Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) (7 page)

Closing her eyes wasn’t the best idea, though, because the second she did, all she could see was Liam’s face moving toward hers as he prepared to kiss her.

“No. This isn’t going to happen. Today I won’t have inappropriate thoughts about Liam Felton. Not once,” she said as she climbed from bed.

Whitney finished her shower, dressed with warm clothes for the nasty day, and walked down the quiet hallway to search for Ally. She saw a group of staff at the large windows on the rear side of the house, and her curiosity drew led her to the spot. One of them servants turned at the sound of her footsteps and gave her a welcoming smile.

“Come join us, Ms. Steele,” the woman said.

Whitney walked to the window and looked outside. It took her a moment, but she spotted Liam and Brayden riding on horseback in the lower pasture. Her heart swelled with joy when she saw Brayden’s face blossoming in a beautiful smile.

He looked so at ease down there with Liam, and he looked like a budding young man instead of the angry little boy he’d become this last year.

All her worries really were unnecessary. It was more than clear that she’d made the right choice in bringing the children to their grandfather’s home, even if her heart was breaking a bit each day at the thought of losing them to this family.

No. It wasn’t about her, it was about their happiness and safety, and if being with their lost family was best for them, she’d somehow be able to accept that. She’d do anything to make sure her sister’s two children had the best possible life, filled with love, laughter, and opportunity.

“It’s so good to see him smiling,” Whitney whispered.

“Yes, I agree with you, Miss. It’s also nice to see that smile on Mr. Liam’s face. It’s been a very long time,” the maid said with a sheen of tears in her eyes. “I shouldn’t say this, but he’s been given so much responsibility since his brother left, and he’s taken that on his shoulders with no complaints. I haven’t seen joy on his face in a long time. He really does like having you and the children here.”

“Oh, I’m just along for the ride. This is all about the kids,” Whitney said with a laugh she didn’t feel.

“You’ve brought a brightness to these cold walls, and it’s unlike anything else has in many, many years,” Mr. Smotter said as he joined them.

Whitney hadn’t even heard the man approach. A blush spread over her cheeks.

“You have all been so kind to me since I got here. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that. Thank you so much,” Whitney told them, and she fled.

If they’d said anything more to her, she might have fallen apart. And with Christmas not that far away, and with the happiness of her niece and nephew on the line, she didn’t have time to fall apart.

Right now she needed to find her niece, and she needed to build a snowman. If she focused only on the small stuff, took each moment one at a time, she might just be able of making it through all this.

Doubtful, but she was determined to do it anyway.

Chapter Eleven

“I forgot to tell you about the fundraiser that will be held here in three days,” Liam announced at the midday meal. “Of course it’s formal, with all that implies, and there will be music and entertainment.”

“What’s a fundraiser?” Ally asked.

“It’s an event where you get to dance and dress up in a very pretty gown,” Whitney answered.

“Ooh, that sounds like fun! Are you going to dress up too, Auntie?”

Whitney was at a loss for words. She had nothing to wear to such a fancy event, and even if she had, she wouldn’t know how to behave. She’d most likely trip on her own two feet as she entered the room. No. It was lucky that someone as lowly as she was would never be invited.

“Of course your aunt will go,” Liam said, making Ally smile.

Whitney wasn’t smiling; in fact, she sent him a menacing look. If she and Liam found themselves alone again, she’d certainly give him a piece of her mind. The starchy man kept laying down the law, and it was absurd.
Quite
absurd. She’d tell him that in her best imitation of a cultured accent.

“Dancing and fancy clothes doesn’t sound all that fun,” Brayden said with a sneer, though Whitney could see he was intrigued by the idea. Appearing too interested in anything wasn’t what
cool
boys did.

“You will really enjoy yourself, Brayden, if you allow yourself to,” Liam told him. Brayden looked at him skeptically, but his uncle went on. “Just give it a try. If you hate it, we can sneak out early,” Liam assured him.

That seemed to do the trick. Brayden’s frown disappeared.

