Page 13 of Gabriela and His Grace (The Luna Sisters #3)
Sebastian held his silence, however, because there was no point in arguing with Gabriela if he didn’t have to.
Staring at him for a moment longer, Gabriela shook out her skirts and turned to the children. “I accept the duke’s wager. Shall we begin?”
Gabriela’s team began to play, with Catalina and Miss Moreno successfully navigating down the chalk-drawn court. When it was Gabriela’s turn, she hefted her skirts up, flashing the trim curve of her calf, and completed her circuit with only a wobble here or there.
“You’re lucky your hoopskirt didn’t swing like a pendulum and knock you off balance,” Sebastian told her as she deposited the marker in his outstretched hand.
She grinned. “Truth be told, I was worried about that exact thing happening.”
Sebastian shrugged. “There’s still time yet. Don’t call bad luck upon yourself.”
“For a man who doesn’t believe in luck, you sure do talk about it frequently,” she pointed out dryly.
Palming the marker, he chuckled. “Yes, well, I do enjoy being a contradiction.”
Her answering laugh followed him to the court, where his team, made up of Samuel and Tommie Morrison, made quick work of their runs down the court.
“Come on, girls,” Gabriela called, clapping her hands together as Catalina prepared to toss the marker. “We can do it.”
Biting back a smile, Sebastian watched as Catalina and then Miss Moreno hopped across the court.
When it was Gabriela’s turn again, Sebastian looped his hands behind his back and wandered a few steps closer.
After she had tossed the marker, he watched in amusement as her brow scrunched in concentration and she nibbled her lip, lifting her skirts and skipping through the first few squares.
Unable to resist the urge, Sebastian cupped his hand to his mouth and called, “Pendulum!”
Gabriela glanced back at him with a scowl, but the movement was enough to throw her off balance.
As Sebastian bit his tongue, she wobbled on her booted foot, her arms flailing wildly as the bulk of her skirts swished around her ankles and she tried desperately to regain her balance.
But with her center of gravity lost, Gabriela eventually stumbled to the side, just barely catching herself before she fell.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Brodie grumbled behind him.
It hadn’t been, and Sebastian was sorry for it. He’d only meant to tease her, but he knew now that all he’d done was distract her.
Locking his jaw, Sebastian approached her, extending a hand to assist her. Gabriela glanced at his hand for a moment, her eyes striated chips of glass, before she grasped it and shook it.
“Good game,” she said simply.
Sebastian frowned and then shook his head. “That was unki—”
Without a word, Gabriela spun away from him and walked to where Catalina, Samuel, and the other children were gathered, offering her apologies for losing the game.
For their part, the youngsters seemed unconcerned with the loss, and instead called her a good sport and proceeded to pepper her with inane questions about what her favorite dessert was or whether she’d rather be a fish or a bird.
Sebastian collected the chalk and exchanged a few words with the parents who came to gather their children for luncheon.
He noticed Gabriela and Miss Moreno standing together at the railing.
The flush was still high in Gabriela’s cheeks, and he knew her loss was smarting.
Snippets of their conversation met his ears, and he realized they were speaking in Spanish.
“I can’t believe I let him distract me.”
“Gabby, you act like losing to the duke is a personal insult,” Miss Moreno remarked.
Gabriela fidgeted with the fit of her gloves. “Because it feels like an insult. I despise losing. And it’s a million times worse to lose to him.”
“But why? I don’t understand.”
Gabriela sighed, dropping her hands at her sides. “Because now I have to dance with him.”
“The injustice of it all.” Her friend laughed. “I just assumed you hated losing to him because who likes to lose in front of a handsome man.”
Sebastian bit back a snort. As if Gabriela gave a whit for his looks—
“Whitfield’s good looks are of no consequence.” Although she glanced at him over her shoulder for a tense heartbeat.
“How could they not be?” Miss Moreno spun about, her back pressed to the railing.
Her gaze swept over him in inspection, and Sebastian feigned an interest in the activities on the lower deck.
“He’s an Englishman with a title and power that could aid the Juárez cabinet in being rid of the French once and for all—”
“He’s shown no interest in assisting the war effort before,” Gabriela scoffed.
