It was Mrs. Kilpatrick. “What’s happening? I had to run up to the cottage because Ruby had gotten into a muddle. When I came back to see if you wanted the first course, no one was there.”
“Is Ruby all right?” Julia asked, her face turning worried.
“Fine, something about… doesn’t matter. Kid stuff,” Mrs. Kilpatrick looked from one to the other. “Do you want the first course?”
Douglas opened his mouth to tell her they would be eating later, much later, but Julia spoke before him.
“We’re getting married,” she announced and Douglas could have sworn he heard pride in her voice. His fiancée extended her hand the way any woman shows off her engagement ring and Mrs. K gasped then clapped with unrestrained excitement.
“Congratulations!” she gushed as she dashed forward and, to Douglas’s stunned surprise, she hugged them both. Even though he hadn’t let go of Julia, Mrs. Kilpatrick’s arms extended around both of their bodies and she laid a big, loud kiss on Julia’s cheek and then turned shyly to brush her lips against Douglas’s cheek as well. “It’s about time we had some good news in this house!” She paused as she disengaged. “Do you want the first course?”
“Yes please,” Julia said at the same time Douglas said, “Later.”
Mrs. Kilpatrick chuckled, shook her head and walked away, pausing at the door to look back at them, her face filled with a happiness Douglas had never witnessed from her before.
When she disappeared, Douglas didn’t know which one of them she would obey.
Julia turned toward him again, resting her hands lightly on his chest.
Douglas tilted his chin down to look at her and asked, “What did you have planned for tonight?”
She was fiddling with the lapels of his jacket and he was thinking he quite liked standing there with Julia in his arms idly touching him like she did it every day.
“Well, I was going to cook dinner for you then Mrs. K took over. And then I was going to tell you I wanted to marry you, which I’ve already done.” Her eyes lifted to his and they were dark, nearly jade, and intense and he felt immediately robbed of breath at the depth of feeling in them. “And then I was going to seduce you.”
He should have taken that golden opportunity to kiss her but instead he threw his head back and roared with laughter.
The thought of her seducing him was just too much. Any seduction she had planned would take a nanosecond to succeed.
“Am I interrupting something?” It was Nick at the door to the study and Douglas kept his head tilted back but instead of amusement, he now looked toward the ceiling in frustration.
Who was next? Carter? Ronnie? The children? Would Charlie and Oliver stop by for an impromptu visit from London?
“All right, Jules?” Nick walked in, completely unfazed by the tender scene he should have noticed unfolding in front of him and completely ignoring the meaningful glare Douglas levelled at him.
“All right, Nick,” Julia answered, and snuggled, actually snuggled into Douglas’s body.
“You are,” Douglas said shortly, wanting privacy to reward Julia for the snuggle.
“I am what?” Nick smiled, knowing exactly what Douglas meant and choosing to disregard it.
“Interrupting something,” Douglas clarified.
“Ah,” Nick muttered and leaned against an armchair, thoroughly unconcerned and looking like he meant to spend the evening there. “So, who am I supposed to dispose of then? The man who just tore out of here in a rental or your mother who left half an hour ago? Did she come back?”
Douglas’s body jolted at these words and Julia’s head lifted to look at him.
“I’ll tell you later,” she whispered.
She didn’t have to tell him. Monique brought Webster here.
“She’s disowned,” Douglas stated calmly and Julia shook her head in amusement.
“You can’t disown your own mother.” Her voice held a smile.
“I can when I give her a generous allowance,” Douglas returned.
Julia’s body stiffened. “Well, then you definitely can’t disown her!”