by Robyn Grady
Only seconds later, she was half aware of being dragged up and breaking the water’s surface. She opened her eyes. Gage’s strong arms were hoisting her out onto the pool’s edge. While she spluttered and coughed, he pulled himself out. Water coursing down his worried face, he knelt and carefully held her in his lap. The pain throbbed worse; she cringed and shut her eyes.
He stood up and swept her into his arms. “I’m getting you to a doctor.”
As Gage strode with her toward the house, she gingerly moved her arms and legs. She hadn’t hit the side. Nothing felt broken.
When they reached the back patio, she’d stopped coughing and her head wasn’t quite so foggy.
“I’m all right,” Jenna murmured. “You can put me down.”
“I told you, I’m taking you to a doctor.”
He gazed down at her, his eyes fiery, his hair swept back, his hard body not quite trembling as he held her. And then she realized.
Warmth spread through her chest and she smiled. “You’re all wet.”
He didn’t look impressed. “So it seems.”
“I thought you’d rather eat razor blades than try to swim.”
He’d acted without thinking and had faced his greatest fear when he thought she was in trouble. He said he wanted her to trust him…said he would give up his Fortune 500 lifestyle….
Her mind was still reeling when, sopping wet and cold, he brought his mouth to hers, kissing her with all the fire and honesty she’d lain awake and dreamt of last night. Intense, passionate. Overwhelming and fulfilling.
Panicking, she broke the kiss. “Your cell phone! It’ll be ruined, and it has all that footage of Leeann and Barry and—”
He set her feet gently on the ground. “The police already have a copy of the incident and the phone.”
He gathered her close. The kiss this time was slow and deep.
She came up for air, dreamy, the fall into the pool almost forgotten, but she needed to ask, “I thought you were certain that you wanted the plane not the anchor.”
His brows lifted. “My pen?” She nodded. “My Montblanc is sitting on the bottom of Darling Harbour, or, perhaps, in the belly of some fish.”
“Did you drop it?”
“No. I tossed it as far as I could. It flew for a while then sank, a little like you a minute ago.” He grinned and held her closer. “You and Meg are what’s real to me, nothing else. You’re who I am, what I need. Not big contracts signed with gold pens. Not Maseratis or Learjets. I’m nothing without your love. All these years, I was nothing without you.”
Jenna gazed up into those incredible eyes, wanting, needing to believe. Her concentration slipped when she heard a distant voice.
“What’s going on here?” Tina called out from the far end of the patio. “Do you two often go swimming fully dressed?”
In her nanny’s arms, Meg cooed and wriggled.
“Jenna slipped and fell into the pool,” Gage explained.
Without another word, Tina disappeared inside. She returned with Meg in one arm and towels under the other. Jenna and Gage gratefully accepted a towel each while Tina asked if Jenna was all right and Jenna assured everyone she really was fine.
After Gage had wiped himself down, he dropped his wet towel, took the last dry one from Tina and held out his arms.
“May I?” He took the baby, sitting her in the towel and gazed down lovingly. “I’m going to be here for you. First words, first steps, first day of school. I’m looking forward to every moment.”
Eyes bright and blue, Meg laughed and tried to clap.
Tina laughed too. “Looks like she missed her dad.”
Jenna held her breath.
But Gage only smiled. “And I missed her, so much you wouldn’t believe.”
Tears prickled Jenna’s eyes. Could Gage—a professed loner—be a stable father for her baby? Would Amy and Brad have wanted that? More importantly, was that what Meg needed?
He brought Jenna close and brushed his lips against her temple. “I want to be Meg’s dad. And I want to be your husband, for real, Jenna. Forever. We deserve this chance. We all deserve some happiness.”
Jenna pressed her lips together. They really did deserve happiness, didn’t they? Little Meg more than anyone. Perhaps it wasn’t wrong to trust one more time, to put her faith in her love and in his.
His tone deepened. “Tell me you love me. Seems I’ve waited my whole life to hear it.”
