Seven Months Later...

“That was a beautiful service.” Norah shook out her napkin and draped the bit of fabric daintily over her lap. “They certainly put some effort into it, which is a lovely change for a graduation ceremony.”

Across the small, square table, I met Gabby’s gaze and we both shared the ghost of a grin. Neither one of us was willing to tell my mother it was done deliberately for her sake, nor would we mention the amount of money that had been put into making sure every detail was done to Norah Kincaid’s delicate preference. But in retrospect, it was a small price to pay to keep her from ruining Gabby’s special day with her nitpicking.

I regretted nothing.

“Thank you for coming,” Gabby said, unrolling her own napkin. “I really appreciate it. It was nice having a few familiar faces in the crowd.”

Chin lifted, Norah fixed her with a pinched lip frown. “Dear girl,” she snipped haughtily. “You’re family. This appreciation business is for the other people. Now,” she gave a dignified sniff, “where is that waiter? I’m famished.”

I saw the glimmer of tears in Gabby’s eyes before she blinked them back and straightened her shoulders. “I actually need to use the washroom. I’ll see if I can find him on my way.”

“Please,” Norah muttered as I got to my feet and helped Gabby to hers.

“Okay?” I murmured for her ears only.

One hand lifted to sweep back a loose lock of hair being pushed around by the warm breeze. The late afternoon sun caught the ring on her finger, the one I put there not two months earlier and the cluster of diamonds sparked to life. She gave me a brilliant smile, the kind that never failed to pull on all my heartstrings.

“Perfect,” she answered, leaning in and brushing a kiss to my mouth. “I won’t be long.”

I caught the escaped strand dancing wildly in the breeze and smoothly tucked it behind her ear, never once taking my eyes off hers. “Take as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

With a final stroke of her fingers along the curve of my cheek, she turned and hurried in the direction of the door leading off the rooftop patio.

I watched her until she was gone and only then did I regain my seat.

“It’s inappropriate the way you two go on,” Norah stated, stealing glances around us for anyone watching. “You’re not a teenager, Kieran. You should behave your age in public.”

It was an age-old speech. Mother hated public displays of affection and always got extremely uncomfortable when I couldn’t keep my hands off my wife.

“It was merely a kiss, Mother,” I said, concealing my grin.

“It’s not just the kissing.” Her fingers toyed with her tennis bracelet. “It’s the looks.”

Intrigued, I raised both eyebrows. “The looks?”

She peeked around us again and lowered her voice even further. “The way you two stare at each other. It’s nearly pornographic.”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing, loud enough for Norah to turn pink and hiss at me to stop at once.

“She’s my wife,” I breathed at last. “I won’t apologize for loving her.”

“There is a time and place for everything. That type of behavior should be reserved for the bedroom.”

I chuckled. “You’re not going to change my mind about this. I waited a long time to have her and now that I do, I have a lot of time to make up for. Besides,” I sat back in my seat, “being with her makes me happy. She makes me happy. I don’t care who knows.”

Something in her features shifted. The majority of her impatience and annoyance dissolved into something barely passing as acceptance, but only just.

“I do tolerate her much more than that sister of hers.” Her nostrils flared as if smelling something distasteful. “That entire family was atrocious ... may they rest in peace. I can’t imagine how someone like her came from that pack of rubbish.”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s not a Thornton. Not anymore.”

It was the first thing I made sure of. With that entire line gone, the only thing left was to erase it forever by giving her my name.

Mother seemed to consider this a long moment while she nudged her silverware to align perfectly with each other and the plate. She checked her watch, fiddled with her bracelet. All nervous little ticks I recognized.

“What?”

She shook her head, waving a dismissive hand. “Nothing. I’m delighted for you.”

All traces of humor evaporated. “Mother.”

Norah fixed narrowed eyes on me. “Do not take that tone with me, Kieran.”

“Don’t,” I warned her. “She means the world to me and I have never asked you for anything, but I am asking you now not to hurt her.”

She blinked. “Hurt her? Is that how you see me? As some heartless monster?”

“Not a heartless monster, but you tend to forget that not everyone is capable of reaching the bar you set for them.”

