DAWN FAST APPROACHEDas Leo finally slipped into his shoes. “I’m famished,” he said as he kissed her again.
She rather enjoyed his kisses. In fact, the whole night had been more than she could have ever dreamed. “Me too, but I can’t very well order for two up here.”
Leo grinned. “Can you imagine the look on their faces?”
“No!” she said, relishing the thought of scandalizing the hotel staff. Scandalizing anyone would be a first for her. But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t jeopardize her friends and the opportunity to climb the Matterhorn. “But I can stop by this afternoon to talk party business.”
He groaned, and it wasn’t the sexy one he’d emitted several times during the course of the last eight hours. “It’s ridiculous.”
“It’s necessary, so you might as well get on board. The theme is ‘ice.’”
“You might as well have a theme called ‘weather’ for all the good it will do you.” Leo shrugged into his overcoat and put on his hat. He really was going to leave her.
Of course, he should leave. It was nearly morning, and he couldn’t very well be seen leaving her room. His best bet was a sleepy doorman downstairs.
“Then you ought to help me so that things don’t get out of hand. And I’m taking you to Bond Street.”
He reared back. “Why?”
“Because the best way to make a party look fancier than it actually is while still on a budget is cloth. And where is the cloth? Bond Street.”
“Cloth is not budget friendly.”
“It is compared to fresh flowers.” She stepped forward and rebuttoned his waistcoat, where he’d inadvertently mismatched the closure. “And if you won’t believe me, look into it yourself.”
He gave a heavy sigh. “You’re never going to let me live down calling on Lord Rascomb to see if you were telling the truth.”
Prudence smiled, somehow, the hurt of his initial insult no longer stinging. “Nope.” She went up to her tiptoes and kissed his nose. “Now shoo. Go on, git.”
He turned and went to the door, but before he opened it, he turned back. “Prudence, I know I can’t send you flowers tomorrow, or rather, later today, without spurring gossip. So I’d like to say now that I rather enjoyed myself last night.”
“I should think so,” she said. “I rather did myself as well.”
“And I hope we might do it again.”
Her body went suddenly languid and hot, as it had all those hours on the couch, in her bed, and in the bathing room. “I do too.”
Leo smiled at her—a real, genuine expression of happiness. And then he left.
Prudence listened to his footsteps disappear down the hall before she ran giggling through her rooms to her bed. She flung herself on the mussed comforter and laughed. She had done it! She had a lover! And it was so good. Far better than anticipated. And she liked him too. She actually liked Leo Moon, which was somewhat surprising after their first encounters.
And despite the coolness of the room, and the peek of sunlight encroaching through the windows, Prudence fell into a deep, satisfied sleep.
Chapter Five
“HERE ARE THEswatches,” Prudence said, presenting the cloth squares to Ophelia. The other women leaned over to peer at them.
“I like the dark blue paired with the light, almost silvery blue. It reminds me of the depths of the sea,” Eleanor said.
“It isn’t about the sea,” Justine argued, pointing at the green-blue cloth instead. “I like that color.”
“But is that really a color of ice?” Ophelia asked.
“Does it matter?” Justine countered.
“It should if you dismiss Eleanor’s suggestions of the sea,” Prudence said, wanting to stick up for Eleanor.
They all sagged back into the silk cushioned chairs of Ophelia’s mother’s drawing room. They’d run again this morning, bathed, dressed, and had refreshments. Now it was time to finally get some business done.
