Claim

by Janet Nissenson

  “Bruver?” asked Gilly. “Gilly have bruver?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. Gilly is going to have a brother. A little boy, just like Justin and Noah.”

  Ian rolled his eyes. “God help us all if our son turns out like those two terrors. You will need a nanny if that ever happens, Tessa. Perhaps two of them.”

  Tessa patted his arm reassuringly. “I keep telling you that the boys aren’t all that bad. Whenever they’re around me, the twins are actually very well behaved. And our son will be as well mannered and gentlemanly as his father. In fact, he’ll probably pop out of the womb wearing an Armani suit and a Hermes tie.”

  Ian was laughing heartily, causing Gilly to giggle right along with him, when the door to the exam room opened and Jordan Reeves sauntered in. The handsome OB/GYN looked around at the happy, smiling family, and grinned himself.

  “Well, you all look delighted about something,” he commented. “Guess the news that the newest Gregson is going to be a boy was well received.”

  Tessa glanced over at Ian. “Actually, I think Ian was secretly hoping for another girl.”

  Ian shook his head, giving her hand a squeeze. “Perhaps a bit,” he admitted. “I love my girls something fierce, after all, and I’m not sure I really want to share them with another male. But I’m very, very happy to know we’re going to have a son. And especially to learn that the baby looks extremely healthy.”

  Tessa beamed at him. “We’ll have another girl next time,” she told him sweetly.

  Ian imagined the shock he felt at her words must have been evident on his face, judging by the way Jordan laughed uproariously.

  The affable doctor patted Tessa on the shoulder, still grinning broadly. “You know, Tessa, you may be the only patient I’ve ever had who was holding one baby on her lap, had a second one growing in her tummy, and was still sitting there with a smile on her face talking about having a third. I should film you exactly like this, use it as an advertisement for the practice.”

  “I think you’ve already got more patients than you can handle,” retorted Ian. “You don’t need my wife to do your hawking for you. As far as a third baby goes, darling,” he told Tessa, “let’s see how things go with number two before making that decision, hmm?”

  “Okay,” agreed Tessa happily.

  Jordan, meanwhile, was plying his charms on yet another female - chucking Gilly beneath the chin teasingly and then grinning as she giggled. “Hey, there, sweetie,” he said gently. “You are the prettiest little thing, aren’t you? Just like your mommy.”

  Gilly shook her head. “Mummy,” she insisted in a rare display of temper. “My Mummy.” She burrowed her face against Tessa’s breast.

  Ian chuckled, then lifted his daughter back onto his lap so that Jordan could give Tessa a brief exam. He watched the proceedings carefully, well aware that the flirtatious doctor was attracted to Tessa, even though Jordan did his best to hide that fact.

  And Ian was far from the only person to have noticed. Both Matthew and Nathan had nudged him in the ribs on different occasions, whispering that he should really keep an eye on the amorous OB/GYN, because it was pretty damned obvious that Jordan had a real thing for Tessa. Not that Jordan didn’t flirt with nearly every attractive female under the age of fifty who attracted his attention, whether she was married or single. But what made it all different with Tessa was the fact that he didn’t flirt with her. With Tessa, he was uncharacteristically gentle and kind, treating her with the sort of care and gentlemanly solicitousness that one typically only showed to his wife or serious girlfriend.

  But Ian had never said a word about it to Jordan, or made a scene, mostly because he had no desire to embarrass Tessa or make her feel uncomfortable. He also knew that Jordan might flirt with married women, but that he swore off on having flings with them - “waayy too complicated” - had been his way to sum it up. And lastly, Ian was so completely confident of Tessa’s love for him, so assured of her devotion, that the very last thing he would ever worry about was her being unfaithful to him.

  And, if he was being honest, he felt a bit sorry for Jordan. Ian knew exactly how it felt to covet this particular woman, only to realize that someone else had already claimed her. Except now that he was on the other end – the far, far better end – of that deal, he was considerate enough to take pity on anyone who might be on the short end of that particular stick.

