A warm smile lit up his handsome features as he gazed down lovingly at Tessa, the backs of his fingers brushing her cheek. “I thought the same thing for a long time, Davina. But the moment I met my Tessa, I knew she was the one I’d been waiting for all these years.” He bent his head, pressing the softest of kisses to her lips. “Isn’t that right, love?”

Once again he’d managed to surprise her with this unexpected display of public affection, and in front of his former fiancée to boot. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gazed at him lovingly, her hand caressing his cheek.

“Absolutely,” she murmured.

They stared into each others eyes for long seconds, momentarily oblivious to the fact that Davina and her husband were mere inches away. It was, in fact, the sound of Mr. Cavendish clearing his throat that finally drew their attention back to the other couple.

“Sorry,” apologized Ian with a dazzling smile. “I tend to act like something of a schoolboy at times when I’m with Tessa. You must be Everett. A pleasure to finally meet you.”

Davina’s husband spluttered and stammered a bit as he shook first Ian’s and then Tessa’s hand, though he seemed a friendly enough man. But Tessa was more than a little startled to notice the marked differences between Everett Cavendish and Ian, and wondered why Davina had chosen someone like him to marry.

Everett was on the short side, standing about even with his wife in her three-inch heels, and was what one might politely call stout. His belly was beginning to protrude over the snug fitting waistband of his tuxedo trousers, and it had likely been some months, if not years, since he’d done any form of exercise. His hairline was visibly receding, and he would probably be completely bald in less than ten years. He had small, deep-set eyes, and pale skin, and Tessa noticed the small beads of sweat along his forehead and upper lip, even though the room was at a comfortable temperature and it was barely thirty degrees outside this evening.

The contrast between the two men - the tall, well-built, and dashingly handsome Ian, and the short, pudgy, and merely average looking Everett - was beyond glaring. Tessa figured that either Davina had fallen madly in love with him, or had been so devastated over the break-up with Ian that she had settled for the first man she’d met soon thereafter. She was willing to bet that it had been the latter and not the former reason.

The two couples made polite conversation for a few minutes, Tessa rather uncomfortably aware of the increasingly disdainful way Davina was regarding her. It was a blessed relief when the call came for dinner, and Ian deftly guided her towards the buffet line.

As they waited their turn, she felt Ian’s arms encircle her waist from behind, his chest pressing against her back as he murmured in her ear, “I’m sorry about that, darling. If I’d had any idea at all that Davina was going to be here this evening, I would have certainly warned you.”

She shook her head, leaning back into the comforting warmth of his body. “It’s okay,” she told him. “And frankly, even if you had known, it’s probably for the best that I didn’t. As nervous as I’ve been about being here tonight, thinking about meeting your ex-fiancée would only have made things worse.” She paused for a moment before adding, “She - she’s a beautiful woman, Ian. I can certainly envision the two of you together, can understand why you would have been attracted to her.”

He moved to stand beside her, his hand at her waist, and shrugged. “She’s not even half as beautiful as you are, love. And I think it was more a case of being thrown together and feeling comfortable with each other than any sort of overt attraction. My relationship with Davina wasn’t even remotely close to what you and I have now. And she knows it, too. That’s why she was acting like such a snooty bitch just now.”

Tessa felt an odd urge to stick up for Davina, perhaps feeling sorry for the other woman that she hadn’t been able to hang onto a prize like Ian, and had had to settle for the bland, milquetoast Everett instead.

“She wasn’t so bad,” she demurred. “Frankly, I think she’s probably too well-bred to ever be really bitchy. And I can understand how she must be feeling right about now. After all, Everett pales very, very badly in comparison to you. I can’t imagine why she would have been attracted to someone like him after having a catch like you for a fiancé.”

Ian grimaced. “The fact that his family owns the largest cellular phone network in the U.K. probably swayed her just a bit. The Cavendish’s are almost as wealthy and well known as my family. But they seem happy enough, and I believe their little boy is around five or six years old by now. And whether or not she’s still bitter after our broken engagement doesn’t give her the right to be unpleasant towards you.”

“It’s all right, Ian,” assured Tessa quietly. “It really wasn’t all that bad, and it’s over now. Let’s enjoy our dinner and visiting with your friends, hmm?”

Tessa was easily able to follow her own advice and have a very pleasant evening. She felt very much at ease with Ian’s friends and their wives who had been seated at their table, the same ones she had met during their earlier visit to London. Clive and Lesley were seated to her immediate left, and Ian’s childhood friend kept everyone at the table amused throughout the meal with his jokes and stories.

After dessert had been served, Ian drew her out onto the dance floor to join several dozen other couples, and she sighed with something that felt a lot like utter bliss as she rested her head on his broad shoulder.

“Enjoying yourself, love?” he murmured against her ear.

She lifted her head slightly to gaze up at her gorgeous, debonair fiancé, thinking for perhaps the thousandth time how lucky she was to be able to call him her own. He was everything and more that any woman could dream of - handsome, strong, sophisticated, wealthy, and a true gentleman. When one added in his kindness and compassion, the way he devoted himself to taking care of her and indulging her every whim, and especially his amazing sexual prowess, Tessa doubted that a more perfect man could be found anywhere in the world. He was certainly her ideal of the perfect man, the ideal lover, the ultimate prize. And she loved him fiercely, passionately, with everything she was, and knew that he felt the exact same way about her.

“It’s been a wonderful party,” she enthused. “And I know I was being silly with all my worrying about it. Everyone I’ve met has been so kind. What about you? Are you having a good time?”