He gave her hand a squeeze. “Normally I would say you could ask me for anything, darling, and I’d give it to you happily. But slipping and falling on my arse on a cold brick of ice in front of all these people, in particular a great many children, is probably beyond what I’m willing to do - even for you.”

She gave a little shiver, and huddled deeper within the confines of her gray cashmere overcoat. The sun had set nearly two hours ago, and the temperature had been dropping steadily ever since. Snow flurries were forecast for later this evening, and Ian was anxious to get indoors before they began to fall.

They had arrived in London yesterday morning on a first-class, nonstop flight from San Francisco. His parents’ chauffeur had been waiting for them at Heathrow, and brought them directly to the townhouse in Belgravia. Edward and Joanna had already departed a few days earlier for their estate in Kent to begin preparations for the various holiday dinners and parties they would be hosting, so Ian and Tessa had the elegant, spacious townhouse to themselves.

After napping for a bit, he’d taken her to see some of the festively decorated shops along both Bond and Oxford Streets, two of London’s more famous shopping districts. Tessa had been especially enthralled with the wonderful Christmas window displays, as well as the glittering lights and other decorations. Ian had spent far more time watching her reactions than looking at the decorations themselves, and his heart had ached a little to realize she’d never known such simple pleasures before.

They’d had dinner out at an Italian restaurant in the West End before taking in a musical at one of the famed theatre district’s numerous venues. This morning they had slept in late before heading to the grand Gregson Hotel in the exclusive Mayfair district for brunch. Ian, of course, had been recognized instantly by many of the employees, and they had received the royal treatment during their meal. He’d given Tessa a tour of the fabulous hotel, the very first property his grandfather had purchased, and still considered the grand dame of the entire chain.

“I expect you spent a lot of time in this hotel growing up,” she’d mused as he had shown her the world class fitness center and spa. “Like Eloise at The Plaza.”

Ian had smiled at the comparison. “Not quite. We never actually lived here at the hotel, of course. And by the time my brothers and I came along, there were Gregson hotels all over Europe and starting to expand into America. But since this particular property was right here in London, you’re correct in assuming we spent a fair amount of time here. All of us learned how to swim in this pool, for example. And we always attended the tree lighting party each December. That’s something of a tradition in all of our hotels now.”

Tessa had nodded. “It’s a lovely tradition. One that I’m looking forward to bringing our own children to someday.”

“Of course,” he’d agreed. “Though I’m not sure who would enjoy themselves more - you or our children.”

She had laughed at his teasing remark, but Ian knew that she was enjoying all of the festivity as much as any child would be doing. As she stood gazing almost wistfully at the bright lights, he couldn’t help thinking about how poor and deprived she’d been as a little girl, how shy and afraid and uncertain, and he instinctively wrapped her up in his arms as if to shelter her from all those bad times. Tessa snuggled against him happily, gazing up at him with so much pure joy in her eyes that he couldn’t help grinning down at her.

Despite the fact that she was well bundled up against the cold in the heavy overcoat, knee high boots, leather gloves, and a fleecy knit cap pulled low over her ears, she still managed to look gorgeous, and he couldn’t resist giving her a sweet, soft kiss.

She beamed at him. “What was that for?”

He tucked a stray blonde curl back inside of her fleecy cap. “Just because I can’t help myself sometimes,” he teased. “You’re so pretty, especially with your cheeks all rosy from the cold. Speaking of which, we should find a taxi and get ourselves to dinner so we can thaw out a bit.”

“All right.” She gave one last look around the festive scene and sighed a little. “It’s just so beautiful, Ian. So magical.” She tugged on his hand. “Promise me that we’ll bring our children here, too. I can’t think of a more wonderful place to spend Christmas than here in London every year.”

Once again Ian bit his tongue before he could blurt out that by the time they had children they might actually be residing permanently in London. Instead, he merely gave her an indulgent smile. “Of course we will,” he replied gently. “And I agree with you wholeheartedly - it is a wonderful place to be at Christmas. Ah, good. There’s a whole string of taxis waiting right over there.”

He’d made reservations - impossible for most anyone whose last name wasn’t Gregson to come by - at a famous French restaurant in the Covent Garden district. He had dined there last year with his parents, and had thought it one of the most thoroughly romantic and charming venues he’d ever seen. Ian knew that Tessa would love it immediately, and especially the conservatory where their table had been reserved.

These past two days, in fact, had been planned very carefully with her pleasure in mind - seeing all the sights and engaging in those activities that she would most enjoy. He’d wanted to spoil her and indulge her every whim, and thus far she had been having a wonderful time. And, truth be told, he’d also wanted to distract her a bit and get her mind off the large, lavish party being hosted by Hugh and Victoria that they would be attending tomorrow night.

The party was being held in the main ballroom of the Gregson hotel, and would be attended by at least two hundred guests, nearly all of whom would be total strangers to Tessa. Fortunately, Victoria had had the foresight to seat them with several of Ian’s friends, ones that Tessa had already met during their visit in late September. That would help the situation, of course, but Ian feared that nothing would completely ease Tessa’s uncertainty and fears about encountering so many new people at one time.

But for tonight at least it didn’t seem that she was giving tomorrow evening’s event much thought, especially when they arrived at the restaurant. The charming Provence-style restaurant, consistently ranked as one of London’s top ten dining establishments, was bedecked for the holidays with hundreds of colored, twinkling lights, and potted poinsettia plants. And while the retractable glass roof in the conservatory was closed for the winter, the room glowed with light from both the roaring fire and the dozens of candles that had been lit.