The Rules
Page 22
He ignored her, taking a sip from her glass of ice water.
They sat beside each other, quietly eating and drinking, and when they finished the late night snack, Gavin cleaned up the counters and put everything in the dishwasher. Her gaze lingered on his broad back as he bent over the dish rack. It was too soon for them to make love again, and she missed that level of intimacy with him. She missed…something. She didn’t even know what it was, except it wasn’t there. Just a hole that needed to be plugged. A void that needed filling.
He straightened and closed the dishwasher. Turning around, he rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go…”
She hadn’t been fast enough in fixing her face. She’d gotten good at it, but he saw the truth, and her face burned. “Let’s go.”
She hopped off the stool and rushed toward the door, but he was too fast. He blocked her path and placed his hands on her arms.
“Baby.”
Such a simple word, a common endearment, but one that made her feel weak and achy. She pulled her lips in and hung her head to hide the welling tears.
“Baby,” he whispered again. He kissed the bonnet, then her forehead, then her eyelids.
Terri rested her head against his chest and his strong arms closed around her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He rubbed her back. “I abandoned you. Please forgive me.”
Sniffling, Terri rubbed the tears from her cheeks.
“I wanted to tell you everything, but I was scared,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“You said you wouldn’t…” She sniffed. “You said you wouldn’t stop loving me.”
“I didn’t. I didn’t stop loving you. Not for a minute, but I hurt you. I regret how much I hurt you.” He bent his head to her neck and rubbed a hand over her bottom, over her hips, and back up to her waist. “I love you, and I’ll always take care of you.”
There it was. The words she needed to hear. What was missing.
He pressed soft kisses into her neck and up the line of her jaw to the corner of her eye where salty tears leaked onto her cheek.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Terri said.
“What is it?”
She sniffed and lifted her eyes to look at him. “I love you, too. You believe me?” She smiled shakily.
Gavin grinned at her and thumbed the tears from her cheeks. “Yeah, I believe you.”
Then he gave her the longest, sweetest kiss he’d ever bestowed on her.
Chapter Thirty-three
The party was in full swing, with toasts being made and lots of cheering. Gavin looked out at the sea of people and saw Terri surrounded by several of the corporate business types. He watched her for a moment. She laughed easily, her face bright and beautiful. Engaging.
It was always like this whenever they went out or attended a function. Men naturally gravitated to her, circled her like sharks that smelled fresh blood in the water. The three men hanging onto her every word didn’t even see Gavin watching, but Terri looked up and when she saw him, her face lit up even more, and his insides burned with pride and love.
She excused herself and sashayed over in a cloud of perfume. “You finished with your meeting?”
“All done.”
He placed a hand at the base of her spine, touching the bare skin along her back where the tattoo of four hearts rested right above her bottom. As they headed to the other room, he glanced back and caught the three men still gazing after Terri, and he slipped his hand lower on her spine, right onto her butt.
Yeah, she’s mine, he thought as they went into the other ballroom.
They spent the rest of the evening chatting with guests and getting to know everyone who attended the formal gala.
By the end of the evening, the main event was about to take place—something very few people knew about. He and Terri stood on the outskirts of the crowd as Trenton went down on one knee, holding a red velvet box, in front of Alannah. Gasps filled the room and silence reigned as he asked her to marry him.
Alannah started crying and nodding her head vigorously, at which point Trenton placed the diamond on her finger. Even from where he stood, Gavin could clearly see the stone. Cheering went up from the crowd.
Trenton jumped up with a huge grin on his face that threatened the brightness of the expensive chandeliers overhead.
“She said yes!” he bellowed.
As the group whooped and cheered, he lifted his new fiancée off the ground and kissed her soundly on the mouth, resulting in more cheers and more whooping. Alannah looked at him with such adoration in her eyes, her love was almost a tangible entity in the room.
A year ago, Gavin had his doubts about the two of them, but they made a cute couple and Alannah was such a sweetheart. He couldn’t imagine a better woman for his brother.
