"Loud and clear." He released his breath. "Is it weird that I find your orneriness so bloody sexy?" Bending, he kissed her again. "Is it time to tell everyone? My parents are going to be out of their minds with joy."
"I suppose." She was trying to drum up the enthusiasm that was supposed to come with the news and could not quite manage it. She was scared down to the bone. They had discussed loosely of children, but she had wanted to wait.
"Look at me."
Lifting her lashes, she did just that and felt the familiar thudding of her heart at the look of him. His hair needed trimming as usual. There were strands tumbling over his forehead. His dreamy poetic face always gives her a jolt. And when she considered what he could do with those lips of his, she went weak.
"I love you." He cupped her face between his palms. "Let that be enough for now."
"How far along?" Maeve O'Sullivan was a woman in her early sixties but carried her age very well. Her dense black hair hadstreaks of gray that made her look all the more distinguished. She had passed the eyes and hair to her two children. She and her husband were originally from Ireland but had migrated to the states before their children were born.
Her husband, a tall, gangly looking man with a genial expression on his narrow face adored her. The first time Kiara saw them together, she had felt an instant love and envy. But they had both opened their hearts to the woman who had captured their son's heart.
"Seven weeks." Rising, Kiara wandered around the edge of the pool restlessly. The men had left them alone to talk. The summer was just beginning, the flowers blossoming. They were at Oscar's sprawling ranch style home where she spent most of her nights and several days.
Maeve watched the petite woman with the bundle of energy and a frown on her brow.
"Are you feeling poorly?" The concern was evident in the soft lilting voice that always reminded Kiara of church bells.
"Every single morning." She rubbed her stomach where the eggs she had tried to eat were settled. "Your son keeps apologizing. Unfortunately for him, I don't believe a word of it." She sat backdown, leaning back on the pillows Oscar had conscientiously brought out for her.
The man was being very accommodating, but then he always was. Being with him had opened her eyes in so many ways. She never had someone treat her this way before. He loved expansively, thoroughly and without equivocation. She did not have that openness about her for obvious reasons.
She knew he was frustrated that she refused to commit to him fully, but she needed time.
"Honey, you've made us so happy. You should hear Oscar over the phone. He was bubbling up with joy."
"He wouldn't be if he was the one carrying two human beings inside him." She muttered, lifting her face to the sun.
"What about you? How do you feel about being pregnant?"
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and weighed her words. She liked the woman very much and after a few months had come to accept that they approved of her. As well as accepting that they were as open as their son with their affections and the need to embrace all the damn time. It takes some getting used to.
"Still processing." Turning her head, she smiled at Maeve. "I just have to get used to it."
"What about your tours?" Maeve reached for the jug of lemonade the maid had brought out for them and poured. Her son was not willing to ask these questions, so she would do it for him. "Still going?"
In the last year, she had written another stunning bestseller. Her fascination with the past had paid off. Her research was thorough and details graphic. The love scenes were poignant and not always with a happy ending.
There was a haunting quality to her writing that engages the reader. She now had four books that had been turned into movies and were getting rave reviews. It still amazes her that it was not only Oscar who was recognized when they go out, but her as well.
She even had mails from eager fans, some of them slightly disturbing. Aside from her ever faithful agent and best friend, she had a secretary. Her accounts had been taken over by the overworked and very precise Matthew O'Malley, Oscar's business manager.
"I'm thinking of cancelling. I'm in the middle of doing some research for my next book, which takes everything out of me."She smiled. "Your son is terrified that my moodiness will increase drastically. Which it probably will." She rubbed her belly unconsciously.
"I wish you would agree to come to Ireland and stay for a bit. We would love to have you there to spoil."
"Oscar would not hear of it. And he cannot leave now. Opening another pub is taking his time. This one is different."
"The boy is a perfectionist." There was a proud lilt to Maeve's lovely voice that had the envy stirring inside her.
"That he is." She responded lightly and reached for her glass of lemonade.
"Don't mean to pry."
Oscar sent him an amused indulgent glance as he measured out the required amount of scotch. "Da, you know when you start a sentence that way, means you have every intention of doing just that, right?"
Padric flashed his charming smile and uttered his thanks. They were in the small living room overlooking the pool where Oscar could keep an eye on his woman.
