Page 74 of The Thief
She looked over at her father, tears in her eyes.
“How am I supposed to keep myself intact when all I can think about is him?”
Graham reached out and hugged his daughter, his heart going out her.
“You have to learn to balance your want of him and yourself. It is an unfortunate side effect of falling in love.”
Scarlett’s face snapped to his.
“Love? I do not—”
He held up a hand to halt her words.
“Do not try to deny it. You are in love, the both of you.”
He kissed her forehead and stood.
“Perhaps you will be able to focus on other things after this whole business with Catriona is over and you feel completely safe again.”
She nodded in a daze, her mind still trying to wrap itself around being in love with Alastair.
Before he left, he whispered, “Talk to him. Let him know what is swimming around in your head. You know you can trust him.”
She snapped out of her daze and looked up at him, a smile coming to her face.
“Thank you, Papa.”
“I love you, darling.”
“I love you too.”
With that said, he headed down the stairs to find her mother.
Some hours later, they all piled in the carriages, sleepy and ready for bed. Alastair had noticed an immediate difference in Scarlett’s attitude when he had come back up to rejoin her.
She had been back to her cheerful self.
He couldn’t help but wonder what had happened, but he was glad everything seemed to be back to normal. When Graham had come back down, he had smiled and reassured him that everything would be all right.
He looked next to him with a smile.
Scarlett sat neatly in the seat next to him, her hands folded in her lap.
Melody had been so exhausted that she had fallen asleep and Ragan had carried her out of the house. She was currently ensconced in his lap, fast asleep, which meant that Scarlett had to sit next to Alastair, not something either one of them minded.
He could feel Scarlett’s legs bumping his and he couldn’t resist pressing his slightly closer to hers. When she didn’t move her leg away, he smiled, looking out of the carriage window as they headed home.
