Page 100 of Charming Artemis

From nowhere, Layton and Linus appeared, snatching Charlie and dragging him away.

“Catch Charlie,” Layton shouted to Philip. “Please! He’s being nauseating again.”

“I am so grateful to be blindfolded right now,” Philip answered.

Laughter rang out from all around them.

Alice, one of the Jonquil granddaughters, snagged hold of Charlie’s leg and began tugging, clearly meaning to free him. Stanley scooped her up and said something that seemed to put her concerns to rest.

It was such a joyous gathering. How often she’d imagined being part of Papa’s family. And now she was.

Embracing the absurdity of it all, she assumed her goddess demeanor and moved with regal bearing directly to where they held Charlie as a friendly hostage.

She looked down her nose at Layton, Linus, Stanley, and James, all of whom were acting as Charlie’s prison guards.

“I am Artemis,” she declared with every ounce of drama at her very experienced fingertips. “Goddess of the hunt. Killer of men. Release him, or I will smite every last one of you.”

Alice watched her with wide eyes. Artemis winked at her and received an immediate smile in return.

“You are saving Uncle Charming?” Alice asked.

“I am.” She looked to him.

Charlie watched her with amusement but something else as well. Something warm and heart-fluttering.

His captors released him with laughs and bits of teasing. Layton paused long enough to slap Charlie on the shoulder and suggest he “make good on his debt to his wife with all possible haste.”

Charlie sauntered to her, not embarrassed, not laughing. The warmth in his look had turned to unmistakable heat. She didn’t look away.

His arm slid around her and pulled her flush with him. His gaze held hers across the ever-decreasing space between them.

“You’ve saved me, Artie,” he whispered, standing so close his breath tiptoed over her lips. “How can I ever repay you?”

“You’re a mathematician,” she answered. “You’ll find a solution.”

“I’m also a Jonquil, and we tend to bungle these things.”

She hooked her arms around his neck, finding she didn’t overly care about the game continuing on around them or the mussing it would cause to his collar and cravat. She wanted nothing more than for Charlie to hold her, to keep looking at her the way he was, to feel his breath dancing on her lips.

“Catch us! Catch us!” Harold called out as he passed.

Artemis removed one arm from her embrace and pointed at him. “Smite,” she warned.

He laughed.

“Excellently well done, dear.” Charlie spun her about with his arms firmly around her waist.

She giggled as he turned in circles. He brought a lightness to the somber Oliver, and he brought such joy to her. The Jonquils worked that magic on all around them.

But Charlie was special. He didn’t merely entertain whomever happened to be nearby. He saw her and noticed her. He’d not been fooled by the well-honed mask she’d worn since before she’d met him. He’d seen her behind her shield and had refused to be satisfied with the role she played.

She kept her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Charlie.”

His grin was filled with laughter. “For what, Artie?”

“For seeing me.”

“You are very difficult to miss, my dear.”

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