Page 37 of The Duchess’ Modiste

“In case you swoon,” Chloe murmured, so quietly that Lord Gloucester didn’t hear her. She laughed to herself and hurried back to her customer, presenting the silk for the woman’s approval.

One client followed another. Chloe was lost in a blur of gowns and various requests. Some ladies bought silks, others ready-made gloves that Chloe had prepared, but most ordered gowns with fresh designs. Chloe took deposits for all the designs, sketched out a few early ideas, and made notes of what else she needed to make.

In the rush that ensued, she longed to turn and talk to someone about how busy the shop had become, but there was no one there. Instead, her eyes drew across the room, seeking out the very person she longed to be beside her.

He is still here.

Leo was at the far end of the shop. Maeve was talking excitedly to him, holding up a fresh sheet of silk that Chloe had placed out that morning. As Maeve admired the silk, Leo’s attention was very much elsewhere.

He is looking at me.

Those dark eyes were trained firmly in Chloe’s direction, and his lilting smile didn’t falter. He was watching her, as if he took pleasure in seeing her at work. The power and intensity of that look made Chloe pause. Her pencil hovered in one hand and a strip of silk began to slip in the other.

Leo must have noticed it, for he nodded his head at the silk and made a grabbing motion in the air. She realized too late what he meant as the silk slipped from her hand. She had to grab it from the air to stop it from falling, then shared a quite laugh with him from across the room.

In that sea of people, it was their own moment.

As Chloe returned to her customers, she couldn’t help thinking of that special moment and how she had caught Leo staring at her.

Is it possible that I am not alone in this feeling? Is there any chance at all that my heart is not the only one at risk?

Chapter 14

Leo

Leo bounded through the door of Chloe’s shop, impatient to be beside her again. She had been so busy of late. The first week of the shop opening had caused such a fuss in the ton that Chloe had been rushed off her feet and had even hired a seamstress to assist her with all the sewing that was needed.

Peering his head through the door, he saw that Chloe was not alone. She was working hard once again, bent over the counter with her tongue between her teeth and her dark hair falling across her neck. Her hand darted across a design she was drawing out, moving so quickly that she blurred some of the lines with the heel of her hand.

Leo felt that familiar jolt in his stomach at seeing Chloe.

It is always the same now. Seeing her is the best part of my day. Surely, she can guess that.

There had scarcely been a day he had not turned up at her door, longing to see her. Most of the time she was too busy to spend very long with him, but he came anyway, for the chance to see that smile and experience how excited her shop was making her.

What is this feeling? I know what this is, but it simply seems to be evolving.

As Leo stepped firmly into the shop, his heart thudded hard in his chest and his palms became clammy beneath his gloves. The feeling had grown, that was unmistakable now. Chloe was the single thing that could make his heartbeat quicken in such a way.

“Miss Green, you have a customer,” the young seamstress said from behind Chloe. On Chloe’s other side was Miss Baker, who had clearly come to visit her friend once again.

“Oh, it is your best customer,” Rosaline declared with a mischievous smile. At these words, Chloe snapped her head up.

That look!

For a brief second, Leo could have sworn Chloe was as excited to see him as he was her. Her green eyes lit up brightly. He took off his top hat, ready to bow in greeting, when he knocked into something with that top hat.

A collective gasp escaped the ladies, and Miss Baker covered her mouth with her hands. Leo whipped round to see he had knocked a stand that bore one of the designs in the window. He grasped out to it, managing to catch it with one arm, before it could go anywhere, then he turned an easy smile in Chloe’s direction.

“Well, that could have been much worse,” his humored voice prompted her to fall about laughing.

“You should have seen yourself!” She continued to laugh as she hurried out from behind the counter, reaching for the stand to help him. “You caught the gown with surprising ease.”

“Well, it is nice to know I can pull off something with flair,” Leo jested, prompting Chloe to laugh even more.

The two of them together replaced the stand to the window, bumping hands as they did so. Leo felt the shock travel up his arm, but he didn’t look at Chloe in that moment, fearful of her reaction.

“I came to see how you are doing,” Leo said conversationally as they both stood back from the stand. “Yet I find you are hard at work again.”

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