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Travis watched it all play out before meeting Isabel’s gaze over the table.
There were fine lines of strain fanning out from her eyes but she offered him a half-shrug and lifted her glass of wine in his direction.
The rest of the meal passed in subdued silence and when the kids started to help her clear the table, he joined her at the sink.
“Why don’t you give your troops a night off?” The strain in her expression was obvious. “I’ll help you clear and clean up.”
“You’re a guest,” Storm said, frowning at him. “You shouldn’t help clean.”
“Heoffered.” Brooklyn scowled up at the older girl.
“No,” Aaron grabbed Brooklyn’s hand and shot Travis a smile, then switched it to Isabel. “Storm’s right. And you know what, Ms. Bella? I think you should take the night off, too.Bothof you go relax ... hey, maybe you can have more of that wine out on the deck!”
“Great idea. I’ll get the glasses!” Storm dashed into the kitchen.
Aaron grabbed the bottle and hustled past Travis and Isabel, striding out to the deck. When he came in, he gave them both a chiding look as if to say,what, you’re still here?
“I wanna sit on the deck, too,” Brooklyn said, poking her lip out. She leaned against Travis’s leg and slid her hand into his.
“Help me with the chores and I’ll put makeup on you, Brooklyn,” Storm said, reaching into the cabinet and withdrawing two clean wine glasses.
Isabel and Travis exchanged amused looks as the oldest kid disappeared onto the deck.
When she returned, Brooklyn had moved away from Travis and was waiting to meet Storm, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Lipstick, too?”
Storm grinned at her. “Absolutely. I’ll even do your hair.” Then she met Isabel’s gaze. “Go on. We’ve got this.”
––––––––
“Ithink we were managed,” Isabel said a couple of minutes later as they leaned on the railing of the deck. The wine bottle and glasses sat on the railing between them, untouched.
“There’s barely enough in there for half a glass.” Travis picked up the bottle and held it to the dying light, then turned, poured it into the glass nearest her. “Enjoy.”
She smiled, then picked it up and took a sip before passing the glass to him. “We’ll share it.”
He accepted, sipped and passed it back. “I have to be honest ... I prefer whiskey to wine. And if I’m drinking wine, I don’t really love these dry types.”
“Really?” A laugh escaped her. “If that’s the case, I’ll polish this one off.”
They lingered there, enjoying the silence and Travis listened to the noise coming from inside for a minute before slanting a look at her. “Think I could slip off and grab another bottle of wine? Or maybe this bottle of brandy I’ve been eying?”
“Is Miles okay with you sneaking all of his booze?”
“He told me to the code to the wine cellar and pointed out the brandy himself. I figure he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t want me to enjoy it.”
It was unassailable logical, Isabel had to admit.
“He’s got some nice ice wines,” she said, giving him a slow smile. “I’m fond of those.”
“You always did have a sweet tooth.” No sooner had the words left his lips than a shadow fell over his face.
She reached up and covered his cheek with her hand. “Stop it,” she murmured, stroking her thumb over his lower lip. “I had to stop living in the past unless I wanted to live my life angry and bitter. You need to do the same.”
He covered her hand with his own, eyes boring into hers. Instead of answering, he brought her palm to his, pressed a soft kiss to it. “I’ll be right back.”
He was true to his word, carrying a slim bottle of dark glass, already opened and resealed with a plain, reusable cork, a fresh wine glass and another glass—this one a highball. The scent of it told her it was probably whisky. Miles preferred it.
