[h3]Esme Stirling[/h3]

Esme watched Duke as he shrugged and made his way back over to the bed, her smirk staying on her lips as he set the pizza on the bedside table and spoke. Her smirk soon grew into a smile as she listened to his words, especially the last part. Was he questioning his own method of how to seduce her? As he laughed, so did she. It was hard not to. His laugh was contagious, especially when he had a smile that met his eyes. His nervous glance over at Sarah didn’t go unnoticed but was glad that his smile never faded from his face. As his eyebrows rose and he leaned in close, one of her own eyebrows went up, but soon fell at his words, a soft blush taking over her cheeks at his words, and leaving her at a loss for words. She gave a small laugh as her eyes dropped to look at the bed as she searched for her words and memories danced in her mind. 

She could remember well how he would act around her at the simplest of touches on his arm, shoulder, or even hand when she would ask him something or thank him for helping patch her up. Even when he was helping patch her up, things became a little awkward. After the memories faded, she lifted her gaze to look back at him, a warm smile resting on her lips. “It might work.” she teased softly. Her smile turned into a smirk once more, even with the blush remaining on her cheeks. “I remember well how you were then. That’s why if I touched you, it was mostly on your shoulder or arm. That’s also why I didn’t hug you too often.” she told him with a small laugh. She then watched him as he flipped open the pizza box, picked it up, and carried it as he crawled over the bed and sat in front of her. When he dropped into the pillows and laughed, she couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped her from his contagious laugh. 

At Duke's next words, Esme’s smile grew warm, and she placed her free hand on his arm, giving it a gentle and loving squeeze. “Other than being extra hungry from smelling that pizza….” she smiled more. “I’m feeling much better, thanks to you.” She gave his arm another squeeze before releasing it and pushing herself up further on the pillows, so she could eat sitting up rather than laying down. “So, there’s no need to worry.” she added warmly as she pushed herself up. Once where she wanted to be and comfortable again, her smile never fading from her lips through the entire process, she looked at Duke, her hand coming up to rest on his arm again. She then leaned into him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Pulling back slightly, she nuzzled his nose with hers, then gave him a peck on the lips. “Now, how about passing me a slice, Bright Eyes.” she said warmly as she smiled at him.