“Did Mitch get in touch with his lawyer?” Ginny inquired.
“What?”
“The lawyer. About the custody suit. Marc said Mitch had a message to call her, but he hadn’t managed to connect with her by the time Marc left work today.”
Ginny’s husband walked into the room then, catching the end of their conversation. Both of them were looking expectantly at Leanne.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything to me about it.” Surely he would have, she thought. He wouldn’t keep bad news from her. “But you know how it is. The kids go crazy when he walks in the door, and I was rushing to get over here before it got too late.”
“He must not have been able to reach his lawyer,” Marc said, kissing his wife. “She was in court all day. That’s why they didn’t talk earlier.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” Leanne said, then thought—what if he didn’t want to talk about it in front of the boys?
When Leanne returned from her run, she took a quick shower. She didn’t bother to dry her hair, just dressed in the nightgown and robe he liked so much.
She walked into the kitchen and found him stirring some rice she’d left on the stove. Chicken in a cream sauce was simmering in another pot. It had become a tradition to eat later in the evening so they could eat alone.
The little table in the corner of the kitchen was set, a glass of wine at her place, and Mitch was pulling a salad she’d made earlier out of the refrigerator.
“You’re so handy to have around,” she said, thinking that might win her a little smile.
He turned, caught sight of her in that robe and gave her much more than a little smile. His look heated her whole body.
Mitch put the salad on the table and came to her. Letting himself do nothing more than place his hands on her arms, he asked, “Handy? That’s what you think of me? That I’m a convenience?”
Leanne laughed huskily, because she knew they weren’t going to be eating dinner anytime soon, and she didn’t mind. Some nights they crept back downstairs around midnight, ravenous. Some nights Mitch brought her dinner in bed. She’d learned to prepare something that would keep on the stove.
“You are convenient to have around,” she teased.
Mitch glared at her, as if she’d insulted him.
“Well, look at this kitchen,” she said. “You made the rice, set the table, poured me a glass of wine. And those wild boys of yours are asleep. All I have to do is eat my dinner and go to bed. This is first-class service,” she said, thinking it was incredibly easy to live with him.
Already, she was dreading being away from him this weekend, which seemed so silly to her, a woman who’d lived her life on the go. She hadn’t been more than a few blocks from this house in weeks, and she loved New York, though she’d seldom given herself time to enjoy it properly. Yet here she was thinking about nothing but missing the boys and spending two nights without Mitch.
God, she needed him so much already. And their year had just begun.
“You know,” he whispered into her ear as he eased himself against her, “there’s just something about you wet from the shower that drives me absolutely insane.”
He slid his palm across the front of her robe, pushing it against her skin, catching a drop of moisture here and there as he went. “Either that, or it’s the way this robe clings to your wet skin.”
Mitch lowered his mouth to her neck and let it hover there, his breath fanning her throat.
“Or maybe it’s knowing how the skin beneath it tastes and smells.”
He nibbled lightly on her skin, sending her collapsing against him as she struggled to stand on legs that had turned weak and shaky.
“Come to bed with me,” he said.
Leanne clutched at his shoulders, her body heavy and swollen with desire, her skin so sensitive, one touch from him and she might scream.
“I don’t know if I can make it that far,” she said, a catch in her voice as he cupped her breasts in his hands.
Mitch lifted her into his arms and carried her to the sofa, where he sat down and pulled her on top of him.
Her pulse hadn’t even slowed to a normal rhythm. He hadn’t even loosened his arms from around her. They held her so fiercely tonight, and he’d taken her so powerfully, with such an intensity.
She was still sitting on his lap, her thighs spread wide to either side of his. He was still inside her. Leanne was kissing him softly, trying to soothe him, because she sensed he needed that from her now.
His jaw was rough, as it always was this time of day, and she enjoyed the sensation of having his skin pressed against hers. She’d have marks on her body by morning, little red patches from his mouth and his chin and his cheek. It turned her on just to see the patches in the mirror.
“Mitch?” she whispered, wishing she had the courage to tell him that she loved him.
“Hmm?”
And then the doorbell rang. They just looked at each other at first, sure they hadn’t heard it, then sprang apart. Leanne started laughing as she adjusted her robe and he went to work on his pants.
“I can’t believe we got caught like this,” she said. It was almost nine, and nobody came to the door this late.
Mitch stood up, snapped his pants and then turned to her, as she tried to smooth out the robe.
“Forget it,” he said, grinning at their predicament. “It’s hopeless. You look exactly like a woman who just got caught making out on the couch. Why don’t you go upstairs, and I’ll get rid of whoever’s at the door, then join you?”
“Fine with me.” Leanne gave him one quick kiss on the lips and headed out of the room.
“If this is Marc, I’m going to strangle him,” Mitch said as he walked over to the door.
Leanne figured it must be Marc. Or Ginny.
She paused near the top of the stairs and turned toward the door.
It wasn’t Marc or Ginny.
It was the last person she ever expected to see there, the last person she wanted to see—Rena.
Chapter 15
From her position at the top of the stairs, Leanne heard Mitch ask Rena, “What do you want?”
