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Saint wanted to see her smile. She hadn’t since before dinner, but at least her tone had lightened.
“For the record, my lingerie remark was not serious when I made it.” He gathered her hair as he spoke so he was holding the thick rope of it in his stacked fists. He carefully dragged her head back to see her face. “But I wholeheartedly support your shift in focus. In fact, I’ll volunteer to be your beta tester.”
“You want to wear one of my G-strings to see if it’s comfortable?”
“You’re a brat sometimes, aren’t you?”
“I’m not the one barging in on a reading, pulling hair and making jokes about your penis.”
“I never joke about my penis.” He released her hair.
“Stick with me, kid,” she murmured, straightening the Ace of Wands.
He chuckled and caged her with his knees, massaging her shoulders. “What’s with the naked woman and the watering cans?”
“The Star follows the Tower in the Major Arcana. I had the Tower when I realized I was pregnant, so it makes sense that the Star has turned up.” She touched the card so it was perfectly aligned with the others. “It’s a symbol of hope, like a wishing star or a guiding star. She’s watering the seeds that she’s planted, but she’s naked so she’s vulnerable, which we always are when we hope.”
“But it’s upside down.”
“I know,” Fliss said pensively. “Reversed means a lack of faith or a likely disappointment. Granny always points out thatstarspelled backwards israts.” She tapped the word on the bottom of the card.
“Is she really here? Because there goes my plan to seduce you on the couch.” He looked to the empty chair and the untouched cup of tea. “Come back to bed. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
She only picked up her tea to sip. “That was a really difficult dinner, Saint.”
He knew. That was why he’d been genuinely alarmed to find the bed empty and so relieved to find her here. His parents had stayed and they hadn’t said anything that was outright antagonistic or insulting, but they hadn’t welcomed her with open arms. Aside from his mother asking about her due date, they’d barely acknowledged the baby.
“And this Belmont Stakes thing? I don’t know anything about horses!”
“Is that the reason you couldn’t sleep?” he asked.
“It’s a house party for aweek,” she said. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
“I forgot about it, or I would have. Mom actually has a horse in the race this year. That’s not an expression—she really does. So we can’t refuse to go.” The timing was terrible, though, with his project still in such early stages of getting off the ground. “It’s an excellent chance for me to introduce you to everyone, though.”
“Who is ‘everyone’?”
“Mom’s horsey friends.” And the Hampton circle along with his father’s cronies and the board members who would be sucking lemons over the sleight of hand Saint had pulled by failing to mention Fliss when he had accepted their backing. “Don’t worry. It’s a week away.”
“I looked it up, Saint,” she said. “I need outfits. I needhats. Your mother was already looking at me like I was an embarrassment.”
“I told you, she’s vain about her age. She’ll come around.”
“I always hoped my baby would have a grandmother like I did,” she admitted softly.
His gaze flickered to that upside-down Star of disappointment.
“I would give that to you if I could, Fliss.” He leaned forward to cup the front of her throat and press a kiss to the top of her hair. “I want to give you everything you need. I really do.” When it came to his parents, a sense of failure, of being robbed was so visceral, it was bitter on his tongue.
He did what he always did when emotions reared their head.
“Let’s talk to a Realtor tomorrow to find a space for your design work.”
“I’d rather use one of the spare bedrooms. I only need a table for my sewing machine, and I’d rather not go out every day and have to worry about being photographed.” She began gathering up her cards, then paused. “Do you want me to do a reading for you?”
“God, no.” Saint cleared his throat. “I mean, no, thank you.”
“Chicken. What are you afraid I’ll see?” She was finally smiling as she folded the velvet around the cards and secured the package with a white ribbon.
