Chapter Fifteen
D elia arrived at the gatehouse exhausted after a full day of teaching.
Her students had been particularly demanding.
No fewer than five of them had ambushed her in front of her office to challenge the grades she’d given them for their recent assignment.
They wanted better grades without doing the requisite work.
Pierce’s request for an ‘A’ had been especially ridiculous. That bloke was delusional but, unfortunately, also the son of the university’s biggest donor. Just her luck that he had decided to study biochemistry.
She bit back a groan at the memory and shook her head to get rid of it. In a moment she would see Gabriel. It was Friday night; they were heading into the weekend and could take their time.
The mere thought of him gave her a hit of dopamine. Sometimes she worried being with him was maybe a bit too much fun. Easy to get addicted. They were too damn compatible.
After she knocked, Gabriel opened the door to her, and she more or less fell into his arms. She expelled a long breath and nestled against his solid chest. Enveloped by his familiar smell, she allowed her muscles to release their pent-up tension. A satisfied sigh escaped her.
She was exactly where she needed to be. “Gabriel, you’ll have to take the lead tonight. I’m too bloody exhausted to do much.”
He loosened his hold on her so he could look into her eyes. “Will we leave it today if you don’t feel like it?”
“I always feel like it with you.” she said simply, because, well, it was true. She stepped away from him to take off her jumper and shirt but paused mid-motion. “Unless you don’t...”
He wordlessly helped her out of her top, took her hand, and led her along the corridor to his bedroom. She dropped on his bed, stretched, and yawned. He brushed his cheek against hers, and the heat of his body softened her, making her very bones hum with contentment.
“So quick and no fuss then?” he mumbled into her hair.
“Whichever way you want me, baby.” She closed her eyes, already light-headed with anticipation.
He laughed and, one by one, removed the pins from her hair, placing them on his bedside cabinet. “I think we’ll find a way that suits us both tonight.”
Afterward, she sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed. “Where did I put my bra?”
He watched her with amusement. “You can stay the night, you know. I promise I won’t propose marriage in the morning.”
“Ahhh, what a great idea.” She sank back into the pillows and curled her body around his. “It’s going to be awfully hard to wean myself off you,” she mumbled, already half asleep.
~ * ~
D elia rubbed her eyes before concentrating once more on the petri dish under her microscope. Last night, she’d slept deliciously well in Garbiel’s bed but had to race home in the early morning to get ready for a day in the lab.
A slight panic still quivered through her cells. Staying overnight with a man wasn’t something she did. Ever.
She rolled her shoulders to release the tension in her trapezius. All was well, because Gabriel wasn’t any man. He was a friend she could trust, unreservedly, and with a little bit of luck, they’d soon be co-parents.
“Lunchtime,” Sandra bellowed from the other side of the workbench.
Delia glanced at her watch. One o’clock already. Where had the morning gone? “Give me ten minutes so I can clear this away.”
“Yes, hurry, I’m hungry verging on hangry.” Sandra flapped her hands.
They joined the lunch queue and picked up a tray each. The place smelled of gloopy, salty, overcooked food, but Delia was ravenous, and anything edible would do.
Sandra clutched the empty tray to her chest like a shield. “Looks like Bavaria is going to happen.”
“Oh, you got the job? Congrats.” Delia clamped the tray to her side and hugged her friend with her free arm. “You never told me.”
Sandra shook her head. “I haven’t gotten confirmation yet, but I’m in the final round of interviews. I’ll fly to Munich next Wednesday. They wouldn’t invite me if I didn’t stand a good chance of getting the post. It fits well with my area of research. I’m bloody perfect for the job.”
Delia hung her head in a sudden rush of sadness and released her friend. “Of course, you’ll get it, and I’m happy for you, but I’d be lying if I said I won’t miss you. A lot.”
This time Sandra was the one to give her a one-armed hug. “Promise me we’ll stay in touch. I mean it.” She lowered her voice to a near-whisper. “I want to come over once you have your baby with the earl...”
Delia frowned, but since there were no familiar faces within earshot, she was happy to discuss the sensitive topic. “That could take a while. I’m not even pregnant yet and not for lack of trying.”
Sandra nudged her in the ribs. “I can already picture you standing on the stairs of that big house, the lady of the manor.”
