Despite the havoc the armoire interlude had wrought with her appearance, Jess was pleased with its outcome. Cadoc Morganmight boast about his ability to make her family eat from the palm of his hand, but she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt she’d had him eating out of hers. She was the indisputable champion of their latest bout.
The key to turning Mr. Morgan’s world upside down was meeting him with a fierceness of one’s own. As she smoothed and repinned her hair, Jess contemplated what her discovery meant for their future interactions.
If she was able to keep him as imbalanced as she had today, she would have her microscope back in her possession before the holidays ended.
Once she was satisfied that everything was put back to rights and her sisters would suspect nothing was amiss, she made her way down to the parlor.
Vin raised a brow at her delayed entry, but didn’t comment. It would have been impossible to hear her over the hubbub of the children. They each had a small stack of packages in front of them that they were ripping open one by one. They looked like wild creatures.
Cadoc had joined Thaddeus and Cormac on the floor and all three were romping around offering to be destriers. The girls were screeching with laughter as they threw ribbons and paper at them, and the men were snorting as if they were trying to dodge the ammunition exuberantly flung in their direction.
Her thief was doing his damnedest to win over her family. Jess had only been half serious when she suggested he do so- because their close association was ephemeral and she doubted it would become one of long standing.
When she took a seat on the sofa, he glanced up from his place on the floor. His irrepressible grin hit her squarely in the chest because it was carefree and brimming with boyish charm. From the little he had told her of his life, she doubted he’d had many chances for romps such as this.
His willingness to play hobby horse was obviously ingratiating him to Jess’s family, and she shuddered at the mere thought of the conversation that would be demanded when he left their company.
Once Jess took a seat beside her, Arie wasted no time. “Your Mr. Morgan appears to know his way around a nursery.”
Well, that hadn’t taken long.Though Jess knew Arie’s intentions were kind, they needled. Arie had always been something of a brooding hen - and now Jess felt like she was the object of all that clucking.
“Yes, he’s quite accustomed to taking charge of a situation. Whether or not he’s qualified to do so.”
“He confided that he raised his siblings. Thad is probably the only one of us with more experience.”
“He’s not a marriage prospect, Arie. As much as you want him to be.”
Jess’s sister sighed at her harsh tone. “I didn’t say he was, Jess. I was simply making an observation.”
“An unwelcome and inappropriate observation. Leave it alone.”
“Fine. I’ll just leave you with this -” Arie paused dramatically. “The air in the room simmers between you and I've never seen you look at someone that way.”
“The way I look at him is no different than the way I look at one of my preening male dragonflies.”
Arie harrumphed. “If you say so.”
As if he sensed he was the topic of their conversation, Cadoc lumbered to his feet and made his way over to her chair. “Miss Wainwright, the hour grows late and I have much to do in my workshop. I will take my leave of you.”
Jess rose to her feet. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
As soon as they were out of earshot, she grabbed his forearm. “Where is the lens you promised you would deliver?”
His hand went to his pocket and she saw the flash of one of the concave mirrors before he closed his fist. “Here.”
Jess’s hand flailed to reach it, but he easily held it out of reach.
“You owe it to me,” she bristled. “Those were the terms.”
“I’ll give it to you if you grant me a Christmas boon.”
She braced her hands on her hips. “I think I’ve granted you enough favors for one day.”
His arm slid around her waist and pulled her into him, before she had a chance to protest. The touch of his lips was fleeting, but the close darkness of the closet came rushing back to her, and she was on the verge of looping her arms around his neck when he stepped away. He pointed at the mistletoe hanging from the archway above their heads. His thumb scraped over her bottom lip as he grinned. “Thank you for my favor.”
He eased her hand into his own and closed it around the lens.
He tipped his hat in her direction once he was bundled against the cold. Jess gave him a sharp nod in return that made him grin before the door shut behind him. Once he’d vacated her space, the shadows seemed longer and the chill in the air felt more pronounced. Jess rubbed her elbows to dispel her melancholia.
