Moments later, she came from their large attached bath, clad in a nightgown and robe. With her face washed and teeth brushed, she gave Tony’s cheek a mint-flavored kiss and tugged his hand to move him toward the sofa. Once he sat, she settled in front of him, her back against his chest. Reaching for his large hand, she wrapped herself in his arms.
His voice murmured near her ear. “Now, my dear, what has you so lost in thought? What do you want to talk about?”
With a sigh, Claire relaxed against his chest. “I want to talk about the medication thing. I want you to be honest with me.”
“I’m always honest with you. Are you saying that you’re not?”
“No. I don’t think I was dishonest… not on purpose. But today while I was talking to Dr. Brown I realized something.”
Tony let out a long breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how many ways or how many times I need to say it, but I am.”
Claire peered over her shoulder. His dark eyes swirled with remorse. Momentarily, with her concentration on the prospect of having another baby, she’d forgotten the memories she’d been confronting at the window. Suddenly, the sadness in his gaze and tone brought them all back. Reaching up to his cheek, Claire gently palmed the five o’clock shadow. “Tony, that’s not what I want to talk about. We’ve talked it to death. It’s funny. I didn’t even make the association with the date until a few minutes ago. I think that’s a good thing.”
“So that wasn’t what you and Dr. Brown discussed today?”
“No, believe it or not, it wasn’t. Like I said, I hadn’t even thought about it until a little while ago.”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about it all day. I’ve been watching you, waiting for you to bring it up. I thought you were just trying to spare me by not mentioning it.”
“Tony…” her voice held more of a plea than she wanted to admit “…I’ll talk about it if you want. I’m also fine with not making a big deal about it. Hell, we have anniversaries of many things all the time. Seven years ago…” She felt him tense behind her. “…I woke up on this estate. Today it’s our home, one we share with our daughter.”
“The thing is,” Tony began, “I know it was wrong. The world knows it was wrong. Hell, I spent two years paying the price for it being wrong.” His voice softened. “And you’ve paid more than that, but right now, with the two of us here and Nichol down the hall, I can’t say I regret bringing you here. I should, but I don’t.”
Claire closed her eyes and swallowed. “Maybe we are both crazy?”
Tony’s arms tightened around her. “What does that mean? You regret it?”
“No, I don’t. I regret many things. Being with you right here, right now, isn’t one of them.”
“I regret the way I treated you, the things that happened… but bringing you into my life…” His lips touched her neck sending chills down her body. “…I’ll never regret.”
Claire craned her neck allowing her husband better access. As his caresses deepened, she remembered her mission. “I want to talk about the future.” He continued kissing. “Please, this is important.”
Taking a deep breath, Tony sat straighter. Though his lips were obeying, in the small of Claire’s back she could feel another part of him that had other plans. “What, my dear? What about our future? I must say, I like that topic better than our past.”
The tips of her fingers traced an imaginary path over the arm that was wrapped about her midsection. “Tony, I realized today while I was talking to Dr. Brown that I have multiple reasons why I want to get off my medications—”
“Wait!” His voice boomed through their suite. “Off? You said decrease, not off.”
Claire turned to face him. “Well, it has to start as a decrease and then it’ll eventually be tapered off completely.”
“No, not until I hear from the doctor that you can do that. I’m not losing you again.”