She kissed the hot skin of his neck and shoulders. ‘I hope you have condoms. I want nothing more in the world than you inside me.’

She didn’t have long to wait.

Chapter Twenty-Two

His phone ringing was as unwelcome as a drunk bellowing in the street as you drifted off to sleep. Nico took a moment to orientate himself, the night rushing back to him as he saw Hannah blinking sleepily on the pillow beside him, silky, tawny hair tumbling. He dropped a kiss on her temple then leaned out of the bed to extricate the phone from his jeans pocket. Its screen told him it was exactly eight a.m. The name that flashed up was his mother’s, but it was his daughter’s voice he heard.

‘Hi, Josie,’ he mumbled, voice gravelly from sleep, examining the unfamiliar feeling of being in bed with someone other than Josie’s mother while he talked to Josie. ‘OK, sweetheart?’

Josie’s young excited voice burst in his ear. ‘Dad! It’s snowed and snowed! And Farmor says are you ready for breakfast? You are, aren’t you? Farmor says some of the snow will go from the roads but it’ll stay in the parks.’

Nico smiled at the joyful young voice. ‘I need to shower. How about in an hour?’ He gazed down at Hannah and slid the duvet away from her beautiful breasts. His hand slid down to cup her and Hannah slipped her own hand beneath the covers and, judging from her, ‘Mmm,’ was happy to find morning glory in full bloom. He hadn’t thrilled to the sexy, life-affirming experience of waking to a hot, naked woman in his bed since the early days with Loren. Making love to Hannah had been amazing.

In his ear, Josie’s voice became muffled before returning full strength. ‘Farmor says half an hour should be ample. We’re hungry.’

He smothered a sigh but was too caring a dad to insist on an hour because he wanted sex again. ‘OK. See you downstairs.’ He ended the call and dropped his phone in favour of scooping Hannah’s soft, curvy body against his own. ‘Bloody kids.’

Hannah laughed, then her own phone began to shrill. Groaning, she rolled out from beneath the warmth of the quilt, casting around until she tracked the sound to the bag she’d abandoned by the door last night. Unselfconscious about her nudity – which suited him perfectly – she skipped back to the warmth of the bed. ‘Hi, Josie,’ she said into the handset, grinning at Nico.

Josie’s strident little voice reached Nico without needing to be put on speaker. ‘Oh, good, you’re not asleep. We’re meeting in half an hour for breakfast, OK? And have you seen how much it’s snowed? Farmor says Daddy’ll have to carry Maria or a snow plough will cover her up.’