‘…with advice. Know what I mean?’
‘No, I don’t know what you mean.’ Holly’s frown deepened. ‘You really should see a doctor. Your voice is so strange, it’s, well, almost masculine. It’s kind of spooky.’
‘Holly. About the book—’
‘Belinda.’ Holly pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. ‘Look, it isn’t that I don’t appreciate your efforts. It’s just that I’ve had a long day. It snowed up here, and—and you were right, I shouldn’t have come at all, and—’
‘A recipe on one page, a bit of advice on the other,’ Belinda said.
Holly sighed. ‘What kind of advice?’ she said wearily, because it was becoming obvious she’d never get Belinda off the phone until she heard her out.
‘Are you sure you can hear me clearly now, Holly? I want to make sure you get all of this.’
‘Yes. Actually, for some reason, you’re suddenly coming through just fine.’
‘Good. As for the sort of advice you could offer—how’s this? You’d ask your readers, “Is your husband working longer hours than you think he should? Is he less appreciative of the things you do around the house than you think he should be?”’
‘Honestly, Belinda…’
‘“If he is, perhaps you need to consider things from his viewpoint. If he grew up poor, and you grew up rich, he probably feels guilty about taking you away from that lifestyle.”’
Holly got off the bed. ‘Belinda? What is this?’
‘“Maybe he’s overcompensating. Maybe he’s working harder than he should to try and give you the things he thinks you deserve.”’
‘Wait a minute. Wait just a darned minute! Who is this?’
‘“Maybe, when he sees you sewing curtains, and cooking hamburger in a zillion different ways, he sees only that he’s condemned you to a life of drudgery.”’
‘Who is this? I know it isn’t Belin—’
‘Aye-up, maybe he’s behaved badly, Holly, but if he has, it’s only because that boy loves you with all his heart.’
There was a gentle click, and then a buzz, and Belinda’s voice—someone’s voice—was gone.
Holly stared at the phone and then, very carefully, put it down. Who could have known so much about her? About Nick?
Her throat constricted.
Who could have been so right?
Why hadn’t she seen it? It wasn’t that Nick was self-centered, it was that he blamed himself for not having been able to give her the things she’d grown up with.
‘Things,’ Holly said bitterly. As if ‘things’ mattered, as if Nick weren’t the only thing that mattered, the only man, the only love of her life.
‘Holly?’
Holly’s head came up. ‘Nick?’ she whispered.
It couldn’t be. She had to have imagined his voice.
‘Holly. Where are you? Holly, sweetheart…’
She raced from the bedroom and through the hall. Oh, it was true! It was Nick, coming up the stairs.
‘Nick,’ she said, and when he looked up and saw the joy on her face he knew everything would be all right.
‘Holly,’ he whispered, and a second later they were in each other’s arms.
* * *
A little before midnight, the snow stopped. The stars came out, burning fiercely against the blackness of the sky, and a big white moon hung over North Mountain.
Holly, snug in her husband’s arms, turned her face to his.
‘I love you, Nicholas Brennan,’ she said.
Nick kissed her. ‘And I love you, Mrs. Brennan. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…’
‘Forever,’ Holly whispered, and they kissed again. After a moment, she put her head on his shoulder. ‘Will it bother you? My career, I mean.’
‘Bother me? Sweetheart, I’m proud of you. I can’t wait to tell everybody I know that my wife writes cookbooks.’ He grinned. ‘I might even buy a couple, and learn how to cook—if you’ll agree to give me private lessons.’
Holly laughed softly. ‘Absolutely—if you’ll take me along on some of your business trips.’
‘Come with me on all of them—although there won’t be so many, now. I’ve got some damn good people working for me. I don’t have to be involved in every detail of running Brennan Resorts.’ His arms tightened around her. ‘I don’t want to be, baby…I mean, sweetheart. Not anymore.’
‘Actually,’ Holly said dreamily, ‘I love it when you call me “baby”.’ She touched her fingers to his lips. ‘It’s sexy. And it makes me feel protected.’ She snuggled against him, and then she cleared her throat. ‘Nick?’