Page 108 of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride
He levered himself upright and grabbed the back of a chair for balance.
“Violet, will you give us some privacy?” Emma said, and it was only then that Vaughan noticed the other woman standing behind her.
Violet glanced at Emma, obviously uncertain what to do. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Emma said firmly.
“Fine, but I’ll be nearby. If you need me, just call out.” Violet backed away, narrowing her eyes at Vaughan.
Wonderful. Emma’s sister thought she needed protection from him.
Emma turned those big blue eyes on him. “Why are you here?”
“I missed you,” he said, swaying closer, hoping to catch a whiff of her familiar vanilla scent.
Emma scrunched her nose. “Have you been drinking?”
He winced. He’d hoped she wouldn’t notice, but supposed he hadn’t hidden it well, given the stumbling.
“Only a little.” He reached for her hand, and to his surprise, she let him take it. “I’ve been thinking. I-I’m willing to see if there could be more between us than a convenient marriage.”
He was terrified, but surely facing the fear was better than continuing to be without her.
Her expression softened. For a moment, he thought he had her.
“Why are you drunk in the middle of the day?” she asked.
Oh no.
Answering that question would lead them nowhere good, but he also couldn’t think of a decent explanation other than the truth.
He dropped her hand and slumped onto the chaise, needing the comfort of something solid beneath him.
“I feel like I’ve become my father,” he confessed, his stomach roiling. “All twisted up over a woman. It was only after I’d had enough brandy that I was able to convince myself to come here.”
Her face fell, and he knew he’d said the wrong thing.
“Please come with me,” he said, desperate to get the words out before she became so angry, she wouldn’t listen. “I don’t like being apart from you or at odds with you.”
With a sigh, she sat beside him and looked him in the eyes. He could hide nothing from that searching gaze.
“Are you comfortable with your feelings for me?” she asked.
He hesitated. Obviously, he wasn’t. The fact he’d gotten soused in order to come here proved that. But that wouldn’t help his case.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the hesitation was enough of an answer for her.
She nodded once, then took his hand. He gripped hers tightly, feeling as though she might slip through his fingers.
“I can see you’re trying,” she said. “But I don’t want you to make a decision you’ll regret because you’re impaired. When you can return and give me this same proposition, sober and clear-minded, then I’ll consider it.”
The fissure in his heart cracked and widened.
“But…” He trailed off.
She was making the sensible decision, and they both knew it. Yet she was also rejecting him.
“Are you able to get home safely, or would you like to sleep it off in a spare bedroom?” she asked.
