“Honestly? I’ve been waiting for my sister’s permission to court one of her friends.”
Millie’s mouth dropped open. What? She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Her thoughts spun as she tried to call up all the women Sarah considered a friend. The two of them were the closest, but that was because they’d grown up living very close to one another. But surely Sarah had other friends. Carlisle couldn’t mean… “Who? And did she grant her permission?”
His mouth firmed in a hard line for a moment. “No.”
Her heart sank, but her thoughts were still whirling, spinning all manner of impossibilities. “What are you going to do?”
“I no longer care what she thinks.”
He rose to his feet, and she expected him to leave the room. Instead, he took a step closer and held out his hands. She took them without hesitation and allowed him to help her to her feet. The novel fell to the floor, but they both ignored it.
They stood like that for several long seconds, just staring at one another. And then he lowered his head and kissed her.
CHAPTER 7
Shock.
This couldn’t be happening. Carlisle wasn’t kissing her. Which meant… had he been talking about her? Was she the woman he wanted to court?
The kiss was short, almost chaste, but he’d kissed her on the mouth. And then he was pulling away and watching her.
Her hand moved to her lips, and for possibly the first time in her life, Millie was stunned into silence.
“I think it might be best if I take you back to your parents’ house.”
Her thoughts were still on the kiss and trying to decipher what he’d told her. “In the carriage?”
“No, on horseback. We can ride together. The trip there and back that the groom made will have created a path in the snow. It will be easier for the two of us to travel together.”
“On one horse?”
“Yes, Millie.”
She swallowed her disappointment. “Can we have our walk in the garden before we leave?”
She didn’t realize that she was still rubbing her finger against her bottom lip until Carlisle reached up and covered her handwith his. He brought her hand to his mouth and dropped a kiss in her palm.
“Of course we can.” He shook his head and released her hand. “I should have spoken to you last night at dinner, but you were so distraught about your father. I apologize if my actions have given you any cause for concern. I’ll leave you now, and we can finish this discussion later.” He let out an audible breath and then turned to leave.
She stared after his retreating figure, and it took her several seconds before her scrambled thoughts snapped into place.
Carlisle had kissed her, and right now he was trying to behave honorably. But he’d kissed her, and when she’d remained frozen in place, he’d been sad. Disappointed.
But she’d been so surprised she was finally getting what she wanted—a sign that this man she’d long admired had a romantic interest in her. It wasn’t unexpected that a rather large part of her had been afraid she was imagining things. But she couldn’t have imagined a scene where he was disappointed because he didn’t believe she returned his affection.
She couldn’t allow him to walk away. She raced after him and caught him just before he was about to enter his study.
He moved to one side of the hall, and she realized that he expected her to run past him. No, not anymore. She was done running. She moved past him, yes, but she turned right and opened the door to his study. She waited for him to follow her, and when he did, she closed the door behind them.
“I want you to speak to me right now. No more waiting.”
He nodded, his eyes serious. “Of course. I’ve put this off for too long.”
“I’m not sure what’s happening.” Her voice was soft, uncertain. “I think I know but…” She shrugged.
His mouth twitched into a quick smile. “I’m sure my behavior has been confusing.”
“You’re being so nice to me, my lord. I used to think you hated me.”
