Page 30 of Romancing the Heiress
And today, he’d kissed her. It hadn’t been motivated by the curiosity of a young boy, but the desire of a man. At least she hoped that was what it was.
She wouldn’t allow herself to think of anything else. At least not today.
Chapter10
As he watered the plants in the greenhouse later that afternoon, Phin couldn’t help but think of kissing Leah earlier. He hadn’t planned for that to happenat all, but once he’d entered the castle tower, he’d been overcome with the memory of kissing her when he’d been eight.Eight.What kind of boy kissed a girl and forgot about it for nearly twenty years?
Frowning, he finished pouring water into the pot holding a hibiscus shrub with a few pink blooms. He fixed on a particularly large one, its long anther jutting at him like someone sticking out their tongue. “What is wrong with me? Why am I suddenly attracted to Leah? She’s…my best friend. She’s not…”
What was she?
He recalled thinking that she was perhaps two different people. Mayhap it was three, actually: the girl he’d grown up with, the stoic companion, and the alluring woman who kissed like a siren. And where had she learned to do that?
Phin shook his head. That didn’t matter. None of this could matter. They were friends, not lovers, and anyway, he was supposed to be courting Miss Selkirk.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said to the flower. “I didn’t mean to kiss her.”
But it had been so wonderfully divine. He closed his eyes briefly, recalling her violet and lavender scent, the feel of her curves pressed against him, the taste of her at first tentative, then bold tongue as she’d kissed him back.
His eyes flew open, and he abruptly turned from the accusing stare of the hibiscus blossom. He needed to put Leah from his mind. Hemustfocus on Miss Selkirk.
“There you are, Phin.” Tom walked toward him from the door he’d just entered. “Mrs. Everden said I could find you here.” Stopping short, Tom frowned slightly. “Why do you look so dour?”
“Do I?” Phin wiped a hand over his face to expel the expression, if not the emotion behind it. “Too much on my mind.”
“More than the gardens?”
Yes, but he wasn’t going to reveal that to Tom. “Isn’t that enough?”
The steward gave Phin a sage nod. “Perhaps. I came to tell you that there’s a builder in town for the matchmaking festival. He examined the folly and says you’d be better off removing the rest of the roof and just making it another ruin.”
Just as Phin had suspected, though he didn’t like the idea of two ruins. That hadn’t been his grandfather’s plan. Maintaining the legacy his grandfather had left was of the utmost importance to Phin.
“I hate having to do that,” Phin admitted.
“I know. It wasn’t what your grandfather built. But this would have happened even if he were still here.”
“Would it? I haven’t been able to afford a proper maintenance person for three years now.” Phin didn’t bother trying to keep the bitterness from his tone. It was moments like these when the old anger he felt toward his father reared up.
“Don’t go down that path,” Tom warned with a gravel-filled tone. “You can’t know what would have happened, and it doesn’t matter now anyway. This is the way things are.”
“Yes, and now I have two ruins in the labyrinth of the same building instead of a before and after.”
“Perhaps you’ll come up with a way to make them distinct. Come up with two different stories as to how they were ruined. I’ll wager Miss Webster can help you with that. You two were always imagining and coming up with elaborate games and tales in your youth.”
Yes, they had, and Tom was right that she could help. Except that didn’t improve his mood. He’d just resolved that he should stop thinking of Leah, and asking for her help would prevent that. Phin realized Tom was staring at him rather intently. “What?” he asked.
Tom gave his head a shake. “Nothing. Like I said, I just came to tell you what the builder suggested.”
“I should tell you about something,” Phin said, mustering the will to share what Mercer had talked to him about. He may as well. “A businessman is also visiting the festival, but he’s not here to wed. He’s looking for…opportunities, I think. He asked me questions about the gardens and how we make money.”
His bushy eyebrows climbing, Tom smirked. “It doesn’t.”
“Precisely. Mercer kept calling them ‘pleasure’ gardens and said I should charge admission, particularly for the summer events. He pointed out that the people selling food and drink don’t give away their product for free. Why should I? I’ve never thought of the gardens as a product.”
“He asks a worthwhile question.”
Phin knew it, which was why he was telling Tom. Still, he didn’t like that Mercer had walked in and suggested a solution to Phin’s financial woes. “I can’t imagine charging people entry. Grandpapa would have hated that. He designated the use of the gardens for the people of Marrywell. I can’t ask them to pay to enjoy them.”