“In the meantime, young man, perhaps you’ve had too much time on your hands,” Liam told him. “I think it would be wise to introduce you to new pursuits, some of the things that your father and I did when we were your age.”

“Pursuits? What do you mean by that?” Brayden asked, suspicion clear in his tone.

“Do I get to do them too?” Ally asked at the same time.

“Of course you do, Ally, and Brayden, you’ll enjoy most of what I have planned,” Liam said before his lips twitched.

“This doesn’t sound good.” Brayden turned toward Whitney with a look of panic.

She wanted to rescue him, but she had to be practical. Having something to do could keep the children happy, keep them from getting into trouble, and keep them from missing their parents so dang much.

“You’ll have several lessons a day, on different subjects, so you’ll be able to choose what you enjoy doing the most. Brayden, you’ll start piano lessons right after this meal is over, and, Ally, you’ll learn to do ballroom dances. And then you will both switch. We also have fencing and shooting scheduled.”

Brayden groaned at the thought of having to learn dancing, but he seemed surprisingly intrigued with the piano lessons.

“That all sounds like fun,” Ally said, much more willing to go with the flow since she was always up for trying new things.

She was so much like her mother, Whitney thought, and the longing in her heart to see her Maxine again made it ache terribly.

“Good. Now that it’s that settled, we have a very busy day ahead of us. Let’s get started.” Liam rose from the table and walked out of the room.

Whitney had no clue where to take the kids or what to expect next.

“Let me show you to the ballroom,” Darcy said, and Whitney gave her maid a grateful smile. Whitney didn’t disagree. She would enjoy watching her beautiful little girl swirl around on the dance floor.

She hadn’t seen the ballroom before, and when they went in, she couldn’t help the delight that flowed through her. The room was large enough to hold at least a thousand people in it — okay, maybe that was an exaggeration — and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were so sparkly that she wondered if there were diamonds mixed in with the crystals. It was a room she would love to dance around, but instead she sat in a chair off to one corner. She was trying her best to be a quiet observer, but as Ally went on in the lesson, Whitney had to struggle not to clap with pride at how quickly her talented niece picked up on what the dancing master was teaching her.

Whitney wanted to learn the dance herself, so she finally rose and began imitating the steps she saw. Though she lacked a partner, she felt that she wasn’t doing too badly.

“May I cut in?” Liam asked.

She blushed instantly. She’d been caught, darn it all.

“I don’t want to take you away from whatever you were doing before,” Whitney told him. Touching him again would most certainly hurt her health.

“There’s nothing I would rather do right now than dance with you.”

And she found herself accepting the hand he was holding out. “I guess I could use some help.”

“I consider dancing an important art. It teaches many valuable lessons for journeys you will take throughout your life.”

She knew there was a double meaning there, but she didn’t know how to address it, so she tried to make a joke instead. “I’m going to warn you that I’ve never danced in such a formal fashion before, and I can’t be responsible for your toes.”

“I appreciate the warning, but I have the feeling you’ll do just fine. Now put this hand on my shoulder and take my other hand like this,” he said.

The usual tremors racked her body. She tried to ignore them — unsuccessfully.

“I’m really not a musical kind of person.”

“Upbringing plays a big part in that, I believe. I took lessons in playing several instruments. My favorite was probably the violin.”

“You play the violin?” she asked, and her resistance faded a bit more as he swept her across the floor, his eyes focused on her, his body pressed lightly to hers.

“I’m hardly an expert, but…yes,” he said with a slight growl as he pulled her tightly against him for just a moment before pushing back and turning her in a slow spin. “Now focus a little more so my toes will survive.”

They circled the dance floor for the next hour, and Whitney was surprised to find herself making fewer and fewer mistakes as she learned first a simple dance and a more complicated one, and without any harm to his toes.

“A lot has been different around here since your arrival,” Liam said.

Did he consider this good or bad? She had to wonder.

“I hope I haven’t been causing too much trouble,” she finally murmured.

“Trouble is exactly what you’re causing,” he said before stopping and looking into her eyes. “I’m thinking that we might never let you leave.” He spun her in a fast circle, taking her breath away.

