LITMIR.BIZ

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her heavily. ‘You see, it made no difference; I fell in love with you anyway that morning—’

      ‘You couldn’t have done!’ Molly gasped disbelievingly.

      ‘Oh, yes, I could.’ Gideon nodded. ‘And I spent the next few months telling myself what a fool I was—that just being attracted to you was dangerous, that falling in love with you was an act of madness, that it would be better for everyone if I just forgot I had ever seen you. I almost succeeded in believing that, too.’ His mouth twisted ruefully. ‘Until I saw you again the morning of the christening…’

      ‘You were so horrible to me,’ Molly reminded him breathlessly, that faint glow of hope she had known when talking to Crys now starting to explode inside her.

      Had Gideon really just told her that he had fallen in love with her more than three years ago?

      ‘I know,’ he accepted flatly. ‘Deliberately so. I simply couldn’t believe that I still felt the same way about you, that those years might just as well not have been. Your relationship with James, what the knowledge of it might do to Crys—’ He gave a self-disgusted shake of his head. ‘In spite of all that I was still in love with you.’

      Molly gave a pained frown. ‘But you said just now that you believed me when I said I didn’t have an affair with James…?’

      ‘No.’ He sighed. ‘What I actually said was that I know you didn’t have an affair with him. And I know that because over the last few days I’ve come to know you, Molly. You’re not only the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, you are also the kindest, most compassionate woman I’ve ever known. Your loyalty to Crys and Sam is unmistakable, your love for them, too. Your compassion for David is only to be admired. And as for your gentle caring for Peter… Molly, you would never have allowed yourself to have an affair with James even if you had been in love with him!’

      ‘No,’ she acknowledged. ‘But I wasn’t in love with him. I did think myself in love with someone else, though,’ she hurried on, as Gideon would have spoken. ‘A man separated from his wife. The night before you saw me at the apartment he had gone back to her,’ she confided evenly. ‘Not my finest hour.’ She grimaced.

      ‘But don’t you see, Molly? It doesn’t matter,’ Gideon said forcefully. ‘Unless you’re still in love with him, of course,’ he added uncertainly.

      Uncertain? Gideon? It certainly wasn’t a feeling that Molly would normally have equated with him!

      But hadn’t he just told her that he had fallen in love with her at first sight? That he’d only had to see her again over three years later to know that he still loved her?

      She moistened dry lips. ‘No, I’m not still in love with him, Gideon,’ she told him quietly. ‘How could I be when I’m in love with you?’ she added almost shyly.

      His eyed widened, emotion blazing in those dark blue depths. He took a step towards her, then stopped, hesitating.

      Molly was the one to take the two last steps that took her into his arms; in fact she almost threw herself into them, her arms about his waist as she held him tightly to her. ‘I love you, Gideon,’ she told him forcefully. ‘I love you so much.’

      His hands moved up to cup either side of her face. ‘Will you marry me?’ he asked emotionally. ‘Will you? I swear I’ll love you until the day I die!’ He looked down at her intently. ‘Molly, I only wanted to protect you by not telling you about Rachel Gibson. I’ve never thought of you as less than you are, and I never will,’ he promised. ‘I just want to protect and love you for the rest of our lives!’

      ‘Yes,’ Molly accepted chokingly, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. ‘Oh, yes, Gideon, I’ll marry you!’

      As he moved to kiss her with infinite gentleness, with all of the love he felt for her in that loving caress, Molly knew that she had at last found the man she truly loved, and who truly loved her.

      ‘You look adorable,’ Gideon assured her lovingly. ‘Although I’m not sure it was a good idea for me to suggest you put on one of David’s shirts.’ He frowned darkly. ‘It just makes me want to throw you on the bed and make love to you!’

      Molly laughed huskily. ‘Not here, darling.’ She looked around pointedly at the crowded studio, at the director and technicians all on the Bailey set, and David already in the bed, waiting for her to supposedly appear out of an adjoining bathroom.

      ‘Later, then,’ he promised gruffly.

      ‘Later,’ Molly echoed throatily.

      The two of them had been married for three months now. Crys had got her wish to be chief bridesmaid, with Sam acting as Gideon’s best man.

      It had been three months of pure happiness as far as Molly and Gideon were concerned. The two of them were working together a lot of the time, too, as Gideon had turned out to be the new designer of all the sets for the Bailey series. Neatly answering Molly’s question of how an actor, David, and an interior designer, Gideon, could possibly have met before they had all spent Christmas together.

      But it was because of Gideon’s involvement with the new Bailey series that he had been able to have some input into the nude scene that had been mentioned over Christmas. Knowing of Molly’s aversion to it—and having certain objections of his own concerning his wife appearing nude on public television—he had come up with the suggestion of Molly undressing off-set and coming back wearing David’s shirt.

      The fact that he had made the suggestion at all, so reminiscent of the first time they had met, told Molly how unimportant all that had been. If she had needed any reassuring. Which, after three ecstatic months as Gideon’s wife, she most certainly didn’t.

      ‘Actually—’ she leaned into Gideon ‘—I think it’s as well that I do this scene now. Another couple of months and I won’t be able to.’

      Gideon looked down at her concernedly. ‘Why not? Molly, what’s wrong?’ His arms moved about her protectively.

      ‘Absolutely nothing.’ She laughed reassuringly. ‘But it’s going to be interesting seeing Sam cope with introducing a pregnant girlfriend for Bailey,’ she added teasingly, gazing lovingly into her husband’s face as the importance of what she had just said slowly dawned on him.

      ‘Molly…?’ he finally gasped, his arms tightening about her as he stared down at her disbelievingly.

      Molly snuggled into the warmth of his chest. ‘In about seven months’ time Peter is going to have a little cousin,’ she confirmed huskily. Her happiness was overwhelming at the knowledge that she carried their child.

      ‘I—you—how…?’ Gideon was obviously having trouble speaking at all, but his eyes glowed brightly with love as he looked down at her.

      ‘You know very well how,’ Molly teased him huskily. ‘And, yes, it was you and I.’ She nodded happily. ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’

      ‘Wonderful,’ he confirmed, slightly dazedly. ‘Oh, Molly, I do love you,’ he told her intensely.

      ‘And I love you,’ she assured him seriously. ‘All my life,’ she promised.

      ‘All my life,’ Gideon echoed forcefully, before his mouth claimed hers in a kiss of infinite sweetness.

      ‘I hate to interrupt,’ David called out dryly several minutes later, ‘but I’m in danger of genuinely falling asleep if you don’t soon make your entrance, Molly.’

      Gideon raised his head to grin down at her ruefully. ‘I think your presence is required, my love.’

      ‘I think David is just a little full of himself after his weekend away; apparently he drove up to Yorkshire at the weekend and took Diana Chisholm out to dinner,’ she told her husband speculatively.

      ‘That’s good news.’ Gideon smiled.

      ‘Isn’t it?’ She grinned

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