Twenty-Two
She blushed as she took his hand. “This is a wonderful surprise,” she said. “What inspired you to bring me to the opera?”
“I wanted to show my appreciation for everything you have done," he said. “I was hoping this was a nice surprise. I do not know if you enjoy opera music.”
“I enjoy it very much,” she said. “It has been years since I have had the pleasure of listening to it.”
“It has been a while for me as well,” he said. “However, there is no point in me having my own box seats at the opera if I don’t use them now and then, now is there?”
She smiled cautiously as they sat down. “Thank you,” she said. “This is very nice.” She bit her lip, wanting to say something that had been on her mind for the past day. This might not exactly be the right time to say it, but… “I wanted to apologize,” shesaid. “About the room, I mean. I did not mean to overstep any boundaries?—”
“It is all right,” he said. “The room makes Percy happy, and it helped him get his voice back. That is all that matters. Now, let us enjoy our time together.”
She smiled and nodded in reply. As the show started, Selina grabbed Dominic’s hand in excitement. She was so delighted that she forgot herself for a moment. Dominic looked over at her, and Selina blushed, prepared to apologize and pull her hand away. But she never had the chance. He smiled and squeezed her hand gently.
Selina got lost in the music and the performance. The opera was even better than she remembered. Maybe that was because she had taken it for granted before, but she would never do that again.
As they watched the performance, she was very aware of Dominic holding her hand. His thumb stroked her knuckles through her glove, and every touch sent shivers down her spine. She could smell the light, clean scent of his cologne and felt his body heat radiating off of him.
She wanted to move closer to him, to cuddle up against him. How would it feel to have his strong arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders?
These are dangerous thoughts. Save these fantasies for tonight, when you are alone in your own room.
She shivered hard enough for him to notice. “Are you cold?” he murmured.
She blushed, but before she could say anything, he was taking off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders. Immediately, she was surrounded by his warmth and scent. She pulled the jacket tighter around him. “Thank you,” she murmured.
He smiled slightly at her and nodded.
But now that his jacket was off, he was only in a white dress shirt and his waistcoat. His shirt was just big enough to conceal the muscles that she knew were there, but she knew if she leaned against him, she would feel his muscles through the thin fabric of his shirt. How would he react? Perhaps he would accept it if she told him she was a little tired and leaned against him…
No. She had indulged herself too much already. This was not one of her nightly fantasies. This was reality, and he wanted nothing to do with her that way. If she told him she was tired, he would insist that they go home and go to bed, and the last thing she wanted was for this night to end.
Her cheeks were a little warm as she thought about how much she indulged herself in those fantasies when she was alone in her room, when she pretended that he would ever care for her the same way he cared for Eugenia.
After the show was over, she expected him to drop her hand and leave immediately, but instead he took her arm, almostpossessively, as they leisurely made their way out of the box. “That was wonderful,” she told him.
“I enjoyed it as well,” he said. “I definitely enjoyed the company.”
Her cheeks grew warm, and she looked away, even as longing filled her. She cleared her throat as they stepped out into the night air. Their carriage pulled up for them, and they got inside. “Perhaps soon we can go on an outing with Percy,” she said. “Perhaps we can go to Hyde Park on Saturday.”
“Yes,” he murmured as he looked out the window. “I am sure Percy would like that.”
Happiness filled her. Encouraged, she said, “It will be good for him if you take a more active role in his life. Not just for the occasional outing in Hyde Park.”
He looked at her, frowning slightly. “A more active role?”
“Yes,” she said. “I know you were skeptical a few weeks ago, but do you not see the benefits?”
“No, I do not,” he said. “I am happy to take you and Percy on the occasional outing, but I do not see much point in my trying to have a more active role in his life. He is already making such good progress thanks to you. Why should we change what is already working?”
His words quickly dashed her hopes. “He needs his father,” she said. “I know it is a strange situation for you, but I think both of you would benefit greatly from seeing each other more.”
She hesitated before speaking. “I am not trying to replace Percy’s mother, and I am also not trying to replace your first wife. I would not ever expect you to love me the same way you loved her. But can you at least try to be there for Percy’s sake, if not for mine?”
All traces of good humor had been wiped from his face as she spoke. He glowered at her and drew the carriage curtains closed for privacy from passersby.
“Let us get one thing straight,” he growled. “The only things I felt for Eugenia were responsibility, dread, and despair. It was a marriage of convenience from the start, and even though I tried to care for her, she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me, so I stopped trying. The only good thing that came out of my first marriage was Percy.”
