“You are wonderful,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. “Thank you for being there for him. For me.”
“You are my family now,” she whispered, knowing that this was treacherous territory. They weren’t meant to be a family, but still, it felt like it. He pulled her closer and scooted upward a little so that her head could rest against his shoulder. Before she knew it, his breathing was even again, his chest rising and falling against her head. And she simply lay there for a few minutes, enjoying his nearness before she fell asleep.
CHAPTER 24
LUCIEN
Lucien woke up when the sun was just beginning to stream through the windows. He opened his eyes when he realized that his arm had been draped across Marianne. She was still sleeping, her face turned toward him, her eyes moving beneath her eyelids, making it clear that she was dreaming.
What had he done? The events of the last night came back to him. The two of them are looking after Henry together. Him waking up in the middle of the night and kissing her. His lips tingled with the memory of their kiss. Instantly, he wanted to do it again. He was still not fully awake when a burning realization flashed through him.Henry!
He sat up straight as an arrow. Henry wasn’t in the bed anymore. He’d been curled up in the middle of the night at the bottom of the bed, but now he wasn’t there. Lucien’s heart thundered for a moment, thinking the worst, but then he spotted him.
His son was sitting on the floor, piling his blocks up into a tall tower. He looked well. The fever had to have broken just as Marianne had said.
Lucien breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down. The last couple of days had been an awful strain. He truly thought that he was going to lose his son, but somehow they had gotten through it.
“Good morning,” Marianne whispered. Her eyes were fluttering open, and he saw the traces of sleep in the corners of them.
“Good morning,” he replied, aware that this was most awkward. They were in bed together. Not an unusual occurrence for husband and wife, of course, but in their situation, it was most odd indeed. Yet neither made a move to get up.
“Henry?”
“He’s playing with his blocks,” he explained, and Marianne smiled.
“Good. I’m so glad.”
She lifted her head, drew her hand out from underneath the blanket, and placed it on his cheek. Instinctively, he placed his own on top of it, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
Then he leaned forward and kissed her. The kiss was as sweet as the one from last night. Just as innocent. And yet something inside of him shifted.
A wave of passion flooded over him. And he knew if Henry hadn’t been there sitting on the floor just a few steps away, he may have entirely lost his composure.
He pulled back, but kept his forehead pressed against hers.
“Well,” she said, “so much for our agreement.”
“Right,” he said. Was this the end of their agreement? Were they going to be a couple now? It seemed that that was what she assumed. But he wasn’t ready for that. She didn’t want that, did she?
But he wanted her...
“I should get dressed,” he said. “I am rather rumpled. And also rather famished.”
“As am I,” Marianne replied.
He got up and slipped out of the bed, feeling more solid once his feet were on the ground.
“Papa,” Henry called and jumped up. He ran across the floorboards and jumped up into his father’s arms. Lucien liftedhim up into the air. The redness was gone from the child’s face, and he no longer felt feverish. Lucien kissed him on both cheeks and held him close.
“Do you feel better?”
“Much better. Look at the tower I made,” Henry said and pointed at it.
“Quite magnificent indeed,” Lucien confirmed immediately.
“Marianne, did you see my tower?”
“I did,” Marianne said, likewise climbing out of bed. If Henry found it odd that the two of them had been in bed together, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he wriggled to be put down and rushed back to where Marianne was standing. He hugged her legs, pressing his head into her rumpled skirts.
