Love Express by Alyssia Leon

Author:Alyssia Leon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 978-1-911519-08-9
Publisher: Sagewood Publishing Ltd
Published: 2018-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The dining car buzzed with conversation and the clink of cutlery as passengers chatted while they ate. Couples sat at the tables by the windows, and groups of four or more sat at the longer tables at the ends of the car.

Light jazz played in the background, adding to the warm cozy atmosphere. And everything seemed even richer with all the passengers dressed to the nines in sharp evening suits or glittering dresses.

Moira glanced around, her hand tightening on Darren’s arm as she took in the splendour.

Darren placed a hand over hers. “Like it?”

His caring touch warmed her, and she smiled up at him. “It’s like stepping back in time.” She nodded towards the white-clothed tables. Each held an art-deco lamp fashioned in the form of a bronze woman holding aloft a glowing mother-of-pearl fan. “Is the menu also from the Twenties?”

“I’d be disappointed if it isn’t,” he said with a grin.

“Monsieur et Madame Tate.” Their steward hurried over to them. “If you would please follow me to your table.” And he led them past several tables towards the middle section of the car.

“Moira!” Nell reached for her from a table they passed. “You look stunning, my dear.”

Moira smiled and bent to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Nell. You’re looking wonderful yourself.”

Nell’s floaty lemon-yellow dress swirled delicately, and the gauzy shawl over her shoulders complemented it.

“And I’m guessing this is the husband our steward mentioned.” Nell smiled at Darren.

“Darren Tate,” Darren said and shook hands with both Nell and Henry. “I’d like to thank you for looking after Moira.” He placed an arm around Moira’s shoulders and drew her to him. “My making it aboard was a last minute change of plans.”

His excuse removed the need for her to explain, and Moira gave him a quick grateful glance.

Nell regarded them fondly. “I’m glad. This really is a journey to be shared. There’s so much romance in the air.”

“And we won’t be wasting any of it,” Darren said, his lips quirking into a smile as he gazed down at Moira.

Her smile was brittle. What did romance have to do with them? Lust, betrayal, and heartache, yes. But love and romance? Darren was playing it up for Nell and Henry’s benefit, and Moira could only stand by and pretend everything was okay.

They said their goodbyes to Nell and Henry, promising to catch up with them after dinner. And as they followed the steward to their table, Moira slipped out from beneath Darren’s arm. She could only take the pretence between them so far.

Darren gave her an inscrutable look but said nothing, nor did he reach for her again, which strangely left her bereft.

“Your table.” The steward showed them to a white-clothed table and stood aside for Moira to slip into one of the comfortable red velvet seats. He handed Darren a black menu with gold art-deco edging. “To start, we have the seafood hors d’oeuvre, or devilled eggs and stuffed mushrooms.”

Darren grinned at Moira. “Which sounds better to you?”

“Seafood, definitely,” she said, the eggs and mushroom conjuring up a less than impressive image in her mind.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.