Since I Saw You (33 page)

FOUR MONTHS LATER
BELFORD HALL, ENGLAND

L
in knocked on the carved walnut door and entered when she heard the soft “Come in.” A smile spread across her face. Francesca lay propped against the pillows in the four-poster bed holding a white-blanketed bundle in her arms. Morning sunlight streamed through the windows. She’d just learned from Ian’s grandmother, Anne, that Francesca and Ian had been up much of the night with their new baby. Apparently, the baby had finally succumbed to sleep. Francesca looked very tired, but sublimely happy as she shared Lin’s smile.

“Anne told me to come on up,” Lin said in a hushed tone. “I saw Ian downstairs. He said he’d be right in with the bassinet so you can rest. He looked
so
happy.” She peered down at the bundle and saw the infant’s face. His hair was dark, like Ian’s, and he was fast asleep.

“Meet James Patrick Noble,” Francesca whispered. “He seems to have finally figured out sleep is a good thing.”

“He’s beautiful, Francesca.”

Francesca smiled as she looked down at her son. “He looks like his father. Lucky boy.”

“What color are his eyes?”

“Dark blue, but Anne says they might change.”

“Kam was struck dumb for I don’t know how long when he found out you gave James his middle name,” Lin said quietly, stepping back. She glanced around when she saw Ian walking into the room, carrying a white bassinet. He wore jeans and a shadow of whiskers on his jaw. Like his wife, he looked tired but happy.

“We wanted to give him a true family name,” Ian murmured, setting down the basket a few feet away from Francesca. “Since Elise and Lucien are his godparents, we thought we’d commemorate Grandfather and Kam by giving him their names.”

“Kam is so honored. Seriously,” she whispered, giving Francesca a significant glance. “Even though he hardly has said anything about it, I can tell by the sound of his voice whenever we talk about James.”

“I know,” Francesca said. “I saw his expression when he was at the hospital right after James was born and we told him.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it for the birth,” Lin apologized to both of them. “It was a rotten time to be halfway across the world.”

“You’re here now. Thank you for coming,” Francesca said sincerely.

“Kam says you snagged Reardon another valuable contract with Haru Incorporated,” Ian said quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking Francesca’s blanket-covered thigh and peering down at James. Lin recalled how she’d seen a whole new expression on his face when he’d fallen in love with Francesca, and how she’d felt glad for his happiness after so much loneliness and pain in his life. Here was yet another expression as Ian looked at his son, one of deep love and profound contentment.

Lin nodded. “And just in time, with our first shipment of watches going out in two weeks. We needed the extra capital with a royalty contract. It’s all happened so fast,” she said, referring to the launching of Kam’s business.
Their
business, since she’d decided to take Kam up on his offer several months ago and become his business partner as well as his romantic one.

“Kam couldn’t have done it without you,” Ian said. “Trust me, I know from experience.”

Lin laughed softly. “You’re doing just fine without me. Don’t make me feel guilty.”

“Don’t you
dare
feel guilty,” Francesca whispered, giving Ian a repressive glance. He gave his wife a small smile.

“She knows I’m kidding,” Ian rumbled. “I wouldn’t have let her go without a fight to anyone but Kam. She’s still in the family, so I’ll have to settle for that.”

“Kam is so happy,” Francesca told Lin earnestly. “I’ve never seen a man so energized and purposeful about his work—especially since you two have undertaken this huge task of starting a company and all that implies—and yet so at peace with his personal life as well. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

“He only scowls in his sleep and at dinner parties these days. I actually saw him smile at a waiter while we were in London last week,” Ian mused.

Lin smiled, warmed by hearing the couple speak of Kam’s happiness. She and Kam had been living together at Aurore Manor for ten weeks now, although both of them were often traveling on business. Lin had to agree with Francesca’s assessment of Kam’s happiness. She shared in it fully, so who knew better than her?

Francesca shifted James in her arms. “Let’s put him down. I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open,” she said, transferring the bundle to Ian. Ian took his son and stood.

“Are you sure you don’t want Melina to put him to sleep in the nursery?” Ian asked quietly, referring, Lin knew, to their newly hired nanny. “You could sleep uninterrupted that way.”

