“That is absurd.” Ambrose looked for his sister-in-law; she was chatting with Thea and Tremont, while trying to hold onto her and Harry’s rambunctious toddler Bartholomew. “Harry is head-over-heels in love with her. I have never seen him so content.”
“What is obvious to others may not be obvious to oneself,” his wife said sagely. “The poor dear was quite distraught.”
“I’m sure Harry will iron things out when he arrives.”
Ambrose was not worried. First, he knew his brother, and when a Kent fell in love, they did so forever. Second, from his own personal experience, women could get a bit emotional when they were with child. Being a wise man and one with a healthy sense of self-preservation, he did not voice that opinion to his lady wife.
Another thought occurred to him then.
Lifting a brow, he said, “Did you have any grievances to contribute to your ladies’ conversation?”
He was teasing, mostly, and thus was surprised to see a tinge of rose appear on Marianne’s slanted cheekbones.
“What is it, my love?” He tilted his head, setting her away from him so that he could study her. “Are you unhappy about something?”
Whatever it was, he would fix it forthwith. His fortunes had changed the moment he met Marianne twenty-one years ago. Many had thought that the match between a wealthy, sophisticated baroness and a poor Thames River policeman was amésalliance,but he and Marianne had proven the naysayers wrong. Despite their many years together, he still thanked his lucky stars that she’d taken him and his siblings on. That he’d managed to claim such a loyal, loving, and clever beauty as his own.
She fiddled with the lapels of his woolen coat, her gaze on her kid-gloved fingers. “I’m not unhappy, Ambrose. Far from it.”
“Then what is it?” It wasn’t like Marianne to dither. She was direct by nature, and the fact that she wasn’t telling him her thoughts outright was cause for concern.
She lifted her peerless emerald eyes to his. “It is just that sometimes…I wish we had more time together. Like this.”
He understood then. Relief filled him…along with wry amusement.
“You know you’re an old married couple when you share the same thoughts,” he said.
“Who are you calling old?” Marianne asked archly.
“Never you, my beautiful selkie.” He brushed his gloved knuckles over her cheek. “The truth is I’ve been having similar thoughts: that I would like to spend more time with you and the family and less chasing after criminals and the like. We don’t need the money, and I am certain that my partners would be happy to take over Kent and Associates. Lugo and McLeod know the business as well as I do. If they need my help on a case, I would be available for consultation. “As he spoke the words aloud, he realized just how ready he was to say them. “It seems like a good time for me to retire.”
“Truly?”
The longing in his wife’s eyes hit him in the gut, reinforcing the rightness of his choice.
She drew a breath. “Because, darling, I would never want you to stop doing what you love.”
“I love you. More than anything,” he stated. “And more and more with each passing year.”
“Oh, Ambrose.” She smiled tremulously. “You are everything to me.”
He dipped his head to kiss her. He meant it to be a tender gesture, but the lushness of his wife’s lips, the needy way her fingers clutched his shoulders, brought a familiar fire to his loins. He deepened the kiss, losing himself in her delectable warmth…
Whoops and laughter brought him back to earth. He drew back from Marianne, grinning to find her blushing like a newlywed bride. His sisters were giggling, their husbands fighting back smiles. His daughters were standing together, his eldest with her hands on his youngest’s shoulders.
“Don’t be scandalized, Sophie dear,” Rosie said cheekily. “That is just Mama and Papa’s way of showing that they love one another.”
“I am not scandalized,” Sophie told her. “They do it all the time.”
Which led to more general merriment.
“I have had enough of the snow,” Marianne announced with great dignity. “I am going back inside.”
She sashayed toward the house, turning to give him a come-hither look. One that said,You are welcome to join me.
Ambrose’s heart and a lower part of his anatomy swelled with anticipation.
Goddamn, but retirement was going to be sweet.
