“What do you think of ocean travel?” Alec asked.
“It’s quite grand. I’m thankful I haven’t gotten seasick.”
“So am I. This is only my second time to Europe, and I’ve avoided being sick both times.”
“Why did you come this time?” It was a question that had been on my mind for months, but I hadn’t had a chance to ask him. “Don’t you have work to do in Newport and New York?”
“I have contacts in Europe that I need to visit. We serve a British and French clientele as well as an American one. Besides, our general manager has been working for the company for decades. He and Uncle Edmund started the business together. He can manage alone for a while.”
“I doubt that. Aunt Maude speaks very highly of the work you do.”
He accepted my compliment without a word as we stopped near the front of the promenade deck and stepped over to therailing. I let go of Alec’s arm and placed my hands on the rail. Taking a deep breath, I turned to him. “What is your assessment of my abilities tonight? Would you recommend any changes or adjustments?”
Alec studied me for a moment, the moonlight bathing his face in a blue glow. “You’re perfect, just as you are.” He smiled, though there was sadness in his eyes. “I thought you were perfect even before you started to change under Aunt Maude.”
My cheeks grew warm, and I dipped my chin. “Alec—”
“I’m flirting with you, Keira, and when a man is flirting, your eyes will tell him everything he needs to know. Lower them, and it will indicate that you want him to stop. Meet his gaze, and it will embolden him to continue.”
Slowly, I lifted my gaze to his, though this game we were playing was dangerous. We both knew it.
“Your eyes tell a thousand tales, and I want to hear them all.”
“You are skilled at flirting.”
He leaned on the rail, facing the ocean, and I knew he was struggling with his attraction to me as much as I was to him. “It’s easy to do when I’m with you.”
We were both quiet for a moment, lost in our thoughts. Whatever this was between uswaseasy.
“Do you feel ready for Europe?” he finally asked me, changing the subject.
“I think if I could pass muster at Mrs. Vanderbilt’s ball, France and England will be simple. Queen Victoria isn’t nearly as frightening as Mrs. Astor.”
He laughed. “You might be right.”
I smiled, though I knew I would be terrified to be presented to the Queen of England. “Sometimes I still pinch myself to believe this is all real. How did someone like me end up here, or in Mrs. Vanderbilt’s ballroom, or in St. James’s Palace?” I didn’t mention George’s proposal, but that still didn’t seem real either.
“If ever there was a woman suited to the queen’s drawing room, it’s you, Keira O’Day. Even before you came to live with Aunt Maude, you held yourself with regal bearing.”
“Are you pretending to flirt again?”
“I never pretend when I’m with you.”
I clasped my hands on the railing, looking at the moonbeams sparkling on the water. We were playing with fire, but in this moment, I didn’t care if I got burnt. “There is one thing I haven’t learned yet.”
He turned to me. “What is it?”
I wasn’t sure what emboldened me. Perhaps it was the solitude, or the moonlight, or the fact that we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, so far removed from everything I’d ever known. I turned to face him. “I don’t know how to kiss.”
He blinked, and for the first time since I’d met him, I think I truly surprised him.
“What if a suitor tries to take a kiss?” I asked.
“Has George tried to kiss you?” There was an edge to his voice.
“No.” I met his gaze, thankful for the darkness in case there was color in my warm cheeks.
“No man should ever take such liberties with you.” He took a deep breath. “Unless you’re engaged.”
