“He wouldn’t dare,” Anna said, half-heartedly struggling against Tabs. She eyed me with a fierce but playful glare. I knew her well enough after three years to know she was not truly scared. She was testing my limits. Wondering how far I’d dare go.
I stopped in front of her, face to face. “Good work, Miss Tabitha. I’ve wanted to make this woman pay for her crimes for a long time.”
Anna snorted. “My crimes?”
“That dinner basket you offered me back at your house wasn’t the first time you’ve tried to turn me out, was it? Your feigned politeness is like sugared poison.”
“Sugared poison?”
“Indeed, you are so polite. I recall your sweet concernover the scuffs on my boots upon our early acquaintance, and so pointedly in front of your father.”
“You could’ve been a thief, for all we knew.” She raised her chin, smirking. “I do not regret it.”
“Oh?” I stepped closer, until she and I were a breath away. A low ache settled deep in my stomach. This was the closest I had ever been to Anna Lane. We’d been in the same room more times than I could remember, but I’d never counted her breaths, never noticed the little scar above her brow. Up close and unreserved, Anna Lane was a new creature. Though, still, she had that fiery look in her eyes. And that tantalizing scent. Jasmine. Cherries. And the sea. “You will.”
I wondered what she thought of me, seeing me like this. At home. Relaxed. Tabs wanted me to play as I usually did, and apparently so did Anna.
Dare I?
Anna’s lips turned up, her shoulders relaxed like she knew I’d given up, and I took it like a challenge.
In a breath, I lifted her in my arms, cradling her close to my chest, then bolted toward the sea. She held fast to my neck, kicking and shrieking and begging for Tabs to save her.
“You wretched man! Let me down!”
My heart flew into my throat, beating fast through every limb. “This is for the goat cheese!” I said, tightening my hold against her efforts. “And that horrible little notebook you write in!”
I splashed into the sea, and she sucked in a breath, fingers digging into my neck. Her smooth hair brushed my jaw, and I swallowed in the sweet scent. Confound it, how could a woman be so overwhelming in every way? I’d danced witha hundred and not one of them had felt this good. This instantly familiar.
What am I doing?
“I swear, Graham, if you throw me in that water—” Her voice turned desperate, but she’d stopped squirming, her face still tucked into my neck.
“We could have been friends you know, three years ago when I first met you. Butyoudecided I was your enemy. That perfect, hateful little smile you always give me—”
“It makes you mad, doesn’t it?” She was just as breathless as I.
“Furious,” I corrected her, taking a few more steps. My muscles seized with the shock of the cold water rising with my every step. “I hate the way you smirk at me. You knowjusthow to be frustrating.”
“Throw her overboard, Graham!” Tabs called.
“And what of your condescending flattery? Hmm? ‘How stunning you look, Miss Lane,’” she mimicked me. Rather perfectly. “Just last week! What was it you said? ‘What a lovely gown. Soflawlesslyaltered. You glow as though Aphrodite herself kissed your cheeks with envy.’”
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. The sea moved all around us, gulls squawking in the distance, the cool breeze rustling, and I stood knee-deep in water, holding her in my arms like it was the easiest thing in the world. “Every woman deserves to be complimented.”
“Sincerely.” Her eyes bored into mine. They were so light brown they were almost golden in the sun. I blinked, but I found I did not want to look away. Not from her eyes. Not from the curve of her nose. Not from those round lips that parted perfectly enough to be kissed.
I blinked.
Anna Lane.
Mr. Lane’s daughter.
Had I gone entirely mad?
I did the only thing I could think of. The necessary thing.
I dropped her in the water.
