Diana glanced around and saw that the two women were alone. “Athena, Anthony told me he’d like a cat like your Khan. Where might I find one for him? I’m sure there is one closer than Sumatra.”
Athena grinned. “Which of you came up with the Fishing Cats of Sumatra name?”
“Anthony, after I claimed that the Panda was an Imperial Chinese Throne Cat,” Diana explained. “He likes my silliness, I think.”
“I like seeing him silly,” Athena said with a chuckle. “He’s too often serious. I’ve never seen him so happy as he is with you.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Diana said seriously. “Being with him makes me so happy also.”
“Kittens increase happiness, “ Athena said, “and you’re in luck. Khan has fathered a litter of kittens in Will’s barn and one of them looks very like him. She’s sweet and friendly and I think Anthony will love her.”
“Is she old enough to leave her mother?”
Athena nodded. “Do you have a plan in mind?”
“Indeed, I do,” Diana said, her eyes gleaming. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.
* * *
Anthony came to collect her when the dinner bell sounded. “You look much more relaxed,” he observed.
“I am.” She gave him a swift kiss because he looked so utterly delectable. “I love your sisters and their husbands. This is a marvelous place to celebrate Christmas.”
The dining room sparkled with crystal and candles and shining silverware. The Mastersons and Randalls gave a formal toast of congratulation on the betrothal, so Diana returned a toast of gratitude for their welcome.
Conversation flowed easily as they laughed and ate delicious food. The two couples made Diana feel deeply and completely at home.
As she studied Anthony’s sisters, she realized perhaps because of their horrid father, they needed their brother to find the happiness they’d found. Now the trauma of the past no longer held sway and their family circle was complete. So she toasted the three Raines offspring as well, joined warmly by Will and Alex.
Family.
* * *
After dinner, Anthony escorted Diana to her room, giving her a chaste kiss outside the door. “Sleep well, my lady fair. You’ve had a long day.”
She nodded, regret in her eyes at the separate rooms. “So have you.” She kissed him back, her hands curling into his waist before he broke away.
He was whistling softly as he withdrew to his own room. He had a surprise for Diana, who hadn’t realized that their rooms had a connecting door. After he changed into nightwear and a robe, he quietly knocked on the door to her room, then let himself in. “Are you willing to have company tonight?”
Diana was brushing out her hair, and she almost dropped her hairbrush when she saw him. “Anthony! I thought that door led to a closet. Your sister won’t mind if we . . . we anticipate our vows?”
He grinned and closed the door behind him. “She must have noticed how we look at each other and decided it’s none of her business how we arrange matters. I certainly wouldn’t ask her about her courtship with Will! But it’s not an accident that she put us in these rooms.”
“So we can enjoy another wicked winter night!” Eyes glowing, Diana set down the hairbrush and went into his arms, warm and soft and utterly desirable.
He closed his eyes, still awed by the miracle of finding each other. “You’re the best Christmas present ever.”
“No, you are, my love.” She smiled at him playfully. “Now about that wicked winter night . . . !”
Laughing, he swept her up in his arms. The bed had been turned down so he laid her in the center. She was all gold and ivory welcome. “I love you, Diana, even more than I could have imagined that summer we met,” he said huskily as he peeled off his robe.
“I feel the same, my beloved,” she whispered. “You have become so much more than I had ever imagined.”
As he slid into the bed beside her, the Panda leaped up and found a spot at the lower corner of the counterpane. Anthony smiled as he leaned into a kiss. There was room enough, and love enough, for all.
* * *
The windows were pinkening with dawn when Diana heard a faint sound at the door. A tiny meow, she thought. Moving silently so as not to disturb Anthony, she slipped from the bed and padded to the door. She opened it to find a basket with a small kitten inside, as she and Athena had arranged.
