“Yes, that is perfect.” He swooped down and kissed her once more on the lips before pulling away and walking toward his door.
The next thirty-four hours couldn’t go by fast enough.
ASHTON MADE IT TO THE fisherman’s shack a good forty-five minutes ahead of schedule. Perhaps he shouldn’t have hurried. It wasn’t that he anticipated holding and kissing Nicole...yet there was no other explanation for his eagerness. Indeed, he couldn’t wait to see her again. The past day and a half seemed to drag by, and he thought this moment would never get here.
So far, there was no sign of her as he paced back and forth in front of the shack. Waiting made him that much more nervous, and he prayed nothing had got in her way of their secret meeting tonight. He had forgotten that his servants had most of the evening off due to their Butler’s Ball function happening tonight. Now he wanted nothing more than to convince Nicole to go with him to his house, and they could be alone there instead of here, where they might get caught.
On the other hand, taking her to his house might be too risky. Their relationship was getting more dangerous, and the feelings running rampant through his body were becoming unmanageable. He feared there would be a time in the near future that he wouldn’t want to stop kissing her, and he would be very tempted to take things to the next level.
For him, the next level was always making the woman his mistress, but with Nicole, he couldn’t do that. She wasn’t like most of the women he had seduced. She wouldn’t want to be a mere mistress. But if truth be told, he didn’t want her to be. Dare he think of a more permanent relationship? Dare he imagine being married?
“There you are!”
A man’s sharp voice rattled Ashton from his improper thoughts, and he snapped his attention to the shadows by the shack. Narrowing his gaze, he tried to make out the person’s figure hurrying closer.
“Nickerson? Is that you?”
“Of course, it’s me, you fool.” Glynn stopped and leaned over, breathing quickly.
“What are you doing out here? I thought you would be out with Mrs. Browning again.”
Glynn shook his head. “I stayed behind to...um...visit with another woman. What can I say? I cannot settle on just one woman.”
Chuckling, Ashton rolled his eyes. “Oh, I see, but what are you doing here?”
“As soon as I heard the news, I had to come to find you. I saw you leaving your house a while ago, and it took me this long to follow your trail.”
“What news?”
“The police think they have a suspect, but you’re not going to like it.”
Ashton held his breath, hoping...praying he wouldn’t hear the name that had just popped into his head. “Who is it?” he asked warily.
“It is your very own Nicole Bastian.”
Pain shot through Ashton’s chest, reminding him that this was a feeling he never wanted to experience again.
“Not only that, but her brother and Mrs. Phelps are also involved.”
“Have they...been arrested?” Ashton asked in a choked voice.
“Not yet. They are just suspects. The police are looking for hard evidence to convict them all.”
Taking a deep breath, Ashton tried to control the anger and betrayal shooting through him. “Why did you feel the need to follow me all the way out here to tell me?”
“Because, my friend,” Glynn said, placing his hand on Ashton’s shoulder. “When I saw you walking this way so late in the evening, I worried you were going to meet Miss Bastian tonight. I wanted to stop you before you could do anything you’d regret later.”
“Then I thank you for catching me just in time,” Ashton snapped. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to return home and think over this matter more thoroughly.”
“Yes, I understand.” Glynn stepped back.
Ashton bolted up the shore toward his horse. He mounted, kicked his steed into action, and raced toward home. How could he have been so blind? Twice now? Had Nicole’s beauty and charm really turned him into a blubbering fool? Obviously, it had. What other explanation could there be for him not using his brain the way the Lord had intended? Ashton had always been a smart man—a logical man, but ever since he’d met Nicole Bastian, he’d been downright ignorant and extremely foolish.
Never again. His heart couldn’t take it.
Gripping the reins tighter, he pushed the animal faster. He rehashed in his mind when this had happened to him before. Many years ago, he had allowed a woman into his life and heart, and like most women, Ashton soon discovered he couldn’t trust her. Did women not know how to be truthful? Was there a woman out there who could love him for himself and not the money his family had?
He rode up to his house. A movement from the window of his study caught his attention. Slowing his horse to a stop, he waited in the shadows and watched at a distance. He had left a few lamps lit inside his house but not in his study. So then, why was a lamp dimly lit now?
