Adams finally broke the curse in the parking lot behind the
bowling alley.”
“It sounds very romantic.”
“I wish it was. His braces snagged in my hair when he tried to
kiss my ear, and we never really made it back from that.”
He laughed. “I can’t picture you as a gawky teen.”
“Please don’t. It wasn’t a pretty picture. I’m so much happier
as a grown-up. And I’m totally over my first ambition of being an air force
pilot.”
He lifted a brow. “What happened?”
She grinned. “I don’t like being told what to do, so I’m
definitely better off being self-employed.”
“And how many children?” His heart pumped almost audibly. He
knew they were talking about their future, the one they’d share. He could feel
it as easily as he could feel the heat from her skin warming his own.
“Hmm. I have two younger brothers, and I admit there were times
when I wished I was an only child. But in retrospect I have to agree that three
is a nice, round number. An heir and a spare and plenty of room for someone to
be the black sheep.” She grinned.
“See? I knew there was a good reason for me picking three. We
agree on a lot of things.” A warm silence, pregnant with possibilities,
stretched between them. But it still wasn’t the time. They were building toward
it, step by step, as the pharaohs had built the pyramids. Better to take it slow
and steady and make sure all the foundations were in place, than rush and
miscalculate and show up in the boardroom next Tuesday with no momentous news to
announce.
He wasn’t at all sure the deal with SK Industries that he’d
spent a year building would go through without his change of marital status. The
chairman of the board had expressed his strong disapproval that a man of James’s
age and status had no family to speak of and went home alone each night. James
might have ignored it if it wasn’t the fifth or sixth time he’d heard the same
thing—usually second- or third-hand—in the past year. And if he hadn’t started,
silently, to agree. “Three’s a perfect number. Or even four if the last one is a
set of twins.” He stroked her cheek.
“Now I’m starting to feel tired.” She smiled, resting her head
on his chest. He couldn’t believe how comfortable he felt with her, talking
about things he’d never discussed with anyone. It only strengthened his
conviction that Fiona was the one.
Now all he had to do was convince her of that.
* * *
Fiona woke in a dreamy state the next morning, one arm still
draped across James’s broad chest. What a night. James continued to surprise
her. She tried to remind herself that she was one in a long line of women he’d
seduced and bedded and was simply the latest victim of his charms. It was hard,
though. If she didn’t know better she’d almost think he really liked her.
They ate a leisurely breakfast together, then headed out for a
ride. She rode the adorable Taffy again, and James rode a majestic dark bay
called Solomon. They cantered across the green fields around the estate, slowing
to a walk as they left the manicured swards of grass and ventured out into the
rugged hills. Brown from a distance, up close the hills glittered with colorful
heather, in lavenders and pinks and whites, bursting with life under the bright
sky.
“This landscape is unbelievable.” She looked at James, who rode
along on a loose rein, looking every inch the dashing medieval prince. “How come
it’s not covered with tract homes, or shopping malls?”
He laughed. “Too remote. And the best thing about owning
everything the eye can see is that you can control its future.”
No doubt his modus operandi in the business world, as well.
“This mound dates back at least five thousand years.” He
steered his horse up a narrow track onto a swelling in the heather-clad terrain
that rose about twenty feet above the surrounding plain.
“Why was it built?”
“We don’t know. One of the many mysteries of this
bowling alley.”
“It sounds very romantic.”
“I wish it was. His braces snagged in my hair when he tried to
kiss my ear, and we never really made it back from that.”
He laughed. “I can’t picture you as a gawky teen.”
“Please don’t. It wasn’t a pretty picture. I’m so much happier
as a grown-up. And I’m totally over my first ambition of being an air force
pilot.”
He lifted a brow. “What happened?”
She grinned. “I don’t like being told what to do, so I’m
definitely better off being self-employed.”
“And how many children?” His heart pumped almost audibly. He
knew they were talking about their future, the one they’d share. He could feel
it as easily as he could feel the heat from her skin warming his own.
“Hmm. I have two younger brothers, and I admit there were times
when I wished I was an only child. But in retrospect I have to agree that three
is a nice, round number. An heir and a spare and plenty of room for someone to
be the black sheep.” She grinned.
“See? I knew there was a good reason for me picking three. We
agree on a lot of things.” A warm silence, pregnant with possibilities,
stretched between them. But it still wasn’t the time. They were building toward
it, step by step, as the pharaohs had built the pyramids. Better to take it slow
and steady and make sure all the foundations were in place, than rush and
miscalculate and show up in the boardroom next Tuesday with no momentous news to
announce.
He wasn’t at all sure the deal with SK Industries that he’d
spent a year building would go through without his change of marital status. The
chairman of the board had expressed his strong disapproval that a man of James’s
age and status had no family to speak of and went home alone each night. James
might have ignored it if it wasn’t the fifth or sixth time he’d heard the same
thing—usually second- or third-hand—in the past year. And if he hadn’t started,
silently, to agree. “Three’s a perfect number. Or even four if the last one is a
set of twins.” He stroked her cheek.
“Now I’m starting to feel tired.” She smiled, resting her head
on his chest. He couldn’t believe how comfortable he felt with her, talking
about things he’d never discussed with anyone. It only strengthened his
conviction that Fiona was the one.
Now all he had to do was convince her of that.
* * *
Fiona woke in a dreamy state the next morning, one arm still
draped across James’s broad chest. What a night. James continued to surprise
her. She tried to remind herself that she was one in a long line of women he’d
seduced and bedded and was simply the latest victim of his charms. It was hard,
though. If she didn’t know better she’d almost think he really liked her.
They ate a leisurely breakfast together, then headed out for a
ride. She rode the adorable Taffy again, and James rode a majestic dark bay
called Solomon. They cantered across the green fields around the estate, slowing
to a walk as they left the manicured swards of grass and ventured out into the
rugged hills. Brown from a distance, up close the hills glittered with colorful
heather, in lavenders and pinks and whites, bursting with life under the bright
sky.
“This landscape is unbelievable.” She looked at James, who rode
along on a loose rein, looking every inch the dashing medieval prince. “How come
it’s not covered with tract homes, or shopping malls?”
He laughed. “Too remote. And the best thing about owning
everything the eye can see is that you can control its future.”
No doubt his modus operandi in the business world, as well.
“This mound dates back at least five thousand years.” He
steered his horse up a narrow track onto a swelling in the heather-clad terrain
that rose about twenty feet above the surrounding plain.
“Why was it built?”
“We don’t know. One of the many mysteries of this
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