He looked up, caught the incredulous stares of his friends, and he grinned.
It had been five minutes.
He checked his pocket watch. Time for him to go.
“Well, gentlemen,” he said, placing his cards down, winning the hand. “I must be off. Tell me if anything else of interest comes up, will you?”
At that, he was walking out of the room, whistling to himself as he strutted past the drawing room, seeking the parlor, and the woman who tempted him.
Ada paced back and forth in front of the parlor window.
Was this a mistake?
She was putting so much at risk by meeting Jonny here.
In the moment, however, she had been so overcome with need to be close to him, to not let him walk away from her, that she had issued an invitation in haste.
Once she had made it, however, she could hardly not be here to meet him.
She couldn’t leave him waiting alone. She wouldn’t do that to him.
She didn’t have much time to consider it, however, for just when she was about to look out the door, it opened, and there he was, standing in the entry.
“Jonny,” she breathed out as he shut the door behind him.
“Expecting anyone else?” he asked, his lids heavy as he stared at her from beneath them.
“No.”
“Not your David Carter?”
She snorted, uncaring that it was quite unladylike.
“David Carter is not mine,” she said. “Nor have I wanted him to be for some time.”
“Hard to believe when you are promised to be married to him.”
This was not how she had wanted the conversation to go, but there appeared to be much more emotion behind his words than she ever would have guessed, and she was driven to answer him.
“Maybe I’m not anymore.”
“Don’t think anyone else in your family knows that.”
“I’ve told them time and again,” she said in frustration. “They don’t seem to care what I want.”
He took three long strides toward her then, stopping so close that she could see the indents in his cheeks, where the sun and a life of hard work had deepened some of the lines around his eyes and lips.
“And whatdoyou want?”
“Right now?” she said, her breath quickening, “I can’t seem to stop myself from wanting time with you.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I know.”
“You said yourself that I was a risk.”
“You are.”
