by Sara Orwig
“This is a good picture,” she said.
Marek crossed the room and smiled. “Kern had just won that horse from me in a bet and he was delighted. It was worth losing to see him so ridiculously happy. He loved that roan and wanted it from the day I got it.” Marek laughed and shook his head. “That was a fun time. One of the good memories.”
He glanced at the shelf as she replaced the picture next to one of Jillian.
He picked up the picture to fold the back and lay it flat on the shelf. “I’ll put away Jillian’s pictures.”
“You don’t need to,” Camille said, turning to him. “I truly don’t mind. You loved her and you were going to marry her. I’ll feel better because I imagine you like to see them.”
“That’s past and gone. I don’t need the pictures to remember her and I can look at them if I want. I’ll put them away. It’ll probably help me to move on.”
She didn’t think he would have done any such thing before their wedding and honeymoon. He was changing, coming out of the shell, but how much would he open his heart in the future?
She walked around the room and roamed into the masculine bedroom, with a bed that had an old-fashioned high headboard and navy-and-white pillows and comforter.
“This room looks like you.”
“You can change this however you want as long it isn’t pink or purple. I can’t do purple or pink.”
She grinned. “Aw, shucks, imagine that,” she said, teasing him, unable to imagine Marek sprawled in a pink bed.
They heard Ashley and went out to find her in the sitting room. She held out Noah and Camille took him.
“Give him to me and we’ll have a quick tour,” Marek said.
Marek showed them the gym, with an indoor pool of pale blue tiles with white Corinthian columns on each side. Next they went to the entertainment room. “Both of you—this is your home, too, now. Ashley, you and Camille both feel free to use these rooms, the gym, the entertainment center, the kitchen, the pool, anything you want whenever you want, middle of the night or whatever. This is your home now,” he repeated, gazing at Camille.
“Thank you,” Camille said.
“Come on, we’ll continue this tour,” he said. By the time they stepped outside on a patio that was as big as the central part of the house, Camille wondered if she would ever find her way around. She stopped and looked around at the outdoor living area stocked with what looked like indoor furniture with a well-equipped kitchen. Beyond the chairs and furniture and outdoor rooms was a fenced area with a cabana, a dazzling pool that had slides and fountains and beds of flowers and palm trees.
To one side of the yard was another waterfall, as well as a fish and lily pond that was equally gorgeous.
There was a play area with a portable fence already set up for Noah. It was large enough for adults so Ashley took Noah from Marek. Holding the baby she stepped into it with him and set him down, giving him his toys. She sat near him, playing with him.
Marek declared happy hour and served everyone the drink of her choice. When they all had drinks, Ashley lifted her daiquiri. She sat in the fenced area on a blanket with Noah beside her and toys spread in front of him. Rising to her feet, she said, “Here’s to the best brother-in-law ever, besides being the only one I have,” she added, smiling at Marek. “Thank you for coming into our lives. Noah will thank you a few years from now.”
Marek stood and crossed to her, leaning over the plastic fence to touch his glass to hers. “I’ll drink to that,” he said, turning back to Camille to toast her glass as well. She sipped, looking over the rim of her glass at him and wanting to be alone with him. His dark eyes held her gaze, conveying a sensual promise for later that night.
Marek’s cell phone rang, and he excused himself to answer it.
When he was out of earshot, Camille smiled at her sister. “That was a nice toast, Ashley.”
“I meant it, Camille. He’s been incredible.”
“I think so,” Camille answered.
“Don’t let him break your heart,” Ashley whispered, looking at Marek, whose back was turned.
“I just hope for the best, but he’s being very good to us.”
“Amen to that.”
Marek returned with phone in hand. “Ginny’s on the phone. The girls want to have Noah back. Any chance of them keeping him again anytime soon? And feel free to say no.”
“It’s fine with me.” Camille looked at Ashley, who glanced at Noah.
“If you two don’t mind, I’ll fly home to Saint Louis again this weekend. I could leave on Friday and get back Sunday night if that would be all right.”
“My plane will take you. Actually, we can go to Dallas and spend the weekend there. Ashley will fly home and Ginny and the girls can take Noah. How’s that?”
Camille laughed. “All of us flying to Dallas so two little girls—”
“And one big one,” Marek interrupted.
“So they can play with Noah for a couple of days. I don’t care. I’d like to spend the weekend in Dallas.”
Marek raised his phone. “Ginny, we’re not doing this every weekend, but we’ll come back to Dallas. Ashley is going home to Saint Louis. We’ll come early Friday and you can have him from Friday around noon until Sunday afternoon. How’s that?” He held the phone away as squeals erupted.
Shaking his head, he said, “Tell the girls to calm down. They’ll see a lot of him. Okay. See you Friday. I’ll tell them.”
He put away his cell phone and looked at Camille and Ashley. “Profuse thanks, ladies, for sharing Noah. I’m sure you could hear the girls’ screams of joy that he’s coming for the weekend.” Marek glanced at Noah. “He’s oblivious to all this hoopla. I may have to have a talk with my sister and tell her to get those girls new dolls or, better yet, get another baby in the family. Maybe you can pick out new dolls for them,” he said to Camille.