She sniffed and turned her face away. One finger hooked into the bracelet and she dragged it around her frail wrist.

“That’s ridiculous,” she muttered. “I don’t have a bar, and even if I did,” she barked when I opened my mouth, “it’s because, as a Kincaid, you can’t afford to lower yourself to the level of other people.”

“Gabby isn’t other people. She’s the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. She’s the woman I’ve chosen to have children with.”

“Children?” she blurted as if the word was something foreign and frightening.

“Yes, children. Plural. I want as many as she’ll give me. Boys and girls. I want them to have her eyes and my name. I want them with her.”

That seemed to pull her into that quiet place she sometimes went to when she just didn’t understand, but would never admit it. I didn’t expect her to. It had been a different time, a different situation when she’d married my father. They had raised me to be different, too, and I was — different from them, and that was an alien concept for her.

But I wondered what she’d been expecting when I introduced Gabby to her. Had she honestly thought it was a passing amusement? I doubted it. She’d never once met any of my previous lovers. And even if she had, she’d been there when I married Gabby. She’d been present at the courthouse. She’d watched as I put my ring on Gabby’s finger. Had she honestly thought I would run now?

Gabby took that moment to return. I sensed her before I saw her making her way back. She turned heads in her white dress, her golden locks loose around slender shoulders. The summer sun glittered in the strands and shimmered off the pale surface of her eyes.

She was radiant.

The sheer power of her presence alone was enough to steal my breath, my senses. I was so hopelessly lost in her that I ached in her absence. Seeing her return filled me with a purpose I would die without.

“Gabby.”

Her lips bowed in pleasure, even though I’m certain she couldn’t have heard me. She was still too far. Yet, I rose, my hand already going to her chair and pulling it out. My eyes never left her.

“Hey.” She murmured upon arrival. She touched my arm to steady herself slipping back into her seat. “I let the hostess know we’re ready for our waiter,” she told Norah. “He should be here any second.”

Norah merely nodded.

Spotting the pinched look on my mother’s face, Gabby glanced curiously at me. I just shook my head and took the loosely curled hand resting lightly next to her plate. I brought it to my lips and watched the concern dissolve from her face, leaving behind a warm flush.

“Have you thought anymore about where you want to go for our honeymoon?” I asked her, lowering our joined hands to the table. “Now that you’ve finally graduated, you promised I could have you all to myself.”

Gabby laughed, the sound pure and breathtaking. “As if my schooling ever stopped me from being all yours.” She gave my fingers a squeeze. “And I honestly don’t care where we go. I just want you all to myself.”

I started to lean in for a taste of her mouth when a movement just over her shoulder caught my attention.

It was an arm streaking back and forth in the air in a wave that was impossible to miss. Several heads were turning, but I knew it was meant for me.

“I’ll be right back.” I told the two at my table. “I won’t be long,” I promised Gabby with a brush of my lips against her knuckles.

She smiled and skimmed her thumb over my mouth. “I’ll be here.”

With a quick kiss, I moved away. The other occupants of the rooftop restaurant had gone back to their meals once realizing the tall, elegantly dressed man at the corner bar wasn’t there for them. I made my way to him with half a mind to remind him that I was in the middle of lunch.

“Kieran.” Tiberius Rutherford extended his palm. “It’s been a while.”

Not long enough, in my opinion. But I nodded and accepted his offered hand.

“It has been.”

Tiberius drew away first and motioned to the man seated on the stool next to him. “Have you met Lincoln Van Doren? He and his sons are assisting me in my new project.”

The man resembled his photo, except that he appeared taller in person. His mustache seemed straighter over his pursed mouth. He held himself with the rigidness of a man in the midst of war. But it was his eyes, the steel, cold gray that bore into a person’s soul that put me on edge.

“Mr. Kincaid, it’s a pleasure.”

I didn’t know what surprised me more — that he knew my name, or that I instinctively didn’t like him and I couldn’t even say why. Nevertheless, I shook his hand when he offered it, but immediately returned my attention back to Tiberius.

“Was there something I could help you with? I’m in the middle of lunch.”

Tiberius peered past me, his gaze assessing the sight of Gabby and my mother with careful consideration.

