Melanie swallowed hard, hesitating until a single drop of rain landed on that perfect little face.
Falling to her knees, she didn’t care that her gown was going to be soaked.
“Don’t cry.”Why did your mother leave you here, all alone?Why would anyone abandon a baby on the Duke of Malum’s doorstep?
But before the questions completely formed in her mind, she already knew the answer.
Even Melanie wasn’tthatnaïve.
The baby cried out again, the sound tugging at her attention.
Before she could reach inside the basket, however, she felt the door open—not from any noise, but from the shift in the air, a shadow falling over the front step.
Lifting her gaze, she found herself staring at two stocking-clad feet—unmistakably a man’s. Her gaze tracked up and she had nowhere to look except for his powerful-looking thighs, on full display in perfectly fitted trousers.
Her breath hitched, and tilting her head back, she noticed that his waist was slim, his chestmesmerizing, and his shoulders wide.
Not so wide, however, that they lacked elegance.
The man was dressed almost entirely in black—from his stockings to his cravat. The pristine white of his shirt stood in stark contrast to his dark trousers, jacket, and waistcoat.
But it was his face that held her attention—a study in sharp angles, with a square jaw, a Grecian nose, and high cheekbones.
Not the butler.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
Melanie’s mouth snapped shut—only then did she realize it had been hanging open.
The Duke of Malum’s silver eyes glinted as he stared down at her, and she couldn’t have been more taken aback if she’d been staring at the devil himself.
Albeit, a handsome devil.
And if she was correct, an annoyed one.
She shook her head. He’d asked her a question, and, kneeling beside the baby that had been forsaken on his front step, she realized she was going to have to answer him.
“You are…” Her voice was thin, almost unfamiliar to her own ears from saying so little. She cleared her throat, trying again. “You are the duke,” she managed, and then flushed.
She didn’t normally stare into the eyes of strangers, but with this man, she couldn’t look anywhere else.
“Obviously.” He smirked.
The baby chose that moment to remind both of them of its existence.
And that they were all getting rained on.
The duke dropped his gaze to the basket and then looked right back up at her.
“I’ll ask you again.” His voice was low and steely. “What are you doing?”
Oh. Oh!Melanie swallowed hard, realizing what this must look like.
“It—it isn’t mine,” she finally managed.
MEETING THE NEIGHBOR
“Ilive…” Pressed, Melanie’s throat thickened. “There.” Melanie pointed to the window in her mother’s townhouse.
