Page 12 of Innocent Salvation

“Hi ya.”

Fleur sliced her hand between them, breaking the connection and the spell he’d seemed to weave over her with such a simple touch. “It’s broked now, you can go to work now, Uncy Seb.”

As he pulled his gaze away from her, Snow busied herself sorting out breakfast for Fleur and pouring the juice she liked, which was on the sideboard.

“I can, can I, munchkin?”

“Yes.”

“Well, okay then.” From the corner of her eye, she saw him grab his briefcase and jacket from over the back of the chair, kiss Fleur on the head, and head out the door.

Chapter 5

“Snow!”

Seeing the woman who’d infiltrated his thoughts more times than he cared to think about surprised him for a second, throwing him off balance. She looked breathtaking, even with the tiny smudges of tiredness under her eyes she was almost otherworldly.

“Hi, I was just coming to check on Fleur before I head out and get something to eat.”

“How was it?”

He stepped fully onto the landing as did she. The smile she gave him was luminous and involved her whole face. It was so genuine and pretty and made her look even younger than her twenty-eight years.

“It was wonderful, exhausting but wonderful. Fleur is a very bright child with a lot of enthusiasm for life.”

Sebastian nodded, his thoughts turning to his sister, an ache filling his heart that she’d never get to see her child grow up. “Fleur is certainly a handful.” A frown crossed his face. “What about letters and words? She gave the last nanny a hard time about learning.”

Snow shook her head as she shoved her hands into the pockets of the jeans she wore. “She was fine. We made it into a game and if she gets things right, she wins prizes.”

“That’s smart. She’s very competitive.”

A smirk crossed her face and he thought she might say something, but she seemed to hold back.

“What?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking she seems a lot like you in that way.”

Sebastian chuckled at her assessment. “I guess she does in that way. I like to win.”

“I figured she’ll have to work to get rewards in the real world so why not learn that now but in a slightly less aggressive way than real life.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right, nothing in life is free.”

Snow cocked her head and his eyes moved over the elegant curve of her neck. Nothing was provocative about her outfit, not a hint of inappropriateness and he felt guilt edge its way in at the way he’d treated her. It wasn’t her fault he was attracted to her, and it had been on his mind what she’d said about Fleur and what he was teaching her.

“Listen, I should apologise about my behaviour the other day. I was rude and out of line.”

“But?”

“But nothing. If anyone spoke to or treated Fleur that way, I’d hit the roof.”

“Apology accepted.”

At that moment her stomach let out a mighty growl and she placed a palm over the flat of her belly, a blush staining her cheeks.

“Sorry, I haven’t had dinner and if I don’t eat my body is quick to get annoyed.”

Sebastian waved a hand. “No, no it’s fine. I won’t keep you. I just wanted to check-in and make sure everything was going okay.” It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her to have dinner with him, knowing Mrs Lewis would’ve made enough for the two of them but he stopped. He couldn’t let this woman become too familiar or blur the boundaries of the relationship he needed to have with her.