“This must be done or we will be watched. Stay here, and I will return soon.”
“Are you sure?” Gabe asked.
“Yes. Once it’s done, everyone can move on, including society. I will not be gossip fodder for them.”
He turned left, walking steadily to where she was. He needed to do this, get this first encounter over, then he could carry on with his life. In fact, seeing her constantly may ease the deep ache inside him he’d never been able to soothe.
He couldn’t read her expression from here but knew she was watching him. Dressed in soft, pale rose, she looked exactly as he remembered her.
Bethany Carlow had stolen Nathan’s heart from their first meeting. He’d loved her as he had no other. She’d put something inside him that he’d never known he wanted or believed himself capable of feeling, then she had walked away, leaving him reeling and devastated. That was three years ago. Nathan had grown a great deal in that time. The lessons her abrupt departure from his life had taught him would remain etched deep inside him for some time, if not forever.
Having the person you’d given your heart to stomp on it with large boots, then toss it back in your face with total disregard for the pain it caused was something you were unlikely to ever forget.
It was fair to say that his love had deviated into several strong feelings. Rage and hate, to name but a few. Yes, hate was a strong word that he rarely used, but loathing Bethany Carlow had helped him deal with a broken heart.
Evil witch.
Her hair was the color of his brother’s morning coffee, and several thick curls rested on a creamy shoulder. Three strands of pearls were around her neck, and he had the urge to tighten the clasp. The bodice of her gown dipped low enough for him to see the rise of her lush breasts.
She was a great deal shorter than him and had the body of a goddess, soft and curvy. He’d lusted after her from first glance. With dimples and a rosebud mouth, her lure was undeniable. But he would be denying it. This woman would never hold power over him again.
He refused to feel anything. She had made her intentions toward him clear. Never again would she mean anything to him. His heart was now a cold, shriveled organ, locked up inside his chest with several chains and large impenetrable padlocks.
He was a handful of steps from her when he felt someone press to his side.
“I want to meet her,” Dimity whispered.
“I don’t think—”
“Never a Deville brother’s strong suit, so don’t start now,” she said sweetly. “You are not meeting the woman who ripped your heart from your chest alone.”
“I’m sure I should be insulted that you feel I’m unable to cope,” Nathan said.
She patted his arm, and there was nothing for it but to take his future sister-in-law with him.
“Besides, the duchess is with her, and I have so missed her.”
“She took tea with us yesterday. And I’m not entirely sure how anyone can miss that woman.”
“She’s wonderful.” Dimity smiled. It was wide and bright, and a man stepping out of their path stumbled.
“That’s quite the weapon for you now, when coupled with that gown.”
“Gabe said I am learning to flirt and it’s a dangerous thing for his heart.”
Nathan couldn’t manage a laugh, so he snorted. “Behave.” He shot her a look. She wore burnished copper, and had he not known her origins, he would have believed she’d always walked in society. Self-assured, poised, and elegant, Dimity had taken to the treacherous waters of the ton with ease.
“Moi?” she said, batting her lashes.
He snorted again, then tried to haul a breath into his tight chest as they walked the last steps to where the she-devil stood.
“Duchess, Lady Carlow, Miss Carlow.” He bowed deeply before the women, quite pleased with the even timbre of his voice. “Please allow me to introduce you to my brother’s fiancée, Miss Saint Bonnard.”
Around them, voices stopped and people watched the reunion with eager anticipation of a scene. They would get nothing from him.
“I know her,” the duchess barked, waving her cane at Dimity.
“And yet Lady Carlow and Miss Carlow do not,” Nathan said calmly.
