Secrets of a Wallflower by Amanda McCabe

Author:Amanda McCabe [McCabe, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-03-13T11:50:40+00:00

Chapter Twelve

As William walked back to the British Embassy along the river after leaving Diana at her door, he didn’t see the sunny day, the people laughing as they sipped their wine at outdoor cafés, the children shrieking with pleasure as they ran past. He didn’t even think about the work that was waiting on his desk. He could only see Diana as she looked when she took his arm and smiled up at them as they walked.

Her pleasure in every detail of the day was infectious and her laughter made him want to laugh, too. Made him forget everything but talking to her, letting some of her sunny warmth flow into his cold heart and make him feel alive again. That seemed to be her gift, to see the beauty in life around her and make everyone else see it, too. She had blossomed since she left Miss Grantley’s, found her own glowing beauty. She seemed to belong in Paris, she and the city sharing the same pleasure in small moments, the same easy elegance. Watching her was like falling under an enchantment.

But Diana, for all her fresh beauty and buoyant enthusiasm that raised his spirits just to watch her, was surely quite dangerous. She distracted him at a moment when he couldn’t afford such things, made him want things he had learned long ago couldn’t be his. He wouldn’t dim her blooming pleasure in the world by dragging her into the murkiness of his work. He couldn’t.

He stopped for a moment on an ancient bridge and studied the city around him, The pale stone buildings turned a golden-pink in the sun, the diamond-like ripples on the river gleamed as boats cut through the waves. It was almost as if he was seeing it for the first time, seeing it through Diana’s eager eyes. Usually he didn’t really study his surroundings. He had too much work to do, too much to think about. Even the strange beauty of India had rarely affected him. But now it was like a new world of light and colour, thanks to Diana. He could almost see what those new-fangled Impressionist artists saw.

Images flashed in his mind of Diana eating her ice cream at the tower, laughing at the picnicking children, preening in the ridiculous hat he longed to buy for her. Diana dancing in his arms, her lips so tempting, her touch so soft and sweet.

He found he wanted to tell her all he saw now, wanted to share it with her, hear what she thought of it all. Watch her changing expressions, her bright smile, as she took in the world around her. He had never been so fascinated by a woman before, or by anyone really. His life had been one of work and responsibility, self-reliance. From his youth, with his parents involved in their own lives, their distant marriage, and with Chris to look after and keep out of trouble, Will had known he had to be responsible solely for himself.

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