“You should be careful,” the eldest sister said with worry.
“Me?” Arabella chuckled. “He should have been more careful provoking me. Now, he will have to learn the hard way. Which will be subtle. But also hard. You know what I mean.”
The two sisters rolled on the bed laughing till they fell asleep.
CHAPTER 5
Tasty Cream
The next day, Arabella was walking up to Gunther’s with Winnie in tow. The weather was surprisingly nice, and it seemed that the whole ton had the same idea of enjoying a cool ice cream in Gunther’s.
Arabella entered the place, and the moment she did, she heard her name.
“Arabella,” Alexandra and her cousin, Theo, were waving at her.
She smiled at everyone as she made her way to their table, greeting and talking to almost everyone who was delighted to see her.
“Good morning, Alex,” she kissed the cheek of her friend.
“We would invite you, but we are leaving,” Theo said. “I need to travel to France, and we just came for one last Gunther’s.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I am actually meeting someone,” Arabella smiled.
“Who?” Alexandra said with interest.
“It’s just-” Arabella raised her head and looked around the shop.
And that was when she saw the Duke. He was sitting in the furthest corner table possible, the most private one, alone. Everyone turned from time to time to glance at him with such intensity that Arabella dared to safely assume that this was the first time the Duke had visited this establishment. It was, after all. a joyous place where people came to indulge themselves, notions to which the Duke seemed particularly allergic.
And yet the light filtering through the crystals of the shop bathed him in a light much different than that of her drawing room. He had noticed her, and their intense green was focused on her.
“You must excuse me,” Arabella said to her friend as she mustered her courage and wits. “We will see each other at the charity, of course. Theo, safe travels.”
Theo stood up and took her hand in greeting. Arabella smiled at him and made her way to the back of the shop, still stopping to politely greet the members of the ton that were watching which table would have the delight of her much sought-after company.
Her eyes drifted back to him. Even sitting down, it was impossible to ignore how simply too much of him occupied the area. One could have a lot to say about the Duke, none of them good. But if she were to be fair, she would have to admit that he was, in fact, blessed in the looks area.
Perhaps he was not so elegant as other members of the ton, but his face was all sharp lines, strong, masculine, his features chiseled as if carved to perfection. His shoulders were broad and strong, and his chest was barreling inside the conservative black suit. All in all, he was annoyingly perfect.
It was something simpler that caught her attention, though. His lips. Those same, devilish, audacious lips that roamed her neck just the day before. The memories came flooding back to her, and she could almost feel the tint of blush on her cheeks. And even worse, she saw the subject of her obsession smirk knowingly. The Duke had followed her look, and he knew exactly what she was looking at.
That was enough for her to hasten her step, more determined than ever to erase that smirk for good.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” she arrived at the table, and was happy that she would be sitting with her back to everyone.
With a stony, impassive look, the Duke stood and bowed sternly, pulling her chair. The shop drew a collective breath. The Sunshine of the Ton, as some called her in the sheets, and the Cruel Duke. What a pair. Arabella just hoped that this… pairing wouldn’t be for long.
“You are late, Miss Arabella,” he said as he took his place. “I had to physically watch you being late from the entrance to the table. Perhaps if you stopped dallying with everyone, you would be on time.”
“You mean basic human interaction?” Arabella countered. “I suppose I should adopt your lovely disposition and empty the room with a scowl.”
“It is effective.”
Someone came to take their order, and Arabella smiled a wide smile. She had a four-step plan to make the Duke run for the hills in terror. And she was ready for step one.
“Oh,” she looked at the menu. “How can anyone decide on one flavor?”
“With ease,” the Duke hissed.
