His smile grew to show his teeth. “Daniel, of course. He is usually so shy and so careful around strangers. But you…” He shrugged. “He is taken with you.”
“As I am with him.”
“As I said…” His white teeth shone in the light. “You see them.”
He held the smile a little longer, and she felt his pull so acutely that she wanted to stand up and go to him.
“Good night,” he said, breaking the trance.
“G—good night,” she stammered, giving her head a shake to break the spell. “I will see you tomorrow.”
“I sure hope so.”
He then left her sitting there alone, even more confused than she had been.
Helena gave her entire body a shake and turned back to the desk, determined to put their exchange out of her mind and write something. Just to prove that she could!
Typically, no words came, and all she could do was sit there and think about Sebastian and what he had said. More than that, how he had made her feel when saying it.
She was so determined not to feel anything for him. So darn sure that it was dangerous, and she would be smart to avoid him. But as she stared at the blank page, as she considered his words, and she remembered that smile, she began to wonder.
Would it be such a bad thing, after all? Why am I so insistent on fighting this?
She did not have an answer to that question. What she did have was a feeling, the sense that everything she thought she had ever known was a lie. That quite possibly, and if she considered it, marriage might not be the awful trap she had convinced herself it was.
And if that was the case…
Helena allowed a smile to cross her lips. And for once, she didn’t feel ashamed of the fact.
CHAPTER 20
Salvation came for Helena the following morning in the form of an invitation.
“What’s that?” Sebastian asked as she walked into the breakfast room. She had the letter in hand, having just been given it by the staff.
“Oh…” She looked up, her heart fluttering when she saw her husband seated at the table, watching her. The morning light shone on him, and his smile was ever-present and just for her. “It is a letter from my mother.”
“Nothing bad, I hope.”
Helena frowned as she quickly read the letter again. And once she did, an idea formed, and she was quick to seize on it.
“My sister and her husband are visiting my mother and father for a few days,” she explained, nodding along as she consideredher options. “And she asks that I pay her a visit when I have the chance.”
“Ah, I see.” Sebastian furrowed his brow as he considered. “Shall we organize a day, then? Or perhaps an evening to?—”
“No!” she cried out, a little too quickly. She grimaced and looked earnest because she needed this to work. “I mean… I was hoping to visit them on my own.”
Sebastian leaned back. “You were?”
“It is not personal,” she assured him. “But I have not spent time with my family in so long, and I think it would be nice. I know my mother and father would appreciate it greatly.”
“Are you sure?”
“Perhaps in a few days, we will see them together?” She offered him the life raft. “They do not live far, so there is no reason we cannot have supper before my sister leaves.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “If that is fine with you?”
“You know you do not have to ask for my permission, Helena,” he said, his smile returning. “And if you wish to see your parents without me, I understand. Just promise you will not badmouth me.”
She laughed a little too loudly. “Of course not.”