  Still, Ian made very sure that he always accompanied Tessa to every single appointment she had with Jordan. There was no possible way that Jordan would say or do anything inappropriate in a professional setting like this, especially since a nurse was always present during the exams, but Ian wasn’t about to take any chances. Plus, it didn’t hurt to subtly remind Jordan that Tessa was not only a married woman, but an extremely happy one at that.

  He’d considered switching doctors, but knew that would upset Tessa since she liked Jordan and felt comfortable with him. Plus, despite his tomcatting ways, the man was undeniably the best in his field here in San Francisco, and Ian was insistent that his wife and child have only the very best.

  “Everything looks great,” Jordan assured both of them after completing a brief pelvic exam. “I got a glimpse of the sonogram image, and the baby is developing perfectly. I’m convinced that you’re going to have a beautiful, healthy little boy in four more months. So whatever you’re doing to take care of yourself, Tessa, just keep it up.”

  Ian shook his head. “She’s doing too much, in my opinion. Taking care of Gilly, still taking online college classes, doing all of the shopping and cooking. And when I came home early one day last week, she was having a private yoga session with her teacher, who had her up in a handstand, of all things. Is that really safe, Jordan?”

  Jordan winked at Tessa conspiratorially. “It’s absolutely safe,” he assured Ian. “Tessa knows how much she can handle, and she looks perfectly healthy to me. But don’t overdue either, hmm? Be sure you’re taking your pre-natal vitamins, eating enough, and taking a nap every day.”

  Tessa glanced over at her husband a bit guiltily. “Well, the first two I can definitely say I’ve been doing religiously. The last one not so much.”

  Ian regarded her sternly. “But Tessa assures me that she’s going to start taking care of that immediately. Aren’t you, darling? Perhaps even beginning tomorrow afternoon when Gilly goes down for her nap.”

  “Fine.” Tessa sighed. “But I’m not giving up my yoga classes, Ian. I stopped doing the heated classes when you worried that I was sweating too much and getting dehydrated, but Sasha and I don’t crank the heat up too high during our private sessions.”

  Jordan grinned. “Still behaving like the overprotective husband, is he? I’ll bet he’s sticking to his guns about the sex, too. Am I right?”

  Tessa nodded eagerly. “You have no idea. He’s still convinced that he’s going to hurt me or the baby if we, uh, go at it a little more enthusiastically. Would you please tell him – again - that he doesn’t have to treat me like some Victorian maiden?”

  Jordan gave her a thumbs up before bending to whisper in Ian’s ear, “She’s right, Ian. It won’t hurt anything if you loosen up a little. In other words, you can do your gorgeous wife as hard as you like, as often as you like. And if she’s like most pregnant women with all those extra hormones floating around, my guess is that she wants it as often as possible. Am I right?”

  Ian glared at the gleeful doctor. “None of your business. Christ, you’re as bad as my younger brother, always wanting to know about my sex life. I suppose you’ve got at least a clinical interest in asking, whereas Colin is just bloody nosy. And I don’t care what either of you say - no overly enthusiastic sex until after the baby is born.”

  Jordan gave Tessa another pat on the shoulder. “I tried,” he told her regretfully. “But your husband is awfully pigheaded at times. Guess you’ll have to indulge him until after you give birth.”

  He bid them both good-by then, reminding Tessa to be sure and take a nap each
day, and to call him if anything came up. As soon as he left the exam room, Tessa stood and began to dress.

  Ian reminded himself that he was holding his daughter on his lap at this moment, and that as such he really, really shouldn’t be lusting over her gorgeous, sexy mummy. But it was almost impossible not to drool a bit at the sight of her glowing, naked skin as she pulled on a bra and panty set of cream lace. Her breasts were just a little too full now for the bra to fit her properly, but the sight of them nearly overflowing the sheer lace cups was so erotic that he squirmed a little on the chair, shifting Gilly to sit lower on his leg to keep her out of the way of his growing erection.

  “Your body is just magnificent, love,” he rasped as she began to roll on her stockings. “Pregnancy definitely agrees with you.”

