“I have one more surprise for you. Something else you haven’t seen yet, that I’d sure like to show you.”
She pursed her lips and smirked. “I bet you do.”
He made an unabashedly rakish grin. “Is that a yes?”
27
An hour later, Stephen gazed at Elizabeth across the supper table. Rather than settle at opposite ends of the ridiculously long table, they sat at one corner, as though it were a table meant for two and not for twenty.
He’d dressed in his formal best for the occasion, with a shirt under his waistcoat and all, though he was not certain if this sartorial choice helped or hurt his cause. Elizabeth’s war might be against Reddington, but Stephen’s struggle was for a fighting chance with Elizabeth. He suspected it would prove to be the most important battle of his life.
All he could do was try to show her what a relationship with himcouldbe like, if she were willing to allow him to woo her. When she wanted him close, he would be there for her. And if she needed room for her thorns and her swords, he would give her the space and time she needed.
Thus far, she had consented to supper and a surprise. Stephen was anxious by nature—the sheer quantity of press-up exercises he performed to relieve the pressure were proof of that—but he was more nervous tonight than he could recall ever experiencing.
Elizabeth had made a salient point when she’d reminded him that any clue could lead them to the will at any moment, and bring this holiday to a close. Tonight’s supper and a surprise might well be Stephen’s final opportunity to prove himself a viable romantic partner and show her how much she meant to him.
“Thank you again for the keepsakes.” Her green eyes sparkled over her glass of wine. “I cannot wait to take them home to my family.”
Stephen could wait indefinitely for that dark day’s arrival.
“It was my pleasure,” he said aloud, because this was the proper response tothank you.
Yes, he’d built the contraptions, and yes, they were meant to be gifts for her family. But handing them over meant Elizabeth going away, and he was not ready for goodbye.
Not that he blamed her for missing her family. They sounded sweet and clever and unpredictable and ludicrously fun. Meals with Elizabeth were often spent with her recounting various exploits and misadventures, and Stephen laughing until his cheeks hurt. He adored her eccentric siblings without ever having met them, and was wildly jealous that her life was so full of meaning and family and love.
Elizabeth didn’tneedStephen. She might still see him as a temporary amusement. Yes, she’d agreed he could try his best, but the very wording indicated she expected any romance between them to dissipate once they left these walls. Their interactions today would be an amusing future anecdote about that one time in Dorset, when she’d defended a castle with an improbably athletic tinker inside.
Stephen would soon be nothing more than an old memory… unless he could change her mind. Then again, maybe the future he could provide wasn’t the sort she was hoping to have.
“Do you want children?” he asked cautiously.
She set down her knife. “Do I want children to exist in the world? Maybe. Do I want to birth them and raise them? Not in the least. Luckily, there will be plenty of baby Wynchesters without me having to contribute any.”
She told him about the multiple nurseries at home, and Graham and Kuni’s plans to provide a cousin for Chloe’s baby.
The description sounded charming. It also sounded like therewould not be room in the house for any of his painstakingly crafted gifts. Oh, who cared about the gifts? It sounded like there wasn’t room in Elizabeth’s life forStephen.
His laboratory barely fit inside his own house. He’d build 105 more rooms with pleasure to make space for Elizabeth and her armory, but the effort was unnecessary. There was no hope of tempting her away from the home and the family she loved so much.
Elizabeth paused with her wineglass halfway to her lips. “Doyouwant children?”
He thought it over. “To be honest, I have lived my entire life assuming that was not part of my future. Between a childhood plagued with bullies, and parents who were not particularly pleased with the offspring they produced…” He shook his head. “WhilstIwould never rebuff a child due to their nature, at this point in my life, I cannot imagine myself raising one at all.”
She made a commiserative expression. “Too much drooling and screaming.”
“That, and I enjoy being a recluse. I like to shutter myself in my laboratory for weeks at a time, working on contraptions that could save mankind or blow it up. I’m no authority, but I suspect filling a house with devices that could kill you is not the ideal environment to raise a child.”
She raised her wineglass. “But it does sound like a party.”
“Only you would think so.” He clinked her glass and took a sip of wine.
“My only regret with the new brood of future Wynchesters is that they will never know Bean.” She gazed pensively into her glass, then lifted soulful eyes. “He was everything a father should be.”
Stephen shared her wistfulness. It must have been utterly magical to encounter a new family that welcomed her with open arms and loved her with their whole hearts, exactly as she was. Who thoughtit perfectly reasonable to have a dressing room that doubled as an armory. Who were a veritable beehive of togetherness and liveliness and jolly escapades. Who always said and did exactly the right thing whenever Elizabeth dipped below fifty percent.
How was he supposed to woo her away fromthat?
