“No. No. I should have said that it’s infinitely more diverting to—hic—dance with a handsome gentleman, who—” Oh dear Lord. Had she just called him handsome? To his face? This was worse than tripping. Perhaps she could fake a trip to distract him.
“You think I’m handsome?” His grin was legendary.
She winced and scrunched up her nose. “Yes,” she squeaked. “Hic. Frankly, my lord, I didn’t think your handsomeness was ever in question.”
He gave her another knee-weakening smile. “Do you know what?”
Yes. You’re exceedingly handsome.“What?”
“I’ve heard there is a cure for hiccups.”
“Is that so? Hic.” Good. Talk about the hiccups. No more talk about the handsomeness.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear again. More gooseflesh skittered down her neck. “Yes, and if you’ll come outside with me, I’ll show you.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
There had been times in her life when Meg desperately wished for a bout of hiccups to subside. Tonight, however, she had never, ever been so grateful for a prolonged case of them. Hiccups were lovely. Hiccups were magnificent. Hiccups were glorious, given the fact that they had procured an offer for additional contact with Hart and an invitation to go outside with him. Alone. Huzzah for hiccups!
Meg briefly prayed that the hiccups would not cure themselves before she had a chance to take Hart up on his offer. Shamefully, she briefly considered whether she could believablyfakea prolonged bout of hiccups if necessary. Fortunately, she did not have to make that awful choice. By the time Hart escorted her outside over the terrace, and out into the gardens to a secluded spot, she was still very much… hiccuping.
He positioned her in front of him, a tall hedge behindhim, blocking them from view of the terrace and the house. She watched him, wide-eyed and exceedingly curious. The only remedy she’d ever heard for hiccups involved swallowing a spoonful of sugar upside down. She tried that nonsense before and it had not worked. She also highly doubted Hart was hiding a spoonful of sugar in his waistcoat.
“Ready?” he asked, glancing behind them as if to ensure no one would see what he was about to do.
“I suppose so… hic.” What exactly involved so much secrecy? Especially when it came to hiccups cures.
Hart grabbed her by her upper arms, pulled her close, and of all unexpected things… kissed her!
His warm fingers dug slightly into her skin but she didn’t mind. She was much more interested in the feel of his lips moving against hers and the pure shock. Was this a dream? Perhaps Hart had suffered a head injury and didn’t realize who he was snogging in the gardens. Sarah hadn’tmentioneda head injury but perhaps—
Meg pulled herself away from him and stepped back, prepared to ask after his poor head. She touched her fingers to her burning lips and simply stared at him.
“I beg your…” Wait. She didn’t beg his anything. Indeedheshould be the one to beg any pardons. At the very least, she needed to be reassured he’dmeantto do it, sans head injury.
“Are your hiccups gone?” he asked with a wide smile on his handsome face.
“Are my…?” She waited. No hic. She waited some more. Still no hic. She counted ten. Then twenty. Narya hic. “Yes. I do believe they are gone,” she announced, dumbfounded.
“It worked, then?” He was still grinning and looked nothing if not proud of himself.
“What worked?”
“My remedy for hiccups.”
Meg closed her eyes and cupped her hand behind her ear. “Pardon? Are you… do you mean to say that your remedy for curing hiccups is… kissing?” No doubt about it. She was no longer in a Shakespearean tragedy. DefinitelyComedy of Errors.
Hart laughed so loud he had to clap his hand over his mouth and glance around to ensure the sound hadn’t drawn an audience. “No,” he said, “not at all.”
She blinked at him. The man was making no sense. Perhaps a head injury had occurred after all. She considered asking him if he’d been listening when she stated her name as Meg Timmons.
“The remedy is surprise,” he explained.
More blinking. “Surprise?”
“Yes. I surprised you, didn’t I?”
No. The man hadastonishedher. “That is one word for it.”