  Tessa blew him a kiss. “You’re sweet,” she teased. “Telling me something like that when I’m gradually beginning to resemble a whale.”

  Ian rolled his eyes. “You haven’t even gained a full ten pounds yet, have you? And even when you were nine months pregnant with Gilly, you looked beautiful.”

  She finished dressing, fastening the tie belt on her blue and white diamond patterned wrap front dress - another garment that Ian recognized as something she’d worn during her first pregnancy. He shook his head in amusement, realizing that short of buying Tessa a whole new maternity wardrobe himself that it wasn’t likely she would change her frugal ways.

  He fastened Gilly into her car seat securely, then took the keys from Tessa as he slid behind the wheel. She had driven here to the medical building in the Mercedes sedan, while Simon had dropped him off in the town car. It was already past five o’clock by now, but Ian knew this area well enough that he could take side streets to avoid most of the traffic. When he pulled up to a parking space just a few doors down from the little bistro where they were to dine, it was less than twenty minutes from the time they’d departed Jordan’s offices.

  The wait staff at Chou Chou fussed over Gilly as they always did, bringing out a high chair for her, as well as glass of milk and a basket of warm, fragrant miniature brioches. Ian conversed easily with their waiter in fluent French, ordering a glass of Bordeaux for himself and one of sparkling lemonade for Tessa.

  As she perused the menu, Tessa glanced about the warm, cozy bistro, already filled with diners on this chilly November evening. “I always love coming here,” she told him. “It’s like being in someone’s house rather than a restaurant.”

  He nodded. “I agree. And the food is exceptional as well. Speaking of which, what will you have this evening, love?”

  She grinned, setting her menu aside. “The usual, of course. I shouldn’t even ask for a menu when I come in since I always get the same thing.”

  Ian laughed. “Me, too. As for Miss Gillian here, we’ll just have to see what the chef prepares for the princess this evening.”

  They both ordered a bowl of cheesy French onion soup, and the equally delicious beef bourguignon. Gilly was presented with a bowl of gruyere mac and cheese, as well as an assortment of finger foods - pommes frites, miniature quiches, bite-sized cream puffs filled with chicken salad. She dug into her meal with gusto, causing diners at nearby tables to smile at her indulgently.

  “Is everything all right, Ian?” inquired Tessa about midway through their meal. She placed a hand on his forearm. “You seem a little preoccupied tonight.”

  He patted her hand reassuringly. “Everything’s fine,” he told her. “But there is something we need to discuss. Specifically, a phone call I received this morning from my father.”

  Tessa was instantly concerned. “Is he all right? I know the last time I spoke to your mother that he wasn’t feeling very well.”

  “Father is fine. And that time you spoke with my mother, he was just suffering from indigestion. He does need to lose fifteen pounds, cut down on his drinking, and stop eating too many rich meals. Which are all goals my mother intends for him to pursue when he finally retires next year.”

  Tessa sat up a little straighter in her chair. “I thought he was already supposed to be retired. Or at least semi-retired.”

  Ian scoffed. “He was. But my father’s idea of being semi-retired still involves going into the office four days a week and working six to eight hours a day, instead of his usual ten to twelve. This time, however, it’s for real. He’ll be giving up his position as co-CEO, and will only go into the office for board meetings on occasion.”

  “I’m sure your mother will be very happy when he does that. When is all of this supposed to happen?”

  “He’s being somewhat flexible with the dates at the moment, but ideally during the first three months of next year. It will all depend on a variety of factors.”

  Tessa nodded. “Like who’s going to replace him for a start.”

  “Well, that part’s already been decided. Since Hugh’s the oldest, it was always understood that he would move into the co-chairman’s role when either Father or Uncle Richard retired. And Hugh will be perfect for that position, no one knows more about the company than he does. No, what needs to be decided at this time is who will move into Hugh’s current position.”

  Tessa set her fork down, and Ian knew immediately that she had more or less guessed what he would say next.

