Full Bloom

Emily said cheerfully. "I, of course, told her she was crazy. You had left for one of the foreign offices two months before and I just knew I'd never see you again. But she said she had a hunch you'd be back one day."
    "Well, how about that?" Jacob was smugly pleased. "I did get some Ravenscroft approval, after all."
    "I guess you could say that."
    He lifted her chin and kissed her soundly. "Umm, you taste good."
    "That's true love for you. I haven't even brushed my teeth yet this morning."
    "Let's go back to bed," Jacob suggested huskily.
    Emily shook her head regretfully. "You know I can't do that. I've got too much to do to get the shop ready for sale."
    "I know." He released her reluctantly. "I'll drop by around lunchtime, okay?"
    "It's a deal."
    Half an hour later Emily hastily finished the last of her cereal and grabbed her oversize shoulder bag. "Got to run." She bent down to kiss Jacob goodbye. He was drinking his coffee in a leisurely manner, enjoying the morning paper that had arrived a short while earlier. Emily felt a thrill of pleasure at the very settled, very married feeling the whole scene engendered in her. Life seemed very good that morning.
    "See you at lunchtime," Jacob said, darting his tongue along her lower lip in an intimate, teasing gesture.
    He watched her hurry toward the door where she paused briefly on the threshold to wave to him. Then he glanced at his watch and gave her two minutes to catch the elevator. When he was certain she was out of the hall and on her way down to the garage, he got to his feet and pocketed his set of keys.
    When he opened the front door of the apartment he found the corridor empty, just as he had expected. Having followed Emily down to the garage every morning since their return, he had perfected the timing.
    Jacob sauntered down to the elevator and stabbed the call button. Emily would be furious if she knew he had made it a policy to escort her, unseen, to the garage every day. She was getting extremely prickly lately about being taken care of.
    But Jacob's memory of the two punks who had been waiting for him in the garage had permanently shaped his attitude toward Emily's safety in the building. He had no intention of letting her come and go alone in that dungeon downstairs.
    So far she hadn't questioned the fact that he always met her after work at the shop and drove home with her. Jacob smiled to himself as the elevator door opened on the lower garage level, and he stepped out. If she realized his main reason for doing it was to prevent her from having to drive into the garage alone, she would probably tear a wide strip off him.
    The best way to take care of Emily was with discretion, Jacob had discovered. He was quite proud of himself for figuring that out. Her family had gone about it the wrong way since the day she was born and he himself had more than once been guilty of too forthright an approach. Much simpler to keep an eye on her from a discreet distance.
    Jacob stayed out of sight in the elevator lobby. He was always careful to make certain he didn't go into the main parking area where Emily would spot him on her way out. From here he would be able to hear her car and watch the iron gate open and close.
    Discretion, he told himself. No need to be heavy-handed about it. A husband had to learn subtlety in dealing with a wife.
    He was congratulating himself on his skill when he heard Damon Morrell's voice. Jacob recognized it instantly. Morrell was on the other side of the lobby wall, speaking in a harsh, angry tone. Simultaneously Jacob registered the fact that Emily had not yet started her car.
    Jacob's vow of discretion crumpled into nothingness. Instinctively he started to launch himself around the corner, his hands already anticipating the feel of Morrell's throat. And then, before he came into sight of the other two, Jacob forced himself to a shuddering halt.
    He was never really certain what made him stop. It had something to do with the fact that Emily's voice was calm and controlled, with no trace of alarm. That quiet control made him remember how angry she had been the last time he had stepped in to "rescue" her from Morrell. She had been so resentful of the implication that she couldn't take care of herself, Jacob recalled wryly.
    He took a deep, calming breath, aware of the adrenaline pounding through him. It was all right, he told himself. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was in no immediate danger. He should let her handle