Later, after the excitement died down, Gavin and Terri stood out on the balcony with a few other couples. He stared out at the Space Needle, thinking about the first night they went out and wondered if she regretted not having a public declaration of their love, the way Trenton and Alannah did.
“You miss any of that?” he asked.
“What? The production of an engagement?”
“Yeah.” He leaned casually against the stone terrace, his eyes resting squarely on her face as he waited for the answer.
“No.”
“What about a big wedding? We could—”
“No,” Terri said quietly. She slipped a hand around his waist and leaned against him, lifting her face to his.
“No, huh?” he said, smiling down at her.
“Definitely no,” Terri confirmed. “It’s nice but not the most important thing.” She ran her hand up and down his back under the jacket. “I already have what’s most important. We skipped to the best part.”
Gavin bent his head and touched his nose to hers. “That’s one of the reason I love you, you know that? You find the positive in everything.”
“There’s nothing for me to be negative about. I have all I need and more. My cup is overflowing.”
“In that case, you ready to go home and see our babies?”
“I like that idea.”
“Thought you would. Let’s say good night to Mother and then go home.”
****
Terri kicked off her shoes and changed clothes before dismissing the nanny and bringing the kids into the bedroom. She and Gavin had made a habit of this lately—feeding the babies in the bedroom while they read or watched TV.
She loved it, of course, having her little family all together. They wanted to have more children right away and discussed having three more. A big family, just like she had always wanted.
Gavin walked in as she was changing Elisabeth and Junior lay on his back, talking to himself, with his little hands and feet punctuating each nonsensical word.
“Dane Stewart has another book out,” Terri said, snapping Elisabeth’s diaper into place.
“What’s it called?” Gavin lay down on the bed and lifted his son onto his bare chest.
“Colder Blood,” she replied.
She walked with her squirming daughter in one arm, entered the sitting room, and picked up the tablet from the bookshelf where it had been charging. Then she walked back over to the bed and lay down beside Gavin. Little Elisabeth settled onto her breasts.
Gavin’s eyes followed her and he smiled lasciviously. “Mm, mm, mm, Junior. Look at what you and your sister did to Mommy’s body. Her butt is bigger and her hips are wider.”
“Gavin, quit,” Terri warned. She slapped his bicep.
“And look at those big, pretty thighs.” He leered at her.
“Seriously, that’s not funny.”
Gavin gently patted his son’s back. “Son, I have so much to teach you about women and the difficulty they have accepting compliments.”
Terri turned on the device and pulled up the book. “Don’t fall asleep tonight.”
“I’ll try not to, but your voice is so soothing, ba
by.”
The last book they read together had been a few days ago. “That book was boring, I guess. It was hard to get through.”
“True,” Gavin agreed. He leaned over and kissed her neck, then her ear, then her cheek.
Tingles of pleasure sprinkled across her skin.
“What was that for?”
“For being you. For this.” He waved a hand at their children laying on their chests.
“I should be thanking you.” Her voice quivered.
“No way.” He smiled into her eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“I do.”
It was true. In so many ways, he let her know of his love—in words, in deeds. There were little things he did, like surprising her with a rare, mint-condition copy of Charlotte’s Web at Christmas, inscribed by E.B. White himself. The book must have cost upwards of twenty-five thousand dollars. All he’d said was, “It’s time for you to start rebuilding your library.”
“I’m going to keep telling you that I love you,” Gavin promised.
Terri brushed the back of her fingers across his cheek and thought of how much she’d fought to stick to her own rules to preserve her heart. Rule number one, maintain control. Rule number two, never fall in love. Luckily, she’d broken them and found the happiness and security she’d searched for all her life.
She pressed her lips to Gavin’s and smiled.
“Please keep telling. I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
The End
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About the Author
Delaney Diamond is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sweet, sensual, passionate romance novels. Originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She reads romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, and a fair amount of nonfiction. When she’s not busy reading or writing, she’s in the kitchen trying out new recipes, dining at one of her favorite restaurants, or traveling to an interesting locale. She speaks fluent conversational French and can get by in Spanish.
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