Page 29 of The Seducer
Karina’s eyes darted from me to the two men behind me.
“Let me introduce you to Finn and Hans,” I said with a smile and took a step forward, scooping Marita from Karina, so she could greet Hans, who was reaching out his hands to her.
“May peace surround you,” Hans said and his kind energy seemed to calm Karina down a bit as they locked eyes. “I’m a mediator, and I’m Finn’s guide while he is visiting the Motherlands,” Hans explained.
With hesitation, Karina moved closer to Finn. She wasn’t a small woman, but she still had to lean her head back to meet his eyes. “May peace surround you,” she said and reached out her hands to him.
“Same to you, beautiful.” Finn’s voice was warm and flirtatious.
I knew Karina well enough to see that his words took her by surprise and she was too baffled to speak.
“Cut it out, Finn,” I reprimanded him. “Karina won’t be seduced by you, she’s too smart for that.”
Karina’s hand flew up to her collarbone. “Seduced?” she breathed in confusion as if the word was alien to her.
Finn shot her a charming smile. “Don’t worry, a man can tell when a woman is out of his league.”
“League?” Karina looked at me as if she needed a dictionary. “Athena, what is he talking about?”
“Nothing,” I said in a firm voice. “As you might’ve heard on the news, five representatives from the Northlands are visiting the Motherlands at the moment, and Finn is one of them.”
“But why is he here?”
“He’s staying with me for five days, and since Finn has never seen a baby in his life, I thought it would be educational for him to meet little Marita.”
Pointing at the baby in my arms, Finn asked Karina for permission to take an up-close look at her daughter.
With a small nod, Karina signaled that he could.
“How old is she?” Finn asked.
“Almost three months,” Karina said and came to stand next to us. “I named her Marita after my mother Rita and my grandmother Mary.”
“It’s a very pretty name,” Finn complimented her.
For a while we talked about babies and Karina slowly relaxed as Finn asked questions about the sleeping and eating habits of Marita.
“Finn is a physician,” I said.
“Oh, that’s nice.” Karina gave him a small smile. “I can understand why you would be curious about babies then.”
“I am.” He nodded. “I’ve read about them, but it’s still fascinating to think that a big bastard like me and all my friends at home were once this small and fragile.”
Karina gently lifted Marita from me and turned to Finn. “Try to let her hold your finger.”
When he did, Finn’s eyes expanded in wonder. “Wow, she’s much stronger than I thought.”
The little girl had a firm grip around his index finger and was studying him.
“Did I do something wrong?” Finn asked nervously when Marita’s eyebrows drew closely together and her mouth fell.
“No, that’s just her pooping face.” Karina lifted her daughter up and sniffed her behind. “Yes, we have a winner. Tell you what, while I change her, why don’t you three go out in the garden and see if you can find Charlotte and Samuel. I’m surprised they haven’t come to see you yet; they must’ve seen your drone.”
It didn’t take us long to find the twins, and Karina was right; they knew we were here.
Charlotte was a bit taller than Samuel, but while she was shy, he was talkative and happy to inform us how they had spied on us. “You didn’t even see us,” he said with mischief. “That’s because we are so good at being quiet as mice.”
“You really are,” I agreed. “Are the bigger kids in school?”
