Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(9)

Magnetically close.

She steeled her body against his pull and her lungs began to burn as she looked up at him to see that he was gazing over her shoulder.

Then she saw his eyes flick down to hers in the moonlight even though he didn’t lean away.

“You’re right,” he said softly. “It is sad.”

Do something! Her mind shrieked.

“Um…” her mouth said.

Then she stopped speaking.

“Yes?” James prompted, still not leaning away.

“What?” she asked quickly, mind all of a sudden completely blank.

“You were going to say something,” he told her.

Was she?

She was.

What was she going to say?

“Um…” she repeated.

She stopped speaking again.

His entire face, bathed in moonlight, smiled.

Seeing it, Belle’s mind went completely blank again as her belly did a weird, not unpleasant in the slightest, flip.

“Why are you here?” he asked quietly.

She felt her head give a tiny jerk and then tilt.

“Here?” she parroted.

“In the study,” he explained. “Away from the party.” He hesitated and his voice was deeper when he went on, “Away from Miles.”

Well, one thing she knew, she couldn’t tell him his brother was driving her up the wall and she was breaking up with him that very next day.

“Um…” she said yet again then her mind kicked in gear. “I needed a break. I’m not a people person.”

Now why did she tell him that?

It sounded rude and it made her sound like an idiot.

A rude idiot.

Even though it was true.

He seemed to get even closer when he remarked, “I guessed that.”

She was stunned and a little disappointed. She thought she’d been pretty good at hiding it.

“You did?”

She heard his soft chuckle. It was a delicious sound. Just as delicious as it was the first time she heard it and that made her belly do a weird, intensely pleasant flip too.

“Yes, Belle. You’re definitely not a people person,” he told her.

For some reason she didn’t like him thinking that so she decided to explain. “No, it’s just a lot of people, all together, at once. Normally I’m okay, you know, on a one-on-one basis.”

“Like now?” he asked.

No, she was definitely not okay standing in a moonlit room with Magnetic James Bennett chatting one-on-one.

“Kind of,” she semi-fibbed (all right, so it was an out and out lie).

He studied her a moment and then moved away. She watched as he put the glass he’d been holding on the desk then turned back to her.

Her body locked as his strong fingers curled just above her elbow. She felt them there, so hot on her skin she thought they were going to leave burn marks.

As she was thinking this, he moved to her side and propelled her forward.

She took two steps then froze, rooted to the spot.

Her head tilted to look at him and she queried, “Where are we going?”

“Don’t worry Belle. We’re not rejoining the party. I’m going to show you The Point,” he explained.

Belle felt immense relief that she had a ready and truthful excuse to get out of a tour of “The Point” (what they called his enormous, multitude-of-rooms-filled castle) with James Bennett.

“That’s okay. Miles took me on a tour this afternoon.”

She watched as James looked over her shoulder and muttered, “Of course he did.”

Then he moved forward again, his hand firm on her arm so she had no choice but to move with him. As they went toward the door, he grabbed his dinner jacket from the arm of the couch.

“Um, James…” she began to protest but he spoke again.

“Jack,” he stated firmly then he let out a low whistle and Belle heard dog tags behind them.

“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly and went on, “I should probably find Miles and –”

He cut her off, “I’m betting Miles missed part of the tour.”

Belle couldn’t imagine that. They’d been wandering around for over an hour.

“I think he was pretty thorough,” Belle informed him as he stopped them and put his hand to the doorknob.

He looked down at her before opening the door. “My brother is many things,” he said softly and there was a wealth of meaning behind his words, Belle just didn’t understand it. “But he is not thorough.”

Then he opened the door and guided her through.

Then he guided her down a deserted hall.

Then he guided her through some busy kitchens.

Then he took her out a backdoor.

They stepped into the nippy May evening and Belle shivered.

Upon her shiver, James pulled her to a stop and dropped her arm. She turned to him and saw he was shaking out his dinner jacket. Before her mind registered his intent, he moved close to her front, his hands came up on either side of her and he settled the jacket on her shoulders.

Then his fingers came to the lapels and pulled them closed at her chest, leaving his hands there.

Throughout this she stood shocked and solid.

It was a kind thing to do.

Immensely kind.

Even gallant.