Page 7 of Singing For His Kiss

CHAPTER THREE

The hallway was empty, and no one was about. Elizabeth chewed her bottom lip, trying to decide whether it would be better remaining in her room and wait for someone to fetch her or look for the kitchen. As though answering her indecision, the door at the end of the hallway opened and James appeared, followed by a pyjama-clad Madeline. The little girl’s hair was dried into shining, golden strands of silk. Elizabeth noted with relief that her cheeks glowed with warmth and then how adorable she looked clutching a well-loved pink teddy bear to her chest.

When she saw Elizabeth, her little cherub’s face lit up. “Liz’beth!”

It was hard not to smile back. “Don’t you look pretty in your pink onesies!”

Madeline nodded. “My Daddy got them for me.”

Elizabeth looked up at James. His eyes burned with an inner light that drew her right into them. The insistent shiver that worked her spine began its magic again. She tried not to stare so hard at him, but her eyes weren’t listening to her intentions.

His hair, now clean of the salty air, shone as though it had been burnished by a craftsman. It randomly reflected the fall of light from the ceiling, accentuating its thick darkness. A lock of hair fell over his forehead, and he randomly brushed it back with his fingers, creating valleys in the strands. She liked the way it wasn’t brushed to perfection, but rather put together with a few strokes of a hurried brush.

His cheeks were darkened with a day's growth of stubble. He wore casual clothes. Cargo pants, navy jumper with a cream shirt beneath. Navy suited him. Accentuated the deep blue of his eyes.

As he approached her, his fresh, clean masculine smell enveloped her, doing funny things to her insides. They pulled as tight as a guitar string. The tension traveled up to her shoulders when she tried to block it out. The man was far too disturbing, or maybe that was just because of her heightened emotions; she wasn’t sure.

“Feel better?”

She tipped her head back to look up at him. She was used to being around about the same height as most men, as she was tall for a woman, so coming up against a man the height of James made her feel - feminine.

It took her a moment to answer. “Oh. Yes. Much better. Thank you. Nothing like a hot shower after a dip in the freezing ocean.” She grimaced. How stupid could she sound? But she wasn’t really concentrating on words, was she?

His mouth curved into a grin. He had nice, full, firm lips, with straight, masculine lines. A dimple appeared in his left cheek. Great. She loved dimples.

She moved her attention to Madeline. “And what have you here? How cute. She’s wearing a tutu.” Elizabeth indicated the teddy.

“Her name is Anna, after the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. She’s famous, you know. Have you heard of her?”

Elizabeth nodded. “I have heard of her. She danced like a fairy.”

Madeline nodded solemnly. “That’s why they called a dessert after her, so when people eat it, they think of ballet dancers all over the world.”

Elizabeth smiled at the simple piece of information. “I’m sure they do.”

“What’s your favourite dessert?” Madeline asked.

Elizabeth blinked. She hadn’t eaten a lot of desserts. They were a rare treat where she came from. “I’ve heard lemon meringue pies are nice. What’s yours?”

“I like chocolate mousse. And strawberry pancakes. And jelly. And ice cream.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Is that all?”

“It’s all I can remember at the moment,” the little girl said, making Elizabeth chuckle again. “We try something new every week. Don’t we, Daddy?”

Elizabeth glanced at James. He was studying her, his brows cinched together. Madeline shook his hand, and he snapped out of whatever thought was going through his head.

“We do. Or we try to.” He glanced at Elizabeth, the smile warming his eyes. Hell, she liked eyes that smiled too.

“Mrs. D’llessio is a very good cook. We leave it up to her to plan the menu. And we’re very lucky she can cook so many desserts.”

“I’m hungry,” Madeline said.

“So are we all. Shall we see what Mrs. D’llessio has for us tonight?” James indicated the stairs, and the three of them descended.

When they reached the bottom, Elizabeth looked about, wondering where to go. To the left was a large sitting room. Adjoining the room was an enormous table that could seat at least twenty people. It was topped with a beautiful, huge bouquet of flowers in the largest vase Elizabeth had ever seen. She stopped short, hoping against hope she didn’t need to sit there. She didn’t think she’d have the guts to eat at a table so beautiful. James indicated a door down a hallway behind the stairs.

Madeline clambered through, but James held the door open for Elizabeth. For a moment she wondered what he was doing, then she realised he waited for her to go through first. She sent him a tentative smile and slipped past him.

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