He kissed the top of her head. “Perhaps I should buy the house for you. Then we could come up here whenever we like.”
She laughed, convinced he was joking. “Don’t be silly. You already own a home.”
Ian smiled, brushing a loose strand of hair from her forehead. “Darling, many people own more than one home. My parents, for example, have a townhome in London, an estate out in Kent, an apartment in Paris, and a condo in Spain. Plus a share in the villa in Tuscany, of course.”
Tessa was wide-eyed in disbelief. “You’re really serious? That’s just – wow. How much money do they have anyway?”
He laughed in delight at her shock. “A lot. So do I, by the way. I could very easily afford to buy a house like this if that’s something you’d like, darling.”
She stared out at the water again. “Better not. If I knew I could wake up to this view every morning, I’d never want to leave here. And I think this would be just a little too over the top as a birthday gift. You’ve already given me way too many gifts, Ian.”
Since their arrival on Friday, he had left beautifully wrapped packages in various spots around the house for her to discover. He’d spoiled her rotten, of course, gifting her with clothing, lingerie, a pair of shoes, a new purse, jewelry. With each extravagant present, she had made him promise that this would be the last one, protesting that he’d gone overboard as usual.
He kissed her hand before rubbing his cheek against her palm. “There is just one more, love. And I saved the best for last.”
Tessa gave him a stern look. “You had better not have bought me that car you were talking about. I think driving your Mercedes around town will be just fine for me.”
Truth be told, she wasn’t very confident as yet about driving in San Francisco. The hills, narrow streets, and often nonexistent parking in the city made getting around much more difficult than it had back in Tucson. But since she couldn’t rely on Simon or take taxis to get her everywhere she needed to go – and since Ian wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her taking a bus – she had gradually started to drive again. He had given her the keys to his three year old Mercedes sedan, a car he claimed to rarely use since he preferred driving either the Range Rover or the Jaguar.
She’d been terrified of wrecking the expensive vehicle, a far more luxurious ride than the old compact Toyota she’d last driven in Tucson. But Ian had brushed aside her concerns carelessly, insisting she was doing him a favor by making sure the Mercedes got some use instead of sitting idle inside the garage.
“Ah, but as good as you look behind the wheel of the Benz, I think you’d be sexy as hell driving – let’s say a fire engine red Ferrari,” he teased.
Tessa gasped. “Oh, my, God, you are so not buying me a Ferrari! Or any car. Or one more thing, Ian. I mean it. Not a blouse or a pair of earrings or even a bra. Nothing. Do you understand?”
Ian grinned. “Yes, my feisty little birthday girl. But there is still one more present left. Relax – this one didn’t cost very much at all. And I think you’ll like it a lot.”
Her curiosity was piqued as he led her back inside the house. They had breakfast first, a simple meal of granola, fruit and tea. Ian cleaned up the few dishes, still refusing to let her do any work this weekend, and then brought out a modestly sized box. This one was as beautifully wrapped as all the others had been and she eyed the box suspiciously.
“If it’s more clothes, I’ll tell you right now they’re going back.”
He smiled at her indulgently. “It’s not. And you won’t want to return this. Open it, darling.”
She unwrapped the box slowly, lifting the lid, and then stared down at the contents in stunned disbelief. She would never in a million years have ever thought she’d receive a gift quite like this one, and her hand was shaking as she slowly withdrew one of the three items.
“My mother’s books.” Her voice was unsteady as she held one of the volumes with reverence, as though she were afraid it would disappear. “My God, Ian, where in the world did you find these?”
“I know several rare book dealers, both here in the States and in other parts of the world,” he replied quietly. “I’ve had every one of them on the lookout for these for some time now. They were able to locate three of the four books your mother had published, and one of the dealers may have a lead on the fourth. Do you like them, Tessa?”
She hadn’t known she was crying until she raised her gaze to his and he wiped away a tear. “This – this is the most wonderful thing you’ve ever done for me,” she told him brokenly. “I had nothing – nothing – of my mother’s. We moved around so much that we always had to leave things behind. And the few remaining items I had of hers burned in the fire. The first fire. All I really had left was one very old photo of her in my wallet. And, well, the second fire took that away. So, yes – I adore them. And I adore you for giving me this.”