Yuletide Treasure by Andrea Kane Page B

her.” Eric gave a hollow laugh. “The irony was that the urgent business that summoned me away and gave Liza the opportunity to escape turned out to be an announcement from my solicitor. One of my ventures had reaped an enormous profit. I’d recouped my fortune, plus some. Had Liza waited one day longer, she’d have been a rich woman again, and Noelle would have had a mother.”
    â€œYes, but what kind of mother?” Brigitte demanded. “One who would forsake her own child? Eric, consider what you’re saying. Your reasons for relinquishing Noelle were entirely different from Liza’s. Yours were selfless; you were recoiling in pain and thought yourself incapable of giving Noelle what she needed. Liza’s were not merely selfish but downright cold-blooded; she chose to sever all ties with her newborn babe in pursuit of an unencumbered and exciting life. How can you compare the two?” Saying a silent prayer, Brigitte fought to recapture all her husband had lost. “Eric, you said I was wrong, that if I truly knew who you were I’d feel differently than I do. Well, I wasn’t and I don’t. You didn’t create Liza’s character; she was born with it. Your only sin was to love her—which is no sin at all. You’ve condemned yourself to an undeserved hell and, in the process, deprived yourself of the one true treasure Liza did create.”
    â€œNoelle,” Eric supplied, the lines of tension about his mouth easing ever so slightly. “She is quite a character, isn’t she?”
    â€œShe’s rare and special. I know it—and so do you. What’s more, other than their physical resemblance, she’s as unlike Liza as day and night. Noelle is sensitive and exuberant, bursting with life and laughter. And love. Love she’s aching to give—and to receive. She needs a real parent, Eric, one? whose heart is worthy enough to embrace her. She needs you. What’s more, you need her.” Brigitte reached up, her fingertips gently stroking his lips. “It’s time, Eric,” she stated softly. “The past is gone. And the future could be filled with such wonder.”
    â€œBrigitte.” Eric’s breath warmed her skin. “You almost make me believe miracles are possible.”
    â€œThey are—if you allow them to be.”
    He captured her palm, pressed it to his lips. “Have you any idea how precious you are?”
    Gazing up at her husband, Brigitte abruptly realized that, in the end, Liza had lost. For there in Eric’s eyes was a rekindling of the very blessing Brigitte believed had been wrested away five years ago.
    Hope.
    â€œI love you,” she breathed, somehow needing to say the words again.
    Eric exhaled sharply, his hand trembling over Brigitte’s. “You said earlier that our physical joining meant everything to you,” he said, his voice hoarse with feeling. “It meant everything to me as well.”
    Brigitte gave him a small, tremulous smile. “Not merely lust then?”
    â€œNot lust at all. Love. I love you, Brigitte—more than I can say. More than I ever believed possible.” Profound emotion slashed across his face, echoing in Brigitte’s heart. “When you fell sick—Christ, I was terrified. Then I couldn’t seem to bring down the fever. Not until tonight. It’s been three days, and you’ve done nothing but fade in and out of sleep, rambling on about being in heaven.”
    â€œI was. Because you were beside me.”
    A muscle worked in Eric’s jaw. “I was frantic. I paced. I swore. I even prayed.” His fingers tightened around hers. “I’d only just found you. I couldn’t— can’t— lose you.”
    â€œNor will you.” Brigitte wanted to shout her joy to the skies. “Not now. Not ever.”
    â€œEven Noelle was alarmed, and you know she’s practically fearless. That first night