Delia lifted her index finger. “Careful, Sandra, that type of comment is strictly John Winter territory.”
When she replied, Sandra’s voice was serious. “You really helped me find my feet in the UK. I hope you know that.”
Delia waved a hand. “You’re giving me too much credit. I’ve no doubt your sheer scientific brilliance would have convinced John Winter all on its own.”
“I don’t just mean workwise. It’s great that I can be myself around you and don’t have to sand off my edges to get through the simplest interaction.” Sandra held out a flat palm. “All this ‘would you,’ ‘could you possibly,’ ‘would it be okay if’ drives me mad. I mean, people, get to the point.”
Delia suppressed an explosive bout of laughter with limited success. “I remember the early days when everything you said sounded like a command.”
“Ha, ha, shut up.” Sandra pretended to bash Delia over the head with her tray.
Delia neatly sidestepped her.
Sandra pulled at Delia’s sleeve. “Promise you’ll come visit me if I get the job.”
Delia gripped her friend’s shoulder. “I will, with bells on.”
“I’ll hold you too it.” Sandra’s eyes glittered faintly. “We’ll explore the city together, do a bit of climbing in the Alps, drink some good beer.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Delia agreed.
After lunch, she shuffled back to the lab with leaden limbs.
Losing her only true friend at work was a horrible prospect.
She’d always been so career-focused, people were either in awe of her or jealous, neither sentiment a particularly fertile breeding ground for friendship.
There was her brother and his family, of course.
But as far as friends went, well, she had Gabriel now.
Her spine straightened, and she pressed her palms together. If their co-parenting worked out the way she intended, he would be a friend for life.
She swiped her badge to open the door to the lab and went into work mode. There was plenty to do: research proposals of her PhD students to review, grants to apply for, slides to prepare for her talk at an upcoming conference.
“Cordelia?”
She flinched and looked up. Professor Winter stood in the doorframe of his office, beckoning to her before retreating inside. A resigned sigh escaped her. He was poised to add to her already towering workload, no doubt.
“Now, Cordelia, is there anything you would like to tell me?” John Winter swung twice to the left and right in his swivel chair, then steepled his fingers and examined Delia through the lenses of his spectacles.
What was this all about? Good grief, that man and his whims were getting on her nerves.
The office door was closed, and he looked like he was settling in for a long chat. An annoyed spark flared up in her chest. I have no time for chit chat with the boss.
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.” She placed herself opposite his desk and fixed him with a stare of her own.
“Let me jog your memory.” He planted his hands on the white surface of his desk.
“Recently I met my old friend, Alistair Brady-Greene, at the golf course.”
Shock covered her from head to toe in a sudden frost. Fate was unfair. Of all the old men in Renwood these two had to be friends. Who would have thought John Winter even had friends, the way he used people.
“And I was surprised to hear, that you and the young earl are married.” John was crouching over the edge of his desk, ready to pounce. He wouldn’t stop prying until his curiosity was satisfied. So much was certain.
“John, please.” She stepped closer to his desk. “Please keep this quiet.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Why would you like your marital status to remain a secret now that you have tenure?”
“It’s got nothing to do with the university. It’s only...ah...” Her head was spinning, but she fought to regain composure.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Gabriel, my...uh...husband, wants to launch Renwood Hall as a wedding venue once it’s fully restored, and our church wedding in the Renwood family chapel is supposed to be the showcase, you know, for the whole enterprise.
To demonstrate what can be done with the function room, how the catering works, the flowers.
” She paused. Enough with the embellishments.
Liars always gave too many details. “If it became public knowledge that we’re already married, we.
..uh...would steal our thunder and, in people’s eyes, diminish the significance of the occasion. ”
“Good, good.” He leaned back in his chair. “I understand. But if you’re planning a church wedding anyway, why get married at the registry office in the first place?”
Heat washed through her. How would she explain this? Think! “We...er...couldn’t wait to be husband and wife.”
He grinned, and the urge to slap him had never been so strong.
She ground her teeth, then forced her jaw to relax. “Do I have your word?” she asked. “You won’t tell anyone?”
“Of course, Cordelia, of course. You will forgive my initial outburst, but I would have expected...”
Now she needed to appease his bruised ego. “Would you and your wife like to join us for the official celebration?” She rushed out the invitation in one breath.