“No, no,” Francesca insisted, shaking her head. “It’s too soon.”

Lin smiled, understanding her. James was only three days old, after all. But if Lin had her guess, it’d be that Francesca had never fully warmed up to the idea of a nanny.

She secured her shoulder bag in preparation to leave. Francesca needed rest, and she was
very
eager to return to Aurore and Kam.

“You shouldn’t have made a special trip to Belford Hall, Lin. Kam says you two haven’t seen each other for nine days,” Francesca said tiredly.

Lin walked over to the bassinet and got another look at James before she departed. “I wanted to come and see James first. I’m glad I did. He’s amazing, you guys. Besides,” she said, turning to the couple, “this way, Kam and I can settle down at Aurore for the calm before the storm when production begins in two weeks. We have an anniversary tonight.”

“Really? Which one?” Francesca asked.

“Four months.”

“Four months since . . .”

“We first saw each other,” Lin gave a rueful smile. She knew how idiotic these little rituals might seem to a more established couple. “According to Kam, it was all there in that first look, the seeds of everything,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks heating.

“He gets that eloquent with you?” Ian asked, looking pleased and amused at once.

“You have no idea,” Lin assured with a grin.

•   •   •

Lin drove up the long, wooded drive to Aurore. She’d told Kam she had some errands she wanted to do before returning home, so he reluctantly had agreed not to pick her up at the airport. She’d made good time, though, and was home an hour earlier than she’d told Kam to expect her.

The sun had already set, even though it was only a little after five. After her flight to France, she’d stopped in the village to pick up some needed supplies at the grocer, and then gone to retrieve her prearranged gift for Kam. Even though the woods were barren with winter cold, Aurore Manor looked warm and inviting when she pulled up in the circular drive before the large house. She’d ordered some greenery for Christmas, and it looked cheerful along with a lush wreath on the front door. Golden light spilled from several windows. She saw the compact car owned by Madame Morisot—their new housekeeper—parked behind Kam’s sedan farther down the drive.

Grinning like an idiot, she retrieved her soft little gift, juggling her shoulder bag and the sack of supplies. She’d get her suitcase later. She couldn’t wait to give him his gift, but she mostly burned to see him. It’d been
way
too long.

Madame Morisot had on her coat and was walking down the lit hall when Lin entered. Her eyes sprung wide when she saw what Lin carried in her cradled arm.

“Shhh,” Lin said, laughing under her breath. “It’s a surprise. Where is he?”

“He’s upstairs cleaning up for dinner,” Madame Morisot said in her thickly accented English. They both were distracted by the sound of Angus’s jingling collar as she raced down the hall.

“Hi, girl,” Lin greeted the excited dog. When Madame Morisot saw her struggling to be able to pet the golden retriever, she relieved her of her bags. “I have dinner ready and warming in the oven,” the housekeeper said, setting down Lin’s bags on an entryway table. “I was about ready to go home, I hope that’s all right. I think Mr. Reardon wants you to himself tonight,” Madame Morisot said with a sly glance.

“Yes, thank you for getting supper ready. We’ll be fine.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night,” Lin called. She shut the door and locked it behind their housekeeper. Kneeling next to the grocery bag, she extracted a carton of milk, her heart bounding so fast, she was probably off the charts on her Reardon watch.

The thick new carpets muted her footsteps as she rose up the stairs. She opened the door to their bedroom softly, peering into the hushed interior. It was empty, but the bathroom door was slightly ajar.

“Not tonight, girl,” she whispered in apology to a panting Angus. She shut the door with the dog on the other side of it. There was a crackling fire in the hearth. She smiled, her excitement mounting, when she tiptoed toward the bathroom and noticed champagne chilling in an ice bucket and two flutes sitting on the bedside table.

Kam walked out of the bathroom wearing a dark blue towel wrapped low around his hips, his taut muscles and skin sheened with moisture from his shower. His dark hair was wet and finger combed back in thick waves. Her body stirred. He looked delicious. Edible.
God
, she’d missed him. He did a double take when he saw her. He went still, a smile starting on his mouth.

“Surprise,” she said, holding up the kitten.

