Page 43 of A Match Made On Duchess Square

She winced. “Who else? I could not have done it myself.”

“True, you were in no condition to even crawl into bed on your own. But no, Gwen, I did not undress you. Well, not completely. I merely loosened a few of your laces, that’s all.” Touching her and holding her up against his body while he worked those lacings had shot fire through his limbs and left him aching to touch her and kiss her all night long.

He hadn’t, of course.

He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “After unlacing you, I sat you on your bed and removed your shoes for you. Your maid was not in the room, but I knew she would soon return to attend to you.”

“She said I was already undressed and asleep when she got back.” Gwendolyn released a breath. “Did I manage this myself?”

“Yes.” It was mostly the truth. She had required additional assistance with her gown even after he’d unlaced it.

Gad, what a sweet body she had.

Not that he had been looking. In fact, he had twisted himself into knots trying not to look or touch her beyond what was minimally necessary. But the drink had gone completely to her head, and she would have walked into walls if left to herself. Since she could not stand up straight, she’d wound up leaning all over him.

Her bosom had grazed his arm…well, more than grazed. Her lush breasts had molded to his arm and softly flattened against it as he tried his best to hold her up.

Then her gown had slipped off her body when he’d made the mistake of once again trying to stand her up. It slid to the floor, leaving her only in a cotton shift that revealed far too much of her ample breasts and nicely shaped bottom. He’d set her safely back on the bed and left because she set his body on fire.

“Did you sleep soundly?”

“Like the dead.” Gwendolyn drank her tea slowly. “I’m not sure how I managed to put on my nightgown.”

No, he wasn’t going to respond to that remark.

In truth, he had no idea how she had managed to remove the shift and don her nightgown. The last he saw before tearing out of her room was her slipping the sleeve of her shift off one creamy shoulder. He almost expired when it slipped below one of her beautifully rounded breasts, exposing it.

Yes, that had nearly done him in. That vision was now etched into his eyeballs.

She sighed and took a nibble of her scone. Then she ate a little of her soft-boiled egg.

“What did I say to you?” she asked, staring into the yellow yolk she was stirring in the egg cup. “I know you said it was not embarrassing, but I am not sure I believe you.”

“It was mostly unintelligible, but you repeated several times that I was wonderful. Simply wonderful. And did I know that I was wonderful?”

“Oh, good grief. What an idiot I am.”

“No, Gwen. I am pleased that you think well of me.”

“I do. But I still made a monumental fool of myself.”

“You didn’t. As I said, it is nice to know that you genuinely like me and are not merely pandering to me because I am your client. The truth often spills out when a person has imbibed too much, and the revelations aren’t always pleasant.”

She stirred her soft-boiled egg some more. “I do like and admire you. I don’t think I have made a secret of it. I would not bother to work with you otherwise.”

James gave no response, just sipped his coffee and waited patiently for her to finish her meal.

She had undressed in front of him and said she wanted to kiss him again. He would have obliged were she not drunk. But he was no cad and could not bring himself to take advantage of her vulnerability.

He was trying desperately not to think about what had happened last night because he needed to keep things casual between them until she was truly ready to put Andrew Clement aside and take a step forward with him.

“James, you need to tell me the truth. I can take the humiliation. It cannot be worse than how I often feel when thinking of Andrew. Everyone believes I am an idiot for holding on to the hope he will someday return to me. Have I been a fool all these years?”

“Gwen, it is not foolish to love someone. But there comes a point in your life when you must make a conscious choice to put the past behind you and move forward to find your happiness.”

To his way of thinking, she had been making that choice last night. He doubted she would admit it yet.

She nodded. “I think this is what is tearing me up inside. My friends are all falling in love and marrying. I’ll be the only spinster on Duchess Square. I did not feel it when we were all unattached and making pleasant lives for ourselves together in friendship. We will always be friends, of course. But it is different now. Much of their time will be spent with their husbands and eventually raising children.”