The woman looked taken aback, as she stared at him.
Leanne knew what Rena saw. Mitch’s shirt was unbuttoned, his hair mussed from where Leanne’s hands had gotten ahold of it. And Leanne knew she was a mess. Her lips felt swollen from Mitch’s kisses, her face and her neck rough from the sweep of his jaw, her nipples pushing against the thin fabric of her robe.
“Well?” Mitch asked, when Rena was left. speechless. “As you can see, we’re busy.”
Leanne, who had started down the stairs, determined to stand by her husband, felt an embarrassed flush flooding her cheeks, and Rena appeared furious.
“Busy?”
She practically spit the word at Mitch, then her powers of speech seemed to fail her again.
“Well?” Mitch repeated.
“I know this marriage isn’t real,” she shrieked, turning to Leanne. “You may have fooled those people at social services, but you’re not fooling me. I know you’re doing this just to keep those little boys from me.”
“Rena, what do you think we were doing when you came to the door? Take a good look at my wife, if you have any doubts left. This marriage is very real.”
She sputtered and swore, in a rage the way Leanne had never seen her.
“You little witch,” she snarled at Leanne.
Mitch stepped between them so Leanne didn’t have to see her stepmother’s face. “Get out of my house,” he barked at Rena. “Now.”
And then he practically pushed her out the door and slammed it in her face.
The sound reverberated around the room, and Leanne listened carefully, amazed and grateful that all the commotion hadn’t woken up the boys. Turning around, Mitch stood against the door with his arms folded across his chest and fury still evident in his face. When he came to stand beside her on the steps, some of the shock of what had just happened faded. When
he put his arms around her and held her close, she felt a little better, though she was still trembling badly.
“Oh, Mitch. She scares me to death.”
“I know, but she’s gone now. And you’re with me. I’m not going to let her hurt you. Not ever again.”
It was a promise, an incredibly sweet-sounding promise. Tightening her arms around her husband, Leanne decided she’d never loved him more. She’d never trusted anyone this much, never leaned on anyone this way, never had her happiness tied so closely to a man’s.
Leanne leaned heavily on Mitch, drawing strength from him, wishing she never had to leave his side. He stood there with her for a while, and she felt his tension start to ebb, thought that she’d managed to help take away the worst of his anger, as he’d absorbed the worst of her fear.
“Better?” he asked, dropping a light kiss on her cheek.
She nodded.
“I’m going to check on the boys,” he said.
“All right. We left dinner on the stove, didn’t we? Are you hungry?”
“No. Let’s go to bed.”
“All right.” There was no place she’d rather be than curled up next to him in their bed.
Leanne turned off the burners on the stove, stored the hot food, checked the locks and turned out the lights. When she went upstairs, the door to the boys’ room was open and Mitch was standing beside their crib.
It was Teddy, she saw, once he lifted his head from his father’s shoulder. Big tears rolled down his face as he sobbed.
“What’s the matter, Teddy bear?” she asked, surprised and happy when he held out his arms to her.
She took him from Mitch and cradled him close. Stubby little arms tightened around her, and he tucked his wet face against her neck.
“Poor baby. Did you have a bad dream?” she inquired, her gaze meeting Mitch’s as he leaned toward her and Teddy. Mitch moved to stand behind her, both his arms coming around her, his face next to hers as they watched his son.
Mitch’s hand rubbed the boy’s hair, and Leanne kissed Teddy’s head, but he still cried.
“It’s all right, baby,” Leanne crooned to him. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
She felt Mitch’s arms tighten around both of them, and she felt the bond between the three of them. Her love for both of them grew stronger with every passing day.
This was the way it was meant to be. This was her place now, her family. She couldn’t lose them.
Teddy snuggled against her and stuck his thumb in his mouth, sucking furiously as he fell asleep again. She and Mitch stood there quietly in the dark for a few more minutes. Mitch kissed her on the cheek, on her temple, her forehead, each touch infinitely sweet and kind and gentle. She imagined that he was telling her with his touch what he wasn’t ready to put into words, and she imagined that one day he would give her the words, as well.
Life would be so full and so precious. She could see it in her mind when she closed her eyes.
“I think he’s asleep,” Mitch said, his lips against her ear.
She went to put Teddy down, but Mitch took him from her, instead, and he tenderly lowered his son into the crib, then rubbed a hand against Timmy’s back.
Leanne couldn’t help but remember watching him with Timmy that first evening in the hospital. She’d fallen in love with him a little that first night, she decided.
Crossing the hall with him to go into their bedroom, she thought about how very far they’d come in a few short weeks. Just a few days ago, she’d been afraid to hope that Mitch would ever love her the way she needed to be loved. But something had happened to her when she’d heard Ginny’s story.
Ginny had lost her husband, a husband she’d loved very much, and yet she’d found love again with Marc. It was possible. At first, the notion had scared Leanne badly. She’d steeled herself against believing Mitch would ever love anyone again, and in a way that had helped her protect herself from him. He could simply never love her the way he’d loved Kelly.
