The Love Child. Catherine Mann

a couch and two chairs. Waterproof, she realized, though they still seemed overstuffed...

      Trystan turned a slow circle. “It’s definitely quieter here.”

      She drew in a breath of the salt-laden air. “You did well at the wedding with the photo shoots.”

      There hadn’t been media present, but still, he’d put on his game face for the shots to be released to the press.

      “So I’ve earned my respite from the masses?”

      “Is that what this is? An escape, a break?” She smoothed her silky dress, her fingers—her senses—hyperaware of every texture down to the timbre of his whiskey-smooth voice.

      His blue eyes lit with a smile. “Actually, this was about getting time alone to talk to you about something other than work. I think we’ve both earned that. Do you agree? Or is it back to business for us?”

      “I do agree,” she answered, wanting to linger in the mellowness between them a while longer.

      “Good, good.” He strode toward the refrigerator and opened it, surveying the contents. “Ahh... What have we here?”

      He pulled out a bottle of beer bearing the Mikkelson family brewery label—Icecap. He glanced at Isabeau. “There’s wine and water, as well.”

      Inclining his head, he suggested they make their way over to the sitting area.

      “The beer sounds good, but the water is probably safer for me, with my diabetes, after everything I enjoyed at the reception.” She eyed the deck of cards on the table suspiciously. “Why the cards?”

      He dropped onto the sofa, his body relaxed. Open. Inviting, as he handed her the water bottle. Their hands brushed, a crackle passing between them.

      A blush heated her face, warmth spreading further until her body tingled with awareness. She sipped the water, suddenly so very thirsty, then set it on the table alongside the two decks of cards.

      “I’m not luring you here to play strip poker. Scout’s honor. I’m still learning my way around the Steeles’ home but Broderick invited me out here for one of their card games—and a drink. I guess this is a man cave of sorts.” He tipped back a swig of his beer. “I got the impression you’d had enough of the crowds too.”

      “It has been a full day.” She offered up the minimal concession.

      She played down her anxiety. Always. Very few people knew how she suffered. For a painstaking moment, she wondered if there’d been a hint of her discomfort today—the very thing she labored to hide. A small well of anxiety bubbled in her stomach at the thought, the reality of her condition threatening to break loose. She found herself reaching for her dog only to remember she’d left Paige out playing with the husky and Saint Bernard.

      One steadying breath settled her nerves and she decided to stay put rather than bolt.

      “So, Isabeau, what made you choose this line of work?” His sky blue eyes narrowed as he leaned forward, his knee just bumping hers.

      Her heart hammered, the musky scent of him teasing her every breath. She spoke, even as she found her gaze locked with his, unable to look away. “I have a degree in marketing and public relations. I did some work in the media world, even reporting for a while, but found I’m more comfortable behind the scenes.”

      “I bet the cameras loved you.”

      “Thank you for the compliment.” She reached for her water bottle, the condensation seeming to cool her down, to give her a sense of stability even though another part of her wondered what his lips tasted like. She avoided his eyes, hesitant to bring up the real reason she hid from cameras while encouraging others to overcome their own anxieties.

      “You’re welcome. What do you mean by ‘more comfortable’ behind the scenes?”

      “I feel more in control.” And Isabeau did everything possible to give herself the trappings of control. Well-organized lists, binders, schedules. Anything that gave structure to an otherwise chaotic world. She’d needed those tools after her father left and her mother struggled to keep a roof over their heads. Then her anxiety had ramped up all the more when her college boyfriend decided breaking up wasn’t an option.

      “Nerves?”

      “You could say that.” She pushed aside thoughts of the past, unwilling to have that time in her life steal anything more from her. “I believe in some ways my anxiety makes me more empathetic to the people I’m hired to help as they search for an approach to fame that fits them.”

      “Interesting viewpoint.”

      She scratched a fingernail along the bottle. “I’m happy to help you, but you seem to have nearly a perfect life, and a good amount of family support around you.”

      His normally assured smile fell, replaced by pain that crinkled in the edges of his eyes, the corners of his mouth. In a tight voice, his gaze too focused on the label of the bottle, he said, “No life is perfect. We all have plans, regrets, hopes.”

      A strain in her heart answered. She had to touch his hand. “What are your plans and hopes for the future?”

      “You mean like a bucket list?”

      “Sure.”

      “How about you start?”

      “Okay.” She drummed her fingers along the bottle, thinking. “I want to learn a new language. It will help me with my business.”

      “Pick up an instrument. My siblings play, but by the time I joined the family I was past those early years when kids usually start music lessons.”

      “It’s not too late.” She found herself warming to this topic, to sharing hopes with him, the world narrowing to just the two of them. “What about the guitar?”

      “Maybe. But it’s your turn...” He draped an arm along the back of the sofa, his skin brushing her shoulder, crackling the static in the air all over again.

      Except she knew full well it wasn’t static snapping through her veins. Not that she could bring herself to pull away. “I want to learn archery.”

      “Archery?” He picked up a lock of her hair.

      She shrugged, thinking back to her love affair with the golden age of Hollywood, scenes of Robin Hood and Ivanhoe flooding her imagination. “It seems romantic.”

      “What about a crossbow?”

      She scrunched her nose, then relaxed. “Not for me, but it could be hot if it’s a guy using it.”

      He chuckled, low and husky. “Well, that’s a distracting notion.” He tugged the lock of her hair gently. “What about your bucket list?”

      There were so many things. So many things she wanted for her life. So many things she felt were out of her grasp because of her anxiety.

      She released a deep exhale with the words as they took on the power of a flash flood. “Whale watching. Stomping grapes in Italy. Speaking in front of people. Riding a camel.”

      “Whoa, back up.” He lifted a hand.

      “Grapes. I know. Unexpected.” She clinked her bottle to his.

      “I was focused more on the part about talking in front of a group. That’s surprising, given your job.” He stroked the side of her face, his hand then gravitating back to that loose lock of hair.

      “I know what should be said and done. I just choke if I’m the one having to say it. So I teach others.”

      He simply nodded, leaving her words there, giving her space—which somehow managed to draw her closer because he understood her. No judgment in his eyes.

      She’d never known that peace and fire could coexist, but here, now, the two twined into an intoxicating blend. That, along with the whole fairy-tale day, sent her swaying toward