“Well, perhaps not Mrs. Metcalf.” Her mouth tightened and he wondered if she wasn’t biting back a smile.
“I liked it,” he admitted. Why was he arguing the matter? He rubbed his fingers along the tips of his thumbs at his side, keeping himself from… what? Reaching out to see if her hands were as cold today as they had been yesterday? And what would he do if they were?
Warm them?
“That’s neither here nor there.” The catch in her voice charged the air.
“You liked it too.” Addison halted, leaving barely two feet between them.
“I did.” She stared up at him. He was satisfied to see that on this matter, she was at least partially torn. “It was… pleasant.”
Pleasant?
What the devil? He gave into temptation and took one of her hands in his, noting the rise and fall of her chest and a pink warmth flooding her neck and cheeks. He was not mistaken, then. Pleasant was not an accurate description of how she remembered that kiss.
“Allow me—"
She jerked her hand out of his and stepped back, effectively cutting him off.
“I am sorry, Your Grace. But I have no wish to marry you.” She stared straight ahead at what he guessed to be the top button of his waistcoat. “I appreciate your concern, but I give you leave to return to your ducal life knowing that you have done that which is honorable by me. But please… I beg of you to keep this to yourself.”
Addison clenched his jaw, unused to the warring responses inside him.
Because his pride was feeling injured by her adamant refusal while at the same time he couldn’t help but find that same refusal...
Intriguing.
With any other woman, he might suspect it to be a ruse—a flirtatious game designed to extract a gesture of undying love. But her response could not be mistaken for anything other than an honest one.
“Very well, then.” He swiped his hat off her desk. He’d had quite enough of this woman.
She clasped her hands together beneath her chin and bit her lip. “I refuse to believe you are disappointed.”
He could only give her a withering look at such a comment.
“Well then,” she echoed his previous sentiment. “I wish you a safe and pleasant journey.”
“Pleasant?” He’d not intended his tone to be mocking, but the bruise to his pride was a rather stinging one.
She held his gaze, and he could almost believe he saw a hint of regret in her eyes. “Unforgettable.”
He jerked a nod and turned away.
“Goodbye.”
Addison very nearly missed the word due to a bell ringing to indicate the change in classes.
With one glance back, he memorized the bright blue color of her eyes, her face, which was more oval than heart-shaped, and the tantalizing bow of her lips. Likely, this would be the last time they spoke to one another.
He would never know the length of the blond hair framing her face or if it felt as soft as he’d imagined.
And that was a very good thing. In fact, it was excellent.
He’d made a lucky escape indeed.
One Month Later
“Ithought you were returning to Brier Manor after delivering Fiona to school.” Rowan’s black eyes glanced up from the architectural drawings he’d been examining. Addison had guessed correctly that he would find his brother here, working diligently for all the world as though his living depended on it.