“I never got the chance to extend my sympathies to Gabrielle after her tragic loss,” he said instead. “I can’t even imagine what she must have gone through.”

“It was a trying time, but she’s always been stronger than people gave her credit for.”

Tiberius nodded slowly, ignoring, or missing my brisk tone. “I suppose she would have had to be, given everything.”

I disliked his implication even more than I disliked him bringing up Gabby’s personal past in front of a perfect stranger.

“Gabrielle Thornton, no?” Van Doren inquired, following Tiberius’s gaze.

I shifted my position to block his view. “It’s Kincaid now, actually.”

The change was instantaneous, an immediate shift from regretful to delighted. “That’s right. I heard you got married. Congratulations. Lady will be thrilled. She’s been quite worried about Gabrielle since the incident.”

“It was tragic,” Van Doren stated. “So young to lose so much, but it wasn’t without reward. She’s now the sole heir to the Thornton fortune, is she not?”

I studied the man, half tempted to ask what business it was of his, but if my mother had taught me anything, it was too never create an unnecessary complication; he may have rubbed me the wrong way, but he didn’t matter enough to warrant my attention.

“Was there something you needed?” I asked again, louder so it wasn’t missed.

Tiberius must have sensed my fraying nerves, because his whole focused reverted back to me and stayed.

“Right to the point then.” He straightened. “I had hoped we could make some time to finish discussing our business arrangement. I know it’s been a while, but I hope you haven’t forgotten.”

My back molars creaked with the force of my clenched jaw. “I haven’t,” I bit out.

“I didn’t think you would.” He folded his lanky frame onto the stool, making us nearly level. “Would you excuse us, Lincoln?”

I was given a final once over before the man pushed to his feet and moved to one of the empty tables nearby. Then it was just Tiberius and me.

“I’d like the Black Lotus,” he came right out and said without hesitation. “It was the reason I went that night, to see the functionality of the place and if it would be a good fit for my doll factory. I’ve come to understand that you own it now that your father has passed it on to you.”

“That’s correct.”

Tiberius bobbed his head a few times. “Excellent. So, as promised, I returned Gabrielle to you and in return, I would like the Black Lotus.”

I hadn’t thought of the auction house since taking Gabby away from it. While I wasn’t usually sappy about things that elicited bad feelings, it had brought her to me and held some sentiment.

Nevertheless, a deal was a deal.

“You can swing by my office tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have the paperwork ready to be signed.”

Tiberius didn’t smile, a fact that made me like him all the more. But he nodded once more and offered me his hand again.

“I really am happy for you and Gabrielle,” he said solemnly. “She didn’t deserve the things that happened to her. Not even the death of her family.”

Little did he know that their deaths — except for David’s — had made little, to no impact on her. She had buried each of them in the family plot, left David’s body to the city, and took claim of the Thornton fortune before the end of the week.

“I think I earned it,” she’d said when signing the paperwork declaring her the sole successor.

The manor was sold with every piece of furniture still inside. We never went back, not once and that suited us both. The place was crawling with memories neither of us wanted to visit. The money from the sale was divided and anonymously donated to several organizations and shelters for abused women and children. It was the only way we could think of where the Thornton family could actually make up for some of their past cruelties in life.

But to the man standing before me, I simply nodded and mumbled a thanks.

“Kieran?” Tiberius stopped me before I could walk away. “Does she know what you did for her?”

Muscles going rigid I pivoted on one heel and glowered at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

There wasn’t malice or humor on his face to suggest he was trying to get to me, but it didn’t appease my nerves.

“I have many friends.” He pushed to his feet. “In many high and low places.” He took another step closer and lowered his voice. “I know what you did. I know about the nurse you paid a small fortune to inject David with an empty syringe. I know he suffered horribly. I know you did it for her, and I don’t blame you. I would have done the same if given the choice between Lady and the monster hurting her. I would have done worse. I have.” His gray eyes glimmered in the bright afternoon. “It’s our job as men to protect our women, our family. It’s a trait as old as time. We hunt, kill, and provide.” He paused to peer past me to where she sat, alone now. I hadn’t seen Mother leave the table, but her chair was empty. “He needed to pay for what he did, and he needed to be stopped.”

