“That’s debatable.”
April stepped closer to the painting and to him. “And here I was beginning to think you were secretly romantic.”
He looked at her then, fully, and something electric passed between them. Jasmine scent filled his nose while her crystal blue eyes had him quite transfixed.
“I assure you,” he said, swallowing, “I am entirely dull.”
April laughed. “No, you are not. You’re many things. Frustrating. Exacting. Occasionally infuriating. But not dull.”
His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth, and when he lifted it again, the space between them had shrunk.
“April,” he murmured.
She looked up at him, not moving away. “Yes?”
He took a step closer, and then another. A tiny gasp escaped her lips. His hand hovered, not touching her but near enough that she could feel the warmth of it.
Their faces were inches apart now. Her eyes searched his as though she was waiting. Theo’s restraint, hard-won and deeply embedded, faltered.Step away from me, April.
She didn’t move, and neither did he. The moment balanced on a blade. One inch. One breath. One slip.
Seventeen
April closed her eyes. It would happen any moment now.
She could feel the heat of his breath, the tension pulled taut between them, the hush that always fell just before something irrevocable. Her lips parted slightly. The world seemed to narrow to the space between them—one inch, maybe less.
Then he stepped back, and the moment shattered like glass dropped on stone.
April opened her eyes, blinking once, her pulse still racing as if it hadn’t yet noticed the spell was broken. He was no longer looking at her, his expression unreadable once more.
Foolish. She felt a little foolish.
She straightened, tucked a curl behind her ear, and offered a quick smile. “I should start getting home. I’ve left my sistersalone long enough—there’s no telling what May might have talked June into.”
“Of course,” he said, stepping aside to let her pass.
They returned to the front of the house where Lady Darnell, now more composed, sat sipping tea near the fire.
April curtsied. “Thank you for the tea, My Lady. It was truly a pleasure.”
“The pleasure was mine, child. Come again soon. We’ve barely begun, you and I.”
April smiled, warm despite the ache just beneath her ribs. “I’d like that.”
Theo spoke solemnly beside her. “Your house isn’t far. May I walk you?”
Her lady’s maid, already waiting in the foyer near the door, trailed them at a discreet distance as they stepped into the late afternoon light.
The walk began in silence. April was unusually quiet, her thoughts tangled between what had nearly happened and what hadn’t. Her gloves felt too warm. Her chest too tight.
He walked beside her, hands behind his back, not speaking. Not rushing.
She glanced at him and then looked ahead. “She loves you deeply.”
Theo didn’t answer at once. When he did, his voice was low. “She is one of the few who did not look away.”
Something in her chest tightened.
