Splendor (Inevitable #2) (47 page)

“Care to share the joke, or is it a private one?” drawled Ian in amusement. His arm circled Tessa’s shoulder, his fingers splayed over the bare, warm flesh of her arm. He felt the little shimmer of awareness that traveled through her body and he smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Nathan and Julia were holding hands, clearly as enamored with each other as he and Tessa were. Nathan indicated his head toward the bottle of champagne Ian had ordered – a particularly fine vintage of Perrier Jouet.

“I was just reminding my lovely fiancée here that we happened to be drinking the exact same champagne on the night of our first – uh, I guess you could call it a date,” shrugged Nathan.

Ian smiled and offered up his flute in a silent toast. “Well, I’m very glad I chose something that brought back happy memories for you.”

Nathan grinned, his fingers brushing against the nape of Julia’s neck. “Julia loves champagne, don’t you, baby? Especially when she’s in the mood to be sed- ”

Julia clamped a hand over Nathan’s mouth. “Don’t you dare. Behave yourself, Nathan Atwood. You’re going to embarrass me in front of Ian and Tessa.”

Nathan winked knowingly at Ian. “Nothing either of them hasn’t heard before, baby. Besides, it’s pretty obvious they’re as crazy about each other as you and I are.”

Ian caught and held Tessa’s gaze, smiling as he noticed the becoming blush on her cheeks, and the way she shyly returned his smile. “I am crazy about her,” he murmured huskily. “I waited a very long time for this woman, but it was well worth it.”

A hint of tears shimmered in Tessa’s eyes as she touched his cheek. “And I’m crazy about you, too,” she whispered. “Happy birthday, my love.”

He gave her a sweet, soft kiss, then glanced up to find Julia’s smiling gaze upon them. He was somewhat surprised to realize Julia’s green eyes were also shiny with unshed tears.

“Oh, you two are so perfect together,” she murmured. “And it’s so romantic how Ian waited for you, Tessa, how he didn’t want anyone else if he couldn’t have you.” She reached up and pressed a kiss to Nathan’s cheek. “I know the feeling.”

“Jesus, you’re going to make me cry in a minute with all this sappy stuff,” grumbled Nathan. “I’ve got a much better idea – more champagne all around.”

Everyone laughed as Nathan refilled their flutes, and the subject was changed. They headed to dinner shortly thereafter, being shown to the best table in the place. There were, after all, a great many perks to being the owner of this hotel – and therefore the restaurant – and this was definitely one time Ian was more than content to avail himself.

It was a wonderful evening all around, and Ian was hard pressed to remember a night when he’d enjoyed himself so much. Nathan and Julia were delightful company, and it was obvious that Tessa felt very comfortable in their presence. She was far more outgoing and talkative tonight than he’d ever seen her, and it made his heart sing to see her so happy and relaxed. Of course, he’d been plying her with a tad more wine than she normally drank while still taking care to make sure she didn’t overindulge. Getting her tipsy was one thing – there was no way he’d permit her to get drunk. Not on his bloody fortieth birthday, when he was extremely optimistic that she would feel like celebrating in private once they finished dinner.

But there was no denying the obvious benefits of loosening up his shy little love just a bit. Not only did she appear to be greatly enjoying herself – laughing and giggling like a young woman of her age ought to be doing – but she was also extremely affectionate, even more so than usual. He absolutely adored all of the little ways she kept touching him – a soft caress on his cheek, the way she would rest her golden head on his shoulder, how she would slip her arm through his and hug it against her breast. In his life, Ian had always been extremely reserved, even standoffish, and he couldn’t recall ever showing real affection towards a woman in public before Tessa. He knew he gave off the impression of being a rather cold, unfeeling bastard – an image he’d admittedly worked very hard to cultivate. But anyone seeing him here tonight with his beloved girl would never believe he was that same formal, proper man, the one who would never dream of kissing a young, gorgeous blonde in front of dozens of other diners.

