‘She’s asleep.’ His voice was like gravel.
His daughter Lottie was a cherub when asleep. It just took a while to get her that way. Thankfully, she now was. Now his time was his own—to be spent with his woman.
Violet’s eyebrows flickered. ‘That’s why you’re looking so smug.’
Amusement lifted even as his need to have her intensified to the point of unbearable. ‘I’m feeling far more than smug. For far more than one reason.’
‘Oh?’ His beautiful wife finally put down the styling wand.
He leaned closer and lifted his hand to mess through her sweet-smelling, silky hair. Oh, he loved it. Loved her.
She groaned. ‘You—’
‘Love it when I do this.’
Oh, shedid. Violet shivered as he brushed aside her hair and kissed her neck. A second later, he unfastened her bra and pulled the lace from her warm, soft skin. The guy was smooth. But she met his gaze in the mirror and read the heat, the need and the love in his eyes. She couldn’t stop her smile. Couldn’t stop herself from arching into his touch as his hands slid to her panties and pulled them down.
‘What happened to not being late?’ she muttered dreamily. ‘We’re supposed to meet Alex and Ellie in twenty minutes.’
‘They won’t mind if we’re a little late,’ he assured her firmly. His touch was equally firm.
‘Yeah...’ She wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to any more. She just needed him to love her like this. Again and always. And he did—with every fibre of his big, strong, body. ‘Roman...’
‘I’m here. I love you.’
She closed her eyes and loved him right back.
‘Not so very late.’ Roman grinned at her ruefully when they finally got into the waiting car to meet Alex and Ellie just over half an hour later, leaving their nanny watching little Lottie.
Violet chuckled, but she knew their lateness didn’t really matter. Roman held her hand as he threaded through the crowd in the stunning restaurant on the top floor of a Manhattan skyscraper. Alex and Ellie were ensconced close together in a private corner. The views were amazing, but the city lights couldn’t match the sparkle in Ellie’s eyes or the gleaming smile on Alex’s face as they greeted them. The couple looked stunning, and it wasn’t because of their beautifully tailored clothes. In fact, they looked so shimmery that Violet instinctively stopped before taking her seat.
‘You two look even more...’ She cocked her head and frowned at them. ‘What’s going on?’
‘We can’t hide anything from you, Violet.’ Alex smiled at her, then looked straight up into Roman’s eyes. ‘Eloise is pregnant.’
There was no preamble and, while it wasn’t exactly a shock, it was emotional. A sudden wave of happiness swamped Violet—but she turned to Roman, knowing he’d feel this even more deeply.
‘Eloise...’ Roman echoed softly. His hand tightened on Violet’s.
She knew it pleased him immensely that his sister now sometimes used her original name. That Eloise was utterly, fully, herself meant so much to Roman and he looked at her protectively now.
And Ellie smiled at her big brother cheekily. ‘Surprise.’
‘I’m thrilled for you both.’ Roman simply sank into the empty seat next to his sister. ‘Thrilled. I get to be an uncle. Violet an aunt.’ He breathed out as he absorbed it. A moment later a smile curved his lips. ‘I can’t wait to see you, Alex—’ he suddenly laughed ‘—pacing with a new-born. Nappy changes. Pacing again...’
Violet watched her handsome husband tease his sister and his best friend, even as his fingers laced even more tightly through hers and she felt the pulse of his emotion. She loved that he reached to her for support, for celebration...that they sharedeverything. Several months ago, they’d gone back to New Zealand to meet her family and tell them their news directly. Of course, Roman had completely charmed them. They’d married there. It had been wonderful and then, a few months later, little Lottie had arrived. Alex and Eloise had married and now they were going to experience the joy of having a child too.
Violet blinked back sudden tears.
‘Violet?’
All three were looking at her.
‘I’m fine. It’s just...good...’ she half-gasped, half-giggled. ‘Allsogood.’
As Alex and Ellie laughed, Roman pressed a quick, understanding kiss to her mouth. She melted against him. With friends and family like this, with her daughter sweetly sleeping at home and her husband alongside her always, her life, her future, was so much more than full.
It was heaven.