Read Uneasy Alliance for Free Online Page B

right away I was up to something," he
    replied sighing, and sitting back as the salmon and capers arrived.
    "No, no," she denied firmly, "I'm impressed. I mean, naturally, I was
    aware you could be exercising a good deal more in the way of social grace
    if you wanted to do so, but I don't think I would ever have guessed exactly
    why you were playing the arrogant lord and master. I would simply have
    continued to stay mildly annoyed all evening. And I wouldn't have had
    time to worry about later."
    "But now that you're on to me, you're going to start worrying?" He slid a
    paper-thin slice of smoked salmon onto a toast point and added a caper or
    two. Then he gravely held it out to her, his gaze intent.
    "Should I?" Abby hesitated and then accepted the salmon offering.
    "Worry about later? No. You won't have to fight me off at the end of the
    evening." The words were spoken with sure, steady promise.
    Abby paused a moment longer, holding the toast point at her lips. She
    believed him, she realized. She wasn't quite certain why she should, but
    she did. Making her decision in her usual impulsive manner she parted
    her lips and sank her neat, white teeth firmly into the toast and salmon.
    "Okay, Torr. I won't worry about later."
    "Just like that?"
    She lifted one shoulder delicately. "I'm not nearly as subtle as you, and I
    usually make my decisions fairly quickly."
    "And you've decided to trust me?" he pressed.
    "Yes." She gave him a rueful glance, full of laughter. "Must be the result
    of watching you in class for the past few weeks. You were always so careful
    and gentle with the flowers," she explained wistfully. And the end result
    had always been that the flowers had done exactly as he wished, she
    reminded herself with a dash of warning. Her designs had always gone
    wildly out of control, but Torr's had behaved precisely as he had wanted
    them to behave.
    "Thank you, Abby."
    "Now about that squid," she began.
    "I told you. You're going to love it."
    "But, Torr!" The humor in her was threatening to spoil the royal
    protest, however, and she knew he'd seen it.
    "Abby, honey, I keep telling you that I'm not nearly as subtle as you
    seem to think. I really do think you're going to like the squid and I intend
    that you should try it."
    "Why do I have the strangest feeling you've never been married?" she
    countered, surrendering to the inevitable with good grace. To her
    astonishment the throwaway remark seemed to catch him off guard. He
    looked up quickly from the slice of salmon he was about to center on a
    toast point and there wasn't a trace of amusement in the amber depths of
    his eyes.
    "I was married," he told her evenly.
    Instantly Abby realized she'd overstepped some invisible boundary. "I'm
    sorry, Torr. I didn't mean to dredge up any bad memories. It was only a
    little joke. I just meant to imply that because of your casual arrogance I
    assumed no woman had had an opportunity to, er, whip you into shape…"
    Her voice trailed off uneasily as she racked her brain for another topic of
    conversation.
    "It's all right," he finally said quietly. "I was married for two years. My
    wife…drowned in a swimming accident three years ago. I don't generally
    discuss it."
    "No, no, I certainly understand," Abby said hurriedly. "There are things
    I don't care to talk about either. Please forgive me?" Impulsively she put
    out her long-nailed fingers and touched the dark sleeve of his jacket where
    his arm lay casually on the table.
    Torr looked down at her fingers and then he folded his own square hand
    over hers. Abby felt as if he'd enveloped it but it wasn't an unpleasant
    sensation, rather a warm and comforting feeling. Almost a gesture of
    protection, she decided, breaking into a smile.
    He returned the smile and in the silent moment of communication that
    took place between them, Abby knew the tone of the evening had been set.
    She relaxed even further and knew that she was genuinely going to enjoy
    her time with Torr