“You are too much.” Laughing, Sophie stood. “Now that we’ve figured out the dinner’s seating arrangement so a war won’t break out, I’m going to call my betrothed and see how he’s doing.”
“Say hello to Bertrand for me,” Kat said.
“Are you going to wait around for Jamie?” Sophie asked Kat with a hopeful expression.
Gill didn’t want her anywhere near the man. That gave him an idea. “I thought I might show Kat the dungeon.”
“Oh, that would be great,” Sophie said. “Kat was too tired her first day here.”
Kat didn’t say anything. “No” being the most important word he hadn’t heard.
He wanted to spend more time with her. “Might be a good idea to show her the escape routes in case she finds herself stuck down there someday.”
“Have fun.” Sophie headed out of the ballroom.
Kat’s brows drew together. “The dungeon? Don’t you have work to do?”
“It can wait.” He stood and reached out to help her up.
She grabbed his hand and stood. Her skin was soft and warm.
He didn’t want to let go, but he did. “You’ll enjoy this.”
“I didn’t think dungeons were supposed to be enjoyable.”
“This will be.”
Her mouth slanted. All he could think about was kissing her again.
“Why is that?” she asked with suspicion.
He smiled. “Because you’ll be with me.”
*
With him.Katfollowed Gill down a narrow circular staircase made out of stone blocks. Since yesterday, that was the only place she wanted to be—with Gill.
Crazy, yes, but being with him felt…right. In a way spending time with Jamie didn’t.
Old-looking electrical sconces hung on the wall. Much safer than the open flame torches that were used in centuries past. The lights cast eerie shadows on the staircase and Gill.
Oh, the flirty marquess was good for Kat’s ego. She’d never felt more wanted. But she had a feeling he acted like this with many women. She wasn’t special to him. She just happened to be staying at the same place and was single.
Still, he was fun to have as a friend. And yesterday evening when he’d come to her door to ask about the best kind of puppy to adopt, she knew she’d made a friend.
Gill was different.
“Be careful.” He pointed to a doorway they approached. “You may need to duck to keep from hitting your head.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Captain?”
The humidity increased the lower they descended. The air smelled dank. “This part of the castle reminds me of a pirate movie.”
“If I’d known that, I would have brought rum.”
“Yo-ho-ho.”
