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Authors: SK Quinn

The Ice Seduction (Ice Romance) (29 page)

BOOK: The Ice Seduction (Ice Romance)

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Patrick tak
es Wila and me out for dinner at the Peacock – a restaurant I’ve read about in celebrity magazines, but never seen in real life.

I can tell Wila is p
retty chuffed. Her eyes are so wide when we arrive at the restaurant, I think they’re going to pop out of her head.

Waiters
are turning people away at the door, but as soon as the head waiter sees Patrick, he hurries us to a table.

‘Lord Mansfield.
You
don’t need a reservation sir. We always have room for you.’

‘Thank you
,’ says Patrick.

We head to a table, and Patrick pulls out
chairs for Wila and myself.

We have a lovely dinner, with Wila staring wide eyed at Patrick the whole time.

Patrick, of course
, is charming. The perfect gentleman. He asks all about Wila’s school and her friends and how she’s getting along. He squeezes my hand under the table, and throws me the occasional wink.

When Patrick goes up to pay t
he bill and thank the chef, Wila turns to me and bounces up and down in her chair.

‘Oh my god, oh my god, Sera! You and Patrick Mansfield! How did
that
happen?’

‘Steady on, Lala. It’s early days.’

‘Doesn’t look it,’ says Wila. ‘He can’t take his eyes off you. So. Are you like boyfriend and girlfriend?’

I laugh. ‘Things aren’t quit
e that simple. I don’t know what you’d call us.’

‘But you’re serious, right?’

I hesitate. ‘Yes,’ I admit. ‘I guess we are. He’s asked me to move in with him.’

‘Into his
castle
?’ says Wila.

I nod.

‘Oh wow. That’s like a fairy tale. My big sister. And Patrick Mansfield. This is the most amazing thing.’

‘Steady on,’ I say. ‘I haven’t said yes.’

‘You haven’t?’ Wila’s eyes widen.

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘Oh, there are things to think about.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like you. And my old life in London. And just … I mean, I have to be realistic Wila. We’re from totally different worlds, Patrick and I.’

‘Do you love him?’

‘Yes,’ I admit. ‘I do.’

‘Have you told him that?’

‘Yes.’

‘And he loves you too?’

‘That’s what he says.’

‘You should go live with him,’ says Wila. ‘You’ll have a lovely life. I’ll miss you but I’m doing fine down here. Just fine. And if you love him, Sera, what’s the problem?’

I sigh. ‘I don’t know. I guess I just feel like real life isn’t the same as story books. Something is bound to go wrong.’

9
9

It’s hard
saying goodbye to Wila.

Patrick and I drop her
off at her school, and loads of the girls call out to her as she heads into the dorm. I can tell she’s happy and popular, which makes me feel a little better.

We kiss and hug, and then I let her go. Back to her
life. Her life without me.

‘Hard to say goodbye?’
Patrick asks, as we leave.

‘Yes
,’ I admit.

‘She’s growing up,’ says
Patrick. ‘It was the same when Jamie joined the army. I knew he didn’t need me any more. But I was always his big brother, whether he needed me or not. Just like you’ll always be her big sister.’

When we arrive back at the castle, I’m so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open.

Patrick carries me from his
Land Rover to the entrance, and then up to his bedroom.

He lays me on the bed and turns out the lights.

I smile up at him, seeing the outline of his face in the moonlight. ‘Don’t you want to know what my decision is? About staying here with you?’

I see the glint of Patrick’s beautif
ul white teeth. ‘I know your decision.’

I laugh. ‘
Would you mind telling me what it is?’

‘You’ve
decided to live here. With me. You’ve decided to take your chances.’ He lays on top of me and slides his fingers into my hair. ‘Am I right?’

‘Yes.
’ I sigh at the feeling of his fingers. ‘It would be a little crazy to walk away from what we have. Even if it goes nowhere, I couldn’t live with myself for not trying.’

Patric
k laughs. ‘So optimistic.’

I look up into his eyes. ‘
Just … scared. But I do love you. You know that, don’t you?’

‘
Yes, but do you know that I love you?’ says Patrick.

‘Sometimes
,’ I say. ‘Just about.’ I relax into the bed sheets. ‘But what’s going to happen with us Patrick? We’re so different. We’re from such different places.’

I can see the corners of Patrick’s lips, grinning in the moonlight. ‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘But we’re going to have a lot of fun finding out.’

Want to hear more about Seraphina and Patrick?

Bed of Ice
will be released in Summer 2014.

In the meantime, claim your
free
Ice Seduction
secret scenes
.

Get them
HERE
.

And if you want to
see what Seraphina and Patrick might look like
, check out SK Quinn’s
Pintrest Page
.

And now a note from SK Quinn …

Welcome to the Devoted family!

There are hundreds of thousands of us now, and I love each and every one you. I never in my wildest dreams expected to ever reach this many readers, but I am SO honoured that you bought this book.

I’d love to hear more about you, so come friend me on Facebook:

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I’m also on Twitter and Goodreads:

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5321488.Susanna_Quinn

I can’t wait to meet
you!

And finally …
please tweet, share and review
!

I pay a
ttention to tweeters and reviewers, and will often seek you out and give you free, exclusive reads. Xx