sharply.
“Then don’t you ever again suggest that I could live
without you,” he said deeply.
She relaxed against him. “Just as you say, my
darling,” she whispered.
And Marc laughed, softly, and began to kiss her again
with a passion that convinced her that any further
argument would be a waste of time.
Next day he called for her, at the Murray apartment,
and drove her to his Paris home, to meet his mother
again. Mrs. Lillitos was overjoyed by their news. She
welcomed Kate with open arms, her eyes filled with
tears.
“I am so glad! I knew you were the girl for my son
when I first met you. The way he looked at you, spoke to
you, and of you—I could not be mistaken. But then you
told me you were engaged, and I was worried and
unhappy. I foresaw grief for Marc.”
Marc looked down at Kate with amused eyes. “How
right you were, too, Mother! She has given me more
headaches than any business deal I ever put through.
But I’ve got her now, and I mean to keep her!”
Kate grimaced up at him. “You talk as though I were a
valuable piece of property instead of a person!”
“You are valuable, to me,” he teased, and his mocking
eyes brought hot colour into her cheeks. “And as for not
being a person ... if you have forgotten how human I can
be then I’ll have to take you out and show you all over
again, and it will be a pleasure, I assure you!”
“Children, children,” said his mother gently, smiling at