Page 17 of Good Duke Gone Rogue

She shrugged. And he hated the silence, so he forged on. “Weddings perhaps? We can avoid those together.”

He hadn’t meant to saytogether. He could avoid them, and she could avoid them. But it didn’t have to betogether, per se.

To cover his blunder, he added, “There’s just too many bl—weddings happening this season. If I have to attend one more wedding, I’m going to light something on fire.”

Finally she spoke, “It was one wedding, Reggie.”

“It was seven. I’ve been to seven weddings this season. That’s about six and a half too many.” Was that a small smile he espied on her lips?

“Well, we both know what happens when you light things on fire.”

Was she—

“I end up getting burned.”

What was she saying?

She lifted her left palm and held it out to him. “Remember this?”

He sighed in relief. No hidden meanings in her words, just the plain, discomfiting truth.

He had to inch closer to her to hold her palm, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

Oh, he remembered. He remembered it vividly. It was the source of so much guilt for him. Guilt, and so much more.

“You remember?” she asked again.

“Of course. You wanted to do something forbidden.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Always acting so prim and proper. Don’t try to deny it. This was on you.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure—”

“Pretty sure? That is not good enough, Reggie. You told me you knew a way we could have some fun—”

“Oh no. Don’t blame this on me.”

“Well, if not you or me, who instigated it?”

At the same time, they looked at each other and both said, “Kat,” which led to a chuckle.

Reggie picked up the baton and ran with it. “Yes, let’s blame Kat. She must have been the one who suggested it. Though, I don’t recall her joining us.” He shrugged. “Perhaps she lost interest. If I recall correctly, it did take us a while to find the materials we needed.”

“Yes, well, it’s a good thing it did take us so long because we stopped to grab some water along the way.”

“True,” he pointed his finger at her in agreement. “That’s very lucky, indeed. Who knows how much worse these scars would be.” He felt guilty enough that the fire had burned about a fingernail’s worth of space on her palm. God only knows how he would be able to live with himself if the fire had damaged an inch more of her perfect body.

He wanted to kiss the small patch of tough flesh, but it felt too intimate. Reminiscing was easy and light, and he wanted to avoid any triggers.

“Yes, I’m very lucky,” she said. And he couldn’t read the tone in her voice. Was she angry at him for the accident? Did she hold it against him? They had never really discussed it. The wound was small…but not that small.

Mindlessly, he rubbed his thumb along the scar. Who else even knew about this small defect on her skin? The rest of her was utter perfection. How could he be the blameworthy fool to put such a mark on her? Inwardly he cursed himself for his recklessness. He had wanted to show her something forbidden. It was an innate drive to impress her. And for the first while, they had been giddy with excitement. A foray into danger.He remembered the smiles, and the laughter they had stifled, hoping no one would hear them.

And then when he had lit the fire, their eyes glowed. It was silly. They saw fire all the time, but not like this. Not a fire they had built together. Not a fire that was forbidden. They had been careless, carefree, together. And it had been a perfectly silly and delightful adventure. Until the fire jumped out of control and burned her hand. Yes, it was lucky the water had been there. He rubbed the spot again, ruefully.

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