again.”
“Bastian, my boy,” came Cormac’s voice as he and Alex joined us. “What a sight you are! Tall as your father now, I’d say.”
“And this,” Alva said turning to me, with an embarrassing “last but not least” inflection in her voice, “is Jocelyn’s daughter, Rebecca. Becca, this is my son Bastian Connor Bloch.”
Connor. Gee… what a coincidence.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, smiling inwardly at my coming victory as reached out to shake his hand. However, instead of the shake I’d expected, he took my hand in his, turning it slightly so that my palm faced downward before he raised it up to his lips.
“The honor is entirely mine,” he said against my knuckles before kissing them lightly.
Damn, this guy was smooth. Good thing I knew he was also full of crap…
“Jocelyn,” Alva said, after tearing her eyes away from Bastian and myself, “I spoke with Brassal, and he would love to meet with you after the next dance set if that is agreeable.”
“Yes, thank you so much Alva. I hope it won’t be too much of an inconvenience.”
“No, not at all…”
The conversation continued, and I probably should have been paying attention, but all I could focus on was the man still standing only an arm’s reach away. His green eyes, his square jaw, even his slightly off center widow’s peak, were all exactly that of the boy I’d known from school. And that wasn’t even mentioning the blatant proof that was his middle name. It was all there, plain as day, and no way was I going to let it go until everyone saw the truth. And the best way to ensure that was to trap him.
I kept my eyes glued to his face as the conversation carried on around us, just waiting for his eyes to come up and meet mine. Waiting for that deliciously inevitable moment when our gazes would lock and I could witness the spark of panic in his eyes as he realized that I wasn’t in the least bit fooled, and that whatever their game was, it was over.
Of course all that would require him to actually look at me, which thus far hadn’t shown any sign of happening. Moment after moment passed and he never so much as glanced passingly in my direction. Normally I would have considered his lack of eye contact to be reassuring proof that he knew he was in trouble, but oddly – not to mention annoyingly – that wasn’t the read I was getting. In fact, it didn’t even look like he was avoiding me so much as completely disinterested in my presence. The way someone would treat a person they’d never seen before and would never see again. But of course it was all a show.
Wasn’t it…?
A twinge of doubt started to creep into my mind, but I kicked it back. It was .
“Good,” I heard Alva say as she began to step away. “We will see you all in a bit then.”
No. No way it was going down like this. If he thought he could get away with this by avoiding me… he was wrong.
Doing my best to look charmingly unassuming, I stepped forward slightly, calling out, “Excuse me.” They both stopped and turned back, and yet again I got nothing from Bastian. Again a shadow of doubt slipped in to shake my resolve, but again I beat it back. It’s him damn it, you know it is! Don’t let them got to you! Maintain!
“Yes dear?” Alva asked, smiling patiently while I hesitated, collecting myself.
“ Becca …” Jocelyn whispered pointedly from just behind me.
“I’m sorry,” I continued, ignoring Jocelyn’s subtle but obvious warning, “I don’t want to keep you, and I hope it’s not too bold, but I wanted to ask if Mr Bloch,” I turned my gaze to Bastian, “would do me the honor of a dance this evening.”
For a split second the knot in my stomach felt like it had turned to ice as everyone in our little circle held their breath. Had I gone too far? Was I as off base as Jocelyn thought? What if I was, did I just ruin our chances of finding Ciaran? The doubts buzzed in my head, but before they could break my resolve… I
“Bastian, my boy,” came Cormac’s voice as he and Alex joined us. “What a sight you are! Tall as your father now, I’d say.”
“And this,” Alva said turning to me, with an embarrassing “last but not least” inflection in her voice, “is Jocelyn’s daughter, Rebecca. Becca, this is my son Bastian Connor Bloch.”
Connor. Gee… what a coincidence.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, smiling inwardly at my coming victory as reached out to shake his hand. However, instead of the shake I’d expected, he took my hand in his, turning it slightly so that my palm faced downward before he raised it up to his lips.
“The honor is entirely mine,” he said against my knuckles before kissing them lightly.
Damn, this guy was smooth. Good thing I knew he was also full of crap…
“Jocelyn,” Alva said, after tearing her eyes away from Bastian and myself, “I spoke with Brassal, and he would love to meet with you after the next dance set if that is agreeable.”
“Yes, thank you so much Alva. I hope it won’t be too much of an inconvenience.”
“No, not at all…”
The conversation continued, and I probably should have been paying attention, but all I could focus on was the man still standing only an arm’s reach away. His green eyes, his square jaw, even his slightly off center widow’s peak, were all exactly that of the boy I’d known from school. And that wasn’t even mentioning the blatant proof that was his middle name. It was all there, plain as day, and no way was I going to let it go until everyone saw the truth. And the best way to ensure that was to trap him.
I kept my eyes glued to his face as the conversation carried on around us, just waiting for his eyes to come up and meet mine. Waiting for that deliciously inevitable moment when our gazes would lock and I could witness the spark of panic in his eyes as he realized that I wasn’t in the least bit fooled, and that whatever their game was, it was over.
Of course all that would require him to actually look at me, which thus far hadn’t shown any sign of happening. Moment after moment passed and he never so much as glanced passingly in my direction. Normally I would have considered his lack of eye contact to be reassuring proof that he knew he was in trouble, but oddly – not to mention annoyingly – that wasn’t the read I was getting. In fact, it didn’t even look like he was avoiding me so much as completely disinterested in my presence. The way someone would treat a person they’d never seen before and would never see again. But of course it was all a show.
Wasn’t it…?
A twinge of doubt started to creep into my mind, but I kicked it back. It was .
“Good,” I heard Alva say as she began to step away. “We will see you all in a bit then.”
No. No way it was going down like this. If he thought he could get away with this by avoiding me… he was wrong.
Doing my best to look charmingly unassuming, I stepped forward slightly, calling out, “Excuse me.” They both stopped and turned back, and yet again I got nothing from Bastian. Again a shadow of doubt slipped in to shake my resolve, but again I beat it back. It’s him damn it, you know it is! Don’t let them got to you! Maintain!
“Yes dear?” Alva asked, smiling patiently while I hesitated, collecting myself.
“ Becca …” Jocelyn whispered pointedly from just behind me.
“I’m sorry,” I continued, ignoring Jocelyn’s subtle but obvious warning, “I don’t want to keep you, and I hope it’s not too bold, but I wanted to ask if Mr Bloch,” I turned my gaze to Bastian, “would do me the honor of a dance this evening.”
For a split second the knot in my stomach felt like it had turned to ice as everyone in our little circle held their breath. Had I gone too far? Was I as off base as Jocelyn thought? What if I was, did I just ruin our chances of finding Ciaran? The doubts buzzed in my head, but before they could break my resolve… I
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