“I don’t think you’d be allowed to lock me away,” she said once her head also stopped spinning

“Don’t be too hasty. You know what ‘they’ say about assumptions.”

“I wouldn’t do well locked away from the rest of the world. How would I ever be able to dance then, especially since I’m getting so good at it?” she said. Their banter was making her down her guard even further.

“That would be a true tragedy — you’re obviously so good at dancing around things.”

“You’re a very good teacher,” she told him.

He pulled her a bit closer, and those butterflies in her stomach went off in an uproar.

“I couldn’t teach someone who was unwilling to learn,” he finally said, and it took her a moment to remember what they were talking about.

But the music stopped playing, and it was time for Ally to have her piano lesson. Whitney’s moment with Liam was broken, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she gave him a look that had him gazing back at her suspiciously. “What are you up to, Ms. Steele?” he asked warily.

“How about I teach you a few of my dance moves?”

“I suspect that’s not something I want to learn.”

“Oh, my goodness, let down your hair for a few moments and allow yourself to have some fun.” Whitney walked over to the MP3, and switched the music to one of her nephew’s hip-hop songs She turned back toward Liam and chuckled quietly to herself over the horrified look on his face.

“You can do this. It’s very easy, really. You just move your hips to the beat,” she told him, and she started swaying her body in a way that had a new light shining in his eyes.

He looked at her for a moment longer, and then grabbed his shirt, untucking it, and he joined her in what wouldn’t count as the greatest attempt at hip-hop dancing known to man, or woman.

A few songs later, though, they were both laughing and sweaty, and she was having more fun than she had experienced since the moment she’d lost her sister. Then he grabbed her hands and swung her under his arm, and they did a blend of waltz and hip-hop, neither of them aware of the rest of the world.

When he dropped to the floor and attempted a hip thrust Whitney couldn’t keep the laughter from spilling out. Snooty Liam Felton was filled with surprises, and she was really beginning to fall under his spell.

As the song ended, they both turned to find Alexandra, that starchy blue-blood Whitney had met several days ago, standing next to the door with a look of horror on her face.

“What is going on in here?”

“That is none of your concern,” Liam said. He stood up, and ice filled in his eyes as he began tucking his shirt back in.

“Considering that you have kept me waiting, I believe it is my concern,” she snapped, sending a fiery look Whitney’s way.

“You will leave now, Alexandra,” Liam told her in a voice Whitney had never heard him use before. It made her decide right then and there, she never wanted to be on his bad side.

With a final outraged glance sent Whitney’s way, Alexandria turned and swept out of the room, grace in every step she took. Sophisticated women like her never did any stomping.

“I apologize for that,” Liam said to Whitney. “I allowed the time to get away from me,” He left the gigantic ballroom, following Alexandra.

For just a small moment in time Whitney had forgotten that she had decisions to make, forgotten that she shouldn’t flirt with this man — particularly with this man, a man like this — and that she shouldn’t enjoy his company, that it was selfish to feel anything but than concern for her sister’s children.

She couldn’t allow that to happen again, or she might become so lost that she wouldn’t know how to find herself.

Chapter Twelve

“I would like it if you accompanied me on a walk,” Liam said to Whitney.

She jumped and her cheeks colored. What would make her so nervous? His curiosity was piqued.

“What did you say?”

The heightened color that was spreading across her face made him think of things — conceive of them? No; he didn’t want to go there — things he’d much prefer to do.

“What I’d like to do is get out of this house.”

As she quickly closed her book and tucked it beside her in the chair, Liam decided he’d really like to know what had her so hot and bothered. Or at least bothered.
Hot
wasn’t in his usual vocabulary, but it was starting to show up.

“That sounds pleasant. Let me run upstairs. I’m not dressed for this chilly weather.” She almost scurried from the room.

Liam walked over and picked up her forgotten book. He opened the pages to the one she had marked and began reading. He quickly felt his body tighten at the words on the page and suddenly understood her flushed cheeks.