Page 11 of The Professor's Wife

My attention snagged on his hands again as he drummed his fingers against the serving counter.

“You’re welcome.”

My body relaxed at his tender smile. Who knew two simple words could feel so good to hear?

When he turned toward the servers, I released a slow breath and briefly closed my eyes, trying to center myself.

Out of the darkness, Daisy.

Into the light.

When I opened my eyes again, the tremors had eased.

The server passed our ice cream over the counter, and Tristan handed mine to me. The evening was so warm that it began melting almost immediately, a thin line of ice cream running over my thumb and down my wrist.

Tristan noticed.

He grabbed a napkin, but instead of handing it to me, his fingers closed gently around my wrist.

I stopped breathing.

His touch was light. Careful. I watched every second as he drew the napkin slowly over the melting ice cream, following the line from my wrist to the base of my thumb.

“There,” he said.

His fingers remained around me for a moment longer than necessary.

“Thank you.”

His gaze lifted from my hand to my face. Something subtle changed in his expression. The playfulness remained, but it had darkened around the edges.

He released me and tossed the napkin into the nearest bin. For several seconds, neither of us moved. Then he took a large bite from his ice cream, his eyes still holding mine.

“So, what’s your next plan?” I asked with a timid smile. His gaze made me warmer than the sun. “Or does this end with us getting ice cream?”

He ran his tongue over his lips, drawing my attention to his mouth. Then he began walking, and I followed beside him.

“I’m still working on it,” he admitted.

“You don’t know?”

“I have a few ideas.”

He kept his attention on the path ahead, still wearing that slight smirk, but for the first time, I noticed the uncertainty beneath his confidence.

Was he as flustered as I was?

There were only small signs, but they were there.

“I was doing well before,” he said.

“It felt rehearsed,” I teased.

“I kept playing it out in my head. All the different ways you might respond.” He looked at me again. “Everything sort of stopped back there at the ice cream stand.”

I grinned, unable to help myself. A giddy thrill moved through me at the thought of him pursuing me so deliberately.

“What do you usually do in these situations?”