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Coburn finished his conversation with the Austrian ambassador. She braced herself for yet another introduction; instead, he laced his fingers through hers and pulled her through an arch to a deserted alcove.
“Have I told you how jaw-droppingly beautiful you look tonight?”
His husky rumble sent a fission of awareness through her. “No, you haven’t,” she reprimanded, her lips skimming the stubble on his cheek. “You’ve been far too preoccupied. What happened in the meeting?”
“We’re going ahead with my plan. No turning back now.”
The tension in his tone made her draw back. “No second-guessing yourself. You knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”
“Jack Nieman said it was either the gutsiest or the most reckless strategy he’d ever witnessed.”
“Gutsy,” she supplied softly. “To take the untraveled path is full of peril, but it also provides the greatest rewards.”
His mouth curved. “I married a philosopher.”
“Who believes in you.”
“Yes.” He bent and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. “Thank you.”
The light glittering in his magnetic blue eyes as he drew back to look at her stole her breath. “This is what I’ve been fighting for our entire marriage, Diana. The bond, the power we create when we believe in one other.” He ran the pad of his thumb across her cheek, the gentle caress sending a shiver sliding through her. “When you let me in...”
A warmth unfurled inside her, wrapping itself around her insides. He loved her. She knew he did.
Her heart sat suspended in her chest as she waited to hear the words she so desperately needed to hear.
His gaze darkened. “I have so many things I want to say to you,” he murmured softly, “but this is not the place.”
Her heart stuttered forward in her chest. She had to swallow past the lump in her throat to speak. “I know.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek in a silent promise and drew her into the throng of guests being directed toward the other sweeping hall for dinner. A staff member checked the list and escorted them to their table. They were to dine with Coburn’s Austrian customer and his colleagues.
Coburn’s fingers tightened against her back as they approached their table. “Is that Frank Moritz?”
Her gaze zeroed in on the tall, graying figure set in profile standing beside their table. Oh, God, it was. Her stomach dropped. She hadn’t told Coburn about Frank’s job offer. Hadn’t given her mentor an answer yet, either. As if by avoiding the whole subject, clarity would come to her.
Now that seemed like a very unwise decision.
She managed to secure a seat beside Frank and his wife, Carole, at the round table for ten, Coburn on her right. She would find an opportunity to tell Frank the fellowship was an off-limits conversation.
“Six degrees of separation,” she murmured when they all laughed about the connections between them all, Frank and Coburn’s client seeming to go way back. Apparently Frank and the client’s father had competed in luge together during Frank’s youth in Switzerland.
She focused on finding an opening to talk to Frank while Coburn was engaged with his client. It never seemed to come. The conversation was intimate, moving back and forth across the table like a Ping-Pong game, keeping everyone engaged.
She started to relax when the chatter stayed rooted in topics such as politics and international business policy. Perhaps Frank knew better than to talk personal business tonight.
Launching enthusiastically into a discussion about a film generating awards buzz, she kept the conversation flowing. Frank added his usual cutting commentary, then sat back in his chair, bringing his wineglass with him as he trained his gaze on Diana. “You still haven’t given me an answer on the fellowship. I take it that means you aren’t interested.”
Her husband went rigid beside her. A buzzing sound filled her ears. “Coburn and I haven’t had a chance to discuss it,” she said quietly. “Things have been chaotic.”
Frank pointed his wineglass at Coburn. “What do you think? Your wife is too talented to not be using her skills.”
“I think it’s not good timing,” her husband responded in a lethally quiet voice. “Considering Diana is pregnant.”
The buzzing sound in her ears flatlined. He had not just done that. He had not just outed her pregnancy at a table half-full of strangers.
Carole’s face lit up. “That’s so wonderful. Congratulations, you two.”
