Chapter Six
The house in Dublin wasn’t what Celia was expecting. After reading about the wealth that James commanded as well as some of the extravagant properties he owned, she supposed that she had been thinking of some kind of glass and chrome monstrosity high up on the hills looking over the city.
However, they exited the plane straight to a dark gray car that James drove himself. It was elegant and classical rather than flashy, and he took them to a house on a beautiful tree-lined street. There was a small courtyard in front of the house, bordered by a tall brick wall, and the moment they stepped inside, Celia, Maisey in her arms, looked around in wonder.
“It’s like something out of a children’s book,” she murmured.
Behind her, James chuckled a little. The house was all hardwood floors and furniture slightly worn with age. There was texture and history, and while here and there she could see signs of modern improvements and luxuries, otherwise, it felt like taking a step back into a statelier time.
“You told me once that your favorite books were from the turn of the nineteenth century,” he said with a slight grin, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “The Little Princess, all that. This property came to me several years ago, and ever since you told me that, it was in the back of my mind to bring you here.”
“Don’t tell me that you live here when you’re seeing the sights and doing your deals,” said Celia, and James laughed.
“You got me there. No, there’s a penthouse I usually stay at a little closer to the business district, and if I’m working terribly long hours, there’s a small apartment above my office I use. I’ve not been here since I acquired the property. I had my staff air it out for us, though, so it should be comfortable.”
There was something touching about that to Celia. She wasn’t sure if she believed him when he said that he had this place in mind for her, but it was so beautiful, it was hard not to get distracted.
A now drowsy Maisey in her arms, she followed James as they explored it together. When he casually pointed out the master bedroom where he would be sleeping, she blinked.
“You’ll be staying here with us?”
“Of course. I want to be close to get to know Maisey. And, it has been too long for us as well.”
Celia wondered at that. She felt as if she should argue. After all, a part of her knew that she should be wary of James, who she hadn’t had any contact with until just recently. On the other hand, there was already a part of her that was convinced she had known him for ages, that of course this was right and proper.
She put it out of her mind, instead concentrating on the history of the house, the beautiful nursery that had been created for Maisey and of course the baby-proofing touches that would make it easy for Maisey to stay happy and content while Celia did the job that James had signed her up for.It wasn’t until Maisey started fussing that Celia realized that her little girl was hungry, and to her surprise, James offered to feed her.
“You know how to feed a baby?”
“I’m sure I can be coached through it.”
Celia sat at the modern kitchen island, watching in fascination as Maisey and James worked with the baby food and formula combination. Maisey had recovered from the crankiness of her flight, and was now trying to show James that food was as much for playing as it was for eating. James, for his part, was battling on with a cheerful determination that meant that at least as much food got into Maisey as onto her, though Celia did find herself laughing when some of it ended up on him as well.
James followed them to the bathroom when Celia declared it bath time, and he hovered at the door watching until Celia called him to bring them a towel. Together, they dried the squirming and now sleepy child, and James ended up with Maisey in his arms again as Celia went to find her sleeping clothes in their newly -delivered luggage.“She’s a wonder,” James said. “Such a good, easy child.”
“She is,” Celia said. “We got lucky.”
She didn’t realize what she had said until James looked at her in surprise, but he didn’t deny it.
Celia had to admit that there was something terribly right about seeing Maisey in her father’s arms, the two utterly fascinated by each other. Celia always thought that if she saw someone bonding with her baby like that, that she would be jealous. But with James, it only felt right.
“Come here, I think it’s time to put her to bed,” said Celia, and James only let her go with a soft sigh. As Celia tucked Maisey into the state-of-the-art crib in her small bedroom, she was aware of James watching her from the doorway.
“Now it’s time for you to have sweet dreams until you wake up bright and fresh in the morning,” Celia murmured. “And tomorrow there will be new things to see, and I will only love you more.”Maisey gurgled as if she could understand her mother, and Celia tucked her in. Celia remembered the early days, when she had been so afraid of how fragile a new baby could be that she stayed to watch her sleep for hours. Now, however, she only stroked her daughter’s curls once, and closed the door behind her.
When the door was shut, however, Celia realized that she was alone with James, something that had not happened yet in this beautiful antique home. He watched her with those beautiful bright blue eyes, and Celia sternly told herself that she was not allowed to fumble like a teenager, feeling as if her heart was beating faster with every moment she spent with him.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I’m not sure you had enough on the flight.”
“A little,” she said. “I suppose there’s a grocery store around here somewhere.”
“I’ve got that handled. Come with me.”
The kitchen turned out to be fully stocked, and she sat at the kitchen island again as James assembled turkey sandwiches for both of them. At the first bite, Celia could tell how hungry she was, and she ate it gratefully.
“First you feed Maisey, and then you feed me,” she said with a grin. “You really are a full service employer.” She realized that he was looking at her, and she wiped her mouth, a little self-consciously. “What is it?”
“I can’t figure you out,” James said, pushing his sandwich aside and hitching his hip up on the side of the kitchen island. “Sometimes I think you are precisely the girl I knew in Eastwick, and other times, I feel as if that girl has grown into a siren, a witch capable of luring me into her arms with only a word.”
Celia had to laugh at that. “First, I’m pretty sure that the only thing that I can lure men into is setting up interesting exhibits at museums, and second—I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday I met you. Other times, it feels as if there’s been far more years between us than there really have been.”
“You were always a beautiful girl,” James observed. “Now you’re a beautiful woman, and I find that I want you all the more.”
Celia knew that there was something to be said for keeping her cool, putting a little distance between herself and this man that she had not known for quite some time. However, at his confession, she couldn’t stop her own from spilling past her lips.
“I’ve never wanted a man like I’ve wanted you,” she said.
Desire shot through James’s eyes like forked lightning, and she saw him cover it up with a soft laugh.
“Now that is a hard one for me to believe,” he said, and there was a slight strain in his tone even as he tried to keep it light. “As beautiful as you are?”
“Not after you. And not before, either.”
Her shy confession made James's eyes widen, and it would have been funny if she hadn't felt as if her heart was beating out of her chest.“You... you’re joking, right? You mean when we were together that first time...”
“That it was my first time, yes.”
James was utterly still. Celia was just beginning to wonder whether she had said something wrong when he put down his sandwich remains and came to her. She felt as if she were frozen as James stepped close, both hands cradling her face. This close, she could feel how warm he was, how very powerful his body was. Something inside her curled and stretched at the idea of being so very close to him, pleasure and sweetness and something far deeper than either.
“God, the things you do to me,” James murmured. “I could never forget you. I have been a fool, Celia, and perhaps someday... someday you will forgive me.”It felt as if there were dozens of emotions boiling and rolling through Celia just then. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing to forgive. She wanted him to feel for her the way she felt for him. She wanted to lie next to him and simply be quiet; to sink into the history they shared and to look at the future that they might have together. It was all too much, all too raw, and she knew that if she let even a little bit of it out, it would come rolling forward whether she liked it or not.
The only thing that she could do to halt it was to lean forward even as he leaned down, reaching for the kiss that they had both been aching for for hours. Instinctively, they both knew that there would be no stopping this time, no pause and no interruptions. When they came together in a kiss that seemed to blend their souls while reuniting their bodies, Celia didn’t know if she was ever going to let go. She found that her hands were fisted in his shirt, clinging to him with a kind of desperation that felt almost fatal.
“I need you,” she heard herself say, and James laughed. There was no malice in it, however. There was only a deep need that seemed to course through both of them, and without a word, he swept her into his arms.