When, perched between them, Meg placed one hand on his chest and one hand on hers, Jenna felt herself being swept away on the first leg of a beautiful journey. With a smile, she released the last of her fears. “I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. I never will.”
His eyes glistened as they searched hers. “Then I’m one very happy man.”
When their mouths joined above their baby’s head, Jenna felt so many powerful forces swirling around them—forming, then sparking and finally melding together to shine more brightly than ever before.
She felt it to her soul.
This union was indeed a match made in heaven. A wonderful heaven on earth.
Epilogue
Four years later
At the light tap on the door, Jenna set down her nail file and pushed up higher on her family-sized hospital bed. A little weary, but so very happy, she beamed when her husband and excited little girl entered her private maternity suite.
Meg, with her blond pigtails, bounced onto the mattress and crawled over to lie beside her mother. She pressed a big wet kiss on Jenna’s cheek.
“I missed you, Mummy.”
Gage leant over Meg to give his wife his own kiss, the kind of heart-warming, tender caress that would live on in her memory forever. He smiled into her eyes. “You’ve never looked more beautiful.”
She might have laughed. After giving birth, minus makeup? But the sincerity shining from his eyes sent her fingers curving around his jaw. How she loved this man—so much it sometimes hurt.
Holding her gaze with his, he pressed her palm to his lips then straightened. “These are for you.”
From behind his back, he whipped out a bouquet of wildflowers.
Vibrant yellows, soft pinks, striking reds…
“They’re beautiful!” Jenna reached for the call button. “I’ll have a nurse bring a vase.”
His fingers folded over hers. “The nurses have their hands full right now.”
“Daddy said there’d be a big surprise when we got here.” Meg looked up at her mother and whispered, “I know what the surprise is.”
Gage tickled his daughter’s ribs. “I’ll bet you don’t.”
On cue, a pair of nurses strolled in, each carrying a cherished bundle.
Meg’s hands flew to her mouth at the same time Gage set down the flowers and put out his arms.
His eyes were sparkling—with happiness, wonder, heartfelt thanks—the same gamut of emotions that ignited and twirled through Jenna too. How many moments were there as precious as this? Today must be the happiest of her life.
Gage carefully took the nearest baby. “Which one’s this?” He shifted the blanket a smidgeon to look at the face. “Ah, Noah.” His smile grew. “What a handsome boy.”
The second nurse laid the other twin in Jenna’s arms. Jenna inspected the baby’s features and grinned. And Isobelle was a gorgeous girl.
Meg’s eyebrows sloped, pleading, “Can I hold one?”
“Your little sister or your brother?” Gage asked, indicating with a nudge of his chin that Meg should wriggle back against the pillows.
“Um…that one,” she answered, pointing to the bundle in Gage’s arms.
Positioned and ready, Meg’s eyes widened with amazement as Gage laid a soundly sleeping Noah in her arms. “I can’t believe I get two babies.” When Noah yawned, Meg’s sigh went on forever. “I love him,” she murmured adoringly. Then she frowned. “But he needs a iron. He’s got some wrinkles.”
Gage laughed. “That’s because he’s brand new. He’ll fill out
soon enough.” He tugged one of Meg’s pigtail. “You certainly did. Look at you!”
A short time ago Meg had been a baby, too. Both Jenna and Gage had loved and nurtured her; she’d been their whole world. Meg was so comfortable with herself—so sweet yet confident—Jenna knew they’d done a fine job so far.
Jenna tilted closer to Meg. “Why don’t you kiss Noah’s brow? He’d like that.”
Meg pressed her lips to the baby’s head. Her small fingers patted the baby blanket as she would her favorite swaddled doll. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Can we take them home now?”
Gage stroked Meg’s crown. “Not yet, honey. A few more days.”
Both babies were a good weight, and there’d been no complications. But, even with Tina’s assistance, Jenna needed to regain her strength before tackling the rewarding yet tiring task of caring for newborn twins.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay with Meg at home by yourself?” she asked.
Gage pretended to scoff. “We’ll have fun.”
Meg gave a very grown-up nod. “And the new lady’s there to do all the dishes and stuff.”
