Page 28 of The Grand Mistletoe Assembly
Dare laughed again. “I’m not sure whether that’s a blessing or a tragedy.”
“A blessing for us both, I assure you, my lord.”
Excitement thrummed through her veins. The only thing left to do … Seize the man she loved.
* * *
The fifth ruleof being an exemplary brother: Do not leave your sister alone in a bedchamber with another man, even if the man is the equivalent of a nursemaid.
“Why hasn’t she returned yet?”
“She is fine, Nicholas. They should be here any moment. Jeremy won’t let any harm come to her.”
Nicholas clenched his fist. He hadn’t sensed the unease of his own animal. Now he was confined to his bed while Pippa was off, Lord knows where, retrieving his horse. Nancy said she hadn’t been injured, but he wouldn’t be at ease until he could see that with his own eyes. There was no containing the feelings that threatened to erupt.
He loved her.
He loved Pippa Averly.
Hopelessly.
He couldn’t even say when it happened. There had always been something different about Pippa. He sensed it from the very first moment they met. She represented the sun while he, the vast cold night. But he never thought a woman such as her, so warm and spirited, would ever spare a glance his way—a man who could never match her vibrancy.
Cold.
Even Pippa had called him that. He could not do much about his personality. He just wanted to be close to her warmth. Her mere proximity could thaw the frost he exuded with his temperament.
Only her.
Nicholas met his sister’s reproachful look. She smacked his shoulder. “What has gotten into you? Do you know how the tongues are wagging? You are sure to be in the gossip pages tomorrow.”
“Let them wag.”
Astonishment flashed across her gaze. “Who are you and what did you do with my brother?” Her eyes narrowed. “What happened between you and Pippa? She is my best friend, Nicholas. If you two are at odds, I will choose her side!”
“Disloyal brat.”
She smacked him again. “What are the two of you fighting about? Something happened at the charity ball, right? Is it because of that waistcoat?”
Nicholas’s lips twitched when he thought of that ugly thing. Anything Pippa made him, he would happily wear. “We are not fighting.”
Nancy shot him a disbelieving look. “You’re not?”
Nicholas ignored her, his calm returning when Jeremy walked through the door. His gaze darted past him.
“Where’s Pippa?” Nicholas demanded, sitting up when he realized she hadn’t come with Jeremy.
Nancy pushed him back down. “What are you doing? The doctor said you should rest.”
“Devil take it! I’m fine! It’s just a bruise.”
“Your skin is black and blue!”
He twisted his torso. “See, it doesn’t hurt at all.” It hurt like hell, but he wasn’t about to admit that out loud.
“I’m sure your future wife shall be ecstatic,” Jeremy mocked.
Nicholas turned a deaf ear to those loaded words. “As if such a small mishap can foul me.”
