“Who wouldn’t be looking at you?” Adelaine’s response was a non-answer, but then she stepped closer and stared up at Toni through her lashes. “Can I trust you? You look like I can trust you.”
“I’ll protect you, Miss Stewart.” Toni offered her an elbow this time. Her anti-relationship stance might be tested by Adelaine if theylived nearer one another.Thank goodness for an ocean between us!She smiled at Adelaine and prompted, “So, this is a local play…?”
Adelaine paused. “Maybe. Would you find me a convincing Victorian damsel?”
“I’m not your average judge, I fear,” Toni said with a small smile. “I’m a Victorianist by trade.”
“So I would have to beperfectto convince you, wouldn’t I?” Adelaine’s character slipped slightly then, and Toni liked her a touch more.
“Indeed,” Toni murmured.
“Shall I be perfect for you, Miss Darbyshire?”
Toni ignored the unfamiliar flutter in her stomach and challenged, “Impress me, Miss Stewart. Maybe you’ll earn a reward.”
Adelaine’s answering trill of laughter made Toni suspect for the first time that the younger woman was not quite as innocent as the character she’d adopted, but then she fluttered her eyes and that flicker of wickedness vanished.
Adelaine held Toni’s gaze and asked, “Wouldyoulike to play pretend with me, Lady Victorianist?”
In answer, Toni pulled out a chair for her. “I fear that your virtue could be imperiled.…”
“If I’m convincing enough,” Adelaine murmured as she pulled the incredibly thick braid of hair over her shoulder. If it were loosened, she could hide the fact that she had no bra under her thin nightie. “That could be a risk coming here, I suppose.”
“It could.” Toni itched to reach out and use that braid as leverage to pull Adelaine nearer. She wondered briefly if the hair had been loose on her trip here. If not, Adelaine had been vulnerable as she traveled. Toni felt a wave of anxiety at the thought of such risks. Hopefully, Adelaine had braided it just before she entered the pub.
Adelaine unbuttoned the jacket as she leaned forward. It gapped enough to see the curve of her cleavage but no more. “Surely, you can keep me safe.”
“From everyone but me,” Toni assured her. “I fear I’m not a great supporter of any plans to preserve your innocence.”
Adelaine’s wicked smile returned in a flash. “Oh, thank goodness, I wasn’t sure when you covered me up so quickly.”
And Toni decided that her evening—hell, her entire month—suddenly looked a lot better. It had been a long minute since she had a woman in her bed. In her teens and twenties, a steady stream of women had been the norm, but as she passed thirty, her dissertation, job apps, and family drama had been all-consuming.
“Are you unattached then?” Toni asked.
“Does that matter?”
“Itdoes,” Toni admitted. That was a trait she wouldn’t share with her namesake. Unlike her father, Toni had a strict “no catting around with other people’s wives or girlfriends” stance.
If Adelaine wanted to role-play, Toni was willing to go along with it, but she had rules that had to be addressed first.No married womenwas number one.
“I am, regrettably, single,” Adelaine began, holding up the hand with the antique fire opal ring. “I have my future engagement ring, but for now, I wear it on the opposite hand. And you?”
“I am single, not even a ring in waiting. In fact, I have—” Toni was going to add that she was permanently single, but she was saved from answering by the bartender stopping at the table. The table service that had seemed sweet earlier, now felt awkward.
“Quite the revolving door,” the bartender teased.
Adelaine frowned slightly and looked down to her lap where her hands were politely folded, and Toni muffled a terse word at her reaction. Maybe the bartender was trying to look out for Adelaine, but it wasn’t like Toni had been there with a date earlier.
“Not that it’s anyone’s business, but the woman who was here was a childhood friend, not a date,” Toni said, sounding sharp enough that the bartender flinched.
“Would you like a drink, love?” the bartender asked, whisking away Emily’s wineglass and Toni’s empty highball glass.
“Lemonade?” Adelaine asked in a shaky voice, not quite looking up.
“No actual lemonade here. Lemon drop? Or hard lemonade?” the bartender asked.
Adelaine looked at Toni, who was oddly charmed by the gesture.
