“I’m sorry, too,” Tessa told her gently. “He speaks very fondly of you, Davina, holds you in very high regard. Perhaps when he was engaged to you he was simply at a different point in his life, wanted different things. And by the time he met me, his priorities had changed again. That happens, you know.”

“Yes.” Davina gave her a tiny smile. “You’re very kind, Tessa, as well as very, very pretty. When I first met you earlier I was convinced Ian had gone a bit off the deep end, that he was thinking with his, er, male parts rather than his brain. You’re certainly not his usual type, you know - young, blonde, sexy. But as I’ve watched the pair of you together this evening, it’s obvious he’s crazy about you. My God, he would barely hold my hand in public when we were together! There is no possible way he would have kissed me in front of a roomful of people. So you’ve either cast some sort of spell over him, or he’s insanely in love with you. I imagine it’s the latter.”

“I think so,” admitted Tessa shyly. “And I’m crazy about him, Davina. So in love that sometimes I worry it’s too much.”

Davina impulsively reached out and gave her a little hug. “It’s not, my dear. I think Ian has finally met his soulmate, that the two of you were fated for each other. And I wish you both every happiness.”

Davina hurried away before Tessa could reply, but there had been a sheen of tears in her dark eyes. Tessa couldn’t blame her, because if she had been the one to lose a man as special as Ian, she knew she would have spent every day of her life regretting it.

Tessa woke slowly, rising up from the depths of her slumber a bit at a time. She relished the sensations of being warm and comfortable and protected, of knowing in her subconscious mind that she was safe and loved and happy.

And she knew by the familiar, beloved scent that greeted her upon awakening that she was being held in the arms of her beloved, the man who her entire world revolved around. And suddenly, sleepily, she remembered something he had told her nearly a year ago, a prediction he’d made. She had wondered at the time why he had sounded so confident, so sure of himself. And now she knew the reason. It was because he’d been planning this all along, had known that this particular moment would occur.

“Merry Christmas,” she whispered, gazing up drowsily into the hazel eyes that were regarding her warmly.

“And a very merry Christmas to you, my love,” murmured Ian. He captured her lips in a long, lazy kiss.

She snuggled up against him, resting her head on his broad, naked chest. Her fingertips traced lazy circles around the hard, flat planes of his stomach. “I figured it out, you know,” she told him. “When you told me back in January that the holidays this year would be much happier ones for me. You were hoping we’d be together, weren’t you?”

He smiled, capturing her hand and bringing it to his lips. “Not hoping, love,” he assured her. “Knowing. Exactly one year ago today, I woke up in this very bed, and vowed that you would be waking up beside me the following year. You and I were always meant to be together, Tessa. I knew it from the moment we first met, and when you told me that you were getting a divorce - well, it was only going to be a matter of time after that. And now here you are. You’re wearing my ring, in six more months you’ll have my name, and in the near future you’ll be carrying my child. Sometimes, even though it takes awhile to make it happen, dreams do come true. I know it, because you were my dream. I love you, Tessa, and today is going to be the happiest Christmas I’ve ever known.”

She was weeping softly at his lovingly spoken words, flinging her arms about his neck and burying her face against the side of his throat. “Every day I’ve spent with you has been the happiest of my life,” she whispered huskily. “And I already know this is going to be the happiest one so far, the most wonderful Christmas I could have ever imagined.”

“Tessa.” He cupped her cheek tenderly. “And it goes without saying that you are the most amazing Christmas present I could have ever asked for. Having you here at my family home, waking up beside you this morning - every one of my dreams is coming true.”

They had arrived here at the Gregson family estate in Kent three days ago, just in time for a rather dizzying round of parties. Joanna loved to entertain, was in her element when she was planning and hosting parties or dinners, and the holiday season was an especially busy time for her. Thus far, she and Edward had hosted an open house for all of their neighbors, a cocktail party for friends and business associates, and an elaborate Christmas Eve dinner last night for her brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, and their families. Tessa had counted more than forty in attendance last night, and that hadn’t included Hugh and Victoria and the boys. They would be arriving in time for brunch this morning, and staying over for both Christmas dinner tonight and tomorrow’s Boxing Day festivities.

When Tessa recalled how much she had stressed about preparing a small dinner party for eight people, she marveled at how calm and collected her future mother-in-law had seemed these past few days when confronted with planning half a dozen much larger events. She had mentioned this more than once to Joanna, had asked in wonder how she did it, and had laughed along with Ian’s mother when she’d confessed her deep, dark secret.

“A very, very good firm of caterers, dear,” Joanna had stated bluntly. “Not to mention the most devoted and hardworking housekeeping staff anyone could ever wish for. Plus, I do have quite a few years of practice under my belt by now. I assure you there were any number of disastrous events over the years. Edward will be more than happy to tell you about some of them if you’re interested.”

But there wasn’t even the slightest mishap or hiccup during either the wonderful brunch, or the festive dinner later that evening. Instead, both meals were simply times to enjoy being with family, the family that Tessa now felt very much a part of. She was considerably more at ease with everyone, and quickly put Colin firmly in his place when his teasing got a bit out of hand. And even though Ian had warned her about his charming, flirtatious Uncle Gavin - Joanna’s roguish brother who’d been married and divorced three times and had a weakness for much younger women, particularly blondes - she hadn’t been able to completely resist his magnetism. It had only been when Gavin had draped an arm over her shoulders, leaning in towards her a bit too closely, that Ian had quite firmly told his uncle to find his own girl, that this one was most definitely spoken for.