Page 186 of Rogue of My Heart

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“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you and Papa so happy,” Mary noted as Albina’s handsome husband, yet again, diverted her attention in the middle of the parlor. A year had passed and things were better now than they’d been when they had first married.

Albina smiled at her oldest child, reaching out her hand to give hers a squeeze. “I’m thankful that you and Stephen are doing well.”

Mary rubbed her swelling belly. “You could say that,” she said with a laugh, and then her expression turned serious. “It’s all because of your sage advice.” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you sure that you aren’t going to continue to pursue your advice column?”

Albina shook her head. “While my publisher was disappointed, he is pleased with my latest endeavors. It turns out that penning Gothic novels appealed to me after all.”

“Much to my everlasting surprise,” Mrs. Lydia Langley sat down across from mother and daughter with a long suffering sigh. “I never thought my toughest competition would come in the form of my dearest friend.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Langley,” Albina’s daughter Sarah said as she sat down next to her. “I may love my mother’s stories, but rest assured you shall always have a spot on my bookshelf.”

Lydia looked at her with a grin. “I always knew that you were my favorite.”

The other women laughed good-naturedly, catching the attention of Albina’s son Connor. He walked over with an arrogant swagger to match his father’s. “The four of you cackle like a group of hens,” he teased.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have another woman to harass?

Your wife, for instance?”

He held up his hands and backed away with a wince. “Ouch. Prickly sister for the win again.”

After another round of merriment, Mary turned to her mother. “Who is that man Papa is speaking with?”

* * *

Albina glanced at the tall, dark blond gentleman in animated conversation with her husband. “That is your father’s business partner, Julian Solomon.” She pointed to a woman speaking with Connor’s wife, Andrea. “And that is his wife, Philomena. The baby she’s holding is their eight-month-old son, Chael.”

“Oh, he’s adorable!” Mary gasped, but then a slight frown touched her forehead. “Aren’t they a little old to be new parents?”

“They are our age!” Albina said with mock affront.

“Like I said,” Mary rolled her eyes, although a grin tugged at her lips.

Albina looked at her husband, who was watching her with heated promise in his eyes. Instantly, her entire body warmed as she thought of the night before when they had come together in his bedchamber. But then, she supposed her room was for storing her dresses anymore, for had she slept with her husband every night for the past three hundred and sixty five days.

With a secretive smile playing about her lips, Albina said, “Oh, not to worry. Your father isn’t that old just yet.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

“And neither am I.”

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The End