him. A book about the teachings of the Dalai Lama, a Robbie Williams CD and a DVD of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She’d gleaned his taste from their many talks. He’d been so overcome that he had to listen to the CD and watch some of the DVD before making love to her again as a thank-you.
Shortly before three, a totally spent Jessie had stumbled into the second guest room, climbed into the bed and fallen into a deep sleep, where she had remained, not moving an inch, till Emily started tugging on her hair around six, saying Santa had been and Mummy just had to get up.
After Jessie had opened a single bleary eye, Emily had rushed off, saying she would wake Kane up, too.
That had been about fifteen minutes ago.
Jessie yawned just as Kane came into the living room with two mugs of freshly brewed coffee. He was actually wearing clothes. Shorts and a T-shirt. He needed a shave but he looked good like that. Very sexy.
‘I really need this,’ she said as she took one of the mugs and cradled it in her hands. ‘It’s just as well you took me to meet your family the other night when I looked all right. I look like something the cat dragged in today.’
‘You look beautiful,’ he said, and bent to give her a peck on the forehead before settling next to her. ‘Glowing, in fact. Being in love suits you.’
Jessie glanced down at her engagement ring then up at the man who’d given it to her. ‘Being in love with you suits me,’ she said. ‘You are the most incredible man.’
‘But of course!’ He grinned. ‘Didn’t I tell you that from the start?’
She laughed. ‘You’re also very arrogant.’
‘Not true. I just know what I want when I see it.’
‘Mummy, look at this!’ Emily said, holding up the prettiest pink dress. ‘Isn’t it beautiful? I’m going to wear it when we visit Kane’s mummy and daddy. I’ll look like a princess, won’t I, Kane?’
‘Indeed.’
Jessie’s heart turned over at how happy her daughter was. Kane had brought joy to both their lives, as well as the promise of a secure future.
‘So, did Santa bring you everything you asked him for?’ Jessie asked her daughter.
‘Oh, yes,’ Emily said, surveying all her new toys and clothes and games. ‘He didn’t forget a thing.’
‘What do you like most?’ Jessie asked, knowing exactly what her daughter would say: the Felicity Fairy doll.
‘I like my new daddy the most,’ came her unexpected reply. ‘Can I call you Daddy now, Kane?’ she added, crinkling her forehead up into a frown.
‘I’d like nothing better, princess. Now, come over here,’ he said as he put his coffee down on a side-table, ‘and give your new daddy a hug.’
Emily smiled as only a child could smile, then ran into Kane’s waiting arms.
Jessie frowned.
‘Emily,’ she said once her daughter was comfortable on Kane’s lap, her arms tightly wound around his neck, ‘did you ask Santa for a new daddy that day at the shops?’
‘Yes,’ came the reply. ‘You said if I was a good girl he would get me anything I asked for. And he did.’
Jessie blinked at Kane, who shrugged. ‘The ways of the lord are very mysterious.’
She stared at him. ‘I didn’t know you were religious.’
‘I’m not overly. But I think we might pop into a church later today, just to say thank you.’
‘Can I go to church with you, Daddy?’
‘But of course, princess. That’s what daddies are for. To do whatever our little girls want us to do. And our big girls, too,’ he added with a sexy wink Jessie’s way.
‘Next year,’ Emily said excitedly, ‘I’m going to ask Santa for a baby brother.’
‘What a good idea,’ Kane replied whilst Jessie tried not to choke on her coffee. ‘I’m sure Santa won’t have any trouble with that order. Though you have to remember that even Santa can’t order the sex of a baby. That’s up to God.’
‘Then I’ll ask God.’
‘Go straight to the top. Excellent thinking. What do you think, Mummy?’
‘I think we should clear away all that paper over there, then have a shower and get dressed.’
Emily pulled a face when her mother got up and went over to start picking up the mounds of Christmas paper.
‘Mummies aren’t as much fun as daddies,’ she pronounced.
Kane smiled. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Emily. Your mummy has her moments. And she is a very good mummy, isn’t she?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Emily said, and smiled over at her mother.
Jessie thought her heart would burst with happiness. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve such happiness but she resolved never to take it for granted, to work hard, to always be a good wife to Kane, and an even better mother to Emily and whatever other children she might be blessed with.
Her mother was going to be surprised when she rang her later today and told her that some man did want to marry her, even with some other man’s baby.
But of course Kane wasn’t some man. He was a very special man.
‘Daddy,’ Emily whispered to Kane, ‘why is Mummy crying?’
‘She’s crying because she’s happy, princess,’ he told Emily, a lump in his own throat. ‘Grown-ups cry sometimes when they’re happy.’
‘When I cry, Mummy kisses me better.’
Kane nodded. ‘What a good idea. Let’s go kiss her better.’
ROBERT WILLIAM MARSHALL arrived just after midnight on Christmas Eve the following year, much to the delight of his big sister, Emily, who immediately started planning her next year’s wish list, which included a pony, a boyfriend for Dora and a visit from her Nanna in Ireland, who’d been writing to her a lot since she’d become something called a Buddhist.
Within a few hours of her beautiful boy’s arrival, Jessie decided work could go hang for a while. As much as she had enjoyed her time at Wild Ideas—and she’d worked till she was eight months pregnant—she felt the time had come for an extended maternity leave.
No doubt she would go back to work at some stage. Maybe she’d even start up her own boutique advertising company, run from home. When she mentioned this to Kane he was all for it, as long as he could become her partner.
When a fluttery
