Splendor(141)
“Care to share the joke, or is it a private one?” drawled Ian in amusement. His arm circled Tessa’s shoulder, his fingers splayed over the bare, warm flesh of her arm. He felt the little shimmer of awareness that traveled through her body and he smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Nathan and Julia were holding hands, clearly as enamored with each other as he and Tessa were. Nathan indicated his head toward the bottle of champagne Ian had ordered – a particularly fine vintage of Perrier Jouet.
“I was just reminding my lovely fiancée here that we happened to be drinking the exact same champagne on the night of our first – uh, I guess you could call it a date,” shrugged Nathan.
Ian smiled and offered up his flute in a silent toast. “Well, I’m very glad I chose something that brought back happy memories for you.”
Nathan grinned, his fingers brushing against the nape of Julia’s neck. “Julia loves champagne, don’t you, baby? Especially when she’s in the mood to be sed- ”
Julia clamped a hand over Nathan’s mouth. “Don’t you dare. Behave yourself, Nathan Atwood. You’re going to embarrass me in front of Ian and Tessa.”
Nathan winked knowingly at Ian. “Nothing either of them hasn’t heard before, baby. Besides, it’s pretty obvious they’re as crazy about each other as you and I are.”
Ian caught and held Tessa’s gaze, smiling as he noticed the becoming blush on her cheeks, and the way she shyly returned his smile. “I am crazy about her,” he murmured huskily. “I waited a very long time for this woman, but it was well worth it.”
A hint of tears shimmered in Tessa’s eyes as she touched his cheek. “And I’m crazy about you, too,” she whispered. “Happy birthday, my love.”
He gave her a sweet, soft kiss, then glanced up to find Julia’s smiling gaze upon them. He was somewhat surprised to realize Julia’s green eyes were also shiny with unshed tears.
“Oh, you two are so perfect together,” she murmured. “And it’s so romantic how Ian waited for you, Tessa, how he didn’t want anyone else if he couldn’t have you.” She reached up and pressed a kiss to Nathan’s cheek. “I know the feeling.”
“Jesus, you’re going to make me cry in a minute with all this sappy stuff,” grumbled Nathan. “I’ve got a much better idea – more champagne all around.”
Everyone laughed as Nathan refilled their flutes, and the subject was changed. They headed to dinner shortly thereafter, being shown to the best table in the place. There were, after all, a great many perks to being the owner of this hotel – and therefore the restaurant – and this was definitely one time Ian was more than content to avail himself.
It was a wonderful evening all around, and Ian was hard pressed to remember a night when he’d enjoyed himself so much. Nathan and Julia were delightful company, and it was obvious that Tessa felt very comfortable in their presence. She was far more outgoing and talkative tonight than he’d ever seen her, and it made his heart sing to see her so happy and relaxed. Of course, he’d been plying her with a tad more wine than she normally drank while still taking care to make sure she didn’t overindulge. Getting her tipsy was one thing – there was no way he’d permit her to get drunk. Not on his bloody fortieth birthday, when he was extremely optimistic that she would feel like celebrating in private once they finished dinner.
But there was no denying the obvious benefits of loosening up his shy little love just a bit. Not only did she appear to be greatly enjoying herself – laughing and giggling like a young woman of her age ought to be doing – but she was also extremely affectionate, even more so than usual. He absolutely adored all of the little ways she kept touching him – a soft caress on his cheek, the way she would rest her golden head on his shoulder, how she would slip her arm through his and hug it against her breast. In his life, Ian had always been extremely reserved, even standoffish, and he couldn’t recall ever showing real affection towards a woman in public before Tessa. He knew he gave off the impression of being a rather cold, unfeeling bastard – an image he’d admittedly worked very hard to cultivate. But anyone seeing him here tonight with his beloved girl would never believe he was that same formal, proper man, the one who would never dream of kissing a young, gorgeous blonde in front of dozens of other diners.
His own father, in fact, had been in utter disbelief when he’d heard about Ian’s very new and very beautiful traveling companion slash assistant. After visiting the hotel in Naples, Florida, Ian knew it would only be a matter of time before he heard from Edward. The manager of the Naples property was a very ambitious younger man by the name of Rodney Horton. He was also a former protégé of Edward’s, having worked at the home office in London for several years, and was especially loyal to the elder Gregson. Ian had been well aware from the moment he’d walked into the hotel with Tessa at his side that Rodney would waste precious little time in updating Edward about this extremely interesting development.