LITMIR.BIZ

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did you enjoy yourselves today?” Ryan asked.

      “We had such fun. There was a magician in town. He gave me a snowman, and he tricked Dylan and took five pounds off him, but then Cassie guessed where the card was and won the card, although no money.”

      “What card did she win?” Ryan asked his daughter.

      “The queen of hearts, so the magician said love is coming her way.”

      Cassie took a drink of orange juice because she didn’t know where to look and was shy about meeting Ryan’s gaze.

      “Well, I think Cassie deserves that card and all it brings,” Ryan said, and she nearly spilled her juice as she put the glass down.

      “What did you do after that?” he asked.

      “We started talking all about misdirection on the way to the bus, and Cassie misdirected me and stole my toffee apple!”

      The words burst out of Madison, and although Dylan was too busy eating pizza to say much, he nodded enthusiastically.

      “We bought you something as well,” Cassie said, and shyly handed over the cashew nuts.

      “My favorite! I have a busy day tomorrow and I’m going to take these with me and have them for lunch. What a treat. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift.”

      As he said the last words, he looked directly at Cassie and his blue gaze held hers for several moments.

      After the pizzas had been devoured—Cassie hadn’t had much of an appetite but the others had made up for it and finished every slice—she took the children through to the family room for their allotted TV time, and after watching a talent show they all enjoyed, she put them to bed.

      Madison was still excited by the day’s adventures and by the talent show, which had featured two groups of school gymnasts.

      “I think I want to be a gymnast one day,” she said.

      “It takes hard work, but if it’s your dream, you must follow it,” Cassie advised.

      “I feel like I can’t sleep.”

      “Do you want to talk some more? Or should I read you a story?”

      Cassie tried not to feel impatient at the thought of Ryan, sitting outside with his wine, waiting for her. Or perhaps he wouldn’t wait, but would have an early night instead. In which case, she’d miss the opportunity to tell him about Dylan’s shoplifting.

      The memory jolted her. In her happiness over the thoughtful gift, and the chatter at the dinner table, she’d forgotten about that unpleasant incident. It was her duty to tell Ryan, even if it ended up spoiling what had been a wonderful day.

      “I’d like to read for a while.”

      Madison scrambled out from between the sheets, headed for the shelf, and selected a book she had obviously read many times, because its spine was creased and its pages dog-eared.

      “This is the story of an ordinary girl who becomes a ballet dancer. I really enjoy it, it’s exciting. Every time I read it, it’s exciting. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

      “No, not at all. The best stories always make you feel that way,” Cassie said.

      “Cassie, do you think they teach gymnastics at boarding school?”

      That mention of boarding again. Cassie paused.

      “Yes, especially since boarding schools are usually bigger schools. They’ll have lots of sports facilities there I should think.”

      Madison seemed satisfied with that answer, but then she had another thought.

      “Do boarding schools let you stay there during the holidays?”

      “No, you have to come home for the holidays. Why would you want to stay at school?”

      Cassie hoped Madison would answer, but she pulled the duvet up to her chin and opened her book.

      “I just wondered. Good night. I’ll turn my light out later.”

      “I’ll check on you,” Cassie promised, before closing the door.

      She sprinted to her room, grabbed her coat and pulled on the beautiful new gloves, and rushed to the balcony.

      To her relief, Ryan was still there. In fact, she saw with a thrill of happiness that he’d waited for her before pouring the wine. As soon as he saw her he got to his feet, moved her chair closer to his, and plumped up the cushion before she sat down.

      “Cheers. Thank you so much for today. It’s the best feeling in the world to see the kids so happy.”

      “Cheers.”

      As she touched her wineglass to his, she remembered that it hadn’t been a perfect day. There had been a serious incident. How was she going to tell him? What if he criticized her and said she should have handled it differently?

      It would be better to ease into it, she decided, and to bring the topic up in a conversational way. She hoped Ryan might mention his divorce again, because that would provide the perfect opening for her to say, “You know, I think this divorce might have been troubling Dylan more than we’ve been realizing, because just after Madison mentioned her mother, he stole some sweets from the store.”

      They spoke for a while about the weather—tomorrow was supposed to be a fine day—and the children’s schedule. Ryan explained that the school bus would pick them up at seven-thirty in the morning, by which time he would already be gone, and that the children would tell her what time school ended, and if they needed to be taken to any activities.

      “There’s a timetable on the inside of my cupboard door, if you want to check,” he said. “I update it whenever there’s a change in timing.”

      “Thank you so much. I’ll check it if I need to,” Cassie said.

      “You know,” Ryan said, and Cassie tensed, draining the last of her wine, because the tone of his voice had changed, becoming more serious. She was sure he was going to mention his divorce, and that meant it would be time for her to bring up the difficult topic of Dylan’s shoplifting.

      He refilled their glasses before continuing.

      “You know, you were very much on my mind today. As soon as I saw those gloves I thought of you and I realized how much I enjoyed our chat outside yesterday The gloves were really a way of saying that I would love you to spend every evening out here with me.”

      For a moment Cassie didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t believe what Ryan had just said. Then, as his words sank in, she felt happiness fill her.

      “I’ll be glad to. I loved the time we spent together last night.”

      She wanted to add more, but stopped herself. She must be careful of spilling out the emotions that were rising inside her, because Ryan’s comment might just have been politeness.

      “Do they fit well?” He took her left hand in his cupped palm and ran his thumb gently over her fingers.

      “Yes, they are a perfect fit. And I can’t feel the cold in them at all.”

      Her heart was beating so fast she wondered if he’d be able to feel her pulse pounding as he gently stroked his fingers over her wrist, before releasing his grasp.

      “I admire you so much, taking such a big step to travel overseas. Did you decide to do this all on your own? Or with a friend?”

      “All on my own,” Cassie said, glad that he appreciated what it took.

      “That’s incredible. What do your family think?”

      Cassie didn’t want to lie, so she did her best to skirt the issue.

      “Everyone was supportive. Friends, family, and my previous employers. I did have a few friends tell me I would be homesick and would come back soon, but that hasn’t happened.”

      “And did you leave anyone special behind? A boyfriend, perhaps?”

      Cassie

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