He sat on one end of the sofa, and she on the other.
She stared into the viscous amber depths of the brandy.
He cleared his throat.
She continued to stare into the brandy.
Slightly frustrated, he unbuttoned his evening jacket.
Her gaze flicked up and followed the movements.
Progress, he supposed.
In the name of progress, and of making himself comfortable, he unbuttoned his waistcoat and shrugged it off along with the jacket.
Her eyes tracked every movement from beneath black lashes.
His fingers wrapped around his cravat and tugged it loose.
Her gaze lifted, at last, and met his. “What are you doing?”
“Well…”
“Are you trying to distract me?”
Was he?“I don’t think so.”Or was he?“But I can continue if you think it will succeed.”
His attempt at levity struck on deaf ears.
Actually, it was worse.
Her eyes went glassy with unshed tears.
“Beatrix,” he said. But he didn’t have any other words for her.
“I was so close.” The tears fell in twin streams down her cheeks in the same instant a sob broke from her throat. “All my dreams,” she cried, pounding a fist on her knee. “Gone…again.”
Dev never felt so ineffectual in his life. He couldn’t simply sit here and watch Beatrix weep over her dashed dreams.
Those good, solid dreams of hers.
Even if those dreams weren’t worthy of her, they wereherdreams and he couldn’t bear to see her shedding tears over their loss.
“Drink your brandy,” he said, firmly—more firmly than he had a right to.
“I don’t…want…brandy,” she wailed.
An object on the table caught his attention.Of course. He had the box of chocolates open two seconds later. “Have a truffle.”
Her bottom lip trembled as her gaze lifted. Sadness, anger, frustration, and annoyance shone out at him. But the tears didn’t stop. “I don’t want chocolate.”
Again, his gaze cast about, and he grabbed the nearest moveable object—a blanket of the softest East Asian cashmere. “Are you cold?”
She huffed in bemusement. “Have you never comforted someone in distress?”
Actually… “I don’t think I have.”
“Well, you’re not great at it.” The words came on a wet hiccough.
