“Ah, but Casper will still be here.” Jem’s voice was entirely too cheerful, and Casper suddenly had the sneaking suspicion that he was watching the pieces of his first mate’s carefully laid plans fall into place. “What he lacks in height he makes up for in brooding, intimidating glares and a mean right hook. He’ll look after Sienna.”
The pointed raise of Jem’s brows and the unspoken communication that seemed to be happening between him and Daland only confirmed Casper’s suspicions.
“Hold on.” Sienna firmly held up a hand, stopping the conversation. “I appreciate the sentiment here, but I’ll be just fine here. It’s just Erik—he might be a nuisance, but I don’t think he’ll actually harm me.”
Daland’s jaw was hard. “You don’t know that.”
“And you do?”
“Sienna, he’s—”
“And besides that.” Sienna seemed to have found her stride. “There’s the entire matter of having a stranger staying in our house. You might trust them, Papa, but what will everyone else think? He can’t just stay here alone with me. That will just start a rumor train worse than when Erik left me in the first place. Just because I’m fine living here alone with you for the rest of my life doesn’t mean I want to do it with a reputation.”
Jem snapped his fingers. “Tell them you’re engaged. If he has a reason to be here, no one will think twice.”
And there it is.
Casper pushed his chair back and stood. He looked down at Sienna. “May I speak with you for a moment?” He glared at Jem out of the corner of his eye. “Privately?”
She nodded and followed him as he grabbed his jacket and hat and stepped outside. The early afternoon sunshine was bright after the muted light indoors, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. Sienna moved past him and off the path, following the line of the house until they stood beside the lighthouse tower. The silence between them was awkward as they faced each other, and Casper suddenly found himself unsure of what to say.
“I’m sorry about—”
“Would you really—”
They both started speaking at the same time. Casper clamped his mouth shut and gestured for her to proceed.
“Would you really do it?” She stood close enough that she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. A brisk breezebrushed over them, pulling loose strands of hair in front of her face.
“Do what?”
“Lend my father your ship and pretend to be my fiancé.” She tucked the hair behind her ear, but it immediately blew into her face again, causing her to swipe at it with a frustrated growl.
Casper impulsively grabbed the knit hat from his head and pulled it onto hers, tucking the hair back as he did. She blinked wide, startled eyes at him, and he froze, suddenly realizing the familiarity of the action that was so at odds with the newness of their acquaintance. He quickly took a step back, clasping his hands behind him.
“I apologize.”
She blinked several times and gave her head a small shake. “No, it was kind. Thank you.” She smiled shyly at him, and his stomach responded by swooping up and down like a ship in heavy swells. He stubbornly ignored the feeling.
“You’re welcome.” His voice was gruff, but it was better that way. Jem might have grand plans for their allotted week, but he wouldn’t lead this woman on.
I saw the tears that Erik caused, even after all this time. She doesn’t need me to add to them.
She was looking up at him expectantly, and Casper realized he had not answered her question. “I’m happy to lend Daland my ship. Unfortunately, we can only commit to staying in Nivem for a week, but he may use it as he pleases during that time.”
A crease appeared in her forehead. “But you’re not keen on the second part—on pretending that there is an engagement between us.”
He opened his mouth to explain, but she rushed on, cutting off his words. “It’s fine. Expected, really. We’ve only just met one another, and I don’t know a thing about you other than that you are the captain of a ship, you rescue drowning fishermen at sea,and can satisfactorily make a pot of tea. And, really, considering the circumstances, I am the one with much more to gain from this situation, though I really think that I can handle Erik on my own. Papa has turned into something of a worrywart over the last year, ever since the accident. But I think you’ll have to be the one to tell him; he’ll take it better coming from you.”
Sienna finally paused long enough for him to get a word in edgewise. Casper blew out a long breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “Would it really be helpful to you?”
I can’t believe I’m even considering this.
“No, no, no.” She waved the question away. “I am not going to inconvenience you like that. You came here for the Midwinter festival, not so that you could hole up in this house and pretend to be engaged to a woman you just met.” She paused for a moment, then snorted a laugh. “It really does sound ridiculous when I say it out loud.”
Again, he repressed the urge to smile. She looked so exhausted, and her voice was growing more and more strained as the day went on, and he marveled at the fact that she was able to be so lively and chipper.
“It’s not an inconvenience,” he began slowly, still a little unsure of where he was going with the words. “But…it’s notreal. Doesn’t the lie bother you?”
