incredibly old if it belonged to his grandmother.” Pausing, she put aside the letter. “Look at this beautiful locket. There are two tiny paintings inside with pictures, I suppose, of two more Delaneys, an even more distant generation.” She carried the locket across the office to hand it to Zach.
Standing, he took the locket to turn it in his hand and inspect it.
Finally he looked up and held it out. “Emma, you take this. I want you to have it.”
“Zach, I can’t do that! You have a family and some of your relatives may want it. You should keep that jewelry. It’s an heirloom and your great-grandfather wanted it to stay in the Delaney family.”
“You said you feel as if you are part of the Delaneys when you read those old letters. I want you to have it as a bonus for your work and to give you a tangible memory of all this history you waded through. Here,” he said, taking it from her and stepping behind her to fasten it around her neck.
“I really think you should keep this in your family,” she said and then realized part of her would become part of his family. She placed her fist protectively against her stomach.
“I want you to have it,” he insisted, taking her shoulders to turn her to face him as he judged how it looked on her. “It is pretty,” he added, his voice deepening while it thickened with desire. He looked into her eyes. She met his blue ones, her heart beating faster. She wanted his strong arms around her. She wanted to hold him while she kissed him. As if he could read her thoughts, he drew her to him and placed his mouth on hers.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. Zach pulled her close, holding her tightly while he kissed her hard and possessively.
Her pounding heart should indicate her feelings as she held him tightly in return. She let go all restraint, kissing him, her deepest love, the father of her baby. And she was certain she was pregnant. How she wished she didn’t ever have to tell him.
“Zach,” she said, on the verge of saying she would miss him. “Thank you for the necklace. Your brothers and your half sister may not be happy with you for giving away this heirloom.”
“My brothers would definitely want you to have it. Sophia, I don’t know. I want you to have it. Actually, I don’t think I’m making you much of a gift except I suspect you think so.”
She looked at the locket in her hand and got a knot in her throat as emotions choked her. “I do think so,” she whispered, knowing it would go to a Delaney heir.
Zach put his finger beneath her chin to raise her face. Embarrassed because she couldn’t hide her emotional reaction, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him quickly.
As their kiss became passionate, her emotions shifted. When she ended their kiss, they both were breathless and she suspected Zach had forgotten about her reaction to the locket.
“I’m going to miss you, Emma.”
“You can still come spend Christmas with us,” she said, certain of his answer.
He smiled. “Thanks, but I’ve already made arrangements. I’ll be at an Italian villa I inherited. Dad always referred to it as his ‘summer home.’”
His answer stung and made her leaving a reality. Yet it was for the best because now her emotions were on a rocky edge. They needed to part even though she felt as if her heart were breaking.
She placed her hand against his cheek. “I’ll think about you on Christmas in your Italian villa.”
“You are probably the one person in the entire world who feels sorry for me spending Christmas that way,” he said, smiling at her.
“I know what you’re missing.”
“We can both say that. You could come with me and let me show you that Italian villa and see how you like spending Christmas in Italy. Live a little, you have next Christmas with your family.”
“Thank you, but I’ll stay in Texas and you go to Italy. Zach, you get along with your family—your brothers and Caroline mean a lot to you. Realize what a treasure they are. Love and enjoy them. I think you shut yourself off in defense when you were hurt as a child. You have a wonderful family and your ancestors are fascinating. Don’t sell them short. Try a Christmas with Will and family sometime, get Ryan, Sophia and Garrett there, too.”
“You are a dreamer and a romantic,” he said patiently. “I will enjoy my Italian villa immensely. It will be sunny, beautiful with no crowds, no schedules. You really should try it.”
She shook her head. “Thank you. We’ll each go where our hearts are, only I think yours is there out of an old habit more than because you really enjoy it.”
“I suppose I never stopped to think about it.”
She stepped away and glanced at her watch. “I need to get on the road now. The job has been wonderful.” She tried to hold back tears as she stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
He held her tightly, kissing her fiercely. Finally, he paused. “You can stay this weekend if you want.”
“I have plans in Dallas,” she said, knowing it would be heartbreaking to spend the weekend and go through this last day again.
She stepped out of his embrace. It was time to go. She’d already said her goodbyes to Rosie and Nigel, and Nigel had already placed her things in her car.
Zach headed out with her, reaching around her to open the car door.
“You’ll hear from me,” he said.
“Maybe I’ll see you at headquarters someday,” she replied lightly, sliding behind the wheel. Closing the door, he stepped back and she started the car. As she waved and drove away, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see him standing in the drive, watching her.
She would tell her mother and sisters she had been invited to Zach’s Italian villa. Connor didn’t need to hear about it. An Italian villa sounded like paradise, but not at Christmas. That was definitely family time.
Family time. Worry and heartbreak stung. She couldn’t keep from crying until she thought about the baby and making plans. How and when would she tell her family? She’d wait until after Christmas because she had no idea how they would receive the news.
Zach had seemed good with Caroline and interested in her. How would he be with his own child? He had told her how they had struggled to get Sophia into the family and how much they wanted to know her. Surely, if he wanted to know his half sister, he would want to know his child.
The first thing was to get a pregnancy test kit. If she wasn’t pregnant, then all these worries would seem ridiculous.
Pregnant—it was a shock she couldn’t absorb. It was so totally unexpected because they had always used protection. Something she had never thought would happen to her until after she was married. She had always looked forward to her own family, but in her mind, it had included a husband who was an active family man. A reassuring thought now was the knowledge she would never be alone raising this baby because her family would all participate. Clinging to that, she tried to ignore the steady hurt squeezing her heart.
Christmas with a baby on the way. Would she have to give up college and her hope of teaching? Christmas had always been filled
