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“Let’s go to bed.” Nick’s heart was thudding against her chest.
She pulled away and gave him a demure smile. “Why not?”
Rising swiftly, Nick helped her to her feet. Then, arm in arm, they made their way to his suite.
This time they made love with slow intensity. Every touch counted. Every kiss brought a burst of new emotion. By the time Nick finally pulled her over him and they united, both of them were ready for the hot glow that waited. The heat built and built until the world spun.
Afterward, Nick pulled her into his arms, and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “That was fantastic.”
“I’d have to agree,” she said.
“One more thing.” Nick shifted the pillows before leaning back, and arranging her into the crook of his arm. “There’s a house that’s come up for sale that I want to show you.”
She turned her head, and looked up at him. “Oh, good, does this mean you’re going to sell the marble mausoleum?” A weight she didn’t know existed lifted.
“Mausoleum?” he sounded affronted.
“It’s not a home,” said Candace. “It’s too cold.”
“Cold? The heating system is spectacular.”
“I don’t mean the temperature—it doesn’t have a heart.”
Nick gave her a secret smile. “Wait until you see what I have to show you. I think you’ll want to call it home.”
“You might have to consider trading the Ferrari in for a family model,” Candace told Nick as he throttled the Ferrari back and slowed down. They’d left Jennie with Alison and her sons while Nick took her to see the secret house he’d been so tantalizingly closemouthed about.
A Realtor’s For Sale sign leaned drunkenly against a large pohutukawa tree.
“Is this it?” she asked.
Nick swung the sports car into an overgrown tree-lined driveway. “It’s a jungle in here,” he commented. “Let’s see what state the house is in.”
Puzzled, Candace turned her head to look at him, and her heart constricted at the sight of his beloved profile. He would forever have this effect on her. She must be the most fortunate woman in the world. She pulled her thoughts together and tried to remember what she’d wanted to ask. It came to her. “I thought you’d already seen the house.”
“A long time ago. Seven years ago to be exact.”
And then she knew. She placed her hand on his thigh, and dug her fingers in. “Nick!”
Laughing, he trod on the brake. The car came to a stop. “Careful where you grab me, woman.”
“I don’t care what state the house is in, this is where I want to live.”
“Hang on, we need to take a look first. The house might no longer be a good investment.”
Candace said a rude word. “I don’t care if it’s a bad investment, if you still love this place we’re living here.”
His eyes softened. “You’d make that great a sacrifice?”
“Nothing compared to the sacrifice I thought you were willing to make.” Candace shot him a cheeky grin. “At least I know you love me—a house can be fixed.”
“Okay, let’s go see.”
The Ferrari nosed through the trees, and Candace’s breath caught as she glimpsed the grand old structure rising ahead. This was the house Mrs. Busby had told her he’d loved and sold when he’d married Jilly. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”
“It needs painting for starters.”
“What’s a little paint?” When Nick pulled up outside the homestead, she jumped out. “Hurry up…and don’t forget the keys.”
It took them half an hour to wander through the place, Nick showing her nooks and crannies she would not otherwise have found.
“It was built back in the 1880s when trading ships used to stop off not far away. The floors are made of kauri wood.”
“I can see why you love it. It reeks of heritage. I think I’ve fallen in love.” She slanted him a glance as she slipped her hand into his. “Again.”
