Gently, of course, as a gentleman would. To her credit, she fell gracefully, feet first, uttering something between a shriek and a gasp. The water soaked her nearly up to her waist. Slowly, she found her balance, her mouth forming a very shockedO, and lifted her furious eyes to mine.
Blast.
I turned on a heel and bolted back to the shore.
“You devil, Graham Everett!” she shrieked, splashing from behind me.
Tabs cackled, clapping her hands together with a gleeful look, chanting, “We got her! We got her!”
I’d just stepped foot on dry land when slim arms encircled my waist. Slim, but strong. Strong enough that I stumbled backward, and those same arms pulled me down flat on my rear at the same moment the freezing tide rushed in. Water crashed into my back; my muscles seized with shock, breath tight in my lungs.
Anna came round, standing above me and wiping her wet hands on the dry spots of her dress.
She tilted her head, clearly pleased with herself, then walked away.
ChapterTwelve
Anna
That scoundrel. He’dactuallydropped me!
I struggled to catch my breath, seized by chills and shivers as I strode toward Tabs. My mind raced in a million different directions. Graham holding me. Tabs shrieking in joy. The way he’d lifted me up, and how I’d so easily wrapped my arms around his neck. How warm his chest was. His neck. He’d smelled of oat soap and leather and the slightest hint of tobacco. I’d wanted to stay right there.
We could have been friends.
But then he’d gone anddropped me.
My legs were numb from the cold sea, but the rest of me was on fire. Angry at him for actuallythrowing me in, but also some level of embarrassment that I’d let my guard down for the slightest moment. I’d let him carry me. And I hadn’t hated it.
I kept walking forward, though every instinct in me wanted to glance over my shoulder at Graham. He was too sharp around the edges for that sort of fun. Too rigid and set upon formality. While I appreciated rules, I did not feel the obligation to live by them wholly, especially when away from Society’s eye. But he did.
Didn’t he?
Hands trembling, I bunched up my skirts, squeezing out the water that had soaked the fabric from my waist down to the hem.
“You got away so easily,” Tabs said, crouching down to help me wring out my skirts. “He should’ve walked you out farther. He threw me out in the deep once, and I had to swim back.”
Little traitor. I fought a laugh, attempting a serious frown. “You betrayed me.”
“But you got him back good! Just look at him. Completely drenched.”
Graham, drenched? I swung around to find him sopping wet, cravat removed, waistcoat undone, stepping out of the water. He brushed a wet hand through his hair like some battle-worn hero who’d just swum miles to shore from a shipwreck. Then he twisted a handful of his shirt to wring out the sea, exposing his glistening chest and a lean length of his stomach.
Good ... heavens.
“Well done,” Tabs said, and I spun back to her. “He shall have to sun all afternoon.”
I swallowed hard, squeezing my eyes shut for no good reason at all. “I hope your servants brought towels.” A lot of them. Several to cover up Graham’s legs and arms and chest and face.
Why had I sought out anything that might change our formal relationship? He was so good at irritating me. Making him admit what I’d imagined all along, that our dislike was mutual, that he played just as hard as I did to keep it a secret,to test the lines we’d drawn for each other, was less satisfying than I’d hoped.
Because now I was forced to look at him in a new way, from a new angle. To admit that there was more to Graham than a thirst for money. He was a person with secrets, just like I was. He laughed and had opinions and played with his little sister.
“Come, let us dry off in the sun.” Tabs handed me my hat. “This is always my favorite part. More food, watching the sea. T’so much better than lessons at home.”
The servants seemed to have expected as much, having laid out towels and a new spread of queen cakes and fruits, which drew Tabs like a fly. I dried off my legs and skirt as best I could, then arranged myself on the blanket beside her, accepting a plate of sweets and a cup of lemonade from a servant.
Down several paces from where we’d wandered, we again faced the sea, warmed by the sunshine. I took a small bite of my queen cake.
