The Promise of Happiness novel Atalie and Samuel

Chapter 879

Natalie's eyes narrowed sharply to a slit the instant his voice trailed off, and it took a while for her to compose herself.

“You have to be kidding me, surely. Am I right, Mr. York?”

“Did I give the game away?” Knowing that that might have exceeded her boundaries, Samuel accepted the opportunity she provided to backpedal.

“Whatever that was, I'm sorry to say that I wasn't amused.” Natalie's slender brows bunched up in seriousness. “I am quite sincere about repaying you, but may I ask that you not try to have a laugh at my expense? The affair of the heart is an extravagance that I can neither afford to deal with nor clamor after, ever again.”

Once bitten, twice shy.

That episode with Samuel had stung her so badly that just the very thought of it had her hurting.

Though Natalie's visage was pretty much bereft of emotion, Samuel was nonetheless able to sense through his silver mask that she was merely putting on a brave front.

He wanted so badly to reach out and caress her lovely face, which made it a massive struggle for him to refrain from doing so.

“If you've nothing else for me, Mr. York, I shall like to take my leave.”

toward Samuel, Natalie about-faced

away from view, the knuckles that

to her own place,

back in was to head upstairs to check on her five children. She could not help but be amused by the haphazard postures they had adopted on their own beds amidst their slumbering and collected herself enough to tuck in

endured prior dissipated as soon as she laid her eyes

smiling, for in spite of everything, there was the certainty of having a

light of dawn had already broken beyond the windows by the time she was done attending to the children, and since she was no longer fatigued, she decided to go downstairs

enough time in the kitchen to allow the dough to set, her own face and hair had

of many things, the talent for cooking did

of the disparity between that man's mastery of the culinary arts and her own lack thereof then snuck

about him, those intrusive inclinations of hers kept barging in against her will. It was as though they had

accomplish anything without Samuel? She refused to allow herself to

pair of scissors, Natalie unsealed a pack of yeast with the intent of emptying its contents

that moment, Emma was in the process of wrapping an apron around herself. When she saw Natalie in action, she immediately called on her to

adding the yeast?” replied Natalie, whose face had been