THE FIRE WAS BURNING in the big fireplace and this time all four of them stood close by the flames, for it was cold enough in Los Angeles in December that hugging a fireplace was comforting.
“This has a sense of déjà vu about it,” Alexander said, looking about the room, and up at the gallery where all the book spines with their gold leaf shone dimly in the firelight. “I remember an evening similar to this, about five years ago, not long after you returned from Jerusalem….”
Veris winced. “It was fall, though, and we were sitting over there.” He pointed. “And there was champagne, for Taylor’s birthday.”
“But everything else is the same, even the baby,” Alexander said.
It felt like the entire room came to a standstill. Taylor could hear her heart in her ears. “B-baby?” she repeated.
Alexander tilted his head to one side, studying her. “You didn’t know?”
“We…hoped,” she whispered, reaching for Brody’s hand. It shook as she slid her fingers into his.
Alexander smiled at her and pushed her hair behind her ear. “The signs are all there if you know what to look for and I do. You are pregnant. About three weeks, if I am any judge.”
Veris scrubbed his face with his hands, hard and fast. “And you would be. You’ve forgotten more legitimate hands-on medicine than I’ve ever learned. You had Taylor’s first pregnancy nailed to the day just by looking at her, in the Jordan desert, and you’ve been practicing medicine for centuries since then. I’d say your guess is as good as an ultrasound.” He took a deep breath that shuddered. He was smiling.
Alexander gave a small smile back. “I am glad to be the bearer of such good news, but I should leave you alone to celebrate.”
He refused to stay despite their protests and finally, once the front door shut behind him and Veris returned to the room, they stood once more in front of the flames.
“The timing is all wrong,” Veris said, frowning.
“Not now, please,” Brody said, with a groan. “I am so sick of talking about time travel the subject makes me want to shove that poker into my eardrums and twist.”
Taylor picked up both their hands. “Shut up, both of you.”
They looked at her.
“I’m pregnant,” she said. “And I want to celebrate, like Alexander suggested.”
Veris’ expression instantly turned hot and feral and Brody’s eyes turned even darker, as he stepped closer to her. “What do you have in mind?” he asked, his voice low.
“Your villa in the south of France, just after the First World War. The one on the coast, during the summer, when you said there was no one around but locals who minded their own business? When it was so hot you could fry eggs on the sand?”
“Hot sounds really good right now,” Veris said.
“A few hours, while Marit is overnighting with Mia, soaking up the sun and swimming in the sea is just what this pregnant wife would like as a starter,” Taylor told them, pulling Brody closer so she could get her arm around his waist. She held out her other arm, beckoning Veris to step into it. He wrapped himself around both of them.
“I love you,” she told them. “I don’t care where we end up. I just want to be with you both, until the end, whatever that may be. I want to live our lives, whatever happens.”
Veris let out a breath. “Agreed,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Unimportant. Screw the council.”
Brody rested his hand on her belly. “All the people important to me were in that room today. No one else matters.”
“Kiss me,” Taylor told them, turning her mouth up for one of them to comply.
They jumped.