Brilliant.
One corner of his mouth quirked upward. “So I did, or rather, Danvers managed the business, as well as a decent, if military-style, haircut.”
Her gaze drifted over him in helpless fascination. “You look very…”Debonair. Handsome. Stunning. Mouthwatering.“Nice.”
His caramel eyes twinkled with amusement, which she opted to ignore.
“Care to come in? We can move to the balcony. Or do you wish to converse, here, in the doorway?”
She nodded once and stepped inside.
They crossed to the open doors leading to the balcony and she glanced toward the mussed bed where a book lay faced down as if he’d been reclining there against the headboard, reading.
Picturing him there, a funny little shiver tickled her belly and she sighed aloud.
By his soft chuckle, she feared Teddy must’ve heard and rightly interpreted the small sound. She decided not to look at him until they reached the balcony balustrade.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry—for earlier, and…you were right. I do not like Lady Catherine.”
It seemed to her his eyes sharpened. “Why?”
“Because, although she is arguably one of the most winsome ladies of theton,l always believed”—she cleared her throat—“my brother could do better.”
“How so?” He continued to study her with the focus of a cat hunting a field mouse.
Her chin rose a fraction as she met his eye. “She might look the part, but she didn’t love him. Not really. He deserved someone who adored him, who would support him, listen to him, help him achieve his dreams. Someone kind and selfless with an integrity to match his own.”
In the waning sun, his eyes gleamed like scorched butterscotch. “Someone like you, Georgina?”
“Oh.” She shook her head, and eyed her hands, clenched before her, mortified he might think she referred to herself—which, in a sense, she did. She loved Teddy exactly like that—minus the selfless part. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
He crooked a finger under her chin and guided her face upward. “I did.”
She swallowed.
He dropped his hand and leaned on the railing. “In any case, no apology necessary, pet.”
He was going to let her odd behavior go. Relief flooded her.
“You certainly seem in a better mood than you’ve been in since we arrived,” she said.
He slid her a long look. “The influence of the sea air, perhaps.”
Abruptly it came to her what was likely the true cause and her spirits lifted even more. “It’s the medicine you’ve finally stopped fighting long enough for its benefits to manifest.” She sent him a brilliant smile as some of her guilt receded.
Because this was why she’d brought him here—to convalesce. To heal. If that meant pretending to be his legally wedded wife, so be it.
“No doubt,” he agreed.
Was it her imagination, or had his gaze briefly touched on her mouth?
An intoxicating heat swirled through her. She’d accomplished what she needed to by visiting him. Staying any longer was sheer indulgence.
“Well, then. I’d best get back to my writing. I haven’t managed many words today.” She hadn’t managed one.
He scowled. “That’s fine for you, isn’t it? You have something to occupy you, while I’m stuck here with nothing to do aside from bathing in the ocean or walking the beach, no thoughts in my head beyond trying to remember a past that wants to remain hidden.”
She hadn’t considered that.
