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And her present to him... Well, Naomi weakened, and suddenly it was edging too close to nine to even think of stopping at his father’s for a change of clothes. Abe was all right, of course, but Naomi really had nothing apart from last night’s clothes to wear.
‘You’re going to have to the do the walk of shame,’ Abe said.
His driver had Christmas off, so Abe drove them and she looked out at the beautiful streets she was fast coming to love and it dawned on her that this amazing city would be her home.
‘I spoke to Barb,’ he told her as they drove alongside Central Park on Christmas morning, and Naomi still felt as if she was in a dream. ‘I’ve spoken to all the staff, and they’ll all be taken care of. But Barb and Bernard...’
She turned and looked at him.
‘They’re going to work for me. Us,’ he corrected. ‘Dad’s place is getting too big for her, and I’ve had renovations done downstairs.’
‘The basement?’
‘It’s stunning. It’s got its own entrance and garden—I don’t do things by halves...’
No, he didn’t.
‘But not yet,’ he said, ‘hopefully not for ages...’ Because they all still need Jobe to be here.
‘Abe, once I’ve finished work we can—’
‘You’re not working for my brother any more.’ He glanced over. ‘Absolutely not.’ And, yes, he was being a snob, but what the hell? ‘The only babies you’re getting up for from now on are ours.’
‘I can’t just leave them in the lurch.’
‘Oh, please,’ he dismissed. ‘They can get a proper nanny if they need one, and you can get on with being Ava’s aunt.’
‘We’re here,’ he added, before she could argue.
Only how could she possibly argue with that?
He was talking babies already and she had gone from having no one to being a fiancée and soon-to-be aunt...
There wasn’t time to dwell on it, though, as they were at the hospital and the press were waiting.
Of course they were, they’d been taking photos on the day his mother had died, so why not now?
Only they weren’t just here for Jobe.
They got their shot of Abe Devereux in black jeans and jumper and the mystery woman in a velvet dress and his jacket from last night.
The same woman he’d been chasing with a shoe he’d retrieved, and who was now wearing a sparkly ring!
‘Merry Christmas, Abe,’ they called. ‘And to the mystery lady...’
Abe made no comment, but then relented. ‘Merry Christmas,’ he said.
But then the true spirit of Christmas shone, for the cameras went down and their next words were heartfelt. ‘Give our very best to Jobe.’
Abe nodded. ‘Thanks.’
They walked along the hallway and came to a stony-faced Ethan, who was clearly looking out for them. He was holding tiny Ava, who was wearing a little elf suit and was thankfully sound asleep in her father’s arms. ‘Where the hell have you two—?’ Ethan snarled, and then stopped himself asking the obvious because, still in last night’s dress and with slightly tangled hair, it was seemingly clear.
‘Go and say hi,’ Abe suggested to Naomi, who was thankful to duck into Jobe’s room.
‘You’ll take perfect care of her?’ Ethan sneered, as cries of ‘Happy Christmas’ started up in his father’s room. ‘The one time I ask you...’ And then his voice halted again because there weren’t just Christmas greetings being exchanged, there was a cry of delight from Merida, and he heard Jobe actually bark out a cheer.
‘Absolutely, I shall be taking perfect care of her,’ Abe said to his younger brother. ‘Naomi has agreed to become my wife.’
