Her heart skipped a beat.
“Yoga,” Isabella replied, her hands moving quickly on the mat, unsure of Prentice’s response to Sally’s impromptu visit and wanting to be prepared.
Sally lost interest in her answer and danced to the candle.
“What’s this?” she breathed, getting close and staring at it as if she’d never seen a candle before in her life.
Isabella forgot to concentrate on the sounds of someone approaching and took a wide step toward Sally, putting a hand to her shoulder and gently moving her away.
“Careful, sweetheart, that’s an open flame.”
Sally beamed up at her.
My, but she’s a gorgeous child, Isabella thought, her brain erasing of everything else.
She’d wanted children, badly. She could have borne dozens of them. She wanted a wild, happy house filled with photo frames of family snapshots and poorly crafted children’s art projects.
Unfortunately, she’d found she couldn’t have them. After years of heartbreaking tests, treatments and procedures she’d learned it was a complete impossibility.
It was also one of the myriad reasons Laurent replaced her, the other mostly had to do with the fact that he was a jerk.
“It smells pretty, like flowers,” Sally commented.
“That’s what it’s supposed to smell like.”
“How do they do that?” Sally asked and Isabella set the mat aside and crouched next to the child.
“They mix special oils with wax when it’s hot and liquid, like the top of that one.” She used her head to indicate the candle. “Then they pour it in and voila!” She threw her hands out and shook her fingers.
Sally giggled and asked, “Are they magical oils?”
Isabella moved the child’s long hair off her shoulder and replied, “Well, yes, I guess so, since they’re from nature and nature’s magical.”
Sally wrinkled her nose. “Nature’s not magical. It’s nature.”
Isabella leaned in close. “Then you haven’t seen a fabulous sunset or an apple tree in bloom or a Japanese oak in Autumn. I’d say all of those are magical.”
“To be magic, there has to be pixie dust,” Sally declared with authority.
Isabella smiled at her. “I think you got me there.”
“Sally,” a deep voice said behind them and they both jumped and turned to see Prentice standing inside the door.
“Mrs. Evangahlala has magic candles!” Sally cried.
Prentice’s eyes moved to Isabella and she held her breath as she slowly straightened. He watched her do this and then his gaze roamed down her body then up and over her hair.
Then, for some reason, his mouth got tight and his eyes moved back to his daughter.
“Sally, go put away your rucksack.”
“Okay,” she agreed happily then turned to Isabella. “Are you cooking dinner?”
Isabella kept her eyes firm on Sally when she answered, “Yes.”
“Can I help?”
Oh dear, what did she do with that?