Oh my.
“Yes.” She wanted that, too.
Very much.
He cupped her face and silenced her with a kiss, and she realized that sex was his way of showing her comfort. Her heart swelled with the depth of her feelings for him.
He turned off the lamps, leaving the room bathed in shimmering light from the swimming pool outside. It gave a dreamlike quality to their togetherness as he lowered her to the thick living room rug and made slow, tender love to her.
It was so exquisite…so sweet…she cried afterward and he held her close. She’d never allowed another adult such free range of her heart before.
It stunned her.
He was truly a part of her now.
And no matter what happened in the future, no one could take this away from her.
Nine
L ana proceeded with caution over the next two weeks, her marriage to Matt having now deepened into a firm personal relationship. Yet she had to keep reminding herself it was only temporary.
And she fought herself constantly not to let him know that she loved him, especially when they made love every night, then slept, entwined together. It was wonderful waking up in his arms.
They watched television together after Megan went to bed, or they sat reading books, or sometimes Matt worked beside her in the living room rather than in his study. And they spent as much time as they could with their daughter.
As a family.
A temporary one, she needed to keep telling herself.
And Matt actually spent time with her checking over the accounts, and that meant more to her than anything. It signified that he fully believed she had nothing to do with the stolen money and had been set up to take the fall if something was discovered.
And if that were the case, who had used her in such a fashion? She still suspected Evan. The man seemed to be in her office more often than not on some pretext or other. Once she’d even found him at her desk looking through some paperwork. She’d challenged him, but he’d said he was looking for a report.
In any case, it made her burn to catch the real perpetrator, whether that was Evan or not. That person had put her very reputation on the line. He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.
The night before Megan’s first birthday, Lana got up from the sofa and went over to the sideboard.
“Matt, I have something for you,” she said, coming back with a photograph album in her hands. “I thought you might like to see some pictures of our daughter’s life so far.”
Something emotional crossed his face.
“You’ve never asked about her birth, but I thought you might like to know anyway,” she said, sliding onto the sofa next to him.
He swallowed hard. “I didn’t ask before because it was too painful.”
“I figured that.” She handed him the album.
He looked down, almost in slow motion, and opened the heavy cover, staring at the first item. It was a commemorative birth certificate with his name as the father.
He darted her a look, turned the page. A picture of Megan just a few hours old stared up at them. She was still wrinkly and her eyes were shut.
“She was beautiful,” he said huskily.
She smiled. “Every parent thinks their child is beautiful.”
He arched a brow. “You think I’m biased?”
“Definitely,” she teased.
He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. “Then she takes after her mother.”
She caught her breath. “No, she’s like you.”
His lips twitched. “Are you saying I’m gorgeous?”
He was.
She flushed and drew his attention back to the album. If she told him the truth, would she give herself away? Would he see that she loved him?
“Look at that mop of black hair on her,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
“She’s a Valente. What do you expect?”
He grinned, then continued to turn the pages until he came to the one of Lana. He frowned. “You were crying?”
“They call it the baby blues.” She didn’t say but she’d been upset because Matt hadn’t been able to share in the joy of Megan’s birth.
He held her eyes a minute, then returned to the album. Page after page they went through together. At the end he closed the book carefully and went to hand it to her.
She pushed it back to him. “It’s for you to keep.”
He seemed to hold himself in check. “Thank you.”
She cleared her throat. She couldn’t tell him she loved him, but there was something else that very much needed to be said.
“I’m sorry, Matt.”
“Sorry?”
“For keeping her from you. If I’d known how much you would love her—” She broke off, unable to finish the words.
He tenderly ran a finger down her cheek, turning her heart over. “That means more to me than you know.”
“It does?”
He nodded.
“I’m glad you’re here for her first birthday, Matt.”
“Me, too.” He leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. Then without warning, he got up with the album in his hands and walked out of the room.
Lana’s throat closed up. She’d wanted him to take her in his arms and make love to her, even as she understood why he hadn’t. He needed to be alone right now.
If only she could feel less alone herself.
Lana was excited about Megan’s party but tried not to let it get the better of her. She recollected only too well the last party her own parents had given her on her tenth birthday. Her father had come home drunk and caused a scene in front of her friends. And her childhood humiliation had been complete.
Oh, she knew no one would cause a scene at Megan’s party the way her own father had done years ago. That wasn’t the Valentes’ style, and thank the Lord it wasn’t. She wouldn’t be here if it was.
But she didn’t want to get too emotionally attached to this family when in years to come, possibly even Megan’s next birthday, she would not be invited along. It would only end in heartache for herself, despite Megan’s emotional attachment to them being a positive thing for her daughter.
“Lana, smile,” Sasha said, holding up the camera.
Her sister-in-law took a picture of her and Matt crouching down to help Megan unwrap one of the myriads of presents on the living room floor.
And suddenly Lana was a part of them.
They were all just so thrilled to have Megan in the family that she couldn’t be aloof. She tried…God knows she tried…but their joy was catching.