But seeing Ginny and Marc together proved that it was indeed possible to love that way again. And letting herself believe that seemed even more dangerous than telling herself it could never happen.
Eventually, she couldn’t help it. Hope won out. Leanne thought of what Ginny had said that day in the coffee shop—that happiness was a rare and wondrous gift, that she should reach out and take whatever happiness was offered to her.
Lifting her arms, Leanne reached for Mitch. He pulled her down to the bed with him, then drew the covers around them.
“Just let me hold you for a minute,” he said.
She closed her eyes, feeling his warmth seep into her. Utterly content, she was nearly asleep when she remembered. “Mitch?”
“Hmm?”
She lifted her head from his chest. “What did Rena mean about us fooling social services?”
He went still, looking worried, then put his palm to her cheek. “I talked to Jane today. It’s good news.”
Strange, she thought. He didn’t look as though he’d had good news. And if the news was good, why had he waited so long to tell her?
“Social services is done with its investigation. And there’s nothing in the agency’s report that Rena can use against us.”
Leanne watched him, wishing it weren’t so dark in their bedroom, wishing she knew him better and was more adept at reading his moods.
“You don’t seem happy,” she said carefully.
He started to say something, then stopped. Appearing almost flustered, he said simply, “I just want everything to be squared away.”
“It will be,” she told him, still not understanding. “I thought you were convinced that all we had to do to stop Rena was to be married. I thought that was what your lawyer said.”
“I don’t think Rena’s going to take the boys away from us,” he said.
So why was he so tense? Was it that scene downstairs with Rena? Maybe. But if he was sure she wouldn’t be able to take the boys away...
Leanne felt his arms tighten around her, felt him push her head back down to his chest, and she shivered, though she wasn’t that cold.
Leanne was running on sheer nerves the next day. The boys were tense, especially when she explained to them again that she had to go away for a few days, then cried over them because she would miss them so much.
She packed a small carry-on bag while the two of them watched. Timmy was again defiant, pulling the things out of her bag as quickly as she put them in. And Teddy looked heartbroken.
“Just two days. Promise,” she told them, wondering how they could be this upset, when she doubted they even knew what she was telling them.
Downstairs, the doorbell rang. Leanne tensed, hoping it wasn’t Rena. Then she scooped up a child in each arm and carried the boys downstairs with her.
When she pulled open the door and saw her father standing there, she couldn’t have been more surprised.
“Can I come in? Please?” he asked. When she hesitated still, he added, “Rena’s not with me.”
The boys smiled at him and welcomed him. Leanne folded her arms in front of her chest and steeled herself against what was coming. It was hard for her to be in the same room with him, her feelings for him were so jumbled.
He shouldn’t have expected so much from her after her mother had died, Leanne knew. No matter how upset and how lost he’d been, she’d been nothing but a child. A twelve-year-old. And she’d lost her mother, as well.
Once he’d met Rena, nothing had been as important to him as his new wife’s happiness.
Her father had actually told her he thought Leanne would be happier with Rena there, that Leanne wouldn’t have to do so much anymore, that Rena would be their mother now. Her father swore that things would get better, if only Leanne would give it a little time.
She’d suspected he meant his own life was going to get easier. After all, Rena had some money of her own. She was young and energetic—she could keep up with three children much easier than Lea
nne’s father could. He was relieved to pass on his parenting duties to his new wife, happy that she was so interested in raising his children.
Leanne had felt betrayed by the only grown-up in the world who was supposed to love her and protect her. And now she was alone, standing face-to-face, with him for the first time in years.
Taking the boys into the kitchen, she gave them the grape Popsicles they loved so much. Then she told them to stay in the kitchen because the Popsicles always dripped onto the floor long before they were done. One day last week, after cleaning grape-colored sugar water out of the carpet, she’d convinced the boys that the drips looked prettiest on the kitchen floor, and now they agreed. They walked around dripping in circles just for fun.
Leanne didn’t care. It should buy her a couple of minutes alone with her father, and she didn’t want the boys to hear what they had to say.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I wanted to talk to you and Mitch.”
“Mitch is at work,” she said quickly, wishing her father would leave. She wasn’t up to any more scenes, especially not so soon after Rena’s visit.
“Well, I suppose you could tell him for me. Rena and I talked last night, and I wanted you to know the custody suit is finished.”
“What?”
“She promised,” he said, decidedly uncomfortable.
“Are you telling me you asked Rena to drop the suit?” Leanne couldn’t believe it. After all these years, he was finally going to stand up to Rena?
“I told her I wouldn’t be a part of it. And as much as she cared for Kelly, there are no blood ties between the two of them, none between Rena and the boys. Her lawyer has told her all along that she needed me to be a part of the suit in order for her to win.”
“Why are you doing this?” Leanne wanted to know. “Why would you want to help me and Mitch?”
“Rena’s not an easy woman to live with,” he began, “but she’s my wife—”
“You’re going to defend her to me?” Leanne asked incredulously, and her father fell silent.
Finally, he said, “I don’t suppose I could.”
Wife, Mother...Lover? Page 21
