Her breath left her in a quiet, involuntary sound, barely anything, barely audible.
His eyes lifted to her face instantly. Dark. Intentional. Then they dropped to her mouth for only a moment.
Ava’s heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could feel it through her hand. She couldn’t look away. Couldn’t think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t come out completely wrong.
The candlelight made his jaw look sharper, his mouth unreadable, and she suddenly became very aware of how close they were sitting and why her mind had been circling for three days and?—
“Uncle Noah, can I have more bread?”
Esther’s innocent request, almost sounding like a whisper, shattered the moment. Noah pulled his hand back as if burned, and Ava quickly busied herself with buttering bread for Esther, her cheeks flaming.
“Here ye go, sweetheart,” she managed, her voice only slightly strangled.
The meal dragged on in a state of delicate awkwardness. Every time Noah moved, Ava was intensely aware of it. When he reached for something, she followed the movement. When he spoke, she caught herself studying his mouth, the same mouth that had claimed hers so completely just a few nights ago.
Stop it,she ordered herself.Ye’re bein’ ridiculous.
But her body wasn’t listening. It remembered the feel of his hands on her waist, the heat of him pressed against her, and how he kissed her like he was drowning and she was air.
“Miss Harris?”
Ava jumped, realizing Noah had asked her something. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I asked if ye needed anythin’ for the lessons.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Ye seem distracted.”
“I’m nae distracted!” The protest came out too quickly, too defensively. “I’m just... thinkin’. About lesson plans. For Esther.”
“Ye were starin’ at yer plate.”
“I was thinkin’.”
“About yer plate?”
“About… aye. About the pattern on it. It’s very...” She glanced down. There was no pattern. Plain wood. “Plain. I was thinkin’ about how plain it is.”
“Ava.” The way he said her name, quiet, almost careful, made the back of her neck prickle.
She took a large, deliberate bite of whatever was nearest on her plate and chewed with great focus.
“I’m fine,” she said, around the mouthful. “Perfectly fine. Very hungry actually.”
Esther looked between them with the mild curiosity of a child who understood more than she let on.
“Yer ears are red,” Esther observed.
“It’s warm in here,” Ava said immediately.
“It’s nae that warm,” Noah said.
“It is to me.” She reached for her cup and took a long drink, mostly to keep her hands and mouth busy instead of talking.
Over the rim, she caught Noah watching her.
She looked away quickly. Her elbow hit the edge of her spoon, causing it to clatter off the table entirely.
“I’ll get it,” she said, too quickly, and ducked down to retrieve it from the floor, grateful for the single moment where no one could see her face.
“Within the week, I’d like to speak with ye,” Noah said, his voice low enough that only she could hear. “In me study.”
