involuntarily. “You were in it, but not the way you are hoping.”
He gave a carefree laugh. “How terribly disappointing.”
“James!” she cried in frustration.
“My apologies, tell me about your dream.” He raised the glass to his mouth.
“It was about Damian,” she began.
His glass stopped just before it reached his lips.
He sat there looking at her like she had two heads. What was it about this Damian guy who seemed to get such a reaction she wondered? James appeared to be shocked into silence, something that she didn’t think would ever have been possible, so she decided to take advantage and continued. “Gran had much the same reaction as you. She told me he was your brother.”
“Yes he is or rather, was, my brother. He was lost to us fifty years ago.” James eyes were swollen with unshed tears and sorrow as her grans had been.
Lost in his own memories, she let him have a moment. And in doing so she gave herself a moment to study him and soak him up without him noticing.
He really was something else. She felt the instant need to cower away from him to go back to her comfortable place and hide, pretend that none of this was happening, but she couldn’t, and she knew that now. However, admitting that to herself was one thing, admitting it to James was another.
Ally needed time to absorb the immense amount of information she had been given and the fact that her life had been irrevocably changed by the events of the last couple of days.
She laughed softly at the thought. It seemed so distant like it had all happened a million years ago.
Her soft laugh had brought him back to reality, and he was staring at her as if he could see into her very soul. Those sparkling emerald eyes were drawing her in. Ally felt the drowning sensation begin as she found herself caught in those eyes. Everything about him was so intense, right down to his gaze.
How will I ever survive this? She wondered.
“I came here to discuss my dream so stop looking at me like that. It’s distracting,” she chided him gently.
“I was just admiring the most beautiful creature I ever beheld. You can’t blame a man for that,” James said with a devastating smile.
“What am I supposed to say to that?” She asked.
“Thank you springs to mind. It was a compliment after all.” Amusement was written boldly across his features.
“You said you wouldn’t push, James,” Ally reminded him.
“No, I said the decision would be yours, but I also said I wouldn’t hesitate to push the scales in my favor."
“A mere technicality.”
“Perhaps,” he took a sip of whisky looking at her over the rim of the glass. “Is it working?”
“No.”
“You say that but I don’t believe you,” He stated confidently.
“You’re wrong,” she said, however inside she knew he was right.
“Stubborn woman of mine,” he said with a loving smile. “You will come to my way of thinking soon enough lass.”
“Oh for the love of…” Frustration was beginning to take hold again as he drew the conversation away from the dream.
“The dream, James,” Ally said as patiently as she could manage.
This seemed to bring him back to reality.
“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry. Now the dream concerning Damian, tell me about it.” James appeared to be open, and she had his full attention back onto the dream, so she relayed the information to him.
The same thing happened again as it did with her Grandmother. Ally could see he was lost in thought, sadness and a sense of pride that she hadn’t seen in Adele, but each person would have a different way of seeing things.
“So what do you think?” Ally asked once she had finished.
“About the dream or why you had it?” he asked with a seriousness she hadn’t seen before. He wasn’t flirting or charming her, but he gave off the feeling he would take care of things. It made her feel safe, and it was very appealing.
“Well, about both.”
“As for why you had this dream I don’t know. The ancients do things for a reason, but sometimes it takes a while for that reason to be apparent to us.”
“Gran said the same thing.”
“Adele knows about the dream?” His eyes were full of concern.
“Yes, she does, and I know about Damian being her soul mate.”
He put his drink down on the table beside him and went over to stoke the fire. “I imagine it was painful for her to relive that night.”
He was full of empathy