When she looked up to thank Mack, however, she thought she caught a flicker of disappointment in Tessa's eyes. But the expression was gone so quickly she couldn't be certain.
"You'd better check all the pockets," Tessa said with a smile. "That designer puts in dozens of little dividers, and you never know what Mack might have tucked in." She picked up the bag and frowned at the plain gold clasp. "You didn't even have it monogrammed, Mack."
"No time, I'm afraid," Mack said easily. "Wendy can take it in at her leisure."
After I decide what initials to put on it, Wendy thought. She noticed that Elinor was trying to hide a smile.
Rory got hold of the high-tech teddy bear which John and Tessa had given her and accidentally poked its control buttons. The teddy began to talk, which scared her, and she started to wail.
At least the screaming took Tessa's attention off the handbag.
Breakfast was a buffet affair, with someone jumping up every third minute to get another roll or piece of bacon, and drifting from one room to another with plates and sometimes gifts in hand. Wendy stayed in the breakfast room where it was a little quieter and mashed a banana for Rory's breakfast. With all the excitement, however, by the time the baby finished eating she had smeared fruit from hair to toes, and she needed a bath and a full change of clothes.
When Wendy came downstairs again with Rory once more clean and neat, the house was quiet. Mitch was in the drawing room, starting to lay out the pieces of a three-dimensional wooden jigsaw puzzle on a card table. Rory stared at the intriguing shapes, her eyes wide.
"Don't get ideas about my puzzle," Mitch growled at her. "It's the only toy Santa left for me this morning. You got zillions."
Rory giggled, till he handed her the high-tech teddy bear. Then she buried her face in Wendy's shoulder and refused to look.
Mitch tossed the bear behind the nearest chair and picked up the new woolly lamb which Wendy had brought with her, already wrapped, from Phoenix. He stroked the soft fur against Rory's cheek, and soon she was laughing at him again.
That toy had looked awfully simple against the piles of loot this morning, Wendy thought, but her judgment had been confirmed after all. The knowledge soothed her heart. "Where is everybody?" she asked.
Mitch grinned. "You mean Mack?"
Wendy tried not to turn pink, but it was a lost cause. And it was true she was looking for Mack, even if not quite for the reasons Mitch had in mind. "You can start with him, if you like."
"He went down to the gym."
"On Christmas?" Wendy's voice was little more than a squeak. What kind of health club would be open on the holiday? "Did he say when he'll be back?"
Mitch had turned back to his puzzle. "Whenever he gets tired, I suppose. Why don't you go ask him? It's just downstairs."
Wendy didn't know why that announcement should have surprised her. Nothing else about this house was quite like usual, so why shouldn't it have a built-in gymnasium in the cellar as well?
It wasn't really a cellar, though; it had a swimming pool, too, which looked out through a glass wall over a rock garden at the back of the house. The gym was a more exclusive and better-equipped exercise room than some of the health clubs she'd seen. There was a weight-lifting bench, a pair of stationary bikes, a cross-country ski machine, and a whole lot of other equipment she'd never seen the like of before and had no idea how to use.
Mack was using the rowing machine. His tanned shoulders were damp with perspiration, and his muscles flexed admirably as he pulled at the oars. His knees were bare too; Wendy wondered for one fleeting moment if he was wearing anything at all. Then she caught a glimpse of red exercise shorts and relaxed.
When he saw her, his stroke slowed to an easy halt and he stood up and reached for a towel. "I can tell by the twin wide-eyed stares that I look pretty silly," he said.
Silly wasn't the word Wendy would have chosen. His shorts were brief all right, but no more so than some swimsuits she'd seen, and his body was a whole lot better than most on the beach, with a trim waistline, lean hips, and just the right sprinkling of hair on his chest.... Was it warmer down here than in the rest of the house, or was it just her imagination? "I thought you'd disappeared."
"Sorry to make you come looking for me. I expected to be done by the time Rory's bath was finished. Shall we go somewhere more comfortable?"
"I think we need to really talk."
One eyebrow lifted just a little. "In that case, if you don't mind, let's stay here. We're less likely to be interrupted."
She looked around the room. "Are you the only one who uses this?"
"We all do, now and then. It was installed for Mother when her arthritis was first diagnosed, but in the last few years the doctors have discouraged her from anything but very gentle exercise, so she doesn't spend much time here." He pulled on a sweatshirt, then mopped his face with his towel and slung it around his neck.
Rory babbled something nonsensical, dropped her stuffed lamb, and held out her arms to Mack, who took her. "How much does she weigh?" he asked.
"About fifteen pounds."
"Ah, just right, and much more fun than lifting barbells." He lay down on the weight-lifting bench and gently raised Rory till she was suspended at arms' length, then lowered her to his chest again. She giggled at him, intrigued with this new game.
"I know this is sudden, Wendy." Mack wasn't looking at her. "I didn't intend to push it so soon, and I have no intention of rushing you into a decision. But I know how much it's bothered you not to have Rory's future settled. It's bothered me too. So here we are with a choice to make."
Wendy cleared her throat. "It's a big one." Funny; that wasn't what she'd intended to say.
"Yes, it is." Mack sat up and drew one foot up on the bench, perching Rory on his knee. "I'm not asking for a commitment for just a few months, or even a few years."
"This is forever." Despite her best efforts, Wendy's voice trembled.
"Well – that might be just a bit excessive." He sounded as if he was trying to be reassuring.
Wendy hadn't considered it before, but even though the prospect seemed light-years away just now, Rory would grow up. One day she would be a teenager, a college student, and then a young woman on her own, with a job and perhaps eventually a family. Somewhere during those years, it would no longer matter if the people who raised her were still any kind of partners at all. "Yes, of course."
"But you're right that it's very serious," Mack went on. His voice was level. "It would be far too hard on Rory if in a few years either of us decided we couldn't make a go of it. So if you have any doubts, Wendy, now's the time to explore them."
"Doubts?" She took a deep breath. "All right. What about my career, Mack?"
"You won't need to work."
"But what if I want to? Not right away, I mean, but later. Just now it's like a dream come true not to be pulled in two directions – but once Rory's in school, I'll have a lot of time on my hands."
He flicked a glance at her. There was something in his eyes which Wendy couldn't quite identify – it wasn't resentment, or anger, or irritation. Was it curiosity, perhaps?
"I like my work, Mack. I've never intended to give it up, no matter what else my life held."
"If you want to work later, that's fine with me. I don't have any fear of Rory being left out or neglected, no matter what you choose to do with your time." He didn't look at her. "If you're worried about money … "
"I wasn't, particularly."
"I intend a full partnership there, too. What's mine is yours and all that stuff."
Wendy was startled. Of course, Mack would expect her appearance to reflect favorably on him; she had anticipated that he would give her some sort of allowance to take care of her personal needs, and perhaps to run the household. But she hadn't expected more than that. "That's... very generous."
"Anything else?"
She considered, and shook her head.
"You realize that part of the promise I'm asking you to make is for complete loyalty."
Wendy looked at him for a long moment. "No messing around with men, you mean? Faithfulness?"
"If you want to call it that."
Her face colored a little. The concept of fidelity implied that there was a sexual relationship to be faithful to, and Mack was making it clear that was hardly the case here. Still, that was exactly what he was asking for, even if the request was not for his own sake but for Rory's. If Wendy had a flaming affair – or for that matter even a discreet one – the child would be affected.