Page 56 of Heart of a Witch
“Yes. Thank you for your generosity and for allowing me to spend the night in your home.”
“Of course. The doctor will check on you again before you leave today.” He paused. “It seems my son is rather fond of you.”
I closed my eyes for a heartbeat. “I am fond of him too.”
He nodded slowly. “I thought so. He’s been known to bring women back to his rooms before, although he thinks I didn’t know.” He smiled. “But he seemed worried about you, which is unlike him.”
My stomach flipped.
He continued. “You should be made aware, Miss Weathermore, my son has responsibilities here. If he were to find a woman who he wished to court, he would still need to put his work first.” He watched me carefully, anticipation bright in his blue eyes. He really was an older, more scarred version of Elijah, but the biggest difference was their eyes. Damian’s was dulled of the twinkle that made Elijah’s eyes stand out.
“A man’s purpose must come before worldly desires,” I answered, quoting a line from his sermon—one of the few lines I’d listened to the other night.
His eyebrows flicked upward. “I am pleased to see my son is finally making good choices when choosing a wife.”
My cheeks heated. “We’re just getting to know each other.”
He swirled his hand dismissively. “He must take a wife sometime. I only want the best for him.” Approval swam in his eyes, and in that moment, I’d earned exactly what I’d wanted.
“Thank you, Mr. Shaw.”
“I must prepare my writings for today’s sermon. Good morning.” He lowered his head in a slight bow, then turned and left.
Once he was gone, my smile fell into my usual frown. I looked up at the windows on the second floor. I needed to get dressed before anyone else saw me.
Elijah knocked on the door. I awoke, my eyes burning as they opened to the pouring sunlight. “Good morning.”
“Ah.”
“I thought I’d let you sleep in.”
“What time is it?”
“It’s almost ten.”
I sat upright. I couldn’t say I hadn’t got much sleep; else he’d know I’d been up all night and most of the morning. “Thank you.” I stretched, closely watching his expression. “How are you feeling?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
I rubbed my forehead. “A little bit of pounding in my skull, but otherwise, I’ll be okay.”
He stepped forward and exhaled slowly. “About last night.”
“Please don’t.” I put a hand in the air. “We both had too much to drink. It was a mistake,” I said, to save him any embarrassment of my hightailing out of there as soon as things had got steamy.
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “A mistake?”
“We were both heavily intoxicated.”
He nodded slowly, disappointment hardening his sharp features. “Right. Well, I came to ask if you’d like to accompany me to my club tonight, but if it was a mistake…”
Fuck, everything had messed up. “It’s not like I didn’t want that to happen.” I paused.How can I fix this?
Something brightened in his eyes. “It was only a kiss,” he said, and my stomach turned to lead. “Some harmless fun. Nothing I regret.”
Harmless fun?
“The club?” I questioned.
