But in the end, it hadn’t even been a choice, really. She’d been compelled to come here. Shehadto know how Griffin would act.
She purposely hadn’t told Griffin that she was barren. He would only say it didn’t matter. She knew him well enough to know that. He would insist they marry. And she couldn’t allow him to do that. Griffin was a duke. He needed an heir. He had a duty. She’d already failed the Maxwell clan. Shewasn’t about to be the reasontwodukedoms remained without heirs.
Not to mention it would break Griffin’s poor mother. She had been waiting for a grandchild for far too long already. The duchess loved Meredith. She would also insist they marry. No. Meredith loved them all far too much to ruin their chances of producing an heir.
She might not be able to marry him, but she couldn’t forget the passion she’d found in Griffin’s arms. It had been explosive, unlike anything she’d experienced before. And every second of it replayed in her mind over and over. Haunting her, torturing her.
She was already halfway through her first glass of brandy, doing all she could to block out the tantalizing thoughts of the things Griffin had said to her, the things he’d done to her body, the things he’d whispered into her ear.
Then her thoughts would flip to what he’d said afterward. He lovedher? Of course he did. It seemed as obvious as breathing now. And shehadknown the truth. Perhaps not in her mind, but in her heart. She’d known it and had tried to make it go away, just like every other difficult emotion she’d shared with Griffin over the years.
The way he’d made love to her the first two times had been amazing, but that night in her drawing room—thathad been unbelievable. She hadn’t known that such a thing could happen. It never had with Maxwell.
“Brandy tonight?” came a deep, male voice in her ear.
Meredith turned to see Griffin standing there. He was wearing his familiar blue waistcoat and mask. So handsome. So unbearably handsome.
“Buy me another?” she asked, even though her glass was still half full.
He shook his head. “I only came here tonight to say good-bye to you.”
“Good-bye?” The word caught in her throat. She’d been planning to tell him the same thing, but the word sounded so final when he said it. Were they truly going to say good-bye to one another without admitting their identities?
“First, there’s something I must tell you,” he said.
She nodded. This was it. He obviously planned to tell her the truth. And she must listen and also tell the truth. “Go ahead.”
“Not here.” He tilted his head toward the back of the club. “Come up to the room with me? I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
She nodded again and waited while he paid the barkeep for the room key. She clutched her half-full glass of brandy as if it were the last shred of her sanity as she followed him up to the room. With the masks, maybe she would be able to pretend just a little bit longer.
Room seven again. Was it lucky or cursed?
When the door closed behind them, she turned to face him. “I’m glad we came up here. There’s something I need to say to you too.”
He pressed his back against the door and folded his arms over his chest. “Ladies first.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for what happened between us the other night. It was… I was… I’m sorry.” She didn’t even know if she was apologizing for the last time they’d been here at the club together or that night in the drawing room. Both, probably.
“Thank you. I accept your apology,” he said. “My turn?”
Meredith nodded.
Griffin steeled himself.He was angry with Meredith for avoiding him all week. The morning after the dinner party,he’d tried to pay her a call. She’d refused him. Apparently, she wouldn’t refuse him when he wore a mask. Somehow he’d known she would still be here tonight. And he’d been desperate to see her. That’s why he’d come. But either way, it was time for both of them to stop pretending.
They needed to have this out. Which was why he’d insisted on coming up to this room. He didn’t want the entire club to witness their argument. Not to mention the fact that he had no intention of removing his mask in the middle of the crowd downstairs.
Griffin took a deep breath. It was time. He was tired of living under false pretenses. From now on, he would be nothing but truthful about his identity, about his feelings for Meredith, about everything. But first he wanted some truthfrom her. And how convenient that he could ask her a few things while they were still pretending?
He stepped toward her, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Tell me something.”
“Yes?” she gulped, watching him carefully.
He narrowed his eyes. “Who is Griffin? What does he mean to you?” If she wanted to keep pretending, he would let her.
“Griff, uh, Griffin is my friend. My closest friend.” Another gulp. She wouldn’t look him in the eye.
He continued to walk toward her, and she retreated slowly until her back hit the far wall of the small room. Then he braced both hands against the plaster on either side of her head. “Oh, I think he’s more than a friend. Given what happened between us the other night.You said his name.”