I allowed nothing to show on my face when I replied easily, “I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Tiberius blinked and focused on me. The seriousness gave way to a bright smile.

“Of course not.” He offered me his hand again. “Enjoy your day and I’ll be by your office tomorrow.”

Gabby’s beautiful face lit up when she spotted me walking towards her. It brightened her eyes and radiated around her in a golden halo of light. I wondered if she would still look at me like that if she knew what I’d done, would she still love me.

Part of me said yes. Part of me knew she had some idea that David’s death wasn’t accidental, but she never asked, so I never told her. Not that I would if she did. Plausible deniability was on her side and I would rather it be me who got in trouble than her.

Yet I still couldn’t help trying to picture that conversation. I tried to envision her reaction, her words, but I couldn’t. The idea of her being angry, or worse, scared pushed my curiosity back into the closet.

Besides, was it really that important? She wouldn’t gain anything by knowing. If anything, it would be a burden she didn’t need and that bastard had already terrorized her enough. His death was her peace and I wouldn’t change that.

“Hey,” she whispered as I claimed my seat. “Everything okay?”

“Perfect,” I replied, mimicking her earlier response. “Did I miss anything?”

Her smile widened until I could almost count each of her teeth. “Actually, I was hoping you would return before Norah did.”

I felt myself frown. “Did she say something to you?”

“No! It’s nothing like that.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, big eyes searching mine. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a few days now, but it’s been so crazy what with finals and graduation. I was going to tell you today over lunch, I just didn’t realize Norah was going to join us. Not that I don’t love her company!” she added hastily. “Really, she’s very sweet in her own way.”

“Sweetheart, you’re freaking me out here.”

She winced and lowered her gaze. “Sorry. I’m a bit nervous.” She cleared her throat and fixed her gaze to mine once more. “I, uh...” She shifted in her seat. “Well, it happened by accident. No, wait, that’s ... that’s not it...”

She was trembling. It was hard enough that her hair seemed to be vibrating. Her chest rose and fell in rapid, almost hyperventilating pants. The exertion had her cheeks turning pink beneath the pallor. Her throat muscles flexed with her every hard swallow.

“Gabby.”

“I’m sorry!” she blurted, hand flying up to cover her eyes. “I’m messing this up. I had it all planned out in my head, but I want to tell you before your mom gets back and I’m forgetting everything I—”

I reached over and captured her face, stilling her words and forcing her to meet my gaze. “Just tell me.”

I could feel the tremors coursing from her to me, then pause when she caught her breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

Of all the things she could have announced, that wasn’t one I’d expected. It took me a full second to properly register the full weight of those words. Then half a second to burst from my chair and snatch her out of hers.

I crushed her to me, ignoring the staring eyes around us. My mouth slanted over hers in a deep and ravenous kiss that I couldn’t stop until we were both gasping for air. Even then, I busied my lips scattering kisses along her cheeks and down her neck, murmuring all the while how much I loved her.

She was glowing when I finally pulled back to peer at her.

“Okay?” she whispered.

I laughed. “Oh sweetheart, I’m so much more than just okay.”

She beamed and her squeal of delight tangled with my chuckles. I had so many questions, so many things I needed to know, but all I could do was grip her close and take greedy gulps of her happiness. Every sip from her lips drove me to madness. It was all I could do to keep from tossing her over my shoulder and making a run for it.

But Norah took that moment to return, looking horrified at the sight of her son on the verge of nearly fucking his wife on the table, in front of so many witnesses. She squeaked and sputtered, but no actual words left her.

I saved her from the heart attack I was sure she was about to have.

“We’re having a baby!” I told her, hoping the news would excuse my behavior in her eyes.

“That is no excuse to be fornicating on the table where we are about to eat!” she hissed in return.

“Mom.” I turned to face her with Gabby still securely clasped in my arms. “We’re having a baby,” I repeated slower, just in case she missed it.

“I’m not deaf, Kieran,” she muttered. “I heard you and I’m delighted, but what do you suppose people are thinking right now?”

The grin pulled my face nearly in two as I peered down into my Gabby’s radiant smile. “That I’m one lucky son of a bitch.”