“Hmm, naughty and ferocious. Not exactly your type, is it?” she teased. “As I recall, you prefer sweet and docile.”

“I prefer you,” he corrected, untying the belt of her robe and pushing it off her shoulders. “Whether it’s naughty or nice, sugar or spice, or however that old saying goes. You’re all of those things, and more, Tessa. And while I love it when you’re sweet and loving and affectionate, I’m also very, very happy to see you assert yourself when the occasion calls for it. And I’m particularly pleased that you put that little witch firmly in her place. You’re going to be a member of the family soon, love, and nobody will dare to treat you disrespectfully.” He threaded a hand into her hair, bringing her face down to his for a deep kiss.

“I told you months ago that I planned to treat you like a queen from here on end,” he reminded her. “And I fully intend for everyone in this company to do the same. You aren’t simply going to be my wife, Tessa, but my partner as well.”

She cuddled up against his side, wrapping her arms around his neck as she whispered, “I’ll work on being a queen some other day. Right now I just want to be your lover.”

Ian smiled wickedly, tumbling her onto her back as he rose above her. “I think we can arrange that very easily, my love.”

Chapter Five

“Maddy, I’ve got an Ian Gregson holding for you. He said he only needs a few minutes if you could spare the time. Would you rather I took a message?”

Madelyn Benoit immediately depressed the intercom button on her phone. “No, please put him right through, Christina. I’m sure it will be a quick call.”

Her schedule for the next two weeks was so tightly packed that she was being extremely selective about whom she accepted calls from right now. These weeks right before Thanksgiving, and therefore the official start of the holiday shopping season, were the absolute busiest time in the retail fashion industry. And with her very demanding job as the head buyer of Bergdorf Goodman, New York City’s most exclusive department store, Madelyn hardly had time for a bathroom break nowadays.

But she knew there wouldn’t be many more seasons like this one, given the promise she’d made very recently to the man in her life. She and James had spent too many years apart already, and both of them were anxious to travel and enjoy their lives, and try to make up for all of the lost time. She would be retiring from this job, this business, that she loved so dearly, though not for a few more years. James understood what this job meant to her, and was willing to let her make the transition gradually.

And it was in part due to the man waiting to speak to her on the phone that she and James had managed to find each other again, after more than two decades apart. She owed Ian Gregson a real debt of gratitude, which was why his was one of the very few calls she’d allowed her assistant to put through to her this morning.

“Good morning, Ian,” she greeted cheerfully. “And a very early start to your day, isn’t it? It’s barely seven a.m. out in San Francisco by my calculations. Assuming that’s where you are at the moment, that is.”

“Good morning to you as well, Madelyn,” replied Ian in a crisp British accent that was so similar to James’s. “And, yes, we’re in California, just back from a rather horrendous trip to Chicago. Not that I dislike the city, by any means, but we had a difficult situation to contend with there. Now, I know without having to ask how insanely busy you must be, but I wondered if I could ask a small favor of you.”

“Of course you can,” she agreed instantly. “I do owe you big time, Ian, so please ask away.”

“Not at all,” he assured her gallantly. “All I did was to make a phone call or two, and put James in touch with your very persistent niece Lauren. She did the rest. Though I am very happy to hear that everything turned out so well. I’ve known James for a long while, and he’s one of the finest men I’ve ever met. The two of you seem very well suited, and I wish you every happiness.”

“Thank you, Ian. Now, how may I be of service?”

“Tessa and I will be in New York in less than two weeks time,” he replied. “The company has three hotels in Manhattan, and we’ll be doing our regular visits to each one. Afterwards, we’ll be spending Thanksgiving in the city, doing all of the traditional things like seeing the Macy’s parade, watching the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, browsing the shops. And while we’re in town I was hoping I could bring Tessa by the store to try on some evening gowns. With the holidays coming up, there are two occasions in particular that she’ll need something special for.”

Madelyn nodded, making sure she had pen and paper handy. “Of course, Ian. I’ll make sure I’m here to take care of the situation personally. What sort of gowns were you thinking of so that I can get a selection ready for Tessa to try on?”

“The first event is our office holiday party. And since this will be the first official company event Tessa will be attending as my hostess, I want her to look - well, rather like a queen, if that makes any sense. And with her blonde hair, I’ve always thought of her as my golden girl. So I was thinking -”

“About dressing her in a gold gown,” finished Madelyn. “Perfect. And I know exactly what I would pick out for her, Ian. I’ve only met her the one time at Julia’s wedding, but I would guess that she’s a size six? Or perhaps a four?”

“No, a six. I would say that you have a good eye for this sort of thing, Madelyn, but I suppose that would be stating the obvious, hmm? Considering that you’ve spent how many years in this business?” asked Ian.

She laughed in agreement. “Too many, I think. So does James, which is why I’ll be starting to wind things down over the next few years. We want to spend as much time together as possible to make up for all the years we were apart. All right, then. Sounds like we’ve got some ideas for dress number one. What about the second one?”

Ian’s tone grew more serious. “That one would be for my brother’s pre-Christmas party in London. He and my sister-in-law go all out, very elegant, definitely black-tie. And while Tessa has already met a handful of my closest friends back home, there will be a much larger crowd to contend with this time. And, well, I suppose the look I’m thinking of for her would be - let’s call it unforgettable. I want every pair of eyes in the room glued to her when we walk in. Though not,” he added hastily, “because the gown is too revealing or shocking. It’s more a case of looking -”