Page 46 of One More Gift
Saskia’s face falls. “Do you want kids? It’s been a long time since we’ve talked about it.”
“I don’t want anything you don’t want.”
“It’s not that simple.” She tries to pull away, but I shift positions to cradle her in my arms.
“Maybe with Casper it didn’t seem that simple, but it’s that simple for me. Nothing in the world matters to me more than you and your happiness.”
She looks up at me with those wide blue eyes I know I want to spend the rest of my life getting lost in.“You’d give it all up for me?”
“In a heartbeat. I only ended up in New York because it was so painful to stay and see you soar with someone else by your side.”
“Oh, Henry. Why didn't you say something?”
“What kind of friend would that have made me? I would never have stood in the way of your marriage. Which is why I won't dance around this any longer. I want to be with you, and I'll do anything to make it work, darling. You’re my everything. The very best gift of all.”
Chapter 29
Saskia
The Following Christmas
Henry and I decoratedthe tree yesterday, and the cottage looks as beautiful as ever. The fire is lit, carols are on the radio, but I’m too nervous to relax, hovering by the living room window and watching the skies.
“I hope this snow doesn’t cause any problems on the roads.”
Henry comes up behind me, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. He has been nothing but a calming presence all year long, and I soften back against his chest.
“It will be fine,” he says, sweeping my hair to one side and kissing my neck. “If we get snowed in like last year, I don’t think that would be a bad thing.”
“What if we don’t have enough food?”
“Darling, that fridge will burst if you put another thing in it. We have more than enough food, and I’ve put extra bottles of Champagne in the garden to keep cool. If it’s anything like our summer trip, we won’t spend much time eating, anyway. Well… not food.”
His warm laugh sends a shiver down my spine. He sinks his teeth into my neck, and my thighs squeeze together.
Henry moved to London in March, and our art dealership, House of Hatton Stone, launched soon after. Casper’s millionaire Mayfair client bragged about his recent commissions in Architectural Digest, so it's been a great year for him too.
In July, we spent a heavenly week in Italy visiting him and his new girlfriend, Lucilla. Fortunately for all of us, she has a similar attitude when it comes to sex.'Pleasure is pleasure', and we should seek as much of it as possible.
After talking about it on the phone beforehand, then again in person, we agreed we were all open to experimenting together and planned to see where the mood took us.
We barely made it past dinner on the first night before our men turned their chairs to face each other and lifted us into their respective laps. They unbuttoned our summer dresses, hooked our legs open, and placed bets on which woman could make herself orgasm first.
I was far too distracted watching Lucilla play with her beautiful body to win, but from there, it was pretty clear we’d be spending our week as a foursome in various states of ecstasy. She and I have become good friends since, and speak often.
“Aren’t you nervous?” I ask him.
“More excited than nervous. Last year was so amazing. It’s a lot to live up to.”
“What part do you think about most?” I ask, catching a cheeky smile spreading across his face when I turn in his arms.
“Strangely, it’s the getting out of the cuffs part after you left us tied to those chairs.”
I glance past his shoulder at the dining table and try not to laugh. Those chairs took a beating last year, and the table needed a thorough clean-up after what they did to me on it.
“You never did tell me how you managed it.”
“Teamwork, darling.” He kisses one cheek, then the other. “What was your favourite part?”