one thing I won’t take no for an answer on is the doctor’s appointment I made for you. It’s at three o’clock today, and I’ll drag you there kicking and screaming if I have to. I won’t be satisfied until you’ve been thoroughly checked over.”
Tessa sighed. “All right, you win. But I really, really need to call the office before anything else. I’m sure Andrew is not especially pleased with me right now.”
“Don’t worry about Andrew,” assured Ian. “I sent him a quick text last night and called him when I got up this morning. He doesn’t expect you in until Monday.”
She gaped at him in astonishment. “Um, what exactly did you tell him?”
He took her hand in his. “The truth, darling. All of it. No point in lying to him, he’s like a bloody hound dog sniffing out a clue at times. You can’t get anything by that boy, he’s far too clever for his own good.”
Tessa stared down into her mug. “He – he’s trustworthy, right? I mean, he won’t - ”
“He won’t say a word,” confirmed Ian. “Andrew has proven his loyalty to me – and to you, I might add – time and time again over the years. He might be a royal pain in the arse most of the time but there’s no denying his devotion.” He brought her hand to his lips. “And he’s very supportive of our relationship. Cheeky bastard actually had the nerve to tell me he’s known from the very beginning that I fancied you.”
In spite of herself, Tessa couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Well, not much gets past him, that’s for sure.”
Ian brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “I also told him to expect your resignation on his desk very soon. He’s not especially pleased about that, swears you’re the only truly dependable one among the team, but understands why it has to happen. And he’s quite happy that you’ll eventually be traveling with me as my PA. Of course, he has ulterior motives there.”
Tessa smiled. “It will save him some work, I’m sure. Work he can delegate to me.”
“Spot on, love.” He placed an arm around her shoulders, easing her head against his chest. “Are you up to talking about what happened last night, or do you need some time?”
She buried her face against his chest. “All the time in the world won’t make it easier, so I might as well get it over with. But before I do – how on earth did you happen to be there last night? Your flight wasn’t due in until this evening.”
Ian gently massaged the back of her neck, working on a stiff spot until she felt like purring. “The board meetings wrapped up a day earlier than expected. I confess to having pushed the agenda along a bit each day in the hopes that we could eliminate a day. I was desperate to see you by then, even by a few hours, and changed my flight. Which turned out to be the flight from hell.”
Tessa listened in sympathy as he told her about the mishaps he’d encountered during the flight – the long delay for takeoff, more turbulence than expected, the cramped seat in coach, his noisy neighbors.
“None of that matters,” he told her firmly. “I’d have flown home in an aircraft carrier or on a World War I prop plane in order to see you a day early. The only thing I really curse is the delay in leaving London. If we’d taken off on time I would have been able to pick you up and have you here at the house well before the fire started.”
She shrugged. “In the end, does it really matter? Whether I was there or not, all of my things were destroyed. Again.”
He twirled a loose tendril of her hair around his finger. “At least you wouldn’t have experienced the trauma I’m certain you must have felt at running for your life. Can you tell me exactly what happened – how you got out?”
Tessa took a deep breath before nodding. “I’d gone to sleep a little earlier than normal. I – well, I figured the sooner I fell asleep the sooner it would be today when you’d be coming home. Silly, I know, but - ”
“No.” He kissed her cheek. “I was counting the hours until I could see you again, so I understand. Continue, love.”