Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(111)

Hesitantly Nicole started for him, then changed her mind and ran to Alex, clamping her arms around his leg. She gave Derek a bashful grin.

“She’s quite shy,” Lily said with a soft laugh. “And she has a decided attachment for blond men.”

“No luck for me there,” Derek said ruefully, fingering his dark locks. He stood up and regarded Lily with an odd expression. “She’s beautiful, gypsy. Like her mother.”

Alex struggled to suppress a sharp twinge of jealousy. He reached down and smoothed Nicole’s hair, dislodging the huge pink bow that was tied on top of her head. He knew there was no reason to be jealous of Craven. Although Craven loved Lily, it was clear by his actions in the past that he would never be a threat to her marriage. Still, it would never be easy for Alex to stand by silently while another man looked at her that way.

He gritted his teeth in frustration. It would be easier to bear if he and Lily had resumed their marital relationship. The last time they had slept together was before he had found her alone with Giuseppe Gavazzi. Since that night, Lily had been completely absorbed in her child. A tiny bed had been moved into the room next to theirs. Several times each night Lily awakened to check on Nicole. He saw Lily’s outline in the darkness, hovering over the peacefully sleeping child, guarding her as if she feared her daughter would be spirited from the bed. The child was seldom out of Lily’s sight. Alex offered no objection, knowing that as time passed, Lily’s fears would gradually subside. And after all the emotional turmoil his wife had been through, Alex was hardly going to force himself on her…although it might soon come to that. He had never wanted anyone this much—having her so near, seeing her soft and utterly happy, her skin and her hair so beautiful, her lips warm, smiling…Sternly he forced himself to stop thinking about her, feeling his body beginning to react to the stimulating images.

The truth was, he didn’t know what the hell Lily wanted. She seemed so content with the way things were. He was desperate to know if she needed him, if she loved him, but he remained stubbornly silent, deciding she could make the next move, and if it took a hundred years of silence, suffering, and celibacy, so be it. He cursed her every night as he retired to his solitary bed. When he fell asleep, he dreamed of her all night. Sighing grimly, he turned his attention back to the visitor.

“…I’m going to take my leave,” Derek was saying.

“No, you must stay to supper with us,” Lily protested.

Ignoring her pleas, Derek grinned at Alex. “Good day, milord. I wish you luck with these two. You’ll need it.”

“Thanks,” Alex replied dryly.

“I’ll see you out,” Lily said, accompanying Derek to the entrance hall.

As they stood alone in the doorway, Derek folded his hands over hers and gave her a brotherly peck on the forehead. “When are you coming back to Craven’s?” he demanded. “It isn’t the same without you.”

Lily lowered her eyes. “Alex and I will visit some evening.”

There was an awkward silence between them, while they each contemplated a multitude of words better left unspoken.

“So you have her back now,” Derek observed.

She nodded, gazing into his dark face. “Derek,” she said softly. “I never would have survived the last two years without you.” She knew they were saying good-bye to their friendship as it had been. There would never again be the conversations before the fire, the shared secrets and confidences, the odd relationship that had sustained them both in different ways. Impulsively she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Derek flinched as she took her mouth away, as if the touch of her lips had hurt him. “Good-bye, gypsy,” he muttered, and left, striding rapidly to the carriage that awaited him.

The cat stared at Nicole with slitted eyes as she approached him with a winning smile. Reaching out slowly, she grasped his flicking tail. Hissing with annoyance, Tom whirled around and struck out with his paw, leaving a scratch on her hand.

Nicole’s mouth opened as she regarded him with surprise and hurt. She began to wail piteously. At the sound of her crying, Alex came to her swiftly, scooping her up as she ran toward him. He patted her back and jostled her comfortingly. “What happened, sweetheart? What is it?”

Still crying, Nicole showed him her hand.

“Did Tom scratch you?” he asked with soft concern.

“Yes,” she sobbed. “Naughty, naughty.”

“Let me see.” Alex scrutinized the faint pink line on the back of her hand. With a sympathetic sound, he kissed the tiny scratch to make it better. “Tom doesn’t like his tail pulled, sweetheart. When he comes back I’ll show you how to pet him, and he won’t scratch you ever again. Here, give me a hug, my brave girl.” Amid his light talk and soothing, Nicole promptly forgot about her scratch and beamed at him, her little arm clutched around his neck.

Silently Lily stood watching from the doorway, an ache of love gathering in her chest until it became painful. Unaware that he was being observed, Alex carried on a conversation with Nicole, setting her down and searching beneath the sofa for her misplaced doll. The sight made Lily smile. She hadn’t known until this moment if he would truly want to be a father to her child. She had no right to expect it. But she should have realized he had more than enough love to give both of them. He was not the kind of man who would blame an innocent child for her unfortunate beginnings. He had so much to teach her, she thought, about love and trust and wholehearted acceptance. She wanted a lifetime of being with him and giving him all the joy one man could possibly endure.