How this woman made him happy.
“A house party during the holidays? At Sky Manor?” It wasn’t a bad idea only… “Are you certain you’ll be up to it?” Of course, he’d do whatever she wished, but…
Her violet eyes flicked away from the ceiling. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Her lips tilted up in a questioning smile. Gabriel lazily studied her flawless complexion, her small, pert nose, the elegant line of her neck to where it met her collarbone. She’d drawn the sheet up to cover her nakedness.
Making love in the mornings was his favorite new way of waking up.
Making love to his wife.
“Are you bored with just me already?” Gabriel chuckled without answering her question.
In response, she turned and pulled him down for a long, slow, lazy kiss. “Does this feel like I’m bored with you?” She arched her back so that his teeth could drag down the sheet covering her.
In a matter of mere seconds, she was writhing beneath him. It was always like this between the two of them. She was not only his wife; she was his lover––his best friend.
Several minutes later, he was tucking her into his side again, both of them breathing heavily.
“I have had a wonderful time here.” Olivia sighed, her breath sending a warm breeze across Gabriel’s chest. “Everyone… well, almost everyone… has been so nice to me!”
“Why would they not be nice to you?” Of course, he knew what her answer would be. Her father and mother’s words had cut her deeply, and despite her newfound confidence, he knew she held onto her self-doubts.
She burrowed into him, her hair caressing his arms and chest. “You know,” she mumbled.
“So, a house party?” He felt bad for squashing some of her exuberance. “Who would you want to invite?”
“Your mother and Priscilla, Nathaniel and Gilbert, of course. They’ll be at Sky Manor anyway. Louella and Crawford, and the children. Crawford’s sisters and Her Grace.” Olivia lifted one hand and began drawing little circles on Gabriel’s skin, where her head rested.
“What do you know of Lord Crestwood?” she asked a little too casually, causing Gabriel to raise his brows.
“He’s too old for you,” Gabriel answered only partly in jest. But then understanding dawned. “A little old for Priscilla, don’t you think?”
But Olivia was shaking her head. “I think he was once acquainted with Eliza.”
“Miss Cline?” Odd, that a baron would have any occasion to become acquainted with a vicar’s sister.
Olivia was nodding. “He broke her heart. A very long time ago.”
His wife was full of all kinds of surprises this morning. “And now he is widowed. But, Olivia,” he had to point out the problem with her matchmaking idea, “their stations are quite different.”
Olivia sat up and stared down at him. As she did so, the sheet fell away again, giving Gabriel the full view of her plump breasts, normally creamy but flushed from their recent bout of lovemaking. “She is a woman of gentle birth. They are not so very far apart in station. Gabriel?” She drew his attention back to what she was saying. “It would not be an impossible match.”
Considering what the two of them had gone through, Gabriel could only shrug. “If what you say is true, and he broke her heart, will Miss Cline wish to see him again?”
Olivia bit her lip. “She would never admit to it. But If she happened to come to my Christmas house party, as did Lord Crestwood, at least then, they would have the opportunity to… become friends again.”
Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Being friends is never a bad idea.” His voice grew husky as the truth of his words struck him.
“So, you do not mind? If I host a party at Christmas?”
Gabriel pulled her down for another kiss. “You may host a party whenever you like. So long as you don’t overtire yourself.”
Those little brows of hers puckered up in confusion. “Why…?” She trailed off as Gabriel’s hand settled on one breast. “
“You’re more sensitive than usual.” He squeezed gently, his thumb tracing the puckered pink skin at the tip. And then his hand dipped to her abdomen. “You’ve been queasy in the mornings. For nearly three weeks now, you’ve been leaving most of your food at breakfast time.” And Olivia was not one of those ladies who merely picked at her meals. She usually enjoyed every morsel.
Her lovely eyes flew open wide with understanding. “I hadn’t been paying attention…”
“You’ve gone nine weeks without your monthlies,” Gabriel supplied for her.
