True Peril
Page 27
Before they continued with their mutual appreciation of each other, however, she needed answers.
“When we were at camp, were you going to send me away with Simon?”
His hand dropped to the center of her stomach, and his thumb stroked her skin softly. “No, but I was going to give you the option to go and see Cassie. Although I wish you’d informed me of your plans to go save the world on your own, I’m glad you’d stayed. If you hadn’t been there, Jenny might never have been found, and Liam would be dead.” His hand continued over her chest to the back of her neck. Fingers pressed into her sore muscles. The massage almost made her shoulder hurt less. Almost. “I don’t want to see you hurt, but you’re invaluable to the team and to me. I’d be an idiot to keep you from what you obviously do well.”
“Thanks.” She needed to hear the truth so she wouldn’t always second guess his intentions. “Where do we go from here?”
“London. We have a little girl to meet.”
“How do you know it’s a girl?”
“I trust Simon. I bet he had a sonogram done of the baby while Cassie was sleeping.” He laughed.
“He’ll make a fantastic parent, but good luck to anyone interested in his daughter as she grows up.” Eve didn’t crave babies, but something in her heart tugged her toward the girl who had started Eve on this crazy adventure. Natalia had nothing left, and Eve had everything to offer. Would Dane agree to extend their family by one?
“Remember I asked for a wedding when we were in Quito?”
“Whatever you want, we can do,” he replied.
“You never gave me a ring for our engagement or our wedding.”
“Technically, we were married before I asked you to marry me.”
She clenched her fist to relieve some of the pain in her shoulder. Her actions caught Dane’s attention. He moved his hand over the area of her wound, although he probably had no idea what he was looking for. He seemed to like knowing what was wrong, even if he didn’t have the training to do anything about it. “Just say the word and it’s yours—a giant diamond, a house in this very town…”
“I wouldn’t mind having rings for both of us to wear, but I want something else as well. I want to help Natalia.”
He paused for a moment, and her heart paused as well. Would he go along with her dream? “What does she need?”
“A family. I want us to adopt her.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You want children?”
“Not really.” Eve’s stomach sank. He’d said he didn’t want children, but in this case… “Natalia’s different. No diaper changes, and she could attend a really good boarding school part of the year and be with us every vacation. Otherwise, she’ll be stuck in a low wage job in Bogotá, because there’s nothing left in the village. As a fourteen-year-old, she’d most likely end up working the streets.”
Dane frowned and shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of boarding school, unless it’s close to wherever we settle. We’d need to be able to reach her easily. Or maybe near Simon and Cassie in England.”
“You’d adopt her?” Relief doused the tension flowing through her.
“I married you and watched as you turned my life inside out, and I’ve never once regretted it. My only concern would be our traveling. We’ll have to hire a trustworthy housekeeper to care for her when we’re away working. And we’d have to make Simon and Cassie her guardians if something ever happened to us. And we’d need a bigger house. And maybe a dog.”
“A dog?”
“Black. Substantial, not some prissy dog. Able to retrieve a Frisbee in a decent size surf.” His grin emerged, matching Eve’s own happiness. Her family had morphed from a dysfunctional bunch of self-absorbed snobs to a caring bunch of strangers who would risk their lives and their fortunes for each other’s happiness.
…
Cassie handed Simon a tightly bundled Ryanne before returning to the kitchen to join Eve and Alex. The little girl immediately stopped crying. She never cried for her father. Unless she was hungry, tired, or needed a change. Otherwise, the kid was perfect. The baby had waited for Simon to fly back to England before arriving into the world at fifteen minutes past noon. Daddy’s little girl from the get-go. As expected.
Three months later and she had him wrapped around her finger, he wouldn’t deny it. She was adorable, a little rugby ball with bright blue eyes that matched her mum’s. Yet the kid had a spunky personality and the tough disposition of her father. The complete opposite of Henry’s son, Peter. The little heir inherited Henry’s green eyes, but had a body like his mother, the wood nymph. With two parents over six feet tall, Ryanne would end up towering over the future earl. She’d be smarter as well. Not that Simon had over-the-top expectations for his daughter. Not really.
“Stop comparing.” Henry walked over with Peter on his shoulder.
Simon glanced at his progeny and then at Henry’s. “It’s impossible not to. Peter arrived at two and half kilos. Ryanne was four.”
Simon held his daughter out next to her cousin. Peter, although almost two months older, was dwarfed by the little girl.
“Size isn’t everything,” Henry insisted.
Simon exhaled a huge laugh. “Ask your wife if that’s true.”
In possession of some of Simon’s best Scotch, Dane strolled over to join them. “I win this argument hands down. Natalia entered our family weighing about a hundred pounds.”
“She’s fourteen,” Henry said.
“Semantics.”
“How does Natalia like school?” Simon bounced Ryanne up and down in his arms. She squealed and gave Simon her best toothless grin.
“Loves it,” Dane answered. “It’s the first time she’s been in a place that values education more than violence and drugs. Her new plan is medical school, and she’s smart enough to make it.”
“Great. I could use a flight surgeon. Ethan’s taken an extended vacation.”
“You’re not allowed to recruit anyone related to me.”
“I already own most of your family.”
“Give me a break. You own no one, especially not our wives. Between Cassie’s security codes on all the computer systems and Eve’s creative mess of an investment policy, they own us. They could shut us down with two keystrokes.”
“Whipped.” Henry laughed at them. “Both of you. Quite pathetic really.”
Simon glared at his brother. “So says the man who funds his charity work with his wife’s trust fund.”
They all glanced at their wives as they entered the room. Yep. Completely whipped. Thank God.
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About the Author
Veronica Forand is an attorney and an award-winning writer of romantic suspense.
She’s lived in Boston, London, Paris, Geneva, and Washington, DC and currently resides near Philadelphia. An avid traveler, she loves to roam across continents with her husband and kids in pursuit of skiing, scuba diving, and finding the perfect piece of chocolate.
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