Now, she opened the note.
Meet me at the village path at one o’clock.
She consulted her pocket watch. That left her fifteen minutes.
The fact was she hadn’t spoken to him since that night—morning.
She hadn’t been avoiding him, per se. It was simply that the company had been so occupied with packing up camp and moving inland, at first. Then they’d been busy making camp. Then it was on to practices, performances, and sleep.
Which wasn’t to say she hadn’t been keeping half an eye on him.Seb—a man she hardly knew.
And yet knew so well.
A man her body couldn’t forget.
A man an inconvenient part of her wanted to know better.
He’d been giving her room to know her mind. She understood that. But the wildflowers on her pillow…
He’d also been letting her know she wasn’t far from his.
Determination seized her, and she scarfed her pasty in five unladylike bites and swiped the crumbs from her mouth with the back of her hand. She caught a quick glance of herself in the mirror and gave her cheeks a few pinches for color. She took the daisy and tucked it behind her ear. Gentle laughter met her back as she clambered down the caravan steps.
At the edge of camp, she found him.Seb.Waiting.
For her.
That this handsome man with a seriousness in his eyes should be waiting for her…
It sent a thrill through her.
How attractive he was in his plain workman’s clothes. Tall. Broad of shoulder. Dark blond hair streaked with summer sun. Moss-flecked, golden eyes intent upon her.
She’d never known a man’s serious gaze to be an aphrodisiac.
But this man’s serious gaze was.
She could ravish him here and now—the rush of desire was so strong.
He pushed off the tree he’d been propped against.
“Seb,” she said, only half ironic. That Ravensworth was Seb, well, it still took a bit of getting accustomed to.
“Lilah.” A smile twitched about his mouth. She wasn’t the only one adjusting to this new reality of them.
Them?
How was it possible there was such a thing asthem?
He held out his arm for her. As she twined her hand through, a shiver of warmth traced through her. Such latent, tensile strength beneath layers of shirt and coat.
They fell into quiet cadence on the path that led away from the camp. The only sounds were of crunchy footsteps, birdsong, and a light summer breeze rustling through the leaves of the canopy above.
“Have you been to the village?” he asked, the first outlying buildings coming into view.
She shook her head. “I haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Morgan gave you the role of Amelia, I heard,” he said. “A good deal of new lines to memorize, I reckon.”
