Sienna glared at the newspaper with a mixture of shock and anger. “So, he raises the rent, and then what? The shops remain empty until someone can afford to pay what he’s asking? That doesn’t make very good business sense to me. It’s better to get something than nothing, surely?”
“But if you’re lying to the council and have plans for those shops, big plans—plans that will make you a fortune if you can pull it off…”
Sienna looked at him. “What plans?”
“He wanted to renovate the whole lot into a wine bar cum nightclub. Thought by the time the town council found out what he was up to, he would be committed to surveyors and all, and they wouldn’t want to waste the money going to court—”
Sienna laughed. “The man’s an idiot.”
He kissed her temple. “Yeah, an idiot who has to give you lost earnings for any days you closed the shop to prepare its move, plus keep your rent as it was for the foreseeable future.”
She tossed the paper onto the coffee table, then stood and straddled Jack’s lap. “I can’t believe you did it.”
“Did what?”
“Fixed it. Fixed everything.”
He smiled and gripped her waist. “I love you. I’d do anything to keep you near me, because you fixed me. So, do you want to stay here? With me?”
She grinned, her heart swelling with love for him. Did this mean they actually stood a chance? They could be together? The twins too? “Jack, I—”
“We can do this. All four of us.”
Daring to hope, Sienna laughed. “My God, I can’t believe this is happening.”
“It is. It’s going to be okay.”
Unable to think of anything past kissing him, Sienna leaned forward and lowered her lips to his. Tentatively, she savored the delicious taste of his mouth, stroked his tongue with hers before seductively shifting forward. “I want to stay right here more than you would believe.”
“Thank God.”
They kissed again, and the fire came alive. Sienna threw all the loss and love that had been mixed up inside her into that kiss. She’d missed him so much.
Pulling her mouth from Jack’s, she looked into dark blue eyes almost black with desire.
“Upstairs,” she commanded. “Now.”
He moved his hands under her buttocks and stood, lifting her with him. Sienna locked her ankles around his waist and her lips to his mouth. He carried her inside. But just as they started into the hallway, the front doorbell rang.
They froze. Gaping at each other wide-eyed, their voices merged into one:
“The twins.”
Abruptly, Jack put Sienna down. “What shall I do? Oh, God.” He looked down at the front of his jeans.
Sienna laughed. “They won’t notice that.”
“My mother will.”
Her face dropped. “Your mother?”
His smile was gleeful. “Of course. She won’t just deliver the girls to your porch like a parcel. Seeing her isn’t a problem, is it?”
“No. Yes. No.”
“Well? Which is it?”
The doorbell rang again.
She strode past him. “No. It’s not a problem.” With her heart pounding and her hands clammy, Sienna swallowed. She’d show him. She’d show him she wasn’t scared of anyone.
Fighting the impulse to flee in the opposite direction, she marched to the door. By the time she pulled it open, Jack stood beside her.
There was no mistaking from whom Jack got his looks. Although Sienna hazarded a guess his mother must be in her fifties for Jack to be thirty, the woman looked closer to mid-forties and beautiful. Blinking out of her temporary paralysis, Sienna thrust her hand forward.
“Mrs. Beaton, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Sienna.”
Ignoring Jack and the twins as they ran into Sienna’s home like they belonged there, Mrs. Beaton grasped her hand, her eyes shining and her smile wide. “And it’s lovely to finally meet you too. There’s no need to tell me your name; Jack has spoken of little else but you for the last three weeks.”
Sienna glanced at Jack. “Is that so?”
He merely shrugged. “And you’re surprised?”
Overflowing with love, Sienna faced Jack’s mother once more. “Would you like to come in?”
“Thank you, but I’m not staying; I have some errands to run. And please, call me Lorna.” She grinned. “‘Mrs. Beaton’ makes me sound like his grandmother.” She stepped forward and pressed a kiss to Jack’s cheek. “Look after those babies of mine. I’ll expect you all for Sunday lunch. Two o’clock.”
With a wave and a wink at Sienna, Jack’s mother turned and walked back over to Jack’s driveway and into her car. As Sienna watched her leave, she became aware of the twins beside her and smiled at them. “Hey, you two.”
Jack leaned down and effortlessly lifted Holly and Katy onto each of his hips. He then fixed Sienna with a look so determined, she was trapped like a rabbit in a snare. Albeit a six-foot-three-inch snare she loved more than life itself.
She opened her mouth to fill the silence, but Jack got there first. “I want you, Sienna. So do my daughters.” Stepping closer with the girls in his arms, he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Your father meant everything to you. I know that. This will be different. This will have a happy ending. I promise. Let us make you happy.”
Sienna looked at Holly and Katy and realized this was one fight she didn’t stand a chance of winning. A smile pulled at her mouth.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Fine. I want you too. I love you too. All of you. We’re meant to be a family, Jack. I know we are.”
She opened her arms and wrapped them around him and the twins. The girls embraced her, and leaning between Holly and Katy, she and Jack kissed, long and deep.
“Ugh,” the twins groaned.
Parting from Jack, Sienna laughed, knowing nothing would make either of them afraid to love again.
The End
Acknowledgments
Once again, the people I have to thank most of all are my amazing husband and beautiful daughters for putting up with my endless grumpiness and glazed looks through the writing of this book. I promise one day you’ll see what I look like without a laptop strapped to my person!
Also, to my wonderful agent, Dawn Dowdle—I couldn’t have written this book without her endless enthusiasm for Sienna and Jack. She convinced me to turn off my internal editor and get it finished.
Finally, my thanks also go to my fabulous editor, Colleen Wagner, who held my hand through revisions and edits as I honed 16 Marsden Place uniquely for Omnific Publishing. It was worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tears!
About the Author
Rachel lives with her husband and two young daughters in a small town near Bath, England. She started writing short stories about eight years ago, but once her children were in school, she embarked on her first novel. It was published in 2007. Since then, she’s had several books published with small presses and secured her first contract with Harlequin Superromance in May 2012.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England. And in the evening? Well, a well-deserved glass of wine is never, ever refused…
www.rachelbrimble.com
www.rachelbrimble.blogspot.com
Twitter: @rachelbrimble
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