Font Size:

“You… you are?”

He flashed a smile at her. “As are you. Or have you forgotten?”

She frowned, no idea what he meant. “I do not… what are you talking about?”

“Mr. Blackwater’s party,” he reminded her with a deep sigh. “Remember? He is hosting a musical soiree and asked that we attend. In fact, he was rather adamant that you play for him and his guests.”

“Oh…” Her stomach sank. “That’s right, I forgot.”

“You don’t sound particularly enthused by it.”

She shrugged. “No, I am. I mean… I am not against going. I did give my word, after all. I should go.”

He eyed her curiously. “If you have changed your mind, that is fine. Do not do something you have no desire for.” He snorted. “The Lord knows, I would rather do anything else with my time than spend it with Mr. Blackwater and his wife.” He shuddered. “You have not met them, and for that I envy you.”

She laughed. “Really? You don’t mind if I change my mind?”

“Sophia…” He sighed as he looked at her. “What have I been telling you all this time? Do what you want, not what you think you must. That is the key to being free.”

“But I gave them my word!”

“Break it,” he said. “See what happens. Hint… nothing will happen. That’s the little secret that nobody talks about. Everyone fears judgement and what will be said if they don’t do what they are told, but on the odd occasion that they do, nobody gives a damn. I assure you, if we do not turn up tomorrow, nothing bad will happen. No one will care.”

A thrill pulsed through Sophia at the mere thought of going back on her promise. There was just something so exciting about doing the wrong thing.

It was so unlike her. So against everything that she knew of herself. And she could not believe that her husband encouraged it!

“No,” she said with a deep sigh. “I think I will still do as I said.”

“Really?”

She grinned. “By now, it is likely the opposite. Everyone expects me to cancel, so to not cancel will be doing the wrong thing. In a roundabout way.”

He laughed. “Or you can just admit that you are looking forward to it. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“Well, maybe I am, just a little.”

“A chance to play in front of your peers.”

“A chance to play the way that I want to play,” she corrected him.

“That’s more like it.” A twinkle found his eyes as he smiled at her, and Sophia felt it in her chest.

As wonderful as this week had gone, there was still something missing from it. An unspoken desire that she could feel hovering between them both, always there, always just out of reach. Sophia had tried to ignore it, and she was sure that Gabriel was doing the same, but as each day passed it grew stronger so that ignoring it was starting to become impossible.

Indeed, as Gabriel smiled at her, Sophia felt that familiar sensation build. The flames of the chandelier burned brighter, the heavy silence became deafening, and the longer Gabriel looked into her eyes, the harder it became to withstand.

Sophia’s limbs tingled with it. Her legs vibrated. She looked at her husband, eyes flicking to his lips, and then to his hand which rested right near her own.

What would he say if I took his hand in mine? Would he stop me? Would he admonish me? Or does he expect it? A natural consequence of the way he expects me to behave?

Her feelings for Gabriel had returned with a vengeance. It wasn’t just that he had saved her, although that certainly helped. Rather, it was that he saw her like no one else did. When all others had ignored her, treating her as invisible and unimportant, he had seen her standing there, knowing what she could be, wanting her to be just that.

This marriage was never about romance. It was not supposed to foster love. But as the days stretched on, as she and Gabriel grew closer, Sophia could feel it building. All it needed was a push…

She looked at his hand again, a pulse rippled up her body, and slowly she started to move her hand to take his…

“Ah, here we are.” Gabriel snatched his hand back and looked to the doorway where the food was just now being carried in by two valets. “About time, I am famished.”