“Yes, Colby. I still think I love you.“
“Show me.“
The longing in his voice caught at her emotions. “All right.“ She put her hands on either side of his hard face and brought his mouth down to hers.
“Diana.“
She opened her mouth for him, and he groaned deep in his chest as he took the offering. When she slid her palms down his back and sank her fingers into the deep, strong muscles of his bu**ocks, Colby shuddered.
His hand rested possessively on her rounded belly, and he was very gentle as he took one of her ni**les into his mouth.
“You’re always so careful with me,“ she whispered. “So tender.“
“I’ll always take care of you,“ he vowed. “You can trust me, Diana.“
“I know. One of these days I hope you’ll learn to trust me, too.“
His head came up sharply. “I do trust you.“
She shook her head. “No, you don’t. Every time I talk about my career, you think I’m getting ready to turn my back on my responsibilities to the baby and to you. I would never do that, Colby. One of these days you’ll realize that.“
“Part of me knows that. Part of me is still afraid to believe it.“ His voice was raw.
“There was a time when part of me was afraid to believe you’d stick around, too. But I don’t have any doubts now.
That’s why I can tell you that I love you.“
“Say it again.“ His hand tightened on her thigh.
“I love you.“ She smiled in the shadows. “Your turn to practice, Colby.“
“I love you, too.“
He eased into her, filling her gently, completely. His fingertips slipped down to the delicate little nubbin of sensation hidden in the tawny curls between her thighs, and when she went taut in his arms and started to cry out, he kissed the soft, sensual screams from her lips so that Brandon would not hear them. He held her while she convulsed, and then he thrust forward one last time, his entire body rigid with his release.
Diana clung to him, knowing he’d given her the words of love because she asked for them, not because he fully understood them or his own emotions. Colby always needed prompting before he told her that he loved her. It was hardly ideal, but she had decided to take what she could get. She was going on the theory that if Colby said the words often enough, they might get to be a habit and he might discover he was addicted to the habit.
A LONG WHILE LATER as they lay side by side, hands clasped, Colby spoke again.
“There’s something I want to talk about,“ Colby said.
“Yes?“
“Your plans for opening your own consulting business after the baby gets here.“
“Oh.“ She shut her eyes. “Do we have to talk about them now? I don’t want another argument, Colby. I’m too tired.“
“That’s why you never mentioned them to me, isn’t it? You assumed I’d give you a lot of static.“
“The thought had crossed my mind,“ she admitted.
“Maybe I would have a few weeks ago,“ he said slowly. “But when I heard you telling Brandon about your ideas this evening, I realized I wasn’t upset about them, only about the fact that you hadn’t felt free to discuss them with me.“
“I would have. Sooner or later.“
“I don’t want you to feel you can’t talk to me about things like that, Diana. I know you think I’ve got a thing about your working, but that’s not true. I just want you to keep your work in balance with all the other things that are going to be happening in our lives.“
“I’m learning.“
“I know. You’re changing, aren’t you? I realized tonight it didn’t make me nervous now to hear you talk about going into business for yourself. I just want you to know that I think your ideas are terrific, and you’ll have my full support when the time comes.“
Diana studied him in silence for a moment, and then she leaned over and kissed him softly. “That’s one of the reasons I love you, you know. When push comes to shove, I can count on you.“
There was another long silence and then Colby said, “Speaking of feeling free to communicate…“
“Yes?“
“It’s the car,“ he said.
Diana pulled herself back from the edge of sleep. “What car?“
“Brandon’s Mazda. It was his car we were driving when that fool in the ‘vette tried to take us that night on River Road.“
“Oh, my God.“ Colby’s logic was suddenly clear to her. “You think it might have been deliberate? That someone thought Brandon was in the car that night?“
“It’s a possibility I can’t ignore. That jerk who tried to run us down wasn’t just looking for a one-mile run. He was trying to send us into the river, Diana. He could have been after us or he could have been after Brandon. Coming on top of those pranks that were played on you, I can’t take any chances. I don’t want either of you in the vicinity of Fulbrook Corners unless I’m around.“
Diana was silent for a long while, assimilating the facts. “I guess I’ve known deep down how worried you were but I haven’t thought much about what happened in Fulbrook Corners since we’ve been back in Portland.“
“No reason to think about those incidents. No one’s bothered you or Brandon since we left town.“
Diana sat up abruptly. “You’ve got a perfectly valid reason for not wanting Brandon to go back there alone.“
“Thanks. Does this mean I’m no longer viewed as just another example of outdated patriarchal machismo?“ Colby smiled faintly in the darkness.
“Oh, no, you’re not excused from that accusation. But you can redeem yourself.“
“Yeah? How?“
“First of all, you can explain your concerns to Brandon.“
“And second?“
“You can offer him an alternative.“
“What alternative? Like I said, I am not driving up to Fulbrook Corners for Christmas. We’re going to have our first Christmas together right here.“
“You can suggest he invite his grandmother down to Portland for the holiday.“
Colby shot straight up in bed. “Pregnancy has rotted your brain, woman. Are you crazy? Have that witch here under my roof for Christmas?“
“She could stay at a hotel, just as my mother is going to do,“ Diana said, thinking quickly. “We’ll open presents here and then we could all go out to Christmas dinner afterward.“