Page 51 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

“Is that right?” She looked at Magnus who laughed and shook his head. “It looks to me like you were sleeping.”

“They were waiting for you to arrive home.” Magnus stepped around the table. “Convinced that you might have bought them a gift...” He eyed the box under Diana’s arm. “Although I told them not to get their hopes up.”

“Did you?” Josephine asked, trying and failing to temper her excitement.

“A gift!” Adeline cried out.

“Girls...” Magnus swept toward Diana and then, most shockingly, leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her eyes widened at the gesture, and even Magnus pulled back suddenly, seemingly surprised by his own actions. “I told you, we will go shopping next week.” He turned away from Diana as if embarrassed. “Diana was shopping for herself.”

“Actually...” Diana pumped her eyebrows at the two girls and lifted the box from under her arms. Ophelia had suggested buying both girls a gown of their own, and Diana had jumped at the chance. “I might have gotten them something.”

“You did!” they cried together and jumped down from the settee.

Diana dropped to her knees and opened the box, pulling out two colorful gowns; one pink, one yellow. “I do hope that they fit.”

“Pink!” Josephine exclaimed and took the dress. “Oh, I love it!”

“As do I!” Adeline agreed when she took her own.

“Girls, what do you say?” Magnus prompted.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you!”

“It is not a problem,” Diana assured them. “But before you thank me anymore, you best make sure they fit. And if not, we can take them back and have them – wowoa!” she cried out as the two girls rushed past her and from the room, no doubt sprinting to their own rooms to try on the dresses. “I guess we will find out soon enough.”

“You spoil them,” Magnus chuckled.

“Your grandmother does, actually.” She winked. “But don’t tell them that.”

Magnus chuckled further, and then his eyes drifted to the box. There was a third dress inside, one which Diana had hoped to keep hidden. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, moving to cover it.

“It’s not nothing.” Magnus was quick, snatching the box away.

“Hey!”

“And what is this?” He pulled the third dress out. It was a silky piece, cream colored, and no bigger than one of Magnus’ shirts. “This doesn’t look like a gown to me.”

She snatched it back. “The gown is being fitted to be dropped off during the week. This is...” Diana tried to look at Magnus but could not bring herself to do it. She had hoped to reveal this dress in her own time, perhaps when the mood was right. This, however, felt like an ambush. “This is for you.”

“I do not think it will fit.”

“No, not in that sense...” Her entire body turned red, and she could see Magnus grinning because he knew very well what it was. “It is a nightgown. And if you are lucky, perhaps one day I will wear it for you.”

“A nightgown...” Magnus’ grin widened. “Diana, are you trying to seduce me?”

“Trying?” she cocked an eyebrow at him.

The tension was beginning to melt. That was what Diana noticed most of all. The last few times that they had been in a situation like this one, it was all she could do not to shake from the nerves, her entire body rebelling against her because the anticipation was more than she could bear.

And while all of that was still there, it felt more natural now. She looked up at the duke, met his dark green eyes, held them without blinking so he could see exactly what she was thinking.

The darkness of the room only added to the moment. That single lantern. The two of them, very much alone. Magnus stepped in closer, his hand moving to her spare one, taking it and holding it as he continued to meet her eyes. He too had changed in the way he approached her, no longer unsure, excited now, confident because they both knew what the other wanted. At least where their more amorous desires were concerned.

“And what must I do?” he asked. “To convince you to gift me that nightgown?”

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