The Spaniard's Love-Child
Page 17
Nell sat down at the desk and scanned the detailed drawings in front of her.
‘I consulted the people from the charity all the way along the line,’ Raul said, watching her face. ‘And they suggested the adjoining residential facility for respite care.’
‘My God, Raul, you’ve rebuilt the centre!’ she gasped, not quite believing what she was seeing.
‘Well, not exactly, I thought we’d leave out the wet rot, dry rot and peeling paintwork…’
‘You must have been planning this for ages,’ she accused.
‘A while,’ he admitted casually.
‘And it must have cost you a small fortune,’ she added worriedly.
‘It may have escaped your notice, but I am a very rich man.’
‘Even so…’ Nell felt the hot moisture well in her eyes as she pushed the chair noisily back and got to her feet. She raised her summer-blue tear-drenched eyes to his face and Raul caught his breath.
‘You did this for me?’
‘I would do anything for you,’ he said simply. ‘I just thought you might like this…but it’s made you cry. I should have bought the necklace. Well, actually…’ He hitched the contented baby onto his hip and dug into his trouser pocket with his free hand. ‘I got it anyway.’ He held out a red velvet box inscribed with the name of a high-class jeweller.
Her hand was shaking when she took it from him and extracted the lovely diamond necklace from within. She held the dazzling bauble to the light. ‘It’s beautiful.’
‘No,’ he corrected firmly. ‘You are beautiful and you made me the happiest man alive when you married me. When Javier was born I felt as if all the pieces of my life fell into place.’
‘That’s exactly how I felt too!’ she admitted in wonder as she laid her head against her husband’s broad chest. She closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar, but exciting—always exciting—scent of him. ‘Are you going to give me the tour?’ she asked when she straightened up.
‘Another time. Right now I feel the urge to see you wearing that necklace.’
‘I’ll need to buy something to wear that will do it justice.’
‘I know the perfect thing.’
‘My black dress? The one with…’ She stopped; Raul was shaking his head.
‘Not the black dress, no dress.’ His smoky gaze slid down her slender body before returning to her face. ‘I want to see the necklace against your smooth skin; nothing else will do it justice.’
An erotic thrill sliced through her body. ‘You mean you want to see me…?’ She drew a deep breath. ‘I think we should go home immediately, Raul.’
‘You are reading my mind, querida.’
‘Which is why I’m blushing. You are a very bad man,’ she reproached.
The sound of Raul’s rich, throaty laugh made her shiver. ‘You inspire me to new heights of badness,’ he admitted.
Nell gave a sultry smile. As goals went this one sounded like something realistic for her to aim towards—to continue to inspire her incredible husband for the rest of their lives together!
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6357-8
THE SPANIARD’S LOVE-CHILD
First North American Publication 2005.
Copyright © 2003 by Kim Lawrence.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com