“I find myself wanting to be alone with you,” he said softly, “and I actually plan it out in my head.”
“I know how you feel,” she answered in a voice entirely too deep to be her own.
“Yet it is very improper.”
“Indeed, it is.”
“So, I was thinking...” He moved in closer, but instead of his mouth touching hers, he used the pad of his finger to stroke her bottom lip. “Perhaps I should arrange a dinner party at my house, just as a way of bringing you there.”
“Umm, that does sound like an excellent idea. Tell me more.”
“I will invited my friends Nickerson and Larson and their companions to come, then it won’t appear so improper.”
She smiled wider. “Yes. That will work, I believe.”
“But after the night is over, I don’t know what I shall plan if I want to be alone with you again.” He shrugged. “Unless you invite me over to your place to meet your father and brother.”
If only I could... “We shall see what happens at that point.”
Ashton’s expression changed, and immediately, Nicole knew when he wanted to kiss her. It wasn’t his tender smile or that he kept moving closer. It was the desire in his hazel eyes, making them darker by the second. She was a lost cause when this happened.
Just as his mouth was a breath away from her, someone knocked at the door. He jumped back, and the breath caught in her throat. Even though disappointment washed over her, she sighed with relief. She couldn’t allow him to kiss her again—not until she knew for certain if he was behind the railway robberies.
Before Ashton could say anything to their intruder, the door opened, and in walked a thin man.
“Mr. Lee, another thing I remembered—”
He stopped short when he finally noticed Nicole. His face burned as red as his hair.
“Oh, forgive me, Mr. Lee. I wasn’t told you had anyone in your room.”
“Yes, well—” Ashton began.
“I was just leaving,” Nicole quickly added and stood.
Ashton’s gaze met hers, and his eyes silently pleaded with her to stay. Sadly, she must go. Today hadn’t been a failure since she discovered a little information about him, but she would wait for the dinner party at his with the others from his business and try as she could to get more proof of Ashton’s innocence—or guilt.
She smiled at Ashton. “Mr. Lee, thank you for meeting with me on short notice. We shall keep in touch.” Before he could stop her, she quickly exited the room.
As she stepped out on the boardwalk, she breathed another sigh of relief. At least she was able to get out of there without experiencing one of Ashton’s explosive kisses. The more he kissed her, the more her wall of indifference would shatter. She could not have that.
“Miss Bastian,” Ashton’s voice called from behind her.
Inwardly, she groaned and spun toward him. When he reached her, his breaths came fast as if he had been running. “Yes, Mr. Lee?”
“I just remembered...I don’t know where you live. Where shall I send your invitation for my dinner party?”
She smiled. “You are correct, of course.” But now she had to give him her address. She didn’t know if that was a good idea or not. She didn’t want him spying on her or waiting by her house for her return one evening when she had to work later than normal. Ashton would certainly become curious if that happened. “But I fear giving you my address before you have met my family isn’t a good idea.”
He laughed aloud. “Oh, Miss Bastian. How you think of these things on the spur of the moment, I shall never know.”
“Perhaps you should give me your address and tell me what night to come, instead.”
“Won’t you need a chaperone?”
She could have slapped herself for not thinking of that. “Um, yes. I shall have the housekeeper, Mrs. Phelps, accompany me.”
“Is she the one who came with you today?”
