Page 58 of The Duke's Second Bride
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Luke seems to be doing well.”
“How would you know?” she countered. “You have been too busy to join us at dinner even once. I notice you still have not taken me up on my offer to look at the papers.”
“This is part of the shipping business,” he said. “I need to look over the figures myself, for when I meet with my partner in a few days. At which point I’ll be glad to rejoin the two of you for dinner.”
“Good,” she said fiercely. Then, as though double-guessing herself, her eyes widened. “That is—” she began. Christian could have sworn he saw her pulse flutter faster beneath her clavicle. “We—Luke misses you, of course. And his speech has been improving rapidly.”
“I am glad to hear it,” he said. “I owe him an apology. I owe both of you an apology.”
That clearly surprised Ava, as much as Christian felt he had surprised himself. How was it that things that seemed previously so impossible to say were suddenly flying off his tongue?
For days, he had been agonizing about whether or not to speak to her. But now, so close to her, with her warm body all but pressed up against him, her eyes bright, cheeks and lips flushed, breasts heaving—suddenly everything felt easy.
He could not understand the effect this woman had on him, damn it. There was no good explanation for it.
“An apology?” Ava repeated, and he realized he had not finished what he had meant to say. Damn her distracting beauty!
“Yes,” he continued. “At dinner. I did not mean to be unkind.”
“You were,” she said.
“Yes,” he agreed, “I know.”
“Not just at dinner,” she continued. “I understand you do not particularly like to be around me. Or perhaps you only find my company tolerable until you decide to kiss me and then—” She broke off, voice cool, “—call it a mistake.”
His jaw tightened. That had been exactly what he had been trying to avoid, yet here she was, daring him.
“You—” he began, then stopped, aware of the heat pooling in his chest. Every fiber of him wanted to close the distance again, to press his mouth to hers, but he forced himself to hold back. “I did not?—”
“You did,” she interrupted, stepping closer, unflinching. “Otherwise, you would not have kissed me.”
The room shrank until it was just the two of them. The dancers swirled around them, oblivious, while he forced the words out with measured control.
“It was a mistake, yes, but not because of you. I …” He trailed off, aware that restraint was the only thing keeping him from doing exactly what he wanted.
Her pupils dilated slightly, lips parting, daring him, and it nearly broke him.
Mercifully, the music stopped.
Practically as soon as it did, Christian took a step back, removing his hands from her as though he had just touched an open flame.
“Excuse me, Duchess,” he said, and then briskly walked away before he did or said something that neither of them could walk away from.
CHAPTER 21
“Goodness, the way he was looking at you during that dance!” Edith exclaimed, walking Ava to the edge of the dance floor. “I suppose there was no need for another man to make him feel jealous at all.”
Ava had been left standing alone and speechless on the dance floor, watching Christian stride away. Almost at once, Edith had been at her side.
Ava felt dazed. “I am going to get a refreshment,” she said. “I need a moment.”
She drifted over towards the beverages, feeling almost as though she were floating through a dream.
Edith had been wrong, of course. Christian may have said that he didn’t dislike being around her, but he had immediately proven those words false when he practically ran away from her after the waltz.
He had apologized, though. How strange. She wished she had not been so sharp in her response. It was just that his sudden apology had taken her so by surprise, she found herself falling back to old habits.
How easy it was to bicker and banter with him, even when she wanted to behave!
