A second hitched by.
The resonant thrum of Gregory’s chuckle moved through her. She absorbed his ease, taking it for her own.
Gregory just held her that way.
They held one another. Arms wrapped about each other.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.” She wanted to. She wanted to give him this.
His body stiffened.
Daria interrupted him. “I’m doing this,” she said, knowing intuitively. “We’ve already gone over all the details with Lord Kilburn. I am ready.”
“You’re not. You’re upset—”
“I was.” She shrugged. “And now I’m not.”
Gregory eased away and assessed for himself.
If there weren’t a grander sign of his regard that he’d postpone the meeting between she and Emmy. This for Gregory was the surest way to convey his closest form of love to her.
“Also, this is Emmy,” she reminded. “She is my dear friend.”
He didn’t say anything to that.
“I’m not worried about the duke.”
Gregory grunted. “You should be.”
Leaning up on tiptoe she kissed away his scowl.
Growling his approval, Gregory glided his fingers along her jaw, and parting her lips, he seized control. With his mouth, he kissed her deeply.
It was over too quick.
“Furthermore, husband, you will be there.” With him at her side, she could brave a ton event.
Daria’s belly fluttered.
Daria smiled softly up at him. “You adorn your halls in crimson and gold, but your chambers, your sanctuary where none other dare come, are this sapphire blue because it is your favorite.”
Something altered in his eyes. His gaze lingered, and she felt it then—not appraisal, but something far more powerful. She had chosen this gown for him. He knew it, and it had, if not changed him, changed something between them.
A light shifted in his eyes.
She frowned. Had she been wrong?
“Daria, I am unable to accompany you tonight,” he murmured; his smooth baritone contained more than a trace of regret. “I thought that was clear.”
Daria stared at him. This was one of those moments where she’d heard wrong and needed a bit to process. “What?”
Gregory brushed the backs of his knuckles along her cheek.
She shoved his hand away. “It most certainly was not clear. You did not say it and I would not have missed it if you did,” she said, her heart racing.
“The only way the meeting takes place is if I’m not in attendance the same time as the Caldecotts. I’ll be along after the exchange.”