His own father, in fact, had been in utter disbelief when he’d heard about Ian’s very new and very beautiful traveling companion slash assistant. After visiting the hotel in Naples, Florida, Ian knew it would only be a matter of time before he heard from Edward. The manager of the Naples property was a very ambitious younger man by the name of Rodney Horton. He was also a former protégé of Edward’s, having worked at the home office in London for several years, and was especially loyal to the elder Gregson. Ian had been well aware from the moment he’d walked into the hotel with Tessa at his side that Rodney would waste precious little time in updating Edward about this extremely interesting development.

His mother had called him at the office yesterday to wish him a slightly early happy birthday before passing the phone to Edward. His father had barely been able to conceal his rather obvious amusement
.

“Well, I’d wish you a happy birthday, son, but it sounds like you’ve already begun the celebration. And given yourself quite a present to boot,” Edward had joked
.

Ian had sighed. “Good old Rodney. I’m just surprised it took him this long to broadcast the news. He must be losing his touch.”

Edward had chuckled. “Oh, never fear. He called me within an hour from the time you checked in. I’ve just been biding my time here, waiting to see if I’d ever hear the news directly from you.”

“Nosy bastard,” Ian had grumbled. “Never did understand what you saw in that weasel. What exactly did the gossipy little shit say to you?”

His father’s mirth had been almost impossible to contain. “That my very reserved, very stuffy old bachelor son seemed to have finally landed himself a – er – hot one, as Rodney referred to her. As you know, his language can be a bit coarse at times. I’ll clean it up as we go along.”

“Yes, be sure to do that, Father,” Ian had retorted. “Otherwise, I might be tempted to pay old Rodney a return visit very soon. This time I guarantee he won’t be tattling on me to my daddy.”

“Oh, lighten up a bit, son,” Edward had chided. “Rodney wasn’t insulting or crude, for God’s sake. However, he did say that your very charming companion was – let’s see if I got this in the right order – ah, yes, blonde, beautiful, and busty.”

Ian’s jaw had tightened in displeasure. “There’s no denying that Tessa is blonde and very, very beautiful. And, ah, rather spectacularly endowed. But she’s also kind, warm, affectionate, unselfish, and I’m absolutely mad about her.”

There had been silence on the other end of the line for long moments, until Edward had replied in a rather awestruck voice. “My God, it’s finally happened, hasn’t it? You’ve fallen in love. Your mother and I feared we might not live to see that happy day. I’ll have to tell Joanna that sometimes prayer does work.”

Ian had had the good graces to laugh. “Has she been praying for me, then? I hadn’t realized she’d nearly given up hope. Well, you can assure Mother that yes, I am obsessively, completely in love with this girl and that both of you are going to love her, too.”

Edward’s tone had grown more serious at that point. “Rodney was also bubbling over with the revelation that your companion – er, Tessa, was it? – is quite a bit younger than you are. Is this true, Ian?”

Ian had sworn beneath his breath, cursing the weasily hotel manager for his loose lips. “It is, yes. And before you ask, Tessa is twenty-four, Father.”

There had been another lengthy pause before Edward had burst out laughing. “Christ, boy, you’ve been robbing the bloody cradle, haven’t you? Well, fortunately you’ve kept yourself in prime shape. You’ll need to be to keep up with your hot young blonde. Good for you, son. Might as well enjoy her for a while.”

Ian hadn’t been in the least amused. “You don’t get it, Father,” he’d replied sternly. “I’m entirely, one hundred percent serious about this girl. She’s the love of my life and I plan on keeping her with me for a very, very long time – as in forever.”

“Jesus.” Edward’s disbelief had been evident. “You’re really serious, aren’t you? This isn’t some wild, middle aged fling for you. You actually mean to marry the girl?”

“Not yet,” Ian had corrected. “It’s too soon for all that. She needs to get to know me better, and time to adjust living in our world. The last thing I want to do is overwhelm her. But in due time – yes, I mean to make her my wife. Tessa is most assuredly not a fling, as you so charmingly phrased it. I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

There had been more silence on the other end, and this time when Edward spoke it was with an almost reverent tone. “Well, then. When do your mother and I get to meet our future daughter-in-law?”

His good humor restored, Ian had chuckled. “You’re planning a visit towards the end of May, aren’t you? You’ll meet my Tessa then. She’s, ah, moved in with me.”

