Time had been kind to her olive face and figure. The gown Jahleel designed showed the delicate woman that mourning rags hid.
When she looked again at him, he could drown in her jet eyes. Could he truly blame Tavis for wanting Katherine? Her zeal and passion gave her power to break any man.
For a moment, Jahleel was ready to be broken again and reformed into a man she could love.
Yet, he wasn’t so young anymore.
Time hadn’t been kind. His body was weaker. He’d become slower and more deliberate. It wasn’t a fair fight. He could be easily defeated by a determined Katherine Wilcox Palmers.
“Thank you for helping them, Jahleel.”
He blinked twice and almost tugged his ear. “You’re welcome. The two are genuinely honest souls. They deserve joy.”
Chuckles. “Honest, Jahleel. That’s not a word I thought you knew. That cartoon could’ve been us in the music room and you trying to make me kiss you.”
“It looked nothing like us. But it proves that London is still a difficult place for our love.”
She wrenched at her neck like there was strain. “Well, now that we’re dressed alike, like the happy couple of a Cossack ball, the Duke of Torrance and his mistress, I wonder which couple Gilroy will draw.”
“I suspect the svoloch Prahmn,the bastard of Grosvenor Street, will be in all the papers.” Unable to watch her suffer, he asked, “Headache?”
“A little.”
He lazily fingered her temples, making his thumbs smooth her skin and relieve her pain. Yet, Jahleel marveled at how a work of perfect cold marble could breathe.
She looked indifferent, but her eyes shut. Katherine didn’t turn away. “I suppose their union was inevitable. The two chose each other. No one ran. They will be better than—”
“Than us?”
Startled, she put her hands to his waistcoat and pushed away. “Still too easy for you to charm me.”
“Let me be charming. And I must say your fingers on my chest have always been a delight.”
“Nyet,” she said. “No delighting. I want a chance to repay the loans. I want to try and rebuild what my father created. I want out of our silly wager.”
“Oh, Katherine, I had so much hope in winning. I want to see how cavalier you are catering to my needs.”
She huffed but kept her beautiful countenance smooth. “It’s silly to bet. We were arguing. We lost—”
“I’ve never lost but once. I don’t intend to lose again.” He walked deeper into the maze.
And she followed, like a bee searching for a place to sting. “Jahleel, let this be over. I don’t want to fight anymore.”
He didn’t stop until he was deeper into the maze. The high walls added privacy and an intimacy that the two hadn’t shared in forever.
“Jahleel, please.”
“You don’t need to be concerned. We are even. Georgina chose Sebastian. From the onset of our wager, we said that would mean a tie. Whoever chooses the husband for Scarlett will be crowned a winner.”
“Why? Why can’t you be generous and let us stay tied?”
He spun back to her and glanced at her hurting eyes, gaping at Jahleel like all of this was his fault. “Our bet was for the two sisters. We have one left. And I like this bet. We’ve been civil, and I adore every moment the Wilcoxes come to Anya House. With no bet, there would be no reason for you to visit. Unless you had a reason to keep coming to see me?”
Her chest rose and fell, but she did not answer.
Why was she so afraid of feeling anything for him? “I’m attached to the Wilcoxes. I want Scarlett and Lydia to have all the things they should’ve had if your heart had stayed true to me.”
“You’re bitter? Remember, you left me.”
