A British Bride by Agreement (10 page)

“Yes,” She melted at his tender
attentions like butter on scone. “But all this adventure has actually made me
hungry.”

As they stepped out of the store, he
caught a glimpse of one of his favorite restaurants.
Der
Gelphaus
.
The
Yellow House.
“Let’s go eat some lunch.”

With his arm firmly around her waist and
an eye roving for more photographers, he directed her through the crowd until
they entered the quiet atmosphere of the refined eatery. The restaurant smelled
of warm chocolate and fresh-baked bread.

Immediately the proprietress, dressed in
a traditional green wool suit with a red feather sticking out of her felt hat,
greeted them. “Herr Steller, it is my pleasure to serve you again. The private
room is available.”

His chest welled with pride. Now Emma
would experience travelling as a Steller. “The pleasure is all
mine
.” He kissed both cheeks of the older woman.

Immediately they were escorted past a
large waiting crowd, upstairs into a small chamber with vaulted ceiling and a
view of
Petreskirche
,
the oldest church in the inner city of Munich.

High backed, wooden chairs were pulled
out and linen napkins placed on their laps. A cook, wearing his white garb,
came into the room. “Herr Steller,
Guten
Tag
.”

Jonathan stood and shook his hand.
“Gustaf, good day to you as well.
I’d like to introduce you
to the new Mrs. Steller, my wife, Emma.”

She smiled and waved her injured hand. “
Gruss
Gott
. I greet
you with God.”

Jonathan shot a look at Gustaf as he
offered a brief nod and answered her back. “
Gruss
Gott
.”

Before Jonathan could ask Emma how she
knew that quaint greeting, Frau
Tasse
bowed. “Gustaf
is here to cook what you would like for your
mittagessen
, er, lunch.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “Anything we want?”

Jonathan settled back into his chair.
“Whatever you like, he will prepare. And I would like a steak, baked potato,
and green beans.”

“Jonathan, you’re jesting. We must enjoy
the local food.
Schweinbratan, knodel, sauerkraut, and
schwarzwaldkuchen.”

“
Schwars
—what?”

“Black forest
cake.”

“How do you know all this?”

Gustaf bowed. “Shall I follow your
wife’s desires?”

Jonathan’s mouth
quirked.
“Sure, yes, that would be fine.”

“
Vielen
Dank
.”
Emma said to
the cook as he left the room. “I just said many thanks to him.”

“Did you learn the language in your
sleep last night?” Jonathan shook his head.

“I just picked up these German phrases
books before we left. I like learning new things. I guess it’s like music, it
just comes easy to me.”

He took her hand and squeezed it. “Well,
I’m impressed. Would you like to explain to me the workings of the local
government?”

She smiled. “No, but I can tell you that
I am touched by how kind you are with everyone you meet. You didn’t have to
offer to pay for that horrid man’s camera. I’ve known some posh people who were
such—”

“Snobs?”

Emma laughed.

And he savored the sound.

He also enjoyed the delicious array of
local cuisine prepared for them. How could he have spent so much time here and
not tasted much German food? It was amazing. After the dishes were cleared,
Gustaf brought in coffee and dessert.

She took another nibble of her apple
strudel. “This is the best I’ve ever had.”

“Waiter,” Jonathan held up his hand.
“Another Apple Strudel for my wife,
bitte
.” He smiled broadly. “Aren’t you impressed I said
please
?”

“Very
impressed.”

By the tilt of her head, he wondered
what she looked like as a child. What would it be like to have a little girl?
“Do you have any thoughts about children?”

She paused sipping her hot chocolate.
“Children?”

“I’d like a boy, and name him Joshua
after my brother, and then a girl.”

She set her cup down, her attention
fixed on her lap. “You know you can’t just order those up. God has a hand in
it.”

His father had already asked when there
would be children. Jonathan knew his father would continue to pressure him
about heirs, as it was an important part of sealing his position as the head of
the company. It has to be done sooner than later. “I think by the end of the
year?”

She slowly set her hands together as if
in prayer. “Like, this year?”

“For us to begin
to have our first child.”
The memory of holding Emma at the
souvenir store sent a wave of heat through his body. “Do you think that’s
possible?”

She tucked her hair behind her ears.
“Of course.”

Concern furrowed his brow. “I don’t mean
I’m going to insist on it, I just thought we should talk about it.”

“Could we just enjoy getting to know one
another, then discuss it again later.”

He let out sigh. Although his father had
told him that marriage and family were a requirement to run the Steller
Corporation, why was he pushing this? Just get to know the woman.
Who knows, you might fall in love
—he
rubbed his face with his hand. He hadn’t realized until this moment how
hardened his heart had become since his breakup with Dede. “You’re right,
forgive me. Let’s just enjoy our time here. Shall we go?”

As they came out of the restaurant, the
wind had picked up and the distant view of the Alps became crystal clear.

“Could we walk up a mountain?” Emma
asked

Jonathan looked at the tall peaks and
thought of all the ways he’d been up there.
Ski lift,
horse-drawn carriage, motor scooter, car, but never just on foot.
“Are
you sure?”

She laughed at him and patted his back.
“We don’t have to go to the top. We can just follow the walking trails and
enjoy the scenery.”