Edward had made something resembling a strangling sound. “Ian, have a care, son. The men in our family have traditionally had very strong hearts, but there’s always a first time. Now, this question will no doubt get your knickers in a twist but it has to be asked. Are you quite certain this girl isn’t just after your money?”

The question hadn’t angered Ian, and he’d only marveled that his father had not already asked it. “Very certain. I have to buy her things behind her back, make sure every damned price tag is removed, otherwise I get a very stern lecture along with threats to return everything. If you knew of Tessa’s background – which she’ll likely share with you at some point – you’d understand, Father. She’s not some ambitious young fortune seeker. That’s why she’s also acting as my traveling PA. so that she feels as though she’s earning her keep.”

“Wait a moment there, son.’ Edward’s tone had changed abruptly from that of concerned father to stern CEO. “Do you mean to tell me this girl – who not only lives in your home but shares your bed when you travel on company business – is an employee? Ian - for Christ’s sake – you of all people ought to know better than that.”

“She’s no longer an official employee, Father,” he’d retorted. “And, yes, I most certainly know the rules. You might as well hear all of it, though I’m shocked that weasel Rodney hasn’t already ratted me out.”

Ian had explained to his father in painstaking detail about how Tessa hard worked on his team for more than two years; how he’d fallen for her from the very first day but had been forced to keep his distance because she’d been a married woman; how he’d learned she was getting a divorce and how they had eventually begun seeing each other. He’d hedged over the dates as to when Tessa had actually left the company, but Edward had been mollified enough to realize she wasn’t technically an employee any longer
.

“So you’ve been carrying a torch for the girl for some time, eh? Interesting,” his father had murmured. “Now that I think of it, I seem to recall that you kept staring over at the other side of the room during that last Christmas party we attended. And – ah, I see now. She was the sweet young thing that arsehole Jason was sniffing around, wasn’t she? The one you sent young Andrew over to rescue?”

Ian had been dumbfounded. “How did you – I mean, I was extremely - ”

“Discreet? Of course you were, you’re my son after all. Discretion could be our middle name. Well, except for your brother Colin, of course, though that situation finally seems to have settled down nicely. But don’t forget, son, who taught you how to observe people when they had no idea they were being watched. You learned that skill from a higher master, my boy.”

Ian had chuckled, reminded never to underestimate his wily father, even though Edward was very close to turning seventy. “I concede to your mastery, Father. Now, come, let’s have it.”

“My opinion of the girl? Does it matter to you that much, Ian?”

“Not enough to change my feelings,” Ian had replied truthfully. “I haven’t been a boy of fourteen for a great many years, Father, and I’m more than capable of making my own decisions. And,” he’d added firmly, “before you ask, I’m also not a man who lets his dick make these types of decisions for him.”

“Never doubted it for a moment. And as for your Tessa, I do seem to recall that she was quite stunning. But I’ll give you a more definitive opinion when I meet her face to face next month.”

Ian had changed the subject at that point, not willing to discuss his relationship with Tessa in any greater detail. But he’d felt reasonably certain that his parents would at least keep an open mind when they met her next month. The tricky part would be breaking the news to Tessa about their impending visit. As shy and insecure as she still was, she would most likely work herself into a frenzy in anticipation, fretting unnecessarily about whether his parents would like her or not. He was going to have his work cut out for him to calm her down
.

But for now, he refused to dwell on his parents and whether or not they would like Tessa.
He
liked her a great deal, especially tonight when she was laughing and having fun and when she couldn’t keep her hands off of him. Grinning, he slid his hand to the nape of her neck, giving her the sort of little neck massage he knew she loved.

Tessa purred like a kitten beneath his touch and slipped her hand inside his jacket to latch onto his waist. “You’re wearing my favorite suit,” she whispered in his ear. “And you look super hot in it.”

He touched his lips to her rosy cheek. “Glad you like it, love,” he whispered back. “Dare I hope you’ve got my favorite undies on beneath that very sexy dress?”

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Perhaps. Then again, maybe I’m not wearing any undies at all.”

Ian bit his lip to stifle a groan, and was belatedly aware that they weren’t alone at the table. He glanced up to find both Nathan and Julia grinning at him knowingly.