  “It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked quietly. “Your family expects that you’ll move back to England and take over Hugh’s job as director of the European region.”

  He gave a short nod. “That’s also been understood for some time. But things - circumstances - have changed over the years, and I’m not so sure any longer that it’s what I want.”

  “By circumstances you mean me, of course. And Gilly. And our life out here.”

  “Yes,” he affirmed, reaching over to take her hand. “All of those things, plus others as well. It’s a huge decision to make, Tessa, one that will have a considerable impact on our lives if we decide that I should take the job.”

  She worried her bottom lip, a sure sign that she was troubled. “Aren’t all of your jobs more or less equivalent to each others - yours, Hugh’s, and Colin’s, that is?”

  “More or less. We have the same amount of responsibility, earn close to the same salary. But at the same time we all know that the European region is really the crown jewel. That’s where our oldest and most prestigious hotels are, where the company was first started, and where we’re still best known. And since the director of that region works out of headquarters in London, the position has always been unofficially considered at the upper echelon of management.”

  “And it’s something you’ve always wanted for yourself,” she stated quietly. “Something that you’ve worked very, very hard for all these years. Well, there’s really nothing to consider then, is there? You deserve that position, Ian, and of course you’re going to take it. And I’m sure your family will be ecstatic to have you move back to England. I know how much you’ve missed them.”

  “Of course I have,” he agreed easily. “But that in itself isn’t a reason to pack everything up and return to England. There are a lot of factors to consider, Tessa.”

  The waiter took away their dinner dishes and brought out a pot of tea, as well as a plate of assorted cookies, macarons, and miniature French pastries. Gilly munched happily on a cookie, while Tessa suddenly seemed to have lost her appetite.

  “We don’t have to do this,” Ian told her gently. “I’m not under any sort of obligation to accept Hugh’s job. And if I did take it, there would be any number of complications and inconveniences that went along with it.”

  “Like what?” inquired Tessa as she brewed them each a cup of tea.

  “For one thing, we’d be packing up and relocating during the last trimester of your pregnancy,” he pointed out. “You’d be giving birth to our son within a couple of weeks after moving to England, would be in an unfamiliar hospital, with a doctor you didn’t know. And then you’d have to cope with an infant and a toddler while we find a place to live, unpack, learn your way a
round the city. It’s a staggering burden to bear, Tessa, and I can’t imagine putting you through all that.”

  She shrugged. “I’m sure other women have done worse. Besides, I’d have your family to help out, we could hire a firm to help with the packing and unpacking. And I’d probably have to give in and hire a nanny for awhile, at least until we settled in.”

  “That’s just part of it,” he argued. “The other part, which is far more intrusive, would entail me having to travel to every single hotel in the region within the first few months. They’d be quick visits, probably half a day each, just to meet the manager and get a brief tour, but it would still take a few months to fit them all in. I’d be away from home three weeks a month - months when our son would be an infant and you’d be left to deal with his care by yourself. And when I’d miss out on too many milestones to count.”

  Tessa took his hands in hers. “But we’d get through it somehow,” she assured him. “It would only be temporary, right? After you made those initial visits, then you’d be back on a similar schedule to what you have now, right?”

  “Yes. Hugh travels less frequently than I do, in fact, delegates most of the visits to his assistant director and another manager. But those first few months would be extremely difficult for you, darling. And, well, I always worry that you might start feeling a little overwhelmed. Or that you, well…”

  “That I start feeling depressed?” she finished. “It’s okay for you to say the word, Ian. And I get it. Even though I haven’t had any episodes since before we were married, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen if I was under too much pressure. We would just have to make sure that I had a solid support system in place.”

  He took a sip of his tea, sighing. “It’s more than that, too. I happen to love our life out here in San Francisco - our home, our circle of friends, the beach house. And as much as I miss seeing my family more often, I’m afraid I’d miss the life we’ve made for ourselves here even more.”

  She picked up a cookie and nibbled at it daintily, then reached over to wipe crumbs from Gilly’s mouth. “What would happen if you didn’t take the job? Who would be next in line?”