apologize,” she said, slightly breathless. “I wanted to hear how well Louisa framed her request.”
“You could have come in with her.”
“True,” she agreed. “But then I couldn’t have observed you without your knowing.”
He gave a startled laugh. “That honesty of yours.”
“There’s no point pretending otherwise, when you caught me red-handed,” Serena said.
“A fair point,” he conceded. “And at least this time your ruthless honesty isn’t directed at my private life.” He propped one shoulder against the doorjamb. The casual power of the pose suggested he had the world at his feet, his to command or ignore. When he looked like this, the task of reforming a man so distant into a loving, playful father seemed an impossible fantasy. Then he surprised her by saying in a tone that wasn’t distant, “So...spillikins, hmm?”
Serena nodded. She tried not to sound too eager. “Marianne is resting in her room, so I thought I’d spend some time with the children. With such beastly weather outdoors, we’re looking for entertainments.”
“Please play with us, Papa,” Louisa asked, with plaintive sweetness.
Dominic swung her into his arms, a tenderness in his eyes that made Serena’s heart jump. This was more like it.
“If you insist.” His agreement told Serena just how worried he’d been last night. “But I warn you—” he set Louisa back on the floor and ruffled her hair “—I shall win.”
“Not with those big hands you won’t,” Serena said. Gracious! What was she thinking of, commenting on his hands? Besides, strong though they looked, the tapering of his fingers suggested he might not be entirely graceless.
Not at all.
“Miss Somerton, are you too warm?” he quizzed her.
Serena pressed her palms to her cheeks. Heat. Pull yourself together, my girl. “I’m quite comfortable,” she said.
The children were surprised but delighted when their father entered the nursery.
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