He focused on the wriggling, gray fur ball. Lin waited anxiously. She wasn’t entirely sure he’d like her gift. His smile slowly spread all the way to his eyes. Without speaking, he walked over to her and took her into his arms. She pressed against his warm, hard body, the kitten and the carton of milk between them. He caught her mouth with his in a kiss that made her feel like a knot had just been tugged tight at her core. She blinked up at him dazedly when he lifted his head a moment later.

“We are
not
going to be apart for this many days again, I don’t care how important the business is,” he declared with a dark scowl, kneading her shoulders. “Six days,
tops
.” She leaned down and pressed her face to his chest, inhaling his delicious scent running her lips over his hard muscle and crisp hair.

“I love you, too,” she whispered against his skin.

“No.
Five
,” Kam continued. “Four at the absolute most, and then only three or four times a year.” She licked at him delicately, starved for his taste. His grip tightened on her shoulders. “Two times a year, if that.”

She met his stare and smiled. “I missed you, too.”

“Agree to it,” he insisted fiercely.

“I agree,” she said without hesitation.

His frown faded, that appreciative gleam she cherished so much entering his eyes as his gaze ran over her face. “Business just isn’t that important. Never as important as this,” he said gruffly, brushing her jaw with his fingertip.

“I told you I agree,” she said, going up on her toes and pressing her lips to his. She coaxed them into softening. “I’m a reformed woman these days when it comes to work, you know that.”

The kitten meowed loudly. Kam glanced down. His smile dawned to full radiance, brilliant and sexy as hell. He took the squirming kitten from her.

“Do you like him?” she asked hopefully.

Kam held up the little feline in front of his face, examining it intently. He was so big and rugged, and the kitten was so tiny and delicate. The sight caused her heart to squeeze tight in her chest. He lowered the wiggling kitten and cradled it against his broad chest, petting it with two large fingers.

“I do. It’s a him?” he asked.

Lin nodded. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find a chocolate-colored one, but the good news is that Angus already approves of this little guy,” she said, stepping forward to join him in petting and admiring the kitten. She explained how before she had left for Japan, she’d taken the golden retriever for a viewing of the litter at a residence in town. Angus had seemed especially patient with this one, and so she’d based her decision on that.

Kam caught her eye. “You always think of everything, don’t you?”

She shrugged.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, his gratitude clear. He knew she’d hated what he’d revealed to her about his childhood pet and his father’s cruelty. He knew she wished more than anything that she could make it better, even if she couldn’t ever erase those hurtful memories completely. This was their home now. Not Trevor Gaines’s. Lin would
make
it so.

“We’ll call him Marque,” Kam said, reaching for the milk she still clutched in the crook of her arm. “It means ‘hallmark’ in French, and he’s a hallmark of a special night. For several reasons, I hope,” she heard him say under his breath.

Lin followed him when he walked over to the sitting area before the lazily crackling fire and picked up a shallow, decorative porcelain bowl sitting on the coffee table. When he placed it on the mantel, she helped him open the carton. He poured the milk into it and bent, placing it several feet away from the hearth. Marque immediately began lapping at it when Kam set him gently down next to the bowl. He straightened, his side pressing against hers.

“I thought we could keep him in the back room until he’s trained,” Lin said quietly as they watched the kitten drink eagerly. “It’s nice and warm in there, and it’s not carpeted, so cleanups wouldn’t be too bad.”

“All right. Just leave him to his dinner for now, though,” Kam said, standing and taking her hand. “You and I have an overdue appointment over here,” he said, leading Lin to the bed.

•   •   •

They made love not once, but twice, in quick succession, their need for one another sharp and swelling after being apart for so many days. Afterward, Lin nestled contentedly in the curve of Kam’s encircling arm, her cheek resting on his shoulder, his fingers furrowing through her hair.

“Marque is fast asleep,” she murmured after a moment. She could see across the suite in this position. The kitten had curled up at the outer edge of the marble hearth, undoubtedly made drowsy by his milk and the warmth of the fire.

“Are you tired?” he asked, his roughened, quiet voice like a gentle, arousing scratch on her nape. “You’ve been traveling for twenty-plus hours.”