Camille laughed. “The girls seemed totally fascinated with him and he likes them, but then, Noah likes everyone.”
“He’s Kern’s son,” Marek remarked. “Thanks again, hon,” he said to Camille.
“He’ll be happy,” she replied, thinking of Marek’s casual endearment. The hon was so lightly stated, yet the term was a warm, fuzzy blanket wrapping around her heart, making her feel that he cared about her.
*
Friday, Camille saw the Rangel jet take off with Ashley on board, headed to Saint Louis. In the next hour, she watched Ginny and the girls come by Marek’s Dallas house to pick up Noah. Finally, Camille turned to look at Marek as he closed and locked the door behind his sister and her brood.
“We’re alone,” he said when he faced her. “Come here, Camille.”
*
Monday when they returned to the ranch, Marek held Camille’s hand on the plane. The weekend had been fabulous. The more he made love to her, the more he wanted her. That amazed him. In so many ways, from that first day he had met her, she had constantly surprised him.
June approached, when she would be locked into performing for two weeks, and he knew he would see almost nothing of her in that time. He didn’t like the thought. When had she become important to him? It was as if he couldn’t get through a day without her in his life.
He shifted to look at her. Camille was dressed in red slacks and a matching red silk blouse. A red scarf encircled her hair at the back of her neck. He wondered whether she was wearing red or black underwear, vowing to buy her something sexy soon. Very personal, very sexy. His blood heated at the thought. He glanced out the window without seeing anything. Was he falling in love with his wife? The question startled him. He had constantly credited his feelings for Camille to pure lust, but did it go beyond that? Had she replaced the void left in his heart? He would always love Jillian, but there was only a memory and a heartache over her loss. Camille was here, filled with zest and life.
Could he have already fallen in love with his wife without realizing it? He turned again to look at her. How he wished they were alone. He would like
to take that red scarf off her hair and let the mass of midnight hair fall freely over her shoulders. He wanted to bury himself in her heat and softness. Am I in love? The question nagged at him as he stared at her. She turned to look at him. “You look deep in thought.”
“I’m thinking about the changes we need to make at the ranch. We’ll need a nursery that can easily be transformed into a suite for a little boy. You’ll need a music room. We can do that.”
“That I do want,” she said, a somber note in her voice.
“Anything worrying you?”
She smiled. “Not at all. Just curiosity, and maybe I’m a little overwhelmed. My life is changing swiftly. You came into it like a bolt of lightning and absolutely fried my old life instantly.”
He leaned closer to her. “I believe I can say the same thing. Mine is better now, Camille.”
“That’s the nicest possible thing you could say,” she whispered.
“I mean it.” He wished he could be alone with her because he wanted to say more, but this wasn’t the time. He glanced away. Across the aisle, Ashley was buried in her brochures and books and Noah slept, unaware his life changed by the day now.
Marek ran his thumb lightly across Camille’s knuckles, placing her hand on his thigh and putting his hand over hers as he sat back and gazed out the window. “We’ll be there soon.”
She had brought about the impossible in his life, something he thought he would never again experience. He wanted to scoop her up now and kiss her and it took all his control to sit and try to think clearly about when he could possibly first be alone with her.
*
That night Camille and Marek got Noah bathed and in his pajamas and Camille took him back to the family room to rock him to sleep.
Still marveling how much his life had changed, Marek sat watching them while the women talked softly. Camille’s hair spread over one shoulder with the sleeping baby on the other. She was beautiful, and she had filled a void in his heart.
He studied her solemnly. Already, his relationship with her had gone where he never thought it would. He had never even considered the possibility that he would care for her to the extent his heart would be touched. She wasn’t the woman to get involved with. Her heart was taken by her career. Would it be possible to get her to give up her career for a full, family-centered life? Already, he was deeply involved with her, and he wanted to be.
She stood and cradled the sleeping baby in her arms. Ashley jumped up. “I’ll take him to bed. I’m turning in, anyway,” she said, taking Noah as Marek stood. Camille brushed a kiss on the top of his head.
“’Night, Marek, ’night, Camille,” Ashley said, leaving with Noah sleeping against her shoulder.
“So you’ve seen the ranch and spent a few days here now,” Marek said, sitting close to Camille as she sat again on the sofa. “What would you like to remodel? Redecorate? Change?”
“I’m checking into the names of decorators you gave me about the nursery. I definitely want to change that whole suite so it looks as if it belongs to a little boy. I also need a music room. Other than that, I’m fine for now. I don’t want to come in and change everything.”
“The way you’ve changed me,” he said, moving closer to her where he could wind his fingers in her hair. “I’m not the same person I was when I met you. I’m happy, Camille. So happy with you.”
She leaned forward to brush his lips lightly with hers. His hand tangled in her hair, and he kissed her hard.
When she leaned away, she gasped for breath. “Maybe we should go back to discussing redecorating.”
“Do what you want. End of discussion. This is much more interesting,” he said, moving closer to slip his arm around her waist and kiss her.
