“No one could,” Gloria agreed.“Luckily, it’s not as if you two…”
Penelope pretended to be deaf.
“Did you?”Gloria demanded, hands on her hips.
Penelope wished she were invisible.
“Youdid.”Gloria’s eyes widened in disbelief.“When?How?”
Penelope sighed.“First…”
“Don’t tell me,” Gloria interrupted quickly.“I understand the mechanics.I just don’t understand how they happened between the two of you.I thought you disliked him.”
“I thought so, too.”Penelope hugged herself tighter.“For a day or two.And then I…”
“And then you what?”Gloria arched a brow.“You thought the best way to settle your differences was to get to naked and let biology take over?”
“Turns out,” Penelope said, “that’s a terrible way to settle anything.”
“Good to know.”Gloria stepped closer, her tone soft.“Then why did you do it?”
“I didn’t mean to, at first.It was supposed to be a simple test.I wanted to prove that passion and emotion were illogical human behaviors, and that chemistry was not only more dependable, but more powerful.”
“And now?”Gloria prompted when Penelope didn’t continue.
She sighed.“Emotion is definitely illogical, and passion is as powerful as chemistry.”
Gloria crossed her arms.“Did you truly believe women of science were exempt from emotion?”
“It’s illogical,” Penelope repeated.“I thought women of science were logical.”
“You can be a chemist and aware of your emotions.”
Penelope shook her head.“No one wants an emotional chemist.”
“You mean, Saint Nick doesn’t?”Gloria asked softly.
“He’s not attracted tome,” Penelope said.“I manipulated his brain into a false attraction to a chemical compound on my wrists.”
“Dynasties have been built on less,” Gloria assured her.“But what is your excuse?If he is a mindless gnat drawn to your honey-like wrists, what made you attracted to him?”
“Gnats aren’t drawn to honey,” Penelope mumbled.“Most feed on plants, although there are some carnivorous varieties that—”
“Penelope.”Gloria sent her a warning look.
She let out a long, slow breath.
“He’s kind,” she said at last.“He’s charming and handsome, yes, but so much more than that.He’s… complex.”
Gloria blinked.“Saint Nick, London’s favorite rake, is complex?”
Penelope nodded.“I’m beginning to suspect everyone is.Until I met him, I thought I was simple, too.”
Nicholas was more than just skillful in the bedchamber.He was funny, he was sweet, he was thoughtful.He was also a talented artisan.
Especially given the damage his father had caused, she respected Nicholas’s commitment to art.Aware his peers would judge him or change their opinions about him if the truth were to come out, Nicholas hid that facet of himself, but he did not stop.He held nothing from his passions.
“No wonder everyone swoons over him,” Gloria said.
