Slowly, she lowered her gaze and wrapped both hands around her teacup. “I suppose that answers my question,” she said softly, attempting a smile.
When she glanced up again, Gabriel was still watching her.
The intensity of his gaze made the room feel suddenly smaller. Heat from the fire pressed against her skin, though she suspected the hearth was not entirely responsible for it. Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath her ribs, and she looked away first, gathering her thoughts before they scattered completely. Practical matters, she reminded herself firmly, were far safer than whatever was happening between them.
“After the ball,” she began, tracing the rim of her cup with her thumb, “our month together will be over.”
Gabriel remained silent. Amelia swallowed and forced herself to continue, “I shall visit my sister first.” A faint smile touched her lips as she thought of Bethany. “I owe her rather a great deal, and I hope that she can take me in for a spell.”
That finally earned a reaction. Gabriel leaned back slightly and folded one arm across his chest. “That is one way of describing it,” he remarked dryly.
Amelia laughed softly and shook her head. “She did save me from marriage.”
“A heroic achievement,” Gabriel replied, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“Indeed,” Amelia agreed. “But it resulted in her own, and I have no way of knowing if that pleases her or not.”
The laughter faded, but neither looked away.
The silence that followed felt different from the comfortable pauses they had shared before. Something had shifted between them. The air seemed heavier, charged with awareness neither of them could ignore any longer. Amelia became conscious of every detail, the crackling fire, the scent of tea, the warmth radiating from Gabriel’s body only inches away.
Then she saw his gaze drop. Only for a moment.
His eyes flickered to her lips before returning to her face.
The small movement sent heat rushing through her so suddenly that she nearly forgot what she had been saying. Her fingers tightened around her cup, and she lowered it carefully onto the table before she dropped it entirely. “After I visit Bethany,” she continued, though her voice sounded less steady than before, “I suppose I shall…”
The words died on her lips. Gabriel had moved. Not abruptly. Not with the confidence of a man making demands.
Instead, he leaned towards her slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, as though giving her every opportunity to stop him. Amelia’s breath caught as his hand lifted and brushed gently against her cheek. The warmth of his palm sent a tremor through her entire body.
“Gabriel,” she whispered.
His expression tightened. For one brief moment, he looked almost conflicted, as though fighting a battle she could not see. Then his thumb brushed lightly against her cheek, and he released a slow breath. “Amelia,” he said quietly.
The sound of her name in his voice stole whatever remained of her composure.
Her heart pounded so loudly she was convinced he must hear it. For weeks, they had circled one another, arguing over rules, children, and responsibilities while pretending none of it mattered. Yet beneath every conversation had been something neither had wished to acknowledge. Now, sitting beside him in the glow of the fire, pretending felt impossible.
Gabriel leaned closer until only inches separated them. Amelia could feel the warmth of his breath. She could see every detail of his face.
When his forehead rested lightly against hers, she closed her eyes and released a trembling breath. Neither of them spoke. Neither moved away. The anticipation itself felt almost unbearable.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to hold its breath alongside them.
Then Gabriel closed the remaining distance.
The kiss was gentle and restrained, carrying all the hesitation of a man who rarely allowed himself to want anything. Amelia’s hand rose instinctively to rest against his shoulder as she kissed him back. A quiet sound escaped him, and the simple reaction sent a fresh wave of warmth through her.
The world narrowed until nothing existed beyond the firelight, the steady rhythm of their breathing, and the feeling of finally reaching something she had not realized she had been longing for. Tomorrow still waited beyond the walls of the manor. Questions still remained unanswered. Yet for one precious moment, neither of them seemed willing to think about any of it.
There was only the warmth of the room.
Only the quiet crackle of the fire. Only them.
Chapter Nineteen
Amelia stood beside Valerie’s bed while a sea of gowns covered nearly every available surface in the room, yet she could not have said what color a single one of them was. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the previous evening and the feeling of Gabriel’s mouth against hers.
