His eyes suspiciously bright, Bastien lifted his wife with reverent hands and laid her back down very gently on the bed. ‘You need to rest,’ he said with conviction.
‘No, I need you,’ Lilah countered, her hand snatching at his to keep him close.
Bastien hung back a step. ‘If I join you on that bed, I’ll—’
His wife grinned at him, her heart racing, body thrumming. ‘Do you think I don’t know that? I’m throwing down a red carpet and a welcome mat.’
‘In that case...’ A wolfish smile tilted his beautiful mouth and he shed his jacket with fluid grace, all power and satisfaction. ‘Your wish is my command.’
‘Since when?’ Lilah quipped, unimpressed by that unlikely claim.
‘Since you told me that you love me.’
‘I do...’ Lilah sighed, breathing in the scent of him like an addict.
Bastien smoothed her hair back from her cheekbone, his burnished dark golden eyes brilliant. ‘I really do love you, Delilah...’
Lilah put her sultry mouth to his and slow-burning heat rose inside her, as potent as the happiness she was barely able to contain. Her future was filled with Bastien and the promise of a family, and she was overjoyed by the knowledge.
EPILOGUE
Three years later
LILAH SMOOTHED DOWN her print sundress and studied the sapphire and diamond eternity ring Bastien had given her to celebrate their son’s birth. Nikos was a lively toddler, with a shock of black hair and his mother’s bright blue eyes. He was also a wonderfully affectionate child, and revelled in the attention he received from his father, who was determined to give his son a secure and loving childhood.
So much had changed during the past three years. Their home base was a London town house, but whenever they needed some downtime from their busy lives they flew out to the chateau in Provence.
The big house was the perfect base for family get-togethers, and Lilah’s father, stepmother and siblings were regular visitors. Robert Moore was still running Moore Components, which had gone from strength to strength, expanding to facilitate the number of orders it was receiving.
Within weeks of Anatole’s heart attack Bastien and Lilah had celebrated a second wedding in Provence—a church ceremony, attended by all their family, and followed by a lively party at the chateau.
For a while afterwards Lilah had worked with Bastien as one of his PAs, and that had enabled the couple to spend more time together—particularly when he was travelling a lot. Since their son’s birth, however, Bastien had consolidated the various elements of his business empire to enable him to travel less and spend more time with his family.
Grace and Leo had also become steady visitors. It had taken a long time, but Leo and Bastien had finally bonded as the brothers they were. Marina had told Leo the truth about the termination, and Leo had come to see Bastien to mend fences the same day on which Lilah had discovered she was pregnant.
Prompted by Grace and Lilah, who got on like a house on fire, the two families had enjoyed several vacations together, both on Leo’s yacht and at the chateau.
Following his heart attack Anatole had lost a good deal of weight, in order to improve his health. He adored his grandchildren, and was a regular visitor to both London and Provence, but his wife, Cleta, almost never accompanied him on those visits. The pleasure Anatole received from seeing his sons finally treat each other like brothers had touched Lilah’s heart.
‘Sorry I’m late...’ Bastien groaned from the doorway, already in the act of peeling off his shirt to head for the shower. ‘Nikos and Skippy caught me on the way in and I’ve been playing ball. Leo has taken my place, even though Rosie has told us that kicking balls is “a stupid boy thing”.’
Lilah laughed, because Grace’s daughter was extremely clever for her age and often amused the adults with the things she came out with.
She crossed the room to help Bastien unbutton his shirt. ‘Happy birthday,’ she told him softly. ‘Fancy some company in the shower?’
‘Is that my birthday present?’ Bastien asked hopefully.
Lilah stripped off her dress where she stood, reaching round to unhook her bra. ‘No, it’s just a surprise. You’ve been away for three days and I missed you.’
‘Missed you too,’ Bastien groaned, dropping his shirt to reach for her warm slender body. ‘You’ll get your hair wet.’
‘I’ll put it up...’
Lilah moaned under the urgent onslaught of his passionate kiss, sensible matters like her appearance dwindling in importance when it came to reconnecting with Bastien.
‘I told Leo we’d be a while,’ Bastien confessed.
‘Fancied your chances, did you?’
‘Always, hara mou,’ Bastien husked, fighting free of his clothes without once letting go of his wife.
And the passion that never failed to enthral them when they had been apart reigned supreme until they lay in the lazy aftermath, wrapped in each other’s arms and catching up on stray bits of news while simply revelling in being together again.
‘I love you,’ Lilah sighed.
‘I love you more,’ Bastien murmured, ever competitive.