Lily had been overjoyed when Rauf’s optimistic conviction had come true, although it had taken a little longer than a year for Serhan to get Hilary as far as the altar. His virtually proposing on the first date had been more of a hindrance than a help to his own cause. Just a month ago, however, Rauf and Lily had flown over to their wedding and had brought Penny, Gemma and Joy back home with them while the bridal couple had gone off on their honeymoon. Harris Travel had been sold and Hilary was planning to set up business again in Istanbul. Hilary had at last found the happiness she deserved and Lily was delighted that her sister and her daughters were now living nearby. Although pressed to take up residence with Serhan and Hilary in Turkey, Douglas Harris had decided to remain in England with his friends and all that was familiar and had moved into a comfortable flat in a retirement home.
Lily and Rauf came to Sonngul to unwind in peace and privacy whenever they could. Rauf strolled into their bedroom, his jacket slung over one broad shoulder, tie already loosened, and his dark golden eyes glittered with appreciation over the picture Lily made in her aqua-coloured nightdress. ‘You look ravishing.’
‘You’re easily impressed,’ Lily teased, but then if that was true she was a pushover on the same score: his lean, dark features and the lithe flow of his well-built physique set her heart jumping too.
‘No, anything but. Every time I look at you, I know how lucky I am,’ Rauf quipped as he went into the adjoining room, where Themsi always slept when they stayed at Sonngul, to have a look at his sleeping son. ‘He’s practically growing in front of our eyes,’ he said fondly. ‘He’s going to be tall like me.’
Lily watched him from the doorway with amusement.
Rauf swung round. ‘What’s so funny?’
‘I doubt that Themsi’s had a growth spurt since you flew out of here this morning!’
Her tall, dark, handsome husband just closed his arms round her and lifted her right off her feet. ‘He just might have had,’ he told her stubbornly, and then he kissed her with passionate hunger, making her senses sing before conceding, ‘but I suppose it’s unlikely.’
Lying back on their bed, Lily reached up to tug him down to her again and smiled up into his clear golden eyes, loving every angle of his lean, strong face, rejoicing in their closeness and contentment.
‘I hate being dragged away from you and Themsi when I’m here,’ Rauf confided huskily. ‘I’m going to set up a better office so that I can handle more on the spot.’
‘Brilliant idea,’ Lily told him.
A slashing smile curved his handsome mouth. ‘I have my moments, güzelim.’
Lily gave him a mischievous look. ‘Most days…why do you think I love you so much?’
He gazed down at her with amusement and love mingled in his possessive gaze. ‘I adore you and you know it.’
And she did know that she was loved and, more than anything else, that security and confidence had added to her contentment. She found his mouth for herself and surrendered to the pleasure of their loving.