Again, he was at a loss for words. On
one of his previous trips to Bavaria with his family, Dede had come, and she
had dragged him from designer shop to designer shop. She showed no desire to
mix with the locals, much less eat their food or learn their language. Emma was
a totally different woman. He pulled a strand of her blonde hair from her eyes
and tucked it behind her ear. “I like you, Emma Steller, very much.”

She stepped away from him, studying the crowds
of milling people. His chest tightened. Did she not like to be touched? “Are
you okay?”

She fixed her green-eyed gaze on him as
if weighing her words. “I—I,” again her gaze faltered. “You have made me
happier than I can say.”

His throat tightened. She could have
said many things, but that he’d made her happy, filled him with a rush of
pleasure.
“
Wunderbar
!
”

As they shared a laugh, he found himself
hoping it would be one of many.

CHAPTER SIX

After an hour and a half drive to the
Alps, Emma and Jonathan started their walk. A couple of miles into their
journey, she stopped to take a drink from her water bottle. The view of the
sweeping valley covered in yellow rapeseed flowers and framed by a cornflower-blue
sky with milky clouds held her gaze.

“Looks grand, doesn’t it?” Jonathan
leaned over to catch his breath.

“Lovely.” She passed him her water
bottle. “God did a really good job, didn’t He?”

He took a long swig and studied her. “I
like how you tie everything to God. That’s a good way to live. Keeps you
humble.”

“And grateful.”

The squeal of a
young child, followed by the stern voice of an American woman, turned Emma
around.

“Chloe!
Come back.”

Emma strained to see who was coming
around the bend in the path. That voice sounded familiar.

A tow-headed little girl zipped passed
them, followed by a jet-black haired woman and a blond man with a flushed face.
Both had babies strapped to their backs.

“Chloe, slow
down!”
The man flew past Emma and Jonathan.

Glued to the spot, Emma’s jaw dropped
open. “Debbie? Debbie
Komber
?”

The woman halted and wiped the sweat off
her brow. “Yes. Do I know you—Emma Waterhouse?” The woman yelled ahead toward
her husband. “Ben,
it’s
Emma,” and threw herself into
Emma’s arms.

Emma squealed as she hugged her then
pulled back and stared at her friend from college. “You haven’t aged a bit.”

Debbie slapped her thighs. “Have you
seen what three kids have done—oh my
goodness!
Where’s
Chloe?”

Clutching a wiggling tot under one arm,
Ben trudged back toward them.
“Got her.”

“It is so good to see you.” Emma hugged
Ben, but she felt a stab of anxiety when Debbie sneaked a peek at Jonathan.

Emma touched her friend’s arm. “I’m
sorry to tell you this, but DJ died—”

“Oh, no.
How long ago?”

A sick feeling of dread twisted in
Emma’s stomach. She and Debbie hadn’t talked in over two years. The words four
months stalled on her lips.
Now you’ve
gone and done it, Duckie.
How was she going to explain to one of her
friends how she came to be remarried so quickly?

“Hi, I’m Jonathan, Emma’s husband.” He
held out his hand to Ben.

Emma released the breath she’d been
holding, grateful to him for changing the subject.

Debbie gasped and directed her gaze
between the two of them. “You’re on your honeymoon.” Her face lit up. “I knew
it. No wonder you don’t appear the least bit tired from climbing this
mountain.”

“It was a small wedding—” Emma fidgeted.
“Well, not small, but it came up very quickly, and I didn’t have time to invite
any friends.”

Debbie grasped her hand. “No need to
explain. I’m just very happy for you.”

“You look familiar.” Ben tipped his ball
cap back and stared at Jonathan. “Do I know you?”

Heat flushed Emma’s cheeks. Now and
then, she’d seen Jonathan’s picture in a newspaper or in a magazine, and it
wasn’t for noble reasons. The Jonathan Steller that she’d read about had been a
big spending partier. Had they seen the pictures, too? How could she explain
that he had completely changed? She flashed a peek at Jonathan. She hoped he’d
changed.

Jonathan pointed to Ben’s St. Louis
Blues hockey sweatshirt. “We’ve been to a lot of the same hockey games
together.”

“Blue’s fan?”

“Since I was
knee-high to a hockey puck.”

“I can’t get over the feeling we’ve met before.”
Ben rubbed his chin. “What kind of business are you in?”

Emma pressed her lips together.

“Manufacturing,” Jonathan said.

“Me, too.”
Ben shifted
Chloe in is arms. “Maybe we’ve met at a convention or something.”

Emma let out a breath.

Debbie put her arm around her. “I am
sorry to hear of DJ’s death and for all you’ve been through, but it looks
like,” she nodded toward Jonathan, who was in a rabid discussion with Ben about
the Blues hockey team, “things have turned out really well.”

Emma squeezed her hands. “Yes, they
have. Better than I ever expected.”

“So you landed a Steller.” Debbie
winked.

Emma’s eyes widened then she laughed at
her friend’s teasing. “Have you read about him?”

“I’m not too proud to admit I read
Celebrity News. But I did think it was very considerate of him not to bluster
about who he was.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Emma thought of all
the times she’d seen Jonathan shun opportunities to brag about himself.
So unlike her parents.

Chloe slipped out of her father’s grasp
and tugged on her mom’s sweater. “I’m hungry.”

Debbie picked up her daughter. “You
remember Chloe, don’t you?”