She leaned forward to kiss him in return.
He released her. “Ashley’s gone to bed. We can talk in our room. Let’s go,” he said, standing and holding out his hand. She took his hand to stroll through the house with him while he switched off indoor lights.
“I told you my schedule involved going to Saint Louis in September to see my family after I finish performing in August in Santa Fe. I’ll amend that slightly. I’ll come back here for two weeks and then go to Saint Louis for one.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Marek replied.
When they stepped into his bedroom suite and he closed the door, he reached out to draw her against his chest. “I’ve wanted you in my arms all evening,” he said in a husky voice, leaning closer to kiss her, thoughts of the future gone.
*
The following week they returned to Dallas and she threw herself into practice and lessons the majority of her waking hours to get ready for her upcoming performance of La Traviata.
Marek stayed in Dallas, dismayed by the amount of work she put into her practice. He heard her sing scales and exercises, but he left early to go to his office and returned in the evening to stay out of the way. He wouldn’t have realized the full extent of her efforts except he phoned her during the day, avoiding the hours he knew she spent in rehearsal. Sometimes he would only to talk to her briefly, and then she would return to practice her voice lesson, or go over her lesson in getting her Italian correct for the performance. She also worked out each day and they began to work out at 6:00 a.m. together, just so he could see her during her waking hours. After seven in the evening was the only time she let go and played with Noah. Finally after everyone else had gone to bed, she would go with Marek to their bedroom. They made love for hours into the night the first two nights, but by the third, after making love, she fell into an exhausted sleep and he knew he should not wake her again, but let her have the rest she needed. By Thursday, he went back to the ranch to stay out of her way and not be a distraction because each day she poured herself more into her work.
As he twisted wire, working on mending a fence, he realized he was standing, staring into the distance, his thoughts totally focused on Camille. His heart thudded and he found it difficult to breathe. He was in love with Camille when he had been certain such a thing could never happen. He had lusted after her, admired her, seduced her, laughed with her, shared Noah with her, but he hadn’t expected to fall in love with her.
From what she had told him, she was getting back to a normal routine, which meant she would not have as much time for him as she had been giving him through the wedding and right after. Had he gotten himself into a situation where he would only experience more hurt? He couldn’t ask her to give up her career and be a rancher’s wife. He couldn’t give up the ranch and go back to city life and work in an office on a daily routine. They had agreed that sometimes he would travel with her, which would be good, but he couldn’t do that all the time. He couldn’t imagine spending his life following her from town to town. And he hated the separations. He missed her anytime that he was away from her now. How had she so ingrained herself in his heart?
Thinking about being with her, he had to admit it was love he felt. He didn’t even know how long he had been in love with his wife. Maybe since their honeymoon. That’s when she had broken through the barriers around his heart. He just hadn’t realized how thoroughly she had. He hadn’t recognized or stopped to think about his own feelings. Maybe it had even been before their honeymoon, a gradual thing that he hadn’t recognized as it had been happening. A miracle for him.
He loved her. Totally, completely. And if he loved her, he wanted her in his life, not this piecemeal seeing each other between her voice lessons and, soon, her performances and trips home to her family. He wanted her in his life just as he had wanted Noah in his life. Each night he had missed her more than ever. Now, he sat thinking about how he could ask her to give up her career. He hated the absences, but he hated hurting her more. How could he ask her to give up what she’d worked so hard to achieve?
He had lost one love. Had he set himself up for another devastating heartbreak?
On the weekend he returned to Dallas. Ashley had flown home again, and Camille had agreed to let Ginny keep Noah
Friday and Saturday nights and have him home with Marek Sunday night before Marek returned to the ranch.
Between Camille’s full schedule in Dallas and their separation when he was at the ranch, he wondered about their future. As she succeeded in her career, she would probably be busier than she was now. Could he deal with that?
Monday, the last week of May, he stayed in Dallas and told Camille he was going to his office. As soon as the stores opened, he called his jeweler and talked briefly before leaving for the jewelry store.
It was after six when Camille finished her daily routine and showered, dressing for dinner in black silk slacks and a matching sleeveless top.
Marek played with Noah in the room that had become a temporary nursery until the redecorating was finished. Seated cross-legged on the floor, Marek talked to Noah while playing patty-cake with him. Noah laughed and clapped his hands in imitation.
“Having fun?” she asked and Marek rose to his feet, scooping up Noah to hold him. When the baby held his arms out to Camille, she took him.
“Ashley left for the evening. Told us to not wait up. I told her we wouldn’t,” Marek said in a husky tone. “I have plans for you.”
“I can’t wait. But I do have to feed this fellow or no one will do anything else and he’ll still be awake when we go to bed.”
“When we go to bed,” Marek repeated. “I can’t wait. Let’s feed the hungry boy.”
“I agree.”
*
It was nine o’clock when they were in their room and finally alone. Marek drew Camille into his embrace. One look in his dark eyes and her heart began to race. “I’ve waited all day for this moment,” he whispered and kissed away her answer.