He had gained her attention. ‘Your father must have been furious.’
Jake smiled ruefully. ‘He tried to break the will but it was watertight. After his death, the bank would have foreclosed if it hadn’t been for that inheritance waiting for me. But I couldn’t force my mother and my sisters to live on the breadline for years. It wouldn’t have been fair, so I sold up. However,’ he paused, ‘when the Grange fell empty, I began toying with the idea of offering to buy it back.’
In dismay she stared up at him.
‘When I realised that you owned it, I blew a fuse. The thought that Maxwell’s money had got there first was the final straw,’ he acknowledged candidly. ‘Have you any other surprises for me?’
‘I have a Ferrari.’
Laughing, he swept her up and spread her like a captive slave on the bed. ‘I can live with that. As long as I have you, I can live with anything.’
‘A baby?’ As he stilled halfway out of his shirt, she reddened. ‘I was talking future possibilities.’
Hearing the defensive tone, he started to laugh again. ‘Kitty, we have only been married for a few days.’
‘I’m not very patient.’
‘Now that you mention it,’ he breathed huskily, ‘neither am I.’
He engulfed her in a drugging kiss that sent her into a tailspin.
* * *
Jake wandered out of the bathroom, towelling dry his hair. ‘Still in bed?’ he mocked.
It was six in the evening. Kitty spread a complacent smile over her tall, beautifully proportioned husband and, when she could drag her eyes from him, over their spacious bedroom. They had moved into the Grange while the renovations were still in progress. An army of workmen had shared their home with them for months. Jessie was now presiding over the kitchen of her dreams and an adequate supply of daily helpers. Bob Creighton was still managing the estate, but Jake had superseded Colwell Holdings.
‘Grant won’t arrive before nine,’ she whispered invitingly.
Jake came down on the bed beside her and stared down at her with amusement. ‘Who’s got the short straw?’
She stroked a persuasive finger gently across his cheekbone. ‘I did it the last time.’
‘And it was as if he’d been told there was a death in the family.’
She frowned. ‘We could call this one after him… sort of sweeten the pill.’
Jake vented an appreciative laugh. ‘Don’t use that expression. He’s highly likely to ask if we’ve ever heard of it. Beth is only six months old.’
‘He did turn up at the christening,’ she pointed out. ‘I thought he’d chicken out last minute.’
‘I have never seen anybody give a baby a wider berth.’
‘We can tell him it’s his fault. It was that Caribbean cruise on his yacht that did it,’ she said seriously.
Jake covered her mouth hungrily. ‘I was under the impression that I did it, and it doesn’t take a change of climate to put me in the mood,’ he muttered raggedly. ‘How do you feel about celebrating again?’
In the end neither of them had to make the announcement. Tina did it for them over the dinner table. ‘The doctor’s giving my mummy another baby,’ she relayed, proud as Punch as Grant almost choked on his wine.
Kitty’s father cleared his throat. ‘I think you ought to develop the stork story. It might be safer.’