Tessa shrugged. “Just a little shook up. I can’t believe I actually opened the door for him, that I didn’t realize he wasn’t Geoffrey. He just sounded so much like him. I’m sorry.”

“Shush. It’s all right. And Jason won’t be bothering you ever again.”

He quickly told her about the arrangement he’d made a couple of days ago with his uncle after discovering that Jason was up to his old tricks down at the Silicon Valley hotel. Richard had somewhat reluctantly agreed to have Jason return to London, albeit under extremely tight controls.

Tessa sighed in relief. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. And especially for your cousin. She seems like such a sweet woman, not at all deserving of how that jerk treats her.”

“I agree. Now, let me see your knuckles, hmm? If you don’t get some ice on them, they’re going to bruise. Just how hard did you wallop him, love?”

She grinned. “He has a weak nose. It didn’t take much effort actually.”

Ian guffawed in delight as Tessa applied the ice pack. “You’re a natural. When we get home it will be time to up your training. But not,” he added sternly, “with that randy bastard Jesse. You’ll train with me, got it?”

She reached up and gave him a kiss. “Got it.” She looked down at her bare feet and shuffled uncertainly. “You do realize what day this is, don’t you?”

Ian sighed. “Are we on this again? Yes, I know it’s a Wednesday, Tessa, but once again it’s just a coincidence. You really need to stop this silly superstition you have about this particular day of the week.”

She shook her head. “Bad things always happen on Wednesdays, it never fails. But at least this time it’s ending well.”

“Well, forget about it, all right? Now, I’d better get back to the meeting, especially since I left Andrew in charge of delivering my budget talk. I don’t know whether he’ll have completely bungled the whole thing, or if the entire room full of managers will be pissed off.”

Tessa grinned. “I’d be willing to bet on the latter. Go, finish your meeting. I’ll be waiting on the beach for you when you’re done.”

“Good.” He gave her a quick kiss, squeezing her ass cheeks through the cover up. “I’ll be counting the minutes until I can take this off of you.”

“Me, too.” She sighed against his kiss. “Ian, you didn’t actually - with Jason - did you…”

He winked at her mysteriously. “No blood or broken bones, I assure you. But he’ll definitely have trouble walking for a few days.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

August

“I want to go with you to the airport. Just let me throw some clothes on and I’ll be ready to leave.”

Ian gave Tessa a stern look as he sat down next to her on the bed, his shirt still half-unbuttoned, and his tie draped over a bedside chair. “Tessa, no offense darling, but you look like hell right now. I’d feel much better if you stayed at home and rested. Please?”

She shook her head stubbornly. “It’s just my stupid period, Ian, not the plague. Let me - oh.” Tessa doubled over in pain as another killer cramp wrenched her lower body.

He grimaced, drawing her close, and gently rubbing his hand over her belly. “You’re not leaving this house today, my love, maybe not this bed. And I still can’t believe the absolutely rotten timing of this trip to Vegas. You know I wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t so critical?”

She nodded in understanding, sliding her hand over his as he continued to rub her cramping belly soothingly. “Of course I know. And I’d say it’s pretty important for you to be there.”

Over the last few days had come the discovery that the casino manager at the Las Vegas resort had been involved in a complex money laundering operation. Ian was flying out this morning along with several of his highest level managers to meet with the FBI, the Nevada Gaming Commission, and the local authorities. He hoped to resolve the matter within two to three days, and was also keeping his fingers crossed that the problem had been uncovered early enough so that the damage was minimal.

He shook his head. “This is why I dislike having casinos in any of our properties - too damned many potential complications like this one. But fortunately it sounds like we discovered this one fairly early in the game so we should be able to straighten things out quickly.”

Tessa cuddled up against him, seeking out his body heat. She’d been freezing most of the night, despite the warm August weather, and was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a thermal knit top. Her hands and feet still felt cold as ice.

“I’ll miss you a whole lot,” she murmured, looping her arms around his neck. “You realize we haven’t spent a night away from each other since April?”

Ian stroked her sleep-mussed hair. “I’m very well aware of that, love,” he told her. “But even if you didn’t have that orientation at school tomorrow, there’s no way I’d have taken you on this trip anyway. Not in this condition.”

Her period had begun on Saturday - two days ago - and the timing couldn’t have been worse, given Ian’s impending trip to Las Vegas. There had been no question of Tessa accompanying him this time, since she had to attend a half-day orientation at the university tomorrow. Her online classes didn’t officially begin for another ten days or so, but her attendance at tomorrow’s event was mandatory. She was also planning to buy whatever books and other materials she needed for her classes at the campus bookstore tomorrow.

She’d had a restless night, plagued with cramps and a terrible headache, plus some of the heaviest bleeding she’d ever experienced. She was clearly exhausted this morning, and had shuddered to see her reflection in the mirror - skin so pale it looked as though it had been bleached white; dark circles under her eyes; her hair sticking up in a dozen different places. Ian had insisted on bringing her some tea but she’d refused any food, her cramps so severe she was almost nauseous from the pain.

Ian frowned as a chill went through her body, and he took her hands in his to warm them. “Tessa, this can’t continue, you know that. It tears me up to see you suffer like this every month. I’m going to call Jordan during the flight and make an appointment for us to see him a week from today.”

“I’m not sure what he’s going to be able to tell us,” she argued. “I tried three different brands of the pill – they all made me sick in one way or the other. The nurse at the clinic said it’s rare to have allergic reactions, but that’s definitely what happened in my case.”