The Wrong Sister(68)
“I love you back,” she declared. Then she dropped her voice to an embarrassed murmur. “And I loved you first. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but the instant I saw you I was jealous of Jan.”
She saw his eyes widen with surprise.
“And when you kissed me on the dance-floor...”
“When did I kiss you?”
“When we stopped dancing.”
He shook his head slightly.
“Just a little ‘hello’ kind of kiss,” she hastened to assure him. “But I fell for you a bit more then. And every time I saw you since, I fell harder.”
“How could I forget kissing you?” he demanded.
“Of course you would. You’d just married Jan. Like I said, it was only a ‘hello new sister’ kiss.”
“Hello,” he said, and bent lower. “New fiancée.” He took her mouth in a kiss that would have scandalized every guest at the wedding.
“New fiancée...” she murmured eventually. “I like the sound of that.”
“New wife sounds even better to me,” he said, reversing their positions and pillowing her head on his chest.
“As soon as my contract ends I’ll come home to you and Nicky. That’ll be seven months after Jan,” she added softly. “It feels like forever, but people will still talk.”
“People can yell for all I care. If they’re so narrow-minded they’re no friends of mine.”
“Or mine,” she agreed, turning her face to bite his dark nipple. She teased it with her tongue and felt the little peak rise up.
“Stop that—I’m trying to be serious here,” he protested. “This morning we’ll go shopping for an engagement ring—yes? An emerald to match your eyes?”
Fiona released his flesh with a small gasp of surprise.
“Chris, that mightn’t be so easy. We could wait until I get back to New Zealand?”
“All sorted, Blondie. The hotel manager assures me the arcades of Piazza San Marco have enough jewelry to kit out the entire A-list of Europe.”
“A engagement ring from Venice. Really?”
He found her other hand beneath the bedcovers and drew it out so he could kiss her palm. She traced the pad of her thumb across his dark morning stubble.
“You have no idea how much I love you,” he added. “How you fascinate me. How I’ve had to try and stay away from you as the years went by.”
She opened her mouth to protest at that but he laid a finger on her lips to silence her.
“You must have known? Jan was the love of my life, the mother of my child, but you were the spark which ignited something else entirely. So yes—I stayed away from you.”
“Until the cottage.”
“Until the cottage,” he agreed. “And since then...”
“I know. Five days of paradise and then months of hell. And more to follow.”
“Not so much more. Two months? Unless you want to re-negotiate your contract? Are you sure you want to give up your jet-setting life? Your parents were speechless when I stopped in at Auckland and showed them my letter.”
Fiona’s eyes sparkled with amusement. She pushed herself up until she could gaze down at him.
“Fancy getting rid of their son-in-law and then finding they had him back again for another go!”
A sleepy smile played about his lips but his dark eyes still held questions.
“Christian darling,” she whispered. “I love you. I want to share your life and your daughter. Hopefully give you a son. I’d leave my beautiful boat for your collection of old cars any day.”
PROLOGUE
July
When Christian carried her through the front door of their cliff-top home, Fiona’s heart flipped.
“You’ve framed Jan’s letter! Chris—that’s too public.”
He set her down, but kept an arm around her waist.
“I’ve had it framed for Nicky. We’ll hang it in her room once she’s old enough to read it, but in the meantime it’ll stop a few tongues from wagging.”
Silently they read the loving words that had set the seal on their golden future together:
My darling Christian,
I can’t bear to say goodbye with your lovely eyes watching me.
You’ll find these letters when the time is right, and know that I love you totally. You know that anyway. You and Nicky have made me complete. I’m so happy to have had you both in my life.
Things are getting bad now, and I need to say this while I still can. I’ve had lots of time to just lie here and think. I’m thinking about you and Fiona. You love her I’m sure. You’ve been careful to stay away from her and not hurt me. Thank-you for doing that. Your sense of honor is so strong.