Page 40 of Carbon

He stopped outside the annex, but when I reached for the keypad, he gently grasped my hand. “I had a wonderful time tonight, darling.”

“Me too.”

His head dipped towards mine, and in the glow from the hall window, his lips parted slightly. Holy hell, he was going to kiss me! I felt a momentary panic—only two other men’s lips had ever touched mine. What if I messed it up?

I closed my eyes as he pressed against me, his kiss soft at first, then deeper as I yielded. One touch of his tongue and he pulled back, smiling wide.

“You’re a very special girl, Augusta.”

“Er, thanks?”

“I’ll see you at the ball.”

He disappeared into the darkness, Midnight-fashion, leaving me to process what just happened. He’d kissed me. And it was nice. Not earth-shattering, toe-curling, spine-tingling, or any of those things. Just...nice.

Could I settle for nice? Could I go through the rest of my life without experiencing the fire Midnight lit inside me? At that moment, I wasn’t sure.

I shuffled inside and found Angie waiting in the lounge.

“So?”

“So what?”

“I’d half expected you to bring Gregory back with you.”

“He kissed me and left.”

Angie clapped her hands and grinned. “He kissed you? That’s something, at least.”

“Yeah, it was something.”

I wandered through to the study. I did my best thinking in there, surrounded by my books, my old desk, all my familiar treasures. And...what was that?

“Where did these come from?”

I ran a hand along the polished wooden shelves, fitted perfectly into the alcove next to the printer. A stupid question, because I already knew the answer.

“The caretaker came by and put them up. I thought you’d arranged it with him?”

“Sort of.”

My heart clenched as I realised what that meant—Beau knew I’d gone out with Gregory, because twice he’d come around while I was on dates. How did that make Beau feel? Upset? Angry? The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.

“Did a nice job and fast too. He’s good with his hands.”

If only you knew, Angie. If only you knew.

“And not just his hands,” she continued. “Did you hear about the drama the night before last?”

“What drama?”

“The caretaker caught two burglars trying to break into the shed behind the garage. You know, the one with the lawn mowers? He knocked one out, then chased the other through the woods and held him down until the police arrived. Men in uniform, Gus, and we slept right through it.” She rolled her eyes. “Nobody ever tells us anything.”

Wow. Beau was kind of a hero, but two against one? What if he’d got hurt? “That’s crazy. Why did he go after them himself?”

“Dorothy said he heard voices and went to investigate. They reckon the crooks had cased the place in advance too. Beau heard noises in the woods last week, but he didn’t see anyone then.”

My heart seized at the thought of Beau tackling thieves alone. Maybe I should have a word with him, tell him not to be so stupid in future. But perhaps he’d find my concern strange?

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