Ian pulled her a little closer, his arm tightening about her waist. “I always have a good time when we’re together, darling,” he replied, brushing his lips against her forehead. “And tonight has been a very happy occasion for me, seeing so many old friends, but more importantly being able to show you off to all of them. You’re by far the most beautiful woman in the room, Tessa, the star that shines the brightest. And I’m so proud of you, so proud that I can call you my own.”

“That goes both ways, you know,” she told him. “Even though I’m still a bit peeved at you for making me wait for - well, you know what.”

He laughed in delight, his hand sliding down her back to give her ass a suggestive squeeze. “And the wait will be well worth it, darling, I promise you. After all,” he whispered to her huskily, “I’m every bit as hungry for you.”

He kissed her then, right there on the dance floor surrounded by a hundred other people, and rather than shy away from all the stares she sensed being directed their way, she gloried in them instead. She kissed him back fiercely, her arms clinging to his neck, and couldn’t help feeling a bit bereft when he reluctantly lifted his mouth from hers.

“For once,” he laughed softly, “the Gregson brother whose photo will be splashed all over the tabloids tomorrow morning won’t be Colin. I guarantee you that every photographer in this room caught that particular kiss on film.”

“Good,” she replied cheekily. “I’ll make sure to buy a copy of every newspaper with our picture in it so we can show them to our children one day. Maybe I’ll even start a scrapbook.”

Ian laughed more heartily then, drawing even more astonished glances, and Tessa giggled happily right along with him. She was still smiling, in fact, when she walked inside the ladies lounge a short while later - only to be brought up short when she saw Davina seated at one of the mirrored vanity tables touching up her makeup. The brunette glanced up at the sound of Tessa’s heels on the marble floor, but the look on her lovely face was one of sadness rather than the hostility Tessa might have expected.

“I’m surprised Ian’s let you leave his side long enough to powder your nose,” Davina joked lightly, though the hurt tone in her voice was impossible to disguise. “He seems completely taken with you, Tessa, perhaps even obsessed.”

Tessa’s already rosy cheeks flushed a bit more with embarrassment. “It goes both ways,” she acknowledged shyly as she walked over to where Davina sat. “He’s a very special man, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“I am, yes.” Davina closed her little gold compact and placed it carefully inside her silver satin clutch. She stood then, the top of her sleekly coiffed head barely reaching Tessa’s chin. “And I’m very glad you realize how lucky you are, Tessa. You’re - well, quite a surprise, let’s say. When I heard from Victoria that Ian was engaged, I wasn’t expecting his new fiancée to be quite so, er, young.”

Tessa gave an apologetic little shrug. “I get that a lot. But fifteen years really isn’t all that much.”

“Fifteen.” Davina shut her eyes briefly and gave a little shake of her head. “My God, you’re even more of a baby than I initially thought. I hope, my dear, that you know what sort of a life you’ve got to look forward to with a man like Ian.”

Tessa was immediately taken aback by such a statement. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she replied warily. “Ian has been wonderful to me. He’s the kindest, most caring man I’ve ever met.”

“I’m not referring to his personality, my dear,” assured Davina. “I’m well aware of Ian’s nature, and it’s most obvious how much he cares for you. No, what I was really referring to was his devotion to the family business. More specifically, how frequently he travels and how much time he’ll be spending away from home. Do you have a large family, Tessa? A lot of friends?”

“No, to both questions,” admitted Tessa. “I don’t have any family at all. But while I don’t have a lot of friends, the ones I do have I’m very close to. Why do you ask?”

Davina gave a little shrug. “Because you’ll need to have a support system to fall back on when you’re left alone for four weeks out of every six. When Ian is traveling to God knows where, and you have no choice but to attend a party or reception or other event with your sister or best friend or a cousin. I used to tease him a bit that I was jealous of his job, that his job was rather like him having another woman on the side. But it wasn’t a joke, Tessa. His dedication to the company will take precedence over his relationship to you, mark my words. And you’ll be bored and lonely and neglected. Haven’t you already experienced any of this?”

Tessa shook her head. “Not at all. At least, not since last spring when I left my job at the company so that I could travel with Ian. We’re never separated now, I go everywhere with him.”

Davina stared at her in shock. “You - I didn’t know you had worked for the company. Is that where you met Ian?”

“Yes. I worked as part of his support staff for over two years before we began seeing each other. I, um, resigned from my job right around the same time. So now I’m free to accompany him on all his business trips, and because I’m very familiar with all of his administrative needs I act as his PA during those times. It’s an ideal solution, really.”

“Yes, I imagine it must be,” replied Davina quietly. “But you won’t be able to keep up that sort of arrangement once you start a family. Unless you’re one of those dedicated career women who don’t want children.”

“No.” Tessa smiled in response. “I’m very anxious to give Ian children, perhaps in a year or two. And he’s hoping by then to have scaled back dramatically on his travel schedule. He’s already appointed an assistant director to begin taking over some of his trips, and also delegating some of the traveling to a couple of his managers. By the time we’re ready to start a family, he’ll have hopefully cut back on the travel by more than fifty percent. And of course I’ll still continue to go with him as much as possible, even with children. So I’m not the least bit worried about being left alone or lonely, because we’ll make every effort to be together.”

Davina was visibly startled, and also looked surprisingly dejected. “I- I see. He must love you a great deal to make those sort of changes,” she mused. “And you must be a very special woman to merit that sort of commitment. I envy you, Tessa, very much. As you know, Ian is a remarkable man, and you’re an extremely lucky young woman to have his love and devotion. I’m just sorry that he didn’t love me enough to change in the ways he’s so obviously willing to do for you. Sorry that he didn’t love me the way he loves you.”