Chapter 15
“Miss Olivia!”
The screaming of her name yanked Olivia from her musing. A blush crept up her face when she noticed that the children were staring at her with a mixture of amusement and puzzlement.
She looked at the book she had been reading to the children and blinked rapidly. It had taken only the mention of a character from the book called Adam for her to be lost in thoughts.
“Miss Olivia, are you alright?” Sam asked her with worried eyes.
Offering him a smile, she replied, “I’m fine, my darlings. I just drifted for a moment.”
“Drifted?” Andrew asked.
“Yes. I mean my thoughts were far away.”
Well, not so far away. Adam would be in his office by now while she was here thinking about him. Again.
All the time she had spent thinking of him the previous night and that morning when she woke up hadn’t been enough. She had had to place a towel soaked in cold water across her eyes to bring down the swelling.
She had wept for a long time, imagining how life would have been had her Indian family not been killed. She would have continued living in peace instead of having heart fluttering and thinking of a man constantly.
Adam had almost kissed her. Olivia was certain that for as long as she lived, she would never forget the incident. It was something that she would also regret for a long time because she had actually wanted Adam to kiss her.
Her cheeks turned rosy when she remembered how he pulled away. It had made her wonder all night if there was something wrong with her or if she was repulsive.
She wished now that she had been bold enough to ask him why he didn’t kiss her. It would have been brazen, but at least she would have peace of mind concerning it now.
Struggling to focus on the story so that the children would stop looking at her as if there was something wrong with her, she stared unseeingly at the book.
But there’s something wrong with me. I had a restless night thinking of a man and the kiss I would have received from him. For shame.
Deciding to end the lesson because she could no longer focus, Olivia lifted her head from the book.
“I think we’ll stop here today.” She gave them a fond smile. “I’m out of sorts today.”
The children continued to stare at her with curiosity. She simply said the closing prayers and they trooped out to go and play in the backyard.
Olivia drew in a ragged breath and let it out slowly. She couldn’t continue like this. One way or the other, she had to find a way to avoid Adam. He wasn’t good for her peace of mind.
“Olivia.”
She shook her head. Now she was imagining him calling her name.
Oh, I’m such a sorry case.
“Olivia.”
She whirled around and was stunned to see Adam standing by the door, smiling at her with uncertainty.
“Adam.” She blushed. “I’m sorry I was lost in thoughts.”
“It’s all right.” He strode forward. “Um… Are you busy? I was thinking we could go somewhere and talk. That’s if you don’t mind.”
Olivia lowered her eyes. Talk? About why he pulled away instead of kissing her?
Stop thinking about the kiss for once!
“Olivia?”
