Cold Comfort (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 5)

“Have you ever been back to Norfolk?”

Oliver grinned at her. “Yes. I go back as often as I can to see my parents, but my mother still tells me off for being away so much.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

Oliver nodded. “Brothers. Three of them.” He studied her with a small smile. “Have you ever been to Norfolk?”

Emmeline shook her head. “While I grew up, Caroline was always in some trouble or other. We didn’t travel very much.”

“I live in London while I work but have a small house in Norfolk for when I visit my family. It helps me to get away from the smoggy streets for a while, so I can clear my head and just enjoy the sea air,” Oliver confessed ruefully. “And there are not many people who know that.”

“What’s it like?” she asked quietly as she moved around his face and dabbed at various cuts and bruises. They didn’t really need cleaning, but it gave her something to do with her hands while they talked.

It was distracting being this close to him, touching him, fleetingly meeting his gaze occasionally, while discussing private aspects of their lives. Her hand shook with a physical need she hadn’t experienced before. She was touching him already. That should have been enough, but it wasn’t. When she turned her attention to the corner of his mouth and began to dab at a cut on his lip, her gaze slid to his. She paused when their eyes clashed. Her stomach dipped.

Oliver rested his hands on her waist purely because he needed to touch her.

The tension between them thickened.

“What happens now?” Emmeline asked. She really wanted to ask him what he wanted from her? If they had a future together. The words hovered on her lips; waiting to venture forth and secure her happiness. But Emmeline couldn’t bring herself to ask. She wanted to know he cared. She knew how she felt. She was certain that she cared deeply for him; more than she had ever cared for anybody in her entire life.

I think this is love. No. I know this is love.

She knew it was love because the thought of losing Oliver or allowing him to leave her life and never return was enough to send her into a deep well of despair she knew she might never recover from. Emmeline just had no idea how she went about conveying that to him. Oliver was so solid, so strong, she doubted he would even acknowledge such a deep emotion like love, let alone allow it to control his every waking moment.

“Now, we have to get the last Smidgley off the streets. It isn’t going to be easy either.”

“Do you need to lure him out?” Emmeline paused. She felt sick with dread.

“We are not going to use you to lure him out, I can tell you that much,” Oliver retorted flatly.

Emmeline nodded.

“I am going to miss this,” she huffed with tear-filled eyes several moments later.

“I am going to miss this as well,” he assured her gently.

Emmeline’s heart flipped. “Are you?”

Oliver studied her. “I have enjoyed being able to come back here and eating the meals you cook for us. I know the men feel the same.”

Emmeline’s smile dimmed a little because she wanted so much more time with him.

“What about you?” he whispered.

“What?”

“What will you miss?”

“Everyone.” She struggled not to allow her tears to fall. “This. Us. Being able to cook for people. While I won’t be sorry to see the back of the danger, and moving around here and there, I am going to miss running a proper home. I am going to miss having someone to share my day with.”

Oliver nodded. “I am going to miss this. Us. You. I really don’t want to, but I know that I am going to worry while I am gone.”

“About what?”

“You.”

“Why? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. If the Smidgley brothers stay behind bars, I am safe. With you and your colleagues chasing that uncle, he has other things to worry about,” she whispered. “But it is good to know that you are going to worry about me.”