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“Her?” he murmured, his voice fascinated as he slowly inched forward and lifted up on his toes in order to get a peek at Anniston’s face. “So it’s a girl, then?”
“What? Didn’t you know?” Allera sounded shocked. She glanced my way before turning back to him.
He sniffed and shot her a dry glance before returning his gaze to the child. “Why would I know? Everyone seemed determined to keep all information about the child and her mother away from me. And you never bothered to tell me.”
“Well, I… I’m so sorry.” Allera sounded genuinely apologetic. “I guess I didn’t consider that you might be curious about the child.”
“I shouldn’t be,” he muttered. “She’s not mine, after all, but…”
“She’s Vienne’s,” Allera murmured softly, understanding.
“Yes,” Urban said.
At his breathless tone, a shudder of pure longing tore through me.
Urban jerked his alert gaze my way. “I’m sorry.” He rushed the words. “Did that make you uncomfortable?”
It had. A lot. But I shook my head insistently, saying, “Of course not,” because I wasn’t uncomfortable in the way he feared.
I felt uncomfortably flattered that both siblings had been forcing themselves to talk about me as if I weren’t there in difference to my wishes for distance. I felt uncomfortable by how charmed I felt by his interest in my daughter. I felt uncomfortable because I was pretty sure I liked him, no matter how much I really shouldn’t. Every little devoted thing he said about me just reeled me in more. I feared it wouldn’t take much for me to get drunk on this man’s mere presence.
And I worried he could read all that on my face, because he was watching me way too intently.
Backing away, he said, “I should return to training the soldiers,” just as Allera asked, “Do you want to hold her?”
Urban swerved an incredulous glance to his sister and then snorted, shaking his head. “Yes, I’m quite sure her father would just love knowing I was anywhere near his infant right now.”
“Well, her father isn’t here,” I said, making both Allera and Urban veer wide-eyed glances my way. “Just me. Her mother. So I’m asking… Do you wish to hold the child?”
A moment of silence passed. His chest heaved as he stared at me. And then…
“Yes,” he said. “I want to hold her. She’s yours. Of course I want to hold her. This is as close as I’ll ever get to holding my own...”
Allera tsked, shaking her head even as she stood to offer Urban her seat. “You know, it breaks my heart when you say things like that.”
After he sat, and she placed Anniston into his waiting arms, his lips parted with amazement. He gazed down at her as if she were a miracle.
“You’re still alive, Urban, young and healthy,” Allera went on. “You can find someone suitable enough to settle down with, and have children of your own with. That’s what I plan to do, anyway. Why shouldn’t you?”
“Not now, Allera,” he said in a voice that screamed not in a million years just before his tone softened. “My God. She’s perfect, isn’t she? I mean, I’ve seen many an ugly baby in my day, but this one… This one is actually beautiful.”
I frowned. “You sound surprised by that.”
He glanced up, only to grin. “Well, you can’t blame me for fearing I’d see some of her father in her, but…no. No, she has your chin. And the shape of your eyes. Your cheekbones,” he went on, making me blush.
“Well, aren’t you an observant one,” Allera teased. “Knowing Vienne’s chin and eyes so thoroughly after only seeing her from across rooms… Until this very moment.”
Urban sent his sister a harassed glance. After a moment of threatening her with his stare alone, he cleared his throat and changed the subject, “You’re definitely your usual chipper and annoying self this morning, Sister. I’ll take that to mean the new marriage is going well?”
“Yes, actually.” Allera sounded relieved as she plopped into the seat next to mine so that I sat between both siblings and thus felt intimately a part of their conversation. “I believe I’m going to enjoy being married to Brentley. He’s such a dear sweet thing, and you’ll never believe this but…” Her voice went confidentially quieter as she leaned toward both Urban and me, set her hand on my forearm, and whispered, “Last night was his first time.”
“God!” Urban yelped, wincing and pulling his face away. “I don’t want details. Seriously, don’t share them. Ever.”
“And honestly, I quite liked being the experienced one of the two,” Allera went on as if Urban hadn’t asked her to stop talking. She grinned at me as if I should somehow relate. “He was so eager and willing to learn what I liked, it was quite enjoyable to instruct him how to pleasure me.” Letting out a delighted sigh, she shook her head and murmured, “Such an eager, willing student.”
“Dammit, Allera. For the love of God, shut up.”
I covered my mouth to keep in a laugh, even as my face heated with embarrassment. And a little bit of jealousy. Allera sounded as if she’d really had a good time in her marriage bed. I wish I could’ve been able to say the same. At least once.
