Gabriel stretched out beside her on his side and propped himself on one elbow so that he could study her closely.
For over an hour, she’d asked him questions about his travels, childhood, and even his friendship with her new brother-in-law. She wanted to know all about Brussels and the other legends around the statue he’d introduced her to in the garden at Ashton Acres. She’d commented thoughtfully but would then jump from one subject to the next with no transitions in between.
“Do you have a dog?” She turned her head and startled slightly when she realized how close he laid beside her. “I’ve always wanted a dog but my maid, Mary, says she’s allergic.” And then she turned to gaze back up at the sky.
And as gloriously blue as the sky was that afternoon, the color of her eyes put it to shame. He reached across the blanket and plucked a dandelion from the grass.
“Likely your maid simply doesn’t want the hassle of one. My mother has used that excuse for ages.”
She turned back to look at him, smiling. “I’d be willing to wager you forced the issue, did you not?”
“His name is William. My siblings and I claimed to have found him in the woods, that he’d been wet, starving… dying. He was not, of course, and we did not. He was the largest pup of a perfectly healthy litter a few farms over.”
Her lips parted, and the giggle he was coming to crave escaped.
Not moving his gaze from her face, he lifted the dandelion and traced it along the curve of her cheek.
Her chin.
And then her lips.
“Is this what friends do, Gabriel?” Her smile faded as she gazed back at him.
Friends? No. The thoughts in his mind had nothing to do with friendship.
“Why are you unmarried?” he asked, which was only one of the questions that had been bothering him about her.
Surely, Luke Smith was not the only man to offer for her. “You are no antidote, Miss Redfield, and although you refer to yourself as a spinster, I can’t imagine you’re much past your majority.”
“I’m five and twenty.” Her voice sounded breathless.
Gabriel drew the delicate petals of the flower along her lower lip, back and forth. And then the top, nearly hypnotizing himself with the temptation to taste her.
“Surely, you’ve disappointed others?”
Looking a little dazed, she shook her head slightly. “Luke Smith is the first.” And then she blinked three times. “You want to be my friend? In truth?”
Oh, hell. What was he doing? Stanton would kill him if he were to attempt anything untoward with her. And he’d deserve it because he had nothing more than friendship to offer. “I do.” He tapped the end of her pert nose with the yellow flower.
“I have had no other offers.” And then she sighed and turned her face away. “I’ve never had a male friend before. Do you have many lady friends?”
He’d never been interested in friendship with the ladies of his acquaintance. Except for his betrothed, Victoria, who seemed more like a sister than a fiancée. Pursuing friendship with most ladies of thetonmight be considered dangerous. He’d never been compelled to take such a risk.
Although he’d taken risks with a few widows and, of course, a few ladybirds of the demimonde. “A few,” he finally answered vaguely, the flower caressing the corner of her eye now.
“Friends do not kiss, do they, Gabriel?”
He chuckled. “Generally, no.” But all thoughts of laughter left him as her lips parted when he trailed the flower along the pink flesh of her mouth.
“But you wish to kiss me now, don’t you?” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper and her slightly hooded gaze met his with unabashed honesty. “I am not mistaken. You are very close to me. There is something…” Her voice trailed off as she seemed to search for the words.
“Something?” Her innocence delighted him.
“Heavy,” she said. “Warm.”
“In the air?”
“No.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You.”
