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“No.” I hold my hand out to stop his advance, but it does nothing to deter him. “Harvey,” I warn.
He wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me up, I shriek and bat at his shoulder, but his grip is firm. “What’s the matter,rainha? I just want a little cuddle!”
Keeley and Mabel are at the edge of the pool laughing and encouraging Harvey’s ridiculous antics.
“Throw her in!” Keeley shrieks.
“Don’t you dare,” I growl at him, and feel his whole body move as he laughs.
“Maybe when we have our bathing suits on,princesa,” he calls back to her. “I can’t afford for this fancy suit to come out of my pay.” He starts walking toward the door and I catch a glimpse of Guinevere’s face as we leave, her brows in her hairline and her mouth gaping open.
We get back into the main house and instead of putting me down, Harvey leans my back against the wall of the corridor. I slide down gently until my shoes hit the ground, but he keeps one arm around my waist as the other comes up to rest by my head. All amusement has been lost as his molten chocolate eyes rove over my face and catch on my lips.
“Harvey—”
“Just let me kiss you,rainha.” He cuts my protests off with his plea. “Let me kiss you,” he murmurs against my mouth. He’s so close that when I dart my tongue out to wet my lips, I catch his, too, and he groans, low and rumbling before tightening his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him and bringing our mouths together.
It’s not frantic and violent like before, there are no clashing teeth or desperate fingers feeling and stroking with no finesse. Instead, his lips are soft and gentle as they move over mine, his tongue slowly stroking my own, tasting, feeling. His arm is strong around my waist but my hands stroke over his shoulders to his neck and then cup his jaw.
“What are you doing to me?” he breathes against my lips. “Why can’t I keep my hands off you?”
I don’t know how to answer that, so I don’t. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I pull him closer to silence him with my kiss. I don’t understand this draw I have to him either, but I’m too caught up in it to bother fighting it right now. When hepresses closer, the water from his clothes seeps further into my suit and I can feel him hard at my hip. I want to touch him, my hand drags down the front of his chest, over his abdomen, and to the waistband of his jeans but the sound of Keeley squealing in delight from behind the closed door stops any further progress. We break away, both looking toward the sound before looking back to each other.
“We should change,” I whisper, regretting the truth of it but glad to have an excuse to end this before I do something stupid.
I get a small sense of satisfaction at the look of disappointment on his face before he nods and releases me. I walk away, aware of his eyes on me as I move at a steady and controlled pace, trying not to show the nerves trembling through my body.
We swim for another hour. Well, Mabel and Harvey swim in companiable silence, up and down the length of the pool while I hold Keeley’s hands and instruct her to kick her legs behind her. We go round in circles for a while until I gently let go of her hands and watch as she swims on her own, managing a whole width and finishing with a round of applause from us all. She jumps at me, wrapping her little arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, squeezing me too hard.
“I swam, I swam!”
“Yes, you did.” I pat her back awkwardly before hesitantly hugging her back.
“Thank you,” she whispers into my neck.
My eyes sting and my face heats, I’m grateful for the water on my face to hide the first tear that spills hot against my cheek. “I’m proud of you, Keeley.”
I sit at the large desk in the library. It’s a room I barely used after my father died but Mabel and Keely seem to enjoy it in here and I want to spend time with them. My laptop is open in front of me as I review all of my emails. Well, I’m trying to review my emails. As Mabel sits with a book open on her lap, reading with an expression so serious it looks painful, Keeley is twirling. Just spinning and spinning, watching the skirt of the princess dress I bought her flare around her legs, the pastel green and yellow layers dancing to whatever tune she has playing in her head. It’s very distracting in the most wonderful way. Her face is a picture of pure joy, and her arms are spread wide for balance. I catch myself smiling at her several times, finding her innocent game oddly endearing.
Mabel looks up and sees her sister, smiling with sweet affection that she only has for Keeley. Her eyes catch mine and her smile fades slightly, but something passes over her features, something that looks a lot like gratitude, and I nod at her once in recognition. I can feel her letting her guard down, that they are both starting to feel comfortable here and the painful truth of it is that I’m comfortable with them being here. They certainly fill some of the space that has been silent and empty in this big, old house. I think for a moment what it would be like for them to stay. How it would feel to get home and have someone waiting to tell me about their day. Someone to actually care about who isn’t on the payroll. They can’t stay here; my life isn’t appropriate for children. I have to find somewhere for them to go. But I can’t help wondering, what if theydidstay?
My thoughts are disrupted when Harvey walks in. He doesn’t acknowledge any of us, just waltzes in and sits down on the big armchair opposite Mabel. With a sniff, he pulls out something he has tucked under his arm. It’s a big pink glittery book. With the same expression you would expect for him to be reading a newspaper, he opens it and a pink castle pops up from the first page. He studies it intensely, tilting his head from side to side as though examining the architecture of the turrets.
Keeley’s spinning stops immediately, her eyes zoning in on the book. Mabel watches her cautiously, her gaze flicking between her sister and Harvey and my focus matches hers. Slowly, Keeley edges her way over to where Harvey sits, still watching the castle proudly protruding from the book on his lap. He goes to turn the page and she makes a small noise. Looking up at her expectantly he waits for her to say something but when she doesn’t, he pushes.
“Yes, princesa?”
“Um, may I see that?” she asks, clasping her hands in front of her.
He points to the book. “You want to see my book?”
“Yes please,” she whispers.
He shrugs. “I guess so. I’m still reading it though. Do you want to sit with me?”
She thinks about it for a moment and my eyes flick to Mabel who is biting her lip looking unsure. Finally, Keeley decides the pull of the princess palace is too hard to resist and she climbs up to sit on Harvey’s lap. He keeps one arm resting on the armrest behind her and the other holds the book. He’s not touching her beyond necessity, and she seems completely comfortable being with him. Mabel is watching them with a cocktail of emotions mixing in her eyes. She’s happy that her sister feels happy and comfortable, proud of her progress, but she’s scared. Scared because she still can’t trust us fully, scared that if she lets herguard down completely, she’ll be too late to protect her sister if Harvey or I turn out not to be the saviours she thought us.
I snap my laptop shut and head over to the sofa where Mabel sits and make myself comfortable on the seat next to her. Harvey and Keeley both look up to see me.
