Though she tried to quell the urge, her mouth quirked into a grin. She skirted the low table and joined him on the sofa.
“Teddy, I am not now, nor have I ever been, ashamed of you.”
His playful look vanished. “I know,” he agreed, far too quickly.
She placed her hand on his forearm. “Where is this coming from? Why would you say such a thing?”
Brows furrowing, and looking so much like a little boy she would laugh under different circumstances, he scrubbed his free hand over his jaw. “I…don’t know. I didn’t really mean it. I was only joking.” He threw her a look of defiance as if daring her to contradict him.
He hadn’t been joking, of that she was quite sure. “I could never be ashamed of you, Teddy,” she said gently. “You’re the most beautiful, most charming, most witty man I’ve ever known. Even in your current state, unable to recall your past, you can’t disguise your nature, which is thoughtful and caring, artistic and intuitive, and what’s more—”
“There’s more, pet?” he asked, amusement glinting in his caramel eyes, though the fingers her traced over her cheek denoted unguarded tenderness.
She lifted her chin, and finished. “—loyal. Drake always said there was no one he’d rather have in his corner when facing a fight.”
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, clearly moved.
She spoke nothing short of the truth. “You’ve always had a tendency to be overly hard on yourself, now I think of it.”
He made a scoffing sound in his throat.
She sent him a wry grin. “Maybe that comes from being good at everything you try your hand at—even your sketch work. You demand perfection of yourself. In any case, the fact you suffered an injury on the battlefield is nothing to be ashamed of and I’ll call out anyone who says otherwise—including you.”
“Will you, indeed?” he drawled.
“I would do anything for you.” Anything, she thought. Even lie, if it were for his own good.
And giving yourself to him? Had that been for his own good? Or for yours?
Chapter Twenty
Sitting beside Georginain the sunny, airy, and artful space with its windows she’d left undressed in order not to obstruct her view of the ocean, Teddy couldn’t help feeling like he was experiencing a little piece of heaven on earth. He searched her eyes, awed, and more than a little mystified, by what he saw in their silvery depths.
This woman. This utterly feminine, delectable enchantress who had a need for no one thanks to her own inner fortitude and an innate ability to manage her life on her own terms, had, for some reason, gifted him with her abundant, intoxicating, addictive love. She was doggedly loyal, fiercely protective, and evidently determined to see in him qualities he did not begin to possess.
Oh, perhaps he knew a thing or two about charming the fairer sex, but what was that to boast about in the grand scheme of things?
She claimed her brother, Drake, thought him loyal. He batted back a wave of dread that washed through him conjuring the man’s smiling visage and called to mind instead the dream from which he’d awoken this morning. It had seemed less like a dream than a memory. Lady Catherine’s words implied the two of them had engaged in, at a minimum, some heavy flirtation. What would Georgina say if he toldher he’d likely poached her brother’s territory?
Not that he had any intention of telling her.
And what of her brother, Drake? Had he suspected? Was that why hisclosest friendhad warned him off of her?Damnthis inability to know anything for certain.
He drew his hand to his temple and rubbed at the burgeoning headache suddenly trying to emerge. Whatever the case, he knew, somehow to his core, that he did not deserve her charitable view of him, nor her ferocious defense of him against any adversary he might face, nor her love. But did that mean he meant to argue her out of her stance? Not a chance.
He slid her a considering look. “It seems I’ve inadvertently pulled you from your writing, wife.” Of course, he had. More proof of his selfishness. He’d known she’d be in here, nose in one of her notebooks, creating one of her imaginary worlds. He simply hadn’t had the fortitude to resist the draw.
In fairness, for all practical purposes, they were newlyweds.
She sent him a guileless smile that hit him like a fist to the gut. “That’s all right. I can use the break.”
Had she always been this sweet to him, he wondered? So eager to please?
“No way, Ted. Look away,” Drake warned and grabbed his arm to stop him from pausing on the park promenade to speak with Georgina whose path would intersect with theirs in another few seconds if they’d but stopped.
Ted laughed under his breath, returning Georgina’s wave, and kept pace with Drake. “What? Can’t I wish your sister a pleasant good afternoon?”
Drake sent him a mock, stern smirk. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you’ve been eyeing her the last few weeks. You’ll only encourage her and you know she’s not for you.”
