He frowned.“In a good way, I hope,” he whispered.
“In the very best way.”
Seeing his eyes were closed, she settled the side of her face onto the top of his chest, gratified to feel his steady heartbeat beneath her ear.She grinned at remembering his enthusiasm—his determination—to see to it she was pleasured before he took his own.Surely they would be blessed with a baby within the year.
A few minutes later, she joined him in slumber, her dreams of their upcoming travels.
Three days later
By the time they settled in their cabin onThe Denderafor the beginning of what would be their wedding trip, The Honorable Mr.and Mrs.Thomas Forster had toured all of Luxor whilst riding in a hantour, spent time—and money—in several of the shops, and had returned to the site of their proposal to watch the sun set over the desert.
Meanwhile, David had become good friends with his new cousin’s brother, Bradley.“Do you realize, young man, that we are the only two left on this boat who are not married?”he asked one afternoon when they were on the upper deck, engaged in a game of cards.Although the babe didn’t yet understand how to hold the chipboard cards—several were backwards so David could actually see their fronts—he did seem to grasp the concept of putting coins into the kitty as well as pulling them out when he won a hand.
“Bach’lors,” Bradley replied, his grin wide.
David gave a start.“Bachelors, indeed,” he said proudly.“Let’s discover how long we can avoid the parson’s mousetrap, shall we?”
Bradley dropped his cards on the table, and David’s mouth opened in shock.“You wonagain?”he asked in disbelief.
The boy nodded and happily scooped up all the coins onto his pile, unaware of how David’s attention had been caught by Tom and Helen as they lounged together in a large chair, their hands clasped together, as they watched the passing shoreline.Every once in a while, Tom lifted her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it.
Making a dismissive sound in his throat, David turned his attention to the scattered cards and scooped them up to shuffle them.“Another hand?”he asked.
Bradley nodded.“Bach’lors.”
“You needn’t rub it in,” David groused, trying but failing to ignore the young boy’s delight.“Even if you do have a point.”
