another part that she hadn’t seen before now. So far, he had been playing the part of the gorgeous, eternal playboy. Perhaps Gran was right and there was more to him than she thought.
“It was, but she is holding up fine. I had no idea that she had a soul mate or that he was my mother’s father and in turn my grandfather. It was surprising to say the least.”
“I can imagine.” As James drifted off in his mind, something must have occurred to him for his eyes flew to her with what appeared to be horror. “Did Adele explain the relationship between my brother and me?”
“Yes she told me. Not until after I began thinking that you were a close blood relation, though,” Ally said with a wry look at James.
James’ lips curled upwards at the image of Ally in his mind as she found out she was Damian’s granddaughter, and in turn, her soul mate would have been her great uncle. “I’m glad she told you.”
“Me too.”
“What about you though, finding out that Damian was your Grandfather must have been a shock. Are you alright?”
“Surprised, shocked and everything in between, but I will be fine,” She replied.
James didn’t appear to be trying to flirt or draw her in but just comforting. Ally had to admit it was nice. He wandered back over to the sofa beside the fire and sat down next to her. He took her hand in his and turned to look at her.
She was caught up in the haze of desire that his touch brought. Ally looked into his eyes.
“I know you have had your life turned upside down again, and I just wanted to tell you I think you are handling it remarkably well.” His voice was gentle, and it conveyed the respect and love that he felt for her.
“Thank you.” Ally said as a pale blush crept up her cheeks.
“I have a wonderful idea,” he said still rubbing his thumb gently against her hand.
“This sounds dangerous,” she said dryly.
A joke he thought, that was a good start. “I wanted to take you riding around the area tomorrow. The mountain range is spectacular and there are some ruins not far from here that I think you will find interesting. I thought it might be a nice way to forget about all the hard stuff for a day and just enjoy ourselves.”
She was astonished. It sounded wonderful!
“I would love that. This place is incredible. It would be lovely to see more of it.”
“Good. I will organize a lunch to be packed for us too.” He beamed a smile so bright at her, she thought she might go blind. “There is just something I need to organize first, a present of sorts before we go.”
Her eyes widened like a child on Christmas morning.
I must remember to thank Henry again, he thought. Romance seemed to be quite the charm.
“A present? What is it?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise so you will have to wait and see,” James teased.
Ally was so excited she almost couldn’t contain it! A ride in this beautiful place and a present!
“It may just be the enchanting distraction I need.” In more ways than one, she thought. It would be a good chance to get to know him better, get past the façade and find out just who the real James was…perhaps even have a few questions about the immortals answered. All in all, she was really looking forward to this day out.
“Dress for a day in Antarctica and you should be warm enough.”
“That sounds ominous, is it really that cold?” she asked suddenly concerned.
“No, not quite. But it is better to be prepared. You can always take a layer off when you get hot, but you can’t put a layer on that you don’t have with you.”
She said with a smirk, “Very sound advice James. I shall take it on board.”
She is breathtaking. He is mesmerising. They thought simultaneously.
The air started to crackle around them as the seriousness that was desire settled around them. Both lost to the web of passion, they found themselves tangled in. Neither wanting to fight it but one knowing she must for her own sake, but the will to fight quickly vanished.
Their eyes locked, immersed in each other’s green depths, the windows to their very souls.
Ally and James had been bewitched and entranced by each other. It was inevitable, they both knew it would happen. The only question left to be answered was when and that was entirely up