Page 30 of The Duke's Lesson in Love

“Mamon Sadie always kisses my pain to make them better.”

Heaven’s sake! He had forgotten the child. His hands abruptly stopped, but it was too late, the stockings were already gathered around her ankle.

Kissing her injury was a delightfully agreeable idea.

He was taking liberties, he knew, and he thanked Edwin for giving him reason to. Since Miss Fields entered his life, she slowly filled a void he had not known was vacant.

His life was solitary, with the exception of his trusted staff. But he had chosen that life for himself and it served him… and his heart well. Until now. With Miss Fields and Edwin by his side, Gill was whole. It wasn’t the same adolescent need to flee his life and his parents either—that feeling of being trapped in time he felt with Edwin’s mother. No, Sadie was not an escape. She was the possibility of a future filled with love. Destiny.

She wasn’t swayed by his title or wealth.

Sadie saw his true self beneath the layers he built around his emotions and made no demands for herself.

“I never kissed a scrape before,” he confessed.

“Nor should you,” she furiously whispered.

“It is easy!” Edwin cheered.

“Really, it is a minor accident—” she gasped.

“Like this?” he asked his son.

The boy nodded, his eyes wide. “Uh huh. Does it feel better, Mamon Sadie?” Edwin asked expectantly.

“Perhaps another.” Gill smiled, brushing his lips against her ankle. Their gazes never left each other as her breath caught on a swift inhale. Her eyes darkened to a rich chestnut brown that beckoned another sweep of his mouth.

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