Evan rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the remnants of tension from the previous night.
Evan shot Nicholas a look. “I merely ensured that my wife was not forced into unnecessary conversation with some insipid fool.”
“That insipid fool was simply offering her a compliment,” Nicholas said. “Which she accepted—quite graciously, I might add.”
Evan’s grip on the reins tightened, and jealousy burnt inside of him again. Nicholas was right. He hadneverreacted like this before about anything.
“He was looking at her,” Evan said simply as though it was enough to warrant his reaction. “I should have bashed his head in for that alone.”
Nicholas let out a low whistle.
“Easy there. You can be quite frightening sometimes without realizing it,” Nicholas remarked. “Besides, I do not think that the poor bloke meant any harm. He would be a fool to try something with the Duke’s wife.”
“He was looking at her as if—” He stopped himself, shaking his head. Just the thought alone was enough to make him angry all over again.
“As if what?” Nicholas asked, but Evan did not immediately reply. He was too busy fantasizing about all the ways he would make that stupid man pay for even talking to his wife.
“As if she were desirable?” Nicholas guessed. “As if she were a woman who inspires admiration? Attraction, even?”
“What are you trying to prove here?” Evan clenched his jaw.
“I am just trying to understand something here,” Nicholas continued. “Tell me this—is it only when other men admire your wife that you remember she is yours?”
“I do not need reminding.” Evan pulled at the reins, forcing his horse into a steady pace.
“Really?” Nicholas laughed. “Could have fooled me.”
“I let my control slip last night,” Evan admitted finally. “But Lord Bellington had it coming.”
“At least you are admitting to something,” Nicholas noted. “That is more than you’ve conceded to since you got married.”
“There is nothing else to concede to,” Evan corrected him swiftly. “And I thought I suggested that you do not read into it so closely.”
“So, your strategy is to ignore how you feel entirely?” Nicholas probed. “Not the wisest decision, I’d say. Because clearly, this—whatever it is you’re pretending not to feel—is already getting the better of you.”
Did his friend have a point?Evan refused to acknowledge it.
“I will be more careful,” he said instead. “I have let my guard slip. That will not happen again.”
“Don’t you think it’s a tad too late to be careful now?” Nicholas let out a short laugh. “For someone as smart as you are, I am surprised that this is your great strategy. To pretend you don’t care.”
“I do not have to pretend,” Evan said, gritting his teeth.
Nicholas scoffed. “Then why did you spend half the evening ensuring she did not so much as look at another man?”
“That was not about me. It was about propriety.”
Nicholas rolled his eyes. “Ah, yes. Propriety. That explains everything.”
Evan said nothing.
Nicholas smirked. “Do you even hear yourself?”
“I am protecting myself,” Evan finally let himself be honest. “The least you could be is understanding.”
“But have you asked yourself what it is that you’re protecting for yourself to begin with?” Nicholas slowed down his pace, and his voice softened as well.
Evan thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt about the fact that Isadora had grown to become an important person in his life, but it was in both of their best interests if he did not let it grow from there. “From a mistake I have no intention of making,” he admitted finally.
