Page 52 of Embracing the Earl (The St. Clairs 3)

“I’ll be up in a few minutes. I need to finish something first.”

“Something I interrupted,” Caroline said, chuckling. “I seem to be doing more and more of that.”

“You are a delightful interruption,” he said.

Catherine led her up the stairs to the next floor. “The nursery is this way.”

They approached the open door and Caroline immediately heard laughter, followed by a happy squeal coming from a child. She glanced inside and saw Luke there, holding a girl of about four by the waist, his back to them.

“Into the crow’s nest you’ll go, Lady Delia,” he said gruffly.

She playfully swiped at him. “No, you pirate. Put me down.”

“I’ll save you,” a young boy cried and ran across the room, a toy sword in his hand.

Luke set Delia down and she and the boy pounced on him. Luke grabbed another sword resting on the ground. They fought one another with shouts.

“Let me, Timothy,” Delia cried and took the sword from her brother, stepping into the fray against her uncle.

Once more, Luke engaged in battle and then a girl who’d been reading in a window seat calmly put aside her book and ran toward Luke. She grabbed his legs, wrapping her arms around him.

“Get him!” the newcomer cried.

Luke collapsed in play and all three children swarmed him. Caroline’s heart melted seeing him with his nieces and nephew, knowing this was no show. He had no idea others were present. She was seeing the true Luke St. Clair.

The children began tickling him, giggling all the while as he floundered and laughed.

“I give up!” he cried. “No more torture, I beg you.”

“The price is a story,” the oldest child said. She pushed herself off him and retrieved the book she’d been looking at, bringing it to him.

Luke’s back was still turned to her and Catherine as he pushed himself upright and reached for the book.

“Thank you, Jenny.”

He opened it as Jenny sat next to him. Timothy snuggled up on his other side, while Delia climbed into his lap.

“I’ll hold it, Uncle Luke. So you can make the voices.”

“Must I?” he asked and all three children pleaded for him to do so.

“If you insist,” he said.

Luke began reading and the children sat enraptured. Catherine crossed to the left and lifted a baby from the nursemaid who held him and brought him back to Caroline.

“This is Philip,” she said softly, not wanting to interrupt the story.

“Hello, Philip,” Caroline whispered, stroking the baby’s hand. He reached up and grabbed her finger and held on, giving her a gummy smile.

She let him continue to hold it as she turned her attention back to Luke and the story he read. Caroline recognized it as one of Catherine’s, a favorite of Aunt Evie’s. As the children had demanded, their uncle used different voices for various characters, drawing them into the story. She could have watched him forever but the story finally came to an end. Luke closed the book and rose, Delia in his arms.

Catherine said quietly, “He stops by a few times a week to play with them. I didn’t even know he was here.” She paused. “Luke will make an excellent father someday. Once he finds the right woman.”

At that moment, he turned around, his hair mussed from the horseplay and a beautiful smile upon his sensual lips. His eyes met hers. If Caroline hadn’t realized it before, she knew it now beyond a doubt.

She was in love with Luke St. Clair.

---