“You know next to nothing about me,” she added.
“True.” He studied her, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Would you come out with me later this afternoon? Are you up for an adventure?”
A single outing would not be long enough that she could agree to his proposal, but an adventure…
It was just the sort of escape she craved!
And perhaps after spending a few hours alone in his company, he would become a real person to her. As the earl, he might even reveal a few warts, so to speak. And she could put him out of her mind once and for all.
But to leave the house in the afternoon, she’d have to make up some excuse to give her father.
“I won’t change my mind,” she said. It was only fair to be upfront with him. “If you need to marry quickly, you’ll be wasting your time with me.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He pinned his gorgeous blue eyes on her. “Because I want you.”
Ecstatic bubbles burst from Goldie’s heart and traveled outward to her fingertips and toes.
And her knees nearly buckled.
He wanted her!
She nodded. “Very well, then. I’ll meet you this afternoon—at the entrance to the park.
“At three?” he asked.
“At three.”
Courtship
After handing his coat and hat off to Mr. Beasley, Reed stepped into the drawing room, knowing his sister would be anxiously waiting to hear of any progress he’d made.
“Were you able to meet with her?” Caroline burst off the settee, pushing loose strands of dark hair behind her ears. It was something Lady Marigold did, but whereas Caroline’s hair was brown and straight, Goldie’s was blond and curly.
“What did she say?” Caroline prodded.
Two questions, both of which the answers were more complicated than he’d imagined they would be.
“Well,” Reed began. “In answer to your first question, yes. In answer to the second, she did not say ‘no.’”
Caroline’s eyes widened, so he added, “Nor did she say ‘yes.’”
Lady Marigold ought to have—for her own sake. What the devil had gotten into him? Kissing her like that? He’d been standing there, contemplating the color of her eyes, a swirling myriad of browns and golds and greens, and then, without consciously deciding to do so, he’d pulled her into his arms and tasted luscious raspberry lips.
“But it might work.” His sister dropped into her seat again, slouching this time, no doubt relieved that Lady Marigold had not sent him packing.
“I’m taking her driving this afternoon,” Reed said, inexplicably remembering how she’d fit in his arms—soft, yielding. Holding her against his body like that had been something of a revelation.
He’d been aroused, he’d not deny that, but he’d also felt interest—attraction.
The cacophony of emotions had been raw, and more than he’d felt in months.
“You can use the curricle Rupert purchased last spring. It’s quite spectacular—bright red. You’d be surprised at how impressive a fancy vehicle can be,” Caroline said. “And you must bring her flowers.”
Flowers, yes. But his chest tightened at the thought of taking out Rupert’s ridiculously flamboyant high-flyer. Once he’d sorted through the current mess that was his life, he’d sell the damn thing and replace it with something more practical.
But Caroline had latched onto the idea. “Rand took me driving in it once—while Rupert was…ill. Perched so high like that, above every other vehicle, made me feel like the queen herself,” his sister said. “Even Randal could be charming when he put his mind to it.”
“When he wasn’t out of his mind,” Reed added, cutting off an inappropriate expletive. Both his brother and his cousin could have been so much more, if only…