Gage’s jaw shifted. “Hey, I can do dishes.”
Meg rolled her eyes as if to say, Well, he tries.
Gage rounded the bed and sat beside Jenna. “Don’t worry about us. Concentrate on building up your strength.” His mouth kicked into a playful smile, but his eyes were bright with a deeper emotion. “I’m not surprised you make beautiful babies.”
Her gaze ran over the lips she would never grow tired of kissing each morning and every night. “We make beautiful babies.”
He curled a knuckle around his baby daughter’s cheek. “I felt complete before,” he murmured, “but this…” His shoulders went back. “We’ll just have to have more.”
Jenna coughed out a laugh. “Can I have a few weeks?”
But of course she wanted more children as much as he did. She’d taken three years to get pregnant. Perhaps the delay was partly due to stress over the trial. Now that her stepmother and Barry Whitmore were serving hard time, Jenna would be happy never to hear their names again.
Gage had been at her side the entire time, except for three days away to save the Dubai deal, which Jenna had insisted on. Then he’d handed over most of his business responsibilities to Nick, who had since married Summer. In his spare time, Gage helped his wife with her directorship of Darley Realty and restored classic cars. His latest work—an Aston Martin DB4 convertible—had sold for an obscene amount at auction.
In four years they’d become so close. He’d told her about that poor woman, Brittany—on top of everything else, no wonder Gage had been terrified to commit. And now little Meg was in Prep—the year of formal schooling before the Big Grade One. She was so bright; Jenna had wondered whether her daughter would somehow work out that her mummy was having twins. Seeing Meg’s face now, keeping the surprise had been well worth it.
Gage toyed with Isobelle’s tiny hand. “Did you know that 22 percent of twins are left-handed as opposed to 10 percent of nontwins?”
Jenna nodded. “I think you mentioned it.” At least a dozen times since they’d learned this would be a multiple birth.
“And the word twin,” he went on, “comes from the Greek word twine, which means two together.”
“Like a tree,” Meg offered.
“Sure,” he said. “Branches can twine.”
“And spread out.” Meg spoke to Jenna. “Miss Samuels told us today at school.”
Gage smiled mysteriously. “We should show Mummy the special tree you and Miss Samuels made today.”
Meg’s face lit up. “Can you get it, Daddy?”
Gage retrieved a folded piece of paper from Meg’s sequined handbag. He opened it then held the paper up so proudly, it might have been the deeds to a palace. “Meg drew our family tree.”
Meg chimed in. “See. There’s me and Noah…or Izzybelle. I thought there was one.” She tilted her head at the paper. “Here’s you and Daddy. Daddy’s got a crown coz he comes from kings. And there’s my other mummy and dad.”
The twist of pain in Jenna’s chest was quickly replaced by the warmth of love. She could barely see through her welling tears. Standing to either side of the stick figures that represented herself and Gage were another couple who wore bright yellow halos.
“They’re our garjon angels,” Meg said earnestly. “Noah and Izzy’s angels now, too.” She turned her big blue eyes up at Jenna. “If you’re not too tired, Mummy, I want to take a photo of us here for Show and Tell.”
Smiling, Jenna cleared the thickness from her throat. “I’m not too tired, sweetheart.”
Gage pretimed the camera then set it on the portable meal table at the end of the bed. Sitting beside Meg, he laid his arm along the pillows at their backs and brought his family near.
He winked at Jenna, kissed Meg’s crown then smiled into the lens. “Everyone say, chocolate fudge sundae!”
The flash went off, but Jenna’s smile didn’t fade. She wanted this moment to last and last.
Gage nudged her. “Hey, you’re off with the fairies. Penny for your thoughts.”
She was thinking she’d been given the most priceless gifts in the world—her husband, her family and a loving, stable home where each of them would always belong.
“I was thinking that no one could be happier than I am right now,” she admitted.
Gage leant close, and his adoring smile grazed her lips. “No one except me.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2410-4
BABY BEQUEST
Copyright © 2008 by Robyn Grady
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