‘Thank you,’ she said, while taking a seat on the leather bench. ‘And thank you for escorting me today. I appreciated your presence.’
‘You’re welcome, but I wasn’t needed.’
She shook her head. ‘Yes, you were. Having you with me boosted my confidence. I wouldn’t have been as brave without you. I might have second-guessed myself.’ It didn’t embarrass her to admit any of that. Drake had changed her life.
‘I doubt that. You were very insistent about your plan since the moment you created it.’
She had been insistent and fully believed in the restitution of the damage that had to been done. She just wished she could find a restitution for herself. The soft kiss he’d placed on her forehead last night had created a desire for more. The warmth and softness of his lips, the weight of his arm around her, and the heat of his body next to hers had sparked something powerful inside her. It was quite consuming, and she wished she knew what it meant.
If she was falling in love with him or not.
She had learned plenty of things at finishing school, not so much from lessons or instructors, but from other girls, especially those who had ignored all consequences when it came to sneaking out for a rendezvous with a boy.
What she hadn’t learned was if these new feelings were love, or if what was happening to her was merely a sign that her body had matured enough to want the acts that marriage provided. Miss Penticoff, who had taught lessons on the subject, had said it would happen to each of them, but that women of good breeding would never act upon the desires that came with maturity until married.
If Meridith was at school right now, she’d ask Miss Penticoff how she would know the difference between maturity and love.
Drake was very different from any other man. She’d found that appealing ever since their first encounter and truly couldn’t imagine feeling this way towards anyone else.
There had to be an explanation as to why she was so drawn to him, and what she should do about it.
Was it lust, or was it love? How was she supposed to know the difference? And could she stop it?
That was her real dilemma. She couldn’t fall in love with a man who didn’t want to get married. Those thoughts had kept her up all night, and seeing him this morning, all handsome and clean-shaven, she’d feared more than ever that that was what was happening to her. She’d hoped putting her plan into place would keep her too busy to think about him, but he’d joined her in every step. Which she did appreciate, but that had made things worse, because it made her…well, it made her want him by her side all the time. As in forever.
‘May I see your tablet?’ he asked.
‘Of course.’ She handed him the bound booklet that she’d used to collect the cost of the damages and to decipher the length of time it would take the boys to pay what they owed.
‘I noticed how fast you are at calculations. Was arithmetic one of your favourite subjects at school?’
‘No. I found it quite boring. Once you understand numbers, there is no challenge to them. Nothing else to learn. I much preferred literature, languages, and geographics, because there was always something new and will continue to be.’
He nodded as he handed the book back to her. ‘That’s true, but I’ve never seen anyone calculate numbers as quickly as you. It was as if you knew the answers to each calculation without writing anything down.’
‘That’s because I do. When I see numbers that need to be added or subtracted or multiplied or divided, I instantly know the answer. It’s always been like that. I think it came from playing card games with my father. Rather than write down the scores, he’d have me keep track of them in my head.’
‘You have perfect penmanship, too,’ he said. ‘I wish that you had filled out some of the ledgers for my shipping company. Between what looks like chicken scratches and mistakes intotals, I’ve been bleary-eyed every night from staring at them all day.’
‘Don’t you have employees that see to the ledgers?’
‘Yes, and no. The death of my uncle changed some things, but ultimately, the accounting is something that I’ve ignored for too long, and I need to get it all in order.’
‘So you can go on another ocean voyage?’
‘Yes. I can’t do that until I have a partner that I can trust to oversee the accounting ledgers. My uncle always said that one man can’t both sail and watch the docks, so he’d stay ashore and manage that side of things.’
‘While you sailed.’
‘Yes.’
‘Is that the partnership you’re interested in forming with Peter? To oversee your books?’
‘Yes.’
‘Couldn’t you hire an accountant?’
‘Of course, but that would simply be an employee. I want a partner who will also be making money, so they will be vested in the company. That way, if something was to happen to me, the company would continue.’
