“Upon your first meeting?” This was from the eldest of the Shaw daughters, who clearly hadn’t the faintest notion about double entendres. All three sisters looked as if they were bearing witness to a romance with the scope and drama of Antony and Cleopatra.
The tips of Beatrix’s ears grew fiercely red as she shifted and discreetly tucked her legs beneath her, away from further explorations of his fingers.
It had been forward of him.
But he couldn’t regret it.
“And was it love at first sight?” asked the youngest Shaw daughter.
The question was simple—a natural progression of the conversation. It should’ve been expected.
Instead, it rocked him back on his heels.
He opened his mouth, knowing the answer expected of him. All he had to do was speak that single word—yes.
Beatrix’s eyes lifted and found his.
Dev closed his mouth.
He couldn’t.
For it felt strangely transgressive to speak thatyesto these people.
It felt…complicated.
Much like a first kiss was supposed to be, it was meant for the intimate space between two people.
In a sudden flurry of skirts, Beatrix pushed off the ground and shot to her feet. “I think I’ll take that walk now.”
And she was off, marching up the short rise of the hill as if she owned it.
Dev sprang to his feet. “Isn’t she delightful?”
And he was off, too, in pursuit.
A few seconds later, he was by her side and threading his arm through hers.
For the sake of appearances, of course.
When they entered the woods and disappeared into its daytime shadows, however, she pulled away and he let her.
He let the silence between them expand, too.
Except a copse of woods was never silent, if one listened. The muted crunch of their footsteps. The soft susurration of a light summer breeze whispering through the trees. Crickets and birds singing their ancient songs. Toads croaking their chorus. A dog or a fox barking in the distance.
On, they wandered, her leading the aimless way that Dev was content to follow.
Content.
He wasn’t content.
He was, in fact,discontent.
She behaved as if they’d never been friends or…something more.
Enough was enough.
“Do you plan on ever speaking to me again?”