“Well, perhaps you can convince him. And if not you, his handsome looks will mean every prominent Liberal family will be dangling their daughters before him like livestock at market. Will you be content to sit by and watch it happen?”
Was that how it would be for him once the ship docked in Altamira?
Had he traded one set of marriage-minded mamas for another, just in a different locale?
Unease soured his mood…and that was without allowing himself to consider what Gabriela would think if her Mexican countrywomen were paraded before him.
For her part, Gabriela shook her head, glimpses of her crinkled brow visible from Sebastian’s vantage point. “Whitfield’s future has nothing to do with me. He barely tolerates me—”
“That’s not true,” Miss Moreno interrupted, her voice forceful.
Sebastian’s stomach dipped. Whatever carefully achieved apathy he may have felt toward Gabriela Luna had changed. Oh, she could still be overbearing and antagonistic, but he had come to understand that she was more than just that. He had softened toward her…just a bit.
Sebastian moved a step closer, intent on saying something to put her mind at ease over the game, when she spoke.
“We shouldn’t discuss this any further because the duke approaches.”
Miss Moreno glanced over at him and met his gaze. “He doesn’t speak Spanish, so it’s not like he knows what we’re saying.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Gabriela said, turning to face him. Her hazel eyes studied him for a moment, and Sebastian raised his brows in response. “He really is unfairly handsome. The women in Mexico will be beside themselves once they catch a glimpse of his blue eyes.”
Sebastian’s steps halted at her claim, because this was the first time Gabriela had ever hinted she found him attractive.
Certainly they had made inconvenient eye contact across any number of ballrooms, and Sebastian’s anatomy had been only too willing to showcase its interest in the lovely brunette, but he’d always squashed such thoughts.
Gabriela was Fox’s youngest sister by marriage, and a hellion with a serpent tongue to boot.
The bolt of heat streaking down his spine now to settle low in his gut was an aberration he would quickly suppress.
Stopping before the women, Sebastian whipped his hat from his head and pressed it to his chest. “Ladies, am I to assume you’re discussing me?”
Miss Moreno ducked her head, crimson coloring her pretty cheeks, but Gabriela tilted her chin up and met his gaze with her own. “Come now, sir, of all the topics we could discuss, why would we discuss you?”
Hellion, indeed. Sebastian just barely managed to contain his smile. “More appropriately, as two unmarried ladies, why wouldn’t you?”
Much to Sebastian’s surprise—and delight—she laughed. A sunburst of laughter that made the day suddenly seem brighter. “Despite your faults, Your Grace, your sense of self is unmatched.”
Sebastian rocked back on his feet. “Oh, my dear Miss Luna, if I were to claim to have an equal, it would be you.”
Sebastian managed to capture the surprise that fired like a cannon blast deep in her hazel eyes. He allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy her satisfaction.
“May I escort you ladies to lunch?” he finally said, breaking the silence. “If you’re anything like me, you’re famished.”
Gabriela’s brows stitched together. “Do you want to dine with us so you can taunt me with your victory?”
At any other time, he would have fired back a sarcastic remark about sore losers, but he resisted. Sebastian didn’t like losing, either. “It was a silly game of hopscotch. I had the benefit of playing without heavy skirts, which worked in my favor.”
“No one distracted you, either,” she remarked, then her shoulders sank with a sigh. “And now I’m in your debt. When do you plan to claim your dance?”
Sebastian flicked a hand, allowing just a tinge of arrogance to curl his lips. “When you least expect it.” When she made to argue, he shook his head. “Rest assured that my request will not come at the expense of your good name.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her bottomless gaze darting over his face as if looking for any signs of duplicity. But Sebastian was not lying; he would rather jump into the North Atlantic than knowingly embarrass Gabriela Luna in any way.
“Very well,” she said, nodding.
With that settled, Sebastian reiterated his earlier question. “May I escort you to lunch?”
Miss Moreno readily agreed, while Gabriela nodded.
“I’d like that,” she said, flashing a quick grin that